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> I seriously believe that Parler was shut down because of of big tech collusion and not because the users voluntarily abandoned it. Try reading my post again

> I seriously believe that Parler was shut down because of of big tech collusion and not because the users voluntarily abandoned it. Try reading my post again because I never made any such claim. > most of the planning for US Capitol protest that is known about actually happened on Facebook I never stated otherwise (besides calling it an attack, not a "protest"). It seems to me you have fixated on a certain perspective and are projecting that on to my comment.

smsm42 5y ago
You said: These sites are popular as the function of individual choices, short of authoritarianism you can't dictate which sites people decide to use. In fact, however, Big Tech oligopolists very much can dictate that people won't be able to use sites they want to use (despite the fact you personally don't like the content there). If I decide to use Parler but Parler is shut down by Amazon, then it's very much not a product of my individual choice. > I never stated otherwise And again, you said: People bring up Parler as if the political context of the very recent (at the time) attack on the U.S. capitol had no bearing on how things transpired. What transpired is that some people involved in Capitol protest on Jan 6 were using Parler, and many more were using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc. Parler was shut down - very much not a product of individual choice of anyone but Jeff Bezos maybe - and neither of other platforms, who played bigger role in the same event, didn't even bat an eye. So your mentioning the events at the US Capitol only goes to illustrate my point, not yours - the idea that we somehow have a free market here where people are free to choose whatever platform they like according to their individual choice is very much delusional. Some platforms have more freedoms than others, and some are subjected to strictest scrutiny - and sometimes shut down - despite the preferences of their users. That's my perspective, which aligns with known facts.

smsm42 5y ago

You said: These sites are popular as the function of individual choices, short of authoritarianism you can't dictate which sites people decide to use. In fact, however, Big Tech oligopolists very much can dictate that people won't be able to use sites they want to use (despite the fact you personally don't like the content there). If I decide to use Parler but Parler is shut down by Amazon, then it's very much not a product of my individual choice. > I never stated otherwise And again, you said: People bring up Parler as if the political context of the very recent (at the time) attack on the U.S. capitol had no bearing on how things transpired. What transpired is that some people involved in Capitol protest on Jan 6 were using Parler, and many more were using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc. Parler was shut down - very much not a product of individual choice of anyone but Jeff Bezos maybe - and neither of other platforms, who played bigger role in the same event, didn't even bat an eye. So your mentioning the events at the US Capitol only goes to illustrate my point, not yours - the idea that we somehow have a free market here where people are free to choose whatever platform they like according to their individual choice is very much delusional. Some platforms have more freedoms than others, and some are subjected to strictest scrutiny - and sometimes shut down - despite the preferences of their users. That's my perspective, which aligns with known facts.