Clarence Thomas: Supreme Court Will END Big Tech Censorship

free speechNiamh Harris – Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has warned Big Tech that their days of censoring people online will soon be coming to an end.

Justice Thomas on Monday outlined a detailed legal argument for why social media companies will soon face strict rules banning them from denying service to users for any reason or no reason, including the possibility of designating them as common carriers – which would completely eliminate their ability to ban or censor users for legal, First Amendment protected speech.

Thomas outlined his opinion in a concurrence to rejecta case that began under the Trump administration, challenging the President’s right to block users from his Twitter feed. Continue reading

Should Facebook, Google and Twitter Be Public Utilities?

bitcoinCharles Hugh Smith – My longtime friend GFB recently suggested I revisit my position on RussiaGate, the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

I have been dismissive of the investigation because the idea that a pinprick of Facebook advertising ($100,000) could influence the sprawling ocean of public opinion struck me as preposterous.

But GFB suggested I look a bit deeper and consider the consequences of the Russian interference, however modest it might have been; and I have taken his sage advice and reconsidered.

I’ve reached the conclusion that Facebook, Google and Twitter should be operated as public utilities, not as for-profit corporations beholden solely to their shareholders and managers.

Here is my thinking: Continue reading