The quote that begins this article is from 1943. That brand of freedom of expression was predicated upon a model of limited resources: That is, in order to get

The quote that begins this article is from 1943. That brand of freedom of expression was predicated upon a model of limited resources: That is, in order to get your message to thousands of people, you needed to have a big megaphone. Lots of people had to actively help you, be it printing newspapers or pointing your radio antennas. It required effort. Much of what is being touted as “in need of protection” is low-effort content or content easily spread, or both. These developments ought to inform how we understand corporatations’ free expression policies. That quote did not consider free expression in the context of hackers with spam bots. Is that part of free expression? It did not consider organizations buying bulk user tracking data and creating targeted ads to influence behavior. Is this part of free expression? Is manipulation of the masses through technology a human right? Does using an algorithm to filter content for individuals violate free expression? What if the content is universally reviled and never seen? Is this censorship? Do corporations have a responsibility to give people things they don’t want?