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by awak3ning 1993 days ago
As someone who enjoys technology and liberty this is a very disturbing development. We do not have a well diversified portfolio of options of tools and platforms for communication due to corporations monopolizing and conspiring together to concentrate power.

I do not imagine that this will end positively.

2 comments

This is nonsense.

Web is as open and free as it has ever been. Arguably more so given that the barrier to entry e.g. cost for creating and promoting a site has come down. And we have examples such as Parler and TheDonald.win.

You just don't have a right to demand that the Facebook and Apple's of the world help to amplify your voice.

threeseed, I do not believe that you have an accurate mental model of the world or technology and social platforms in particular.

It could be argued that "the web is as open and free as it ever has been", but I do not think this argument could be made honestly. Even though many of the mechanisms for accessing websites exist as they did many years ago, the "surface area" of the internet that most people are able to discover and access is significantly reduced due to search engine algorithms (which are monopolies) and advertisement allowing individuals to pay for traffic and attention. Moreover, in the present moment we are near a peak level of intrusive data collection and surveillance.

Do you truly believe that the web for the average user in 2020 is as free as the web for the average user in 2000? Please give it some thought (15-30 minutes of quiet reflection) and let me know what you think.

>the "surface area" of the internet that most people are able to discover and access is significantly reduced due to search engine algorithms

On the contrary, Facebook promoting incendiary content because people (angrily) highly engage with it vastly increases the surface area of the internet. Fringe sites get much more attention than they ever could before Facebook existed.

So to be clear: Facebook allowed Trump to win in 2016 but them censoring him in 2020 isn't a concerning form of censorship?

I think we're past the point were we have to admit social media and the tech monopolies aren't just websites anymore.

The context is 2021 and after treason.
Treason trials sound a lot like truth and reconciliation to me.
CNN is trying to force Fox News off air.

Twitter deletes people who have opinions different than theirs.

Apple is trying to delete a free speech platform.

Google already did.

Biden and Democrats in charge are cheering it on.

Fascism is here and it’s the 'liberal' left.