KLAVAN: Facebook Censorship Should be Stopped

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The Daily Wire

Andrew Klavan

May 4 2019

"I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

These words, written by Evelyn Beatrice Hall to describe the philosophy of Voltaire, should be written on Mark Zuckerberg’s forehead in indelible ink.

Zuckerberg’s Facebook — and Instagram as well — have permanently banned several people they deem "dangerous" from their sites. Among the deplatformed are Infowars’ Alex Jones, Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan and provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.

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Facebook and Instagram are platforms not publishers. Unlike publishers, who can curate their content and are thus responsible for their content, platforms cannot be sued if slanderous material appears on them. In return for that immunity, they should be forced to allow all voices to speak. They should no more be able to censor people than the phone company should be allowed to stop Milo and Farrakhan from having a phone chat about whom they hate the most.

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Donald Trump has been so successful in taking over the phrase "fake news," it’s easy to forget it originated on the left as part of a plan to shut down conservative speech. That plan is now in full operation.

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It’s got to stop, and the government’s got to stop it. If Facebook is a publisher who can silence Jones and the rest, then we ought to be able to sue Facebook for every slanderous comment that appears on the site.

 

If they are not a publisher, but a platform, then they must let every voice be heard.

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