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The debate over censorship of the internet by big tech companies seems to be intensifying. This is a real problem, but there is a danger that some potential cures may be worse than the disease.

The big tech media giants have increasingly been making editorial decisions relating to major political controversies. Given the near monopolistic reach of companies like Twitter and Facebook, critics, particularly on the right, have a legitimate concern that there is a concerted effort to suppress political speech.

There are numerous examples of this, and not just the current ban of former President Trump, who won 74 million votes in the last election, from both Facebook and Twitter. You dont have to believe Mr. Trumps claims that the last election was stolen, or endorse his actions on January 6, to think that it is inappropriate to exclude such an important political figure for extended periods. But it goes well beyond Mr. Trumps exclusion. The tech companies seem increasingly disinclined to permit political posts that runs counter to the prevailing liberal narrative. For example, just before the election a decision was made to squelch a credible report in the New York Post concerning Hunter Bidens laptop and its possible connection to candidate Joe Biden.

And with respect to the Covid virus, almost any speech outside the mainstream has been excluded, or at least subject to contentious fact checks or cautionary messages. For a while even stories suggesting a connection between the virus and the Chinese laboratory in Wuhan were considered disinformation. To be clear, I got the vaccine months ago, and I think most people should get shots. But excluding much of the skepticism about the vaccines, its efficacy and its potential side effects seems a little excessive.

While it isnt a good thing that a few billionaires have an outsized impact on what is permissible speech, it is less than obvious what can be done as a remedy.

One potential solution would be to require that large internet providers treat all speech equally, as is required of the government, which (unlike private companies) is subject to the First Amendment. Alternatively, you could treat the big providers as though they are a public utility which, like the telephone companies of old, were largely required to accept speech from all comers.

While the argument has been made that the big tech sites operate the functional equivalent of the town square, and thus is similar the government, in fact the tech companies have different rights, powers and responsibilities than governmental authorities. In addition, you probably wouldnt want all speech rules applicable to the government also to apply to the tech companies. For example, most people are comfortable with at least some forms of censorship by the tech companies. Facebook, for example, seems well within its rights to prohibit pornographic images which might not be legally obscene. And even if it might be legally protected speech, few of us are concerned that that, say, Twitter, does not allow rants by neo-Nazis or the Klan on its site. Similar arguments would be applicable to the public utility theory since censorship would be largely prohibited.

It has also been suggested that large utilities lose their protection under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which under most circumstances shields internet company for liability for defamatory posts of third parties. The problem here is that, unlike newspapers and most television shows, it is impossible, or at least very impractical, to prescreen user content.

There is also the idea of an antitrust initiative against the big players, with unknown economic ramifications.

I guess in my perfect world, there would be an understanding by the tech company that suppressing a large chunk of political speech is not in their long term best interest and that they would do well to take a less heavy hand rather than be subjected to the heavy hand of legislation or regulation. Well see if they come to realize that.

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Big Tech, Censorship and the Internet - Garden City News