printAs ever, the political caste, in general, and “the party of industry and commerce,” in particular, has shown itself to be arrayed against Middle America.
How so?
An army of Covington Kids ought to have advanced on social media’s loathsome moral crusaders and censors. It can’t, because stripping the tech trolls of their state-grants of privilege has slipped down the order of business.
Depriving social media’s social engineers of their state grants-of-privilege seems more than reasonable.
Nobody conservative is arguing that “government should regulate content moderation of social media,” CATO Institute.
What is being advocated is that social-media censors be deprived of their state-grants of privilege and protections against liability. For social media are collective frauds. While acting as editors and social engineers, they are legally safeguarded as mere platform providers.
Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, tech companies currently enjoy broad immunity from civil lawsuits stemming from what users post because they are treated as “platforms” rather than “publishers”.
Trump’s executive order is designed to pressure regulators, including the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, to come up with new rules that would curtail that immunity. It is likely to face legal challenges. (The Guardian)
Look, laws exist. Too many of them. It would be great were there fewer of these laws. However, whether intended or not, the upshot of corporate libertarianism is that laws only ever hamper the little guy and gal, never the multinational shyster and fraudster.
Naturally, conservatives must agree that unfettered speech is just that. They can’t start carving out pet exceptions.
UPDATE (4/13/021): The Civil Rights Act route is way better than Section 230 repeal—although that, too, must be tackled.
#Section230 ideas are common & likely won't work. Better idea is https://t.co/jzIHDI9NM3 to target Civil Rights Act, which we already have. To financially segregate, banish & cripple politically irksome people & enterprises flouts its spirit, if not strict letter. @emeriticus https://t.co/uaYiEq3GcX
— ILANA Mercer (@IlanaMercer) April 13, 2021
As Jake Gittes said in “Chinatown,”: “what can I say? When you’re right, you’re right…”