There was a day when government was the gatekeeper of free speech. Still is, of course. But look, steaming up the track is the new kid on the block, and he's taking on more and more of the role.
Social media. Twitter & Associates. They call the greater entity Big Tech, and while I like that, I think I'll go with Twitter & Associates, uppercase. Big Tech includes all the important and dominant companies in the information technology industry, and I just want to zero in on the social media firms.
So, along comes Twitter & Associates and starts determining who can and who can't speak on the Village Square, who is and who isn't using hate language, and who is and who isn't spreading misinformation.
Now, there's a lot of that that they have no choice but to do -- maybe, all of it. You have to have rules, and when they took on the task of being the Public Square, they took on the responsibility for making rules. But, the point is, they are now doing it instead of the government. They don't control all free speech -- the government is still in the business -- but a share of it.
And, they are stumbling at many a juncture. They were stumbling long before Elon Musk ate up Twitter. And if we don't do something, they will continue.
One escape from the mess is to have government step in and reclaim its domain. Uncle Sam -- that's Big Sam to me and you -- needs to reel in the whale that is swallowing up free speech. Big Sam needs to make the rules for who speaks on the Village Square, the Public Square. Big Sam has an unruly member and it must be responsible for giving the unruly memeber rules. I know some of you aren't fans of government. You quote that old statement, "That government governs best that governs least." But, without government, you have anarchy, and we are having a little bit of that with Twitter & Associates.
Which will it be anarchy . . . or law and order?
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