Concerns About Free Speech are not getting anywhere

If any conservatives still had any doubts about Big Tech’s intentional censorship of conservative voices, recent events should serve as sufficient proof.

First, Project Veritas posted interviews with whistleblowers from Pinterest and Google revealing that these companies deliberately discouraged conservative content, with the hopes of opposing President Trump and fostering a leftist agenda. As a matter of course, YouTube and Vimeo have blocked access to these interviews and have done their best to bury this story.

Next, the knitting site Ravelry announced that it would ban pro-Trump messages and users from their site, citing their position as the equivalent of “white supremacy.” Other sites and businesses have supported Ravelry and may impose their political agenda and discriminate against Trump-voters—if Ravelry can get away with it, why not?

Then, Reddit decided to quarantine r/The_Donald, the largest online forum for Trump supporters. This means Reddit users cannot search the forum nor see it listed on the front page and must accept a warning statement to access the site. Additionally, users have to log in on their desktops before getting mobile access. These restrictions obviously mean to limit the reach of the online community, discourage activity and spreading information, and lay the groundwork for permanent banning.

Most recently, Google shut down Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s advertising account after the campaign showed an uptick in spending right after the first primary debate. In response, Gabbard is suing the company for $50 million in damages.

These are just the most recent political moves of large social media companies. Until conservatives (and less-favored progressives) respond to this with some degree of seriousness, more will certainly follow.

What a Serious Response Would Look Like
What would a serious response look like? First, politicians would legally protect free speech and prohibit social media platforms from arbitrarily censoring content. Second, people need alternative platforms that actually allow for free speech and equal access to users.

As it so happens, both actions have been proposed, but have gone nowhere. In the first case, Sen. Josh Hawley proposed a bill, “Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act,” that would treat large social media platforms like publishers if they start manipulating content.

Republican politicians have either criticized the bill for attempting to regulate private companies’ practices or have put the matter off. As for Democrats, they have no real reason for supporting the bill, since they mostly stand to benefit from Big Tech censorship.

In the second case, a few web developers—like Parler, Trump Town, and Voat (alternatives for Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit, respectively)—have created platforms to better accommodate conservative speech. However, these sites remain relatively small and haven’t attracted famous personalities with large followings. To make matters worse, users with more extreme views, having been banned from the bigger platforms, often flock to these sites and quickly turn them into cyber-ghettos.

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