Social Media Censorship

Written by on in tags: Facebook, Youtube, Twitter

Let's talk Social Media censorship. Let's also get beyond the fact that they are private companies so "can do what they want". The point is, should they, and given how pervasive they are in all of our lives and how much social media has defined the way the world is now, SHOULD they be able to implement policies that censor speech and views that "they" don't agree with, but are not a violation of any law? I think this is a very nuanced and complex issue, and given it directly impacts how we all consume information, I can't think of a time it's more important to discuss.

The reason I bring it up, is because so many people get their information from social media, which includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other platforms. It's not possible to get unbiased information if we're only allowed to see the point of view that is approved by CEO's such as Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook or YouTube (Google).

From Facebook:
"Certainly, someone saying that social distancing is not effective to help limit the spread of coronavirus, we do classify that as harmful misinformation and we take that down"

From YouTube:
"Anything that would go against World Health Organization recommendations would be a violation of our policy."

I've linked an article that has some information on all this, including the fact that YouTube has repeatedly removed videos like the one making the rounds of the 2 Drs. ABC interview I posted a couple days ago. This isn't about endorsing specific content, but about the slippery slope we get into by allowing large social media platforms to determine what we are allowed to see.

Look forward to your thoughts!

Daily Mail Article

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