
Taibbi: Censorship Does Not End Well - randomname2
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/facebook-censorship-alex-jones-710497/
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mikehotel
Definitely worth reading entire article, but here are some excerpts that
convey the gist:

 _This is the nuance people are missing. It’s not that people like Jones
shouldn’t be punished; it’s the means of punishment that has changed
radically.

The platforms will win popular support for removals by deleting jackasses like
Jones. Meanwhile, the more dangerous censorship will go on in the margins with
fringe opposition sites — and in the minds of reporters and editors, who will
unconsciously start retreating from wherever their idea of the line is. The
most ominous development involves countries asking for direct cleansing of
opposition movements, a la China’s search engine, or Tel Aviv’s demands that
Facebook and Google delete pages belonging to Palestinian activists. (This
happened: Israel’s justice minister said last year that Facebook granted 95
percent of such requests.)

The apparent efforts to comply with government requests to help “prevent the
foment of discord” suggest the platforms are moving toward a similar surrender
even in the United States. The duopolistic firms seem anxious to stay out of
headlines, protect share prices and placate people like Connecticut Senator
Chris Murphy, who just said deleting Jones was only a “good first step.”
Americans are not freaking out about this because most of us have lost the
ability to distinguish between general principles and political outcomes. So
long as the “right” people are being zapped, no one cares._

