Last year Speaker Pelosi, using her best judgment, suggested federal politicians should decide what people post on social media. That’s right; Pelosi suggested that freedom of expression for social media companies is a “gift” and a “privilege.”
Related: FIRE Gives UNH Green Light for Free Speech (Again) Despite Social Media Policy
She believes freedom of speech can be rescinded if tech companies don’t move in the direction she wants.
The Pelosi starting point
That campaign has had some opposition. It has not gone far, but Pelosi hasn’t given up. In a press conference earlier this month, she slammed Facebook for “misleading the American people.”
According to “The Verge” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took Facebook to task during her weekly press briefing. She was accusing the social media company of “schmoozing” the Trump administration out of tougher regulation. Pelosi said about the social media giant: They have been very irresponsible… I think their behavior is shameful… Facebook’s business model is strictly to make money. They don’t care about the impact on children. Facebook doesn’t care about the impact on truth. They don’t care about where this is all coming from, and they have said that even if they know it is not true, they will print it.
The first step in controlling social media is discrediting the companies in the space. That is done by discrediting them in the minds of the American people. It looks like that’s exactly what Pelosi plans to do. Maybe that will be the Democrats next big lie. Big tech is not blameless, but Pelosi’s agenda begs the question: If Facebook can’t decide what appears on its platform, who can?
Trust big government or trust big tech?
Pelosi and federal officials would suggest that they are more trustworthy than private companies. They would be wrong. The companies in Silicon Valley have huge investments in the products and services they provide.
Those companies should operate within the framework of the law. One thing we know for sure is the American people can trust politicians to dictate what does and doesn’t go viral because they have our best interests at heart… Right? Well, maybe not, just think about their past performance.
Federal politicians are, if anything, less trustworthy than big tech companies. It’s time their big-government campaigns end. We have free speech. We like free speech and it is a very good idea to continue it. Politicians like Pelosi will never stop trying to accrue power.
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, KCVO DL (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), from “The Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Whitaker and Co.” said “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men…” It is just as true for women. Pelosi is a democrat, her party follows her lead. She has power in mind, not your best interest. Pelosi plans to control what people post on social media… and she may do it if we don’t stop her.