“Should be a surprise to absolutely no one,” tweets Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), reposting a Washington Post tweet.
Should be a surprise to absolutely no one https://t.co/5RLvY0OC8j
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) March 9, 2025
The Washington Post tweet reads, “Exclusive: Meta went to extreme lengths, including developing a censorship system, in a failed attempt to bring Facebook to millions of internet users in China, according to a whistleblower complaint.”
The phrase “developing a censorship system” in that headline should induce a chilling effect on anyone concerned about the protection of free speech. The phrase “extreme lengths” in that headline should induce a chilling effect on anyone concerned about the corruption and disproportionate power of “Big Tech” entities.
Things are not a big deal until they are a big deal. Yes, the 21st Century comes with some technical challenges not before encountered, and those are sometimes delicate to deal with. Such challenges that require balancing include protecting “Big Tech”/media corporations’ right to do business, while also protecting speech and privacy concerns of users. A fundamental approach is helpful because it can trim down some of the extra, distilling the heart of the issue. We are capable of doing more than one thing at a time. Media advancements can be enjoyed without media companies, platforms that facilitate certain media services, being allowed to run roughshod over people.
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Power and the abuse of it is what this boils down to. The lack of concern and seeming contempt that some of the big media companies display toward the people who use their services, who benefit their bottom line, is astounding. The seeming contempt that such companies display toward the United States of America, which allows them the freedom to innovate and create the media empires they boast, is equally as astounding. Regulations will always come up short because regulations cannot cover everything. At some point, there must be a willingness among those who hold power in the marketplace to do what is right.
