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November 18, 2022
It Begins: Democrats Demand The Federal Government Begin Punishing Elon Musk for Twitter's Noncompliance In The Government-Mandated Nationwide Censorship Regime
The Biden Administration has been demanding that social media companies execute their censorship schemes for years. In the lawsuit that Republican AGs and others have filed against the social media monopolies, the claim will be made that compliance with the government is "voluntary." They'll claim they're not being forced to act as deputy censorship enforcement agents of the government, but are doing so of their own free corporate will.
But all of these companies are, in fact, monopolies, and thus exist in a precarious legal state -- presently tolerated, but open to government harassment and persecution any time they do not follow the government's commands.
As proof of that, Democrats are now demanding that the Federal Trade Commission investigate Elon Musk for "undermining Twitter." By which they mean -- they want him investigated for abandoning the censorship scheme they demanded the old regime imposed.
Is this not an admission that the game here is that the government demands you act as their censors, and if you fail to comply, they begin legal (and extralegal) harassments against you?
The instant pretext for FTC investigation concerns the Blue Check status of the Fake Twitter "elite." They're screaming bloody murder that they're being treated like plebes, and will have to pay $8 for blue check status, and that the plebes can play $8 for this same status.
And they're contriving ways to show why stripping them of their coveted blue ticks Threatens Democracy Itself.
Senator Ed Markey went so far as to participate in a hoax in which he colluded with a Washington Post reported so that that Post reporter would pay for blue tick status and then impersonate him (Ed Markey).
And then, having contrived this case of impersonation, Ed Markey screamed about it and demanded the FTC investigate Musk for permitting the impersonation.
But this is all about Twitter's noncompliance in the censorship regime. They had been a key cog in the government/Ruling Class censorship machine; without Twitter, that machine falls apart.
And they are now letting Musk know that -- like Chuck Schumer warned about offending the Deep State -- we have six ways from Sunday of getting back at you.
Since Democrats cannot stop Musk from transforming Twitter into more of a free speech zone, they want to sic the regulators on him to make him behave.
"In recent weeks, Twitter's new Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, has taken alarming steps that have undermined the integrity and safety of the platform, and announced new features despite clear warnings those changes would be abused for fraud, scams, and dangerous impersonation," the lawmakers said in a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan.
Undermined the "safety" of the platform? Is Twitter going to leave cyberspace and start attacking liberals? It's a thought.
Reuters:
There have been concerns that the upheaval would lead to Twitter failing to abide by a May 2022 settlement with the U.S. regulator in which Twitter agreed to improve its privacy practices and place responsibility on people who held certain positions.
The FTC said last week it was "tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern. No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent decrees."
The left has its panties in a twist because Musk has very slightly -- slightly -- relaxed the overly aggressive rules governing speech on Twitter. But the problem is that the left doesn't have a stranglehold on the platform anymore. They can no longer go on a collective tirade to get someone canceled.
Do the very "serious" Trust Fund Brats at National Review have a ***-damn thing to say about this or are they going to keep their corporate-financed mouths shut as usual?
More: "Twitter's moderation system is in tatters!"