We’ve known for years the social media giants have been pushing around their users. Once upon a time, you could say anything you wanted online. Social networks like Twitter used to boast about how they allowed people around the world to challenge abusive regimes and spread “freedom.” But the corporate forces suck their fangs into social media. And the power these liberals wielded went to their heads. Because these days, you have to be careful what you saw online.
Or these social media tyrants will hit you with the old ban hammer.
The most notorious case of social media censorship was the blacklisting of Donald Trump. He was still in office when most major social networks closed his accounts. And, unlike in other cases, they were not willing to reinstate him under any circumstances. No trial. No jury. Just an immediately beheading. All without clear proof he broke any of their rules. That, of course, was the point, so that the rest of their user bases would fear being blocked at any time and self-censor themselves.
Texas’s Attorney General Ken Paxton decided to investigate Twitter over the ban. Twitter tried to fight back with a lawsuit. But a federal judge just gave them the bad news.
A federal appeals court has dismissed Twitter’s lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which accused him of retaliating for the social media platform’s ban of former President Donald Trump.
Twitter’s procedural defeat on Wednesday allows Texas’ investigation into Twitter to proceed, though the probe may still get slapped down in the future.
Mr. Paxton launched an investigation into Twitter after it expelled Mr. Trump last year and the Texas Republican issued a civil investigative demand for information about the company’s content moderation policies. [Source: Washington Times]
Twitter’s flimsy excuse for suing Paxton was that he was violating the social network’s free speech. That’s a laugh. Twitter and other social media giants have been destroying users’ free speech for years. Anything they deem “hate speech” or—these days—“misinformation” can get you blocked, banned, or “shadowbanned.” These social media sites deliberately keep their rules vague, so they can decide on a whim if what you posted was out of line.
Paxton wanted answers from this social media giant. This ruling allows him to continue his investigation. It could lead to the warrants for documents on Twitter’s speech policies. He might even subpoena past or current employees for answers to Twitter’s censorship methods. That’s the last thing a social network like Twitter wants since its policies for blocking content appear to change every day.
Will this result in needed changes to our social media landscape? Maybe, in time. These social networks hypocritically claim they are platforms for people to express their views. Yet their policies prove them to be tyrants, dictators who want to decide if your content is worthy enough to be seen by the masses. It will take a lot to bring them down.
Author: Bo Dogan
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