For over a decade now, the left in the United States has been cultivating a pernicious lie. They claim that censorship exists only if it is done by the government. Through a facile reading of the First Amendment, they have concluded that schools, corporations, publishers, theaters, and cable providers are not engaged in censorship if they ban certain speech, they are merely private entities making choices. It’s a lie.
Censorship can be committed by any institution, even by individuals if they have enough power. Today the greatest threat to American freedom comes not from the government but from corporate actors who seek to control the actions and beliefs of American citizens by withholding goods and services from those with whom they disagree. And the left, which once abhorred certain views but would fight for your right to express them, now just abhors them and you can go to hell.
It is not hyperbolic to call this phenomenon the greatest threat to American liberty in a generation. Say the wrong thing, and the private owners of our public squares online will ban you. Join the wrong club, and our hotels and airlines will deny you service. Express the wrong politics, and those in power will ban your news outlet. This is not a slippery slope; all of these things have already happened. American liberty is at the bottom of the slope. In fact, it has crashed into the ski lodge and broken its legs.
thefederalist.com
Censorship can be committed by any institution, even by individuals if they have enough power. Today the greatest threat to American freedom comes not from the government but from corporate actors who seek to control the actions and beliefs of American citizens by withholding goods and services from those with whom they disagree. And the left, which once abhorred certain views but would fight for your right to express them, now just abhors them and you can go to hell.
It is not hyperbolic to call this phenomenon the greatest threat to American liberty in a generation. Say the wrong thing, and the private owners of our public squares online will ban you. Join the wrong club, and our hotels and airlines will deny you service. Express the wrong politics, and those in power will ban your news outlet. This is not a slippery slope; all of these things have already happened. American liberty is at the bottom of the slope. In fact, it has crashed into the ski lodge and broken its legs.
Don’t Worry, It's Just Corporate Fascism
It doesn’t matter if we are silenced by our government or by the billionaires who give us our tinker toys. Censorship is censorship.
thefederalist.com