I found this post from January 2021 in my draft post file. No idea why it didn’t get posted back then.

These days the name has changed, as Twitter is now X – but the issues remain the same. My 2024 reflections will be in italics at the end.

I’m a big proponent of free speech – and had no problems with US President Donald Trump being banned by both Facebook and Twitter. But it does raise some questions.

They are private companies and can therefore set their own standards and choose who they allow to use their platforms. They aren’t stopping you from spreading your message elsewhere when they deny you access.

I do wonder if they would deny access to someone who was paying for it if they didn’t like the message. And it seems a bit late in the game to ban Trump – they must have made millions from ads targeted at his followers.

The controversy does raise a question though about access to information and rights to what is essentially a public utility. Should government have a role in regulating such private enterprise? Or is government part of the problem?

In a recent news story, Facebook’s Canada representative said the company was looking to the federal government for guidelines on what was acceptable on the platform. Do you find that disturbing?

Facebook is already bound by the laws of the land, though enforcement might be difficult given that they are an American entity. But by tossing the ball in Parliament’s court they are abrogating responsibility.

And indeed it is tough to police millions of daily posts. They probably hope whatever bots they have set up do the job do it somewhat successfully. I have no idea what algorithms they use and how they set restrictions.

I don’t know if Donald Trump is back on Twitter, which is under new ownership since he was banned. Supposedly it is less restrictive than it used to be, Is that a good thing?

In Canada the federal government has recently passed a couple of laws that critics claim will restrict free speech. More are expected in 2024, including something called the Online Harms Bill.

Why we need more laws on the subject is something I can’t quite figure out. We already have Criminal Code provisions that cover hate crimes and false news. Do we really need more?

Perhaps the government doesn’t think the Criminal Code provisions are adequate. There’s a burden of proof required, and the rules aren’t made by a Liberal-appointed civil servant. If the goal is to prevent criticism of Liberal ideology or policies, the Criminal Code just doesn’t cut it.

When private companies such as Twitter and Facebook restrict speech on their platforms I don’t really care. In a free market there are alternatives.

When a government tries to do it across all platforms, we should all be concerned.