In the beginning there was Microsoft…
The original dominant company of the “computer world” was Microsoft. It’s dominance came through “aggressive” business practices. It was their way or the highway. They consumed other companies, their people and their ideas. Their business practices have been adopted and adapted by other successful Big Tech companies since. This new wave of companies became dominant first in the computer world, then the U.S. economy and now they are preeminent worldwide.
And on the next day…
Google has given us instant access to searchable information. Facebook connects us with friends, family worldwide. Twitter brings the world to us in real time. YouTube allows anyone become a virtual broadcaster. Through capitalism and the functioning of open markets these new possibilities tie us together. It is glorious and empowering while at the same time terrifying.
These companies who brought us these new technologies are their business practices. These companies who liberate now taste the power that brings. They want to be our masters. The giants of social media, Apple, Google, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are lock step in demanding conformity of their users. If you want to use their platforms, they require that you accept their values and principles. It’s their way or the highway. Conform or die. That’s a problem.
They have the power to enforce their position. The Apple CEO, Tim Cook, recently said, “We only have one message for those who seek to push hate, division, and violence: You have no place on our platforms… You have no home here.” That seems like it might be a good position. But let’s think about what he said and what his company does.
What about Freedom of Speech?
America has “freedom of speech built into its very constitution. Short of overt threats, and utterances which may cause direct harm such as libel or shouting fire in a crowded theater, speech, all speech is permitted. Ideas, all ideas are allowed. America has always embraced the free market of ideas. Our opportunity comes from the free open exchange required of effective communication.
How does that square with Mr. Cook’s position? “Hate”? “Division”? According to whom? We aren’t a colony of ants. Who died and made Apple, Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter God? They are becoming the Big Brother George Orwell wrote about. Conform or die.
Cook’s ideas are the same as his fellow chief executives at Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Their tactics are censorship, infliction of financial damage on non-conformists and destruction of the personal and professional reputations of those with whom they disagree with. They are repressive. Their products are being used tyrannically.
What if we do not agree?
Today if you disagree with Big Tech on say, politics, or morality, Big Tech will shut you up by shutting you down. They will deplatform you. And what is it that Big Brother doesn’t like? Tim Cook said it: anything that doesn’t conform to his leftist worldview. Whether it is Meghan Murphy the a Canadian feminist, Alex Jones the conspiracy guy, Marsha Blackburn the politician or Dennis Prager from syndicated radio; Big Tech is inserting their censorship into our day to day lives. There are studies suggesting bias against conservatives at Big Tech sites.
It is bias we can plainly see. What we don’t see is “shadow banning.” Shadow banning is the act of blocking a user or their content from an online community. It is done in such a way that the user does not realize that they have been banned. This practice may be even more pernicious than deplatforming. Maybe you’re okay with this if you are on the left. But if you’re not on the left, or even if you are and you respect the First Amendment, you should be concerned. Very concerned.
Conclusion:
We are at a Martin Niemöller moment. Big Tech is forcing us toward a stifling world of conformity and only one allowed way of thinking. This is not a fictional story; it’s real. 5G will compound the potential impacts. It extends Big Tech’s reach and makes us all more vulnerable.
What’s the solution? Simply return to the open market of ideas which has served America and Big Tech so well. Stop the censorship. Let people make up their own minds. If we do not do so what has been known as the Free World, will cease to be free. The Big Tech threat is serious. Let’s not allow this threat become deadly serious.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me —
And there was no one left to speak for me.
Martin Niemöller