These companies are as important as we consider them to be.
And just a few reminders:
1. His messages are still visible.
2. Even if they were not, he could still deliver his message in a thousand different ways, I mean he's constantly over the phone with Fox'n'Friends.
Since America exists, you've always had people commenting and criticizing what elected officials are doing and saying. Do you want to shut twitter's right to free speech? Do you realize that you are taking a position of:
"A member of government should not be questioned by a private party". Do you realized how fearful people who disagrees with you can be by hearing this argument?
The guy is literally going for a power grab. "Stand up and stand by"... I really think that those who are worried about democracy because of what Twitter is doing are focusing on the wrong thing here. And to be honest, I find it harder and harder to believe they do it in good faith... That is what I am worried about.
We treat large companies differently from small ones all the time (antitrust, too big to fail, etc.), so I don’t see imposing extra restrictions on something where so much public discourse is happening as too extreme. If it causes smaller competitors to spring up, so much the better.
Realize that I’m not arguing that Twitter should be compelled to never flag anything. Just if they do maybe there needs to be a consistent set of laws with due process to appeal the decisions.
Here’s a thought experiment: what if say China were to acquire a majority stake in Twitter and downright forbid any disagreeable statement about Taiwan? The fact that this sale would probably not be allowed in the first place for national security reasons should give another hint that something about Twitter is unusual.
As for arguing in good faith, when do you think is a good time to have this conversation? It’s great that it worked out for good this time. Sure, let’s wait until he’s safely out of office first. But I think that’s exactly the time to think through this carefully, and not when it’s too late and these powers are used against something you agree with. History is full of examples of failing to think through long term consequences while focussing on the imminent danger.
And just a few reminders: 1. His messages are still visible. 2. Even if they were not, he could still deliver his message in a thousand different ways, I mean he's constantly over the phone with Fox'n'Friends.
Since America exists, you've always had people commenting and criticizing what elected officials are doing and saying. Do you want to shut twitter's right to free speech? Do you realize that you are taking a position of: "A member of government should not be questioned by a private party". Do you realized how fearful people who disagrees with you can be by hearing this argument?
The guy is literally going for a power grab. "Stand up and stand by"... I really think that those who are worried about democracy because of what Twitter is doing are focusing on the wrong thing here. And to be honest, I find it harder and harder to believe they do it in good faith... That is what I am worried about.