This WSJ opinion article concerns the ban of a book titled "When Harry Became Sally", which is critical of sex-change procedures in children. Another similar in

This WSJ opinion article concerns the ban of a book titled "When Harry Became Sally", which is critical of sex-change procedures in children. Another similar incident was the ban of Abigail Shrier's "Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters" from Target at the behest of activists on Twitter. That ban was later reversed, but it was followed up quickly by a ban of a different book on similar topics, "The End of Gender" by Debra Soh (https://thepostmillennial.com/target-bans-dr-debra-sohs-book-that-is-critical-of-the-trans-agenda/ https://thepostmillennial.com/target-bans-dr-debra-sohs-book...). This book was also then reinstated (https://reclaimthenet.org/target-silently-removes-then-reinstates-dr-debra-sohs-book/ https://reclaimthenet.org/target-silently-removes-then-reins...). And now, we see Amazon instituting book bans and preventing advertising of certain books based on ideological positions. It's also interesting that it's not just activists pressuring tech companies and retailers to institute book bans but also the ACLU (https://www.wsj.com/articles/does-the-aclu-want-to-ban-my-book-11605475898 https://www.wsj.com/articles/does-the-aclu-want-to-ban-my-bo...). To me, the hasty bans and reversals, the spreading of book bans, and the advocacy for the same from institutions like ACLU points to a bigger societal problem, a new extreme that "cancel culture" has extended itself to. I view this trend as especially problematic when mega corporations that face no effective competition, like Amazon or Google, can enact these bans unilaterally. These companies are so big, powerful, and influential that their policies have a drastic effect on limiting (the practical effects of) speech.