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Given that Jack Dorsey just testified to Congress that he considers Twitter a digital public square, does the "it's a private company" work to defend them on su

• alphabettsy 8y ago
  Of course it does. No organization private or otherwise has the obligation to provide you a platform. As far as I’m aware the government doesn’t have to provide you a platform, they just can’t deny you your right to have one of your own making or limit your access to one that they provide to others on an arbitrary basis.
• theorique 8y ago
  Given the apparently coordinated action taken by Facebook, Twitter, Apple, and YouTube (Google), it doesn't seem to be independent, private companies acting independently. It may not be a violation of the First Amendment, but it could be bumping up against antitrust law. Taken together, these companies have a significant near-monopoly in content distribution. It's more like the power company or the gas company cutting you off because they don't like your politics. Yes, technically you can use a generator or get propane delivered, but the question is whether they should be legally allowed to cut you off. If they are truly a public square and common carrier, then these platforms need to permit all content that does not violate the law.