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And on.
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One of the most common critiques associated with the blatant and not-so-obvious examples of censorship, shadowbanning and 'virality deceleration' (lovely new term employed by the would-be censors in the Biden administration) is that these platforms must be protected from such overt biases in their regulations of user behaviors because they are, quote, 'The Digital Town Square'. In spirit, this notion seems to initially hold some water, sure. After all, where do people propogate most often to chit-chat these days? The answer is, on social media.
This became particularly true during the reign of Lunaticus of Lockdown, a demonic, multi-bodied beast that took possession of the governors of numerous states and health advisors and compelled the nations of the world to huddle in abject, unproven horror in their homes, minimizing contact with the outside world. During the grip the Covid pandemic held over most civilian populaces, the only communications and gathering places remaining in full swing were the ones to be found online. During these trying times, the notion of 'Digital Town Square' was really put to the test.
The notion couldn't have flunked that test harder if it signed its name at the top and then answered every question by writing the words 'Lick my balls' next to it.
Noted fence-sitter and bragadocious, self-aggrandizing and insufferable podcaster Tim Pool likes to repeatedly assert that Twitter/X is, itself, the Digital Town Square. He deploys the comparison simply enough by remarking that when folks want to talk politics where it seems to have the most impact, they head to Elon Musk's 40 billion dollar bath toy to speak there.
CAN I GET A TOASTER WITH AN EXTENSION CORD OVER HERE?!
[Zapping noises]
This doesn't really line up with the accurate observation he and his crew have put out before that only about 2-4% of everyone who uses the Internet even uses X, but I digress....
The fact of the matter is, the Town Square doesn’t charge people for access. Before you swoop in to point out that people use social media for free all the time, no, they don't. It isn't 'free'. If you're not paying monetarily, you're paying with your personal data being scraped, with the chance to be advertised to, with your time and attention. To quote Milton Freedman, there are no free lunches.
This is not merely the territory of mental exercise, folks. Comedian Jack Whitehall hilariously pointed out in his Netflix special "At Large" that the only difference between him and a raving loon was the use of a microphone. Seriously, go watch his specials, he's brilliant. But a key component of the joke that makes it work, as is true of much of stand-up comedy, is the way in which it touches upon a well-known truth.
There are laws, rules, a Constitutional Amendment in place, which prohibit the government from interfering with a person's ability to express themselves, period. This is especially true if the person in question is speaking, shouting or yelling in a public space.
Now, Twitter/X, Facebook, etc, are privately owned online spaces. They are allowed to moderate what gets posted up on their sites as they see fit, and in point of fact, they MUST do so in order to continue enjoying certain legal benefits from something referred to as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. This protects them as platforms from being legally liable for what goes up on their sites.
Well, here's another area where the comparison falls flatter than Dylan Mulvaney's not-breasts, friends and neighbors. If somebody goes onto the sidewalk in front of a coffee shop and starts shouting racist epithets at the top of their lungs, nobody's going to automatically blame the coffeeshop owner for that bonehead's utterances. Yet somehow, if Zuckerborg allows some goofus to post about Jewish Space Lasers on their personal Facebook page, HE is responsible for allowing antisemitism to run rampant?
Am I starting to make an impression here? Do you see why there's a clear distinction?
In the modern electronic age, there are difficulties in parsing out what's genuine from what's astroturf, I'll admit. I have trouble with it too, and I'm accustomed to thinking things through in abstract ways. But perhaps we can come together and recognize that no, the Digital Town Square is NOT the bastion of free expression we all wish it could be. As long as it's dominated by people who believe that 'gender affirming care' should never be called what it actually is, the chemical and surgical permanent violence against a person which can never be properly reversed or apologized for, it never will be.
And as a kind of P.S.- for my friends and acquaintances on the socio-political 'left', who claim we need to have a conversation about these things, remember this: a conversation is where TWO people are talking. The moment your ideological opponent goes to speak their piece, you don't get to call it a conversation or dialogue if you're hitting them with lawsuits, gag orders, or bricks.