Following tremendous backlash against Facebook and Twitter for blatant election interference, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai releases the following statement:
Several U.S. Senators have requested that Facebook and Twitter executives appear for emergency hearings to discuss their recent decisions to block information adverse to candidate Joe Biden. Big Tech is “all-in” to interfere in the 2020 election.
The Rubicon has been crossed, where this ends is not quite known.
These are illegal campaign finance donations to the Biden campaign.
Yeppers!!!
Facebook and Twitter think they are the new Ministry of Truth.
Will Congress actually act or will this be used as a huge extortion scheme to pad their pockets? How many children of congress people will end up on the board of directors of these companies?
The Trumplicans in Congress will pursue this with vigor; good for their re-election.
Bad for the D’s.
Watch it all play out.
LINDSEY NEEDS CASH.
He has been begging harder than a Pelosi constituent.
Facebook and Twitter “think” their in the Big Club
???
Too Big To Prosecute
“will end up?”….how about, already are on the board of directors?
Their first amendment right supercede those of their users. They believe they have the right to suspend any information on the basis that they don’t like it. Which is their right. What they are missing is that by contravening the rights of their users, they have violated their first amendment rights.
If they did not want to be medium for a free exchange of first amendment statements, they should close down their sites and do something else. No one is making them provide this free exchange medium.Time to penalize them for violating the first amendment rights of their users.
The corporate media complex has been illegally campaigning for Democrats for years. What else is new? It’s been going on for decades; but it’s just been getting more obvious lately now that social media has gotten into the game.“I’m Jack Dorsey and I deleted this message.
“These are illegal campaign finance donations to the Biden campaign.”
Yes, for starters.
He needs a diet pepsi!
Biden’s Bodyguards
https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1316808374164451328
as Dana Perino stated, I think both of these platforms have signed their own death sentences. I hope that is true
Dana Perino lives in fantasy land. A lot of noise and posturing from Congress for a short while and nothing will be done about these platforms. I’m simply amazed that people still believe that anybody in govt. can be trusted to actually do their job and clean up situations that encroach on our freedom of speech and other liberties.
Another masterpiece!
It’s a nice idea, but rule making takes time. I do not know precise timeline for rule-making for the FCC, but it has to be voted on, and then a period for public comment has to take place before a rule is in effect. And then legal challenges can hold up its implementation. I’m sorry to be the Eeyore here, but this will not likely have an effect on this election cycle, and will be completely undone if Biden is elected. There have been many FCC rulings that never were implemented because of this.
The best we can hope for is that Twitter/Facebook/et al take this as a shot across the bough and they behave in an attempt to mollify the FCC and angry GOP. But that is unlikely in my view. Everyone is playing for keeps now. Twitter/Facebook/et al masks have dropped, and their only choice now is to win the election for Biden.
Okay, I get your point.
In your last paragraph:”‘The best we can hope for is that Twitter/Facebook/et al take this as a shot across the bough and they behave in an attempt to mollify the FCC and angry GOP. But that is unlikely in my view. ”
If they continue to Ban This and Ban That in support of Trump or exposing Biden; it’s just going to backfire and cause more turbulent times for social media….not happy times.
I can’t help it. In your last paragraph”…bough’? Or, “bow”. “Bough” is on a tree, “bow” is on a ship.
Silly, I know. Maybe its just me. Other than that, okay.
Not to nitpick But that is part of the comment from uncreativ….it’s in quotation marks for a reason.
🙂
Pai has had to undo all of the corruption his predecessor, Mignon Clyburn created in the FCC. Lovely daughter of James Clyburn.
He named his daughter after a steak? Any relation to Porterhouse in Caddy Shack?
Heh, heh, that tickled my funny bone. However Mignon is a french name for girls, although not very common any more.
Should not be Mignon (Masculin) but Mignonne (Feminin) for a girl.
Congress created Section 230 of the Communications Act so why can’t they update it. Tech monopolies have been a problem for some time now but Congress just gives lip service. I suspect that’s because these monopolies are huge campaign contributors.
Only with pressure from President Trump, who is not beholden to the tech monopolies, can get this fixed.
President Donald Trump GETS THINGS DONE.
“why can’t they update it.”
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is why.
uncreativ, you are right, in that in the short run not much will change with the corrupt techies…
However the larger view, as implied by SD, is that things are now out in the open and regardless of how long it takes things are going to change in very drastic ways that scum at twits & face etc., are not going to like…
Our hero Andrew Brietbart said it best… (Caution as to language)
This is awesome. Trumpers and Treepers need to let everyone know they better get with the program or get eaten by the MAGADon.
Yes rule making takes time — time consumers can use to express their unhappiness with Big tech. I’ve blocked any number of people on FB and can go back to old school. Could drop the account. Twitter users can shift to Parler (sp?). Like other things we can pressure advertisers – I know this doesn’t kill billionaires but if that’s the only way to have a voice then we must use it. So much of this election and PT’s administration has been to show we the people that we can’t act like we did in the 80’s – we have to hold them accountable and we have to bitch. It’s not up to them to “want” to change (NOBODY wants to) We have to make it necessary for DC to change or we will change them. When rule making comes we must participate, and communicate to elected that we have and expect them to represent us.
I think “a shot across the bough” would be against the conservativetreehouse.
( °pendantry° alert )
please excuse the extra n. A Tim Worstall tradition.
I passed by a duck pond, at night. All the ducks were quacking – it’s what they do. I doubt the question of content is relevant. They quack because they are. But good luck getting them to stop.
Giving a voice to the collective, within the collective, seems largely the point of these web sites. People on Facebook post what they had for lunch, and that right is important, to them. This may be the ersatz substitute for true democracy that the elite have been seeking. If anti-trust action breaks them up, you prick the balloon.
There is no new rule to be voted upon or for the public to comment upon. I think he means he will make a “ruling” … a judgement … on how to interpret Section 230. Maybe this will be instant?
“It’s a nice idea, but rule making takes time.”
Perhaps. But I imagine that if the Obama administration had become piqued about something like this, they would have taken care of it toot sweet. This is not to criticize our President, who is fighting against many obstacles, but to suggest optimism, creativity, and activism.
(Apologies to the francophones here.)
Just shut them down already.
And whilst you are at it, shut down who they are a front operation for:
CIA.
Enough already.
i disagree.
Just open them to liability laws and let “nature” take it’s course.
that appears to be the suggestion.
now back away…take a history observation with pai.. FCC in general
what we see is a threat issued…and then massive donations..some minor recoatings that are indistinguishable from oem…and the music continues.
the questions are
a. will twitter fb play along and who is actually on the receiving end of those donations?
b. will they challenge and this goes to SCOTUS..? important to note s230 DID open up several times in the Barrett confirm hearing!! AND her record in this area isn’t strong…she does have a majority record ruling in favor of large institutions..
c. anti trust ..even a successful breakup does not always lead to more competitors with alternate services and venues ..more often… different players with virtually the same exact set of private onerous anti consumer practices..
i believe the most immediate realistic strategy is simply to bomb these SM private companies with an overwhelming number of complaints against precisely the kind of content the corruptors are spewing…make the issue about exactly what they are selectively doing…
then build THOSE EXPECTED UNANSWERED AND IGNORED complaints as solid ground so that 230 revisits have ammo.. and anti trust arguments can be focused based on tge harm…its really a way to
establish
standing!!
Big tech will spread some wealth to the usual suspects and that will be that
I disagree. Not this time.
Remember President Donald J. Trump is in charge of the Republicans.
An election in 3 weeks happens. Trumplicans on board will use this for all it’s worth and hold the Senate (maybe gain a seat or two) and gain control of the House.
Nancy doesn’t look too good right now. D’s are making many errors in judgment.
Hope you’re right. But I’ve watched these same morons pretend to fight before. Cruz I’ll support along with a few others. Many of them just pretend
I think PIGLOSI is hiding out in Joe’s basement after her meltdown on CNN and consuming many bottles of booze a day.
Agree nope not this time, they have already aligned themselves with anti American sentiment,
“President Donald J. Trump is in charge of the Republicans”
Someone please pass that message to the RINO’s.
I don’t think they rec’d the last memo. Or the one before that.
Or the one before that.
/s
Zuckerberg and Dorsey hate free speech every bit as much as Hitler and Stalin did.
That may be but now they have been called out by PDJT and the Trump Administration and Congress; Sunshine all around.
So who is going to be the Ultimate ruler of all these men who like to play God? Gates? Zuckerberg? Dorsey? Bezos? Page? Brin? Will they fight it out or take turns?
Offcourse;
They hate relevant speech, meaningful speech. If you want to post about your new shoes, or the great movie you just saw, you advance the cause of consumerism: that they welcome.
A new social model is surely evolving. A narrow freedom to consume. It will satisfy most, until the goods to consume run out.
I am no lawyer but in my mind if Twitter or Facebook or any social media censures users then they are negating the free speech rights of every user. How is THAT legal and allowed in this country.
Cuz only the government is banned from censoring free speech in the constitution – you get that I’m sure – and bless the little radicals when you suggest to them that they are censoring speech they spout that really quick – also cry real quick when you censor them – you are a fascist but they aren’t – they are very confused about what Fair and equal is. Bless their little hearts.
When you sign up for said venues you agree to their terms and conditions, but when said venues violate their own terms and conditions via censorship we need to have the legal right to sue them for damages and violating a contractual agreement. Right now they’re protected and they know it, treat them like any other business selling a product and give their users legal rights.
Greeneghis:
Arguing that censorship denies my right to hear what others have to say..that seems profound. I wonder if that has ever been argued out in court.
private conpany.
but they are regulated.
the issue.. one that needs a revisit…
are you
a tech company?
a publisher?
receiver of any public funding?
generally speaking… GOVT cannot inhibit free speech or censor (as a constitutional matter)
twit and bookface are privately held companies…these restrictions do not apply… generally speaking.
but see above questions..
there is definitely a credible argument that xan be made across several lines of legal reasoning that these particular companies given their scale.. content driven virtually exclusive by real people who ARE NOT employees or federal officials… AND the obvious practice of partisan sekection bias in the censorship behavior…
that there is space for invitation to legal challenge.
but listen up folks ..be very careful what you ask for.. and more wary of how this will actually play out
definitely an issue that could go horribly wrong.
just ask asange to understand the subjective manipulative methods for deciding journalism and publisher versus crook and villain
similarly..we must be on guard this issue doesn’t create some “test” about whar makes acceptable political speech..what or who can qualify to be protected…
I would urge…slow it down…its too important to ger wrong ..
we can do other things thar give FCC ammo for some short term options.
main thing? make sure complaints are officially filed recorded and your state reps know about it.
If the 230 is removed and FB and Twitter are found to Publishers, that will be the end of FB and Twitter as we know them. That will have a ripple effect across the country as FB and Twitter are used for commerce.
Plenty of opportunity for other platforms now and the barrier to competition for new ones is removed. Burn them down!!
Removing that protection will make it a barrier to entry for others.
Better that the shareholders sue management because their actions have hurt profits.
I know what you mean.
I don’t think others here do
for the sake of plsying it safe.. please expand a little bit on what you are thinking.
I believe its something folks here and eksewhere need to consider.
floor is yours …please continue
Good. They have now made themselves into publishers. Let the law suits commence
It’s an opportunity for them to evolve, grow as companies /S
Shut Twitter and Facebook down completely.
Don’t forget about google, do what was done to the phone company years ago, break them up….
We no longer have a free press, we have an extremely biased press that spreads propaganda. I think it’s time to develop tools to enforce press neutrality. By that I mean, outside of Opinion pieces clearly labeled as such, no language / sentiments that favor a particular point of view.
“The CGC has said that the FCC has the legal authourity to interpret Section 230.”
Interpret?
Why does a law have to be interpreted, why can’t it just be followed?
The BS has said that this anus masquerading as law must be looked into further, it looks dark in here.
We’ll get back to you if we get out alive.
Welcome to the unelected fourth branch of government, that has long been delegated law-making by Congress (unconstitutionally).
Cause THATS “how it works”;
Legislature WRITES the Laws, but EXECUTIVE enforces the laws, and so needs to precisely identify/describe exactly WHAT is/is not, a violation.
WHEN is “Jaywalking”, as opposed to an “unmarked cross walk” ,…that’s what the “executive” administration of laws entails .
Since they are going to enforce the law, they have to define what is and isn’t a violation.
Seem like the invitation for strike down section 230
https://twitter.com/FDRLST/status/1316772424864727041/photo/1
Time for some TR trustbusting. These nerds have been in charge too long. Time for Dorsey and Zuckerberg to feel some real heat.
If the US could break up AT&T back in the 70’s, there’s no reason why these offal can’t be as well.
Remember how, after the breakup, telecommunications exploded into a large number of new phone co’s; the same would follow here, I suspect.
REAL HEAT!
If we had a news media, a regular garden-variety one, Biden would have been obliged to end his campaign this afternoon.
I thought Trump signed an Executive Order supposedly preventing online censorship. What happened to that?
It was censored.
Go fast. The time is NOW. Don’t be like DOJ and kick the can until after the election.
The new Rulemaking interpretations by the Commissioner should be quite interesting. Hope the new rules open up Big Tech for punishing lawsuits. As a rule, I never wish to enrich lawyers, but in this instance, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Oooh, another strongly worded letter, and another day that nothing gets done. SMH.
So, DO SOMETHING!
They have censored ALL YEAR LONG on lockdowns, muzzling, cures, all good things TRUMP, etc. They have pushed anti-TRUMP lies about TRUMP, Antifa, BLM, systematic racism b.s., defund cops, rioting and mail in ballots.
What the h311 is it going to take?
AND, WTH is the Federal Election Commission doing? I swear it appears like a bunch high schoolers have taken over running this country.
So get the lawyers to start suing the hell out of them starting tonight! Thomas just told to them to do the Marvin Gaye…lets get it on
“We” need to work hard to reelect President Trump and reestablish the rule of law. Need a lot of out reach to do some basic teaching on US history and more.
The Repubicans had 4 years to fix this mess but they did nothing.
Dr. Robert Epstein and others have warned us about the powers of the Tech Masters of the Universe to sway voters and opinion. Team Trump supposedly had tech geniuses like Brad Parscale who apparently did nothing to protect our President.
This was NOT a secret by any means, yet here we are at the 11th hour with scumbags like the Bidens and the DemonRats getting away with blatant election interference and censorship.
Another massive FAIL on the part of the people who are supposed to be on OUR SIDE.
If it wasn’t for our President Trump, the Deplorables and a few others, the US of A would be over.
God help us all and I mean that sincerely.
They had two years. Blame Paul Ryan. PDJT could have achieved so much were it not for Ryan deliberately using a Republican House to stymie a Republican President.
Mind you, everything Ryan did was done to try to ensure that President Trump either failed to serve out a full term, or was a one-term President. He has failed on the first aim, and payback is going to a be a bitch if he fails in the second.
No prisoners.
Ryan is four-letter word, he’s a traitor to the GOP and his Country. He’s scum.
Scum and Ryan are both 4-letter words and whaddya know! They are completely interchangeable.
Let me get this straight:
1. The legacy corporate DNC activist media and social media push 90x% minimum negative stories about President Trump, Conservatives & Republicans.
2. Conversely, block truthful stories/facts regarding Democrat Party corruption.
3. There is no differentiation between them and the DNC. Non-Democrats don’t work in these places.
4. By definition they are interfering in elections by lying with negative stories & hiding/blocking truthful information from the public, while masquerading as something other than an arm of the DNC.
5. There has to be numerous US Code/law violations, in multiple Government Agencies.
6. How do you maintain a business license as something you are clearly not?
Please show me how I’m wrong.
My twitter says Twitter is over capacity, I cant tweet retweet or get notifications. Someone is in a censoring frenzy I think LOL!
I’m getting the “Oops, something went wrong” message. Not that I go on there much but I am following a majority of conservatives, including Sundance.
“Tweets aren’t loading right now. Try again later”
The twitter over capacity message was caused by about 5 Q posts which linked to twitter posts. So many Q enthusiasts around the world were trying to access the links to twitter, it overwhelmed twitter’s capacity.
Chabad Lubavitch Jews are running the USA. Do your homework, Treepers.
I hope you forgot your /s tag
You should be banned for that unfounded, hideous anti – Semitic remark. You are posting a bald faced lie.
Twitter just went down completely for my account (not suspended) & it looks like for lots of other accounts. It’s still working when viewed from a web browser without logging in. This is the first time it happened. Nice timing of course.
same here. tweetdeck app for macbook, twitter app for iphone and twitter.com website….all 3 are down
Surely they know that if they p!ssoff the wrong people the autists at 4chan could take turns hacKing their twittleydiddley website from here to eternity. Of course at this point the twitmasters may prefer that everything go dark for a while?
Now Twitter is down I bet it has to do with them CYOAing after all this stuff. Oh I wonder what could have scared them into downing their service…
Twitter proactively shuts down to save itself. You really can’t make this stuff up.
Gotta scrub all the tweets which show unverified slander at POTUS
HAL: what are you doing, Jack?
Surely we can do more than endless … endless [ENDLESS!!!!!] inquiries and strongly-worded letters. This is why half of Europe turned to fascism in the 1930s. Because Congress is the opposite of progress.
No twitter… just a splash page stating the mobile app is waaaay better and I should downthat that
Nah ….
Where are the hackers when you need them most
Where is Delta Force when we need them most?
This is smash mouth politics. We need smash mouth consequences.
Or, to paraphrase Von Clausewitz, we desperately need some SERIOUS politics by *other* means.
Emergency arrests would be better.
It’s easy; just tell them that they are simply bulletin boards, not responsible for what’s posted on their boards, and just shut up about what people post.
Dorsey and Zuck are behaving like they do not want anyone to see THEM in that hard drive…..
Not that I think Public television and radio is worth anything but the reasons that they exist support a needed change. Let’s start with a 5 minute time slot on ABC, CBS, and NBC during their “news broadcasts” for startup media to broadcast whatever they want and promote their channel. It would be at the very beginning or very end and the MSM has no control over content. If they don’t like it, they can cancel their broadcast.
Oh-oh… did Twitter shut itself down?
https://downdetector.com/status/twitter/
President Trump should move his personal account to Gab. Millions will follow.
LOLZ I can get into my Twitter account but I can’t post anything anymore. Zero indication of what I did. Beyond being a PITA to liberal socialists everywhere.. Only recently created it for the purposes of being that PITA so.. not a lot lost but still managed to wake a few people up. So not all a loss.
My Twitter is down also for over an hour. My last two posts were about criminal Biden.
I stand corrected. We broke it.. Or someone did. Notifications coming back online now.. at least for me..
strike that. reverse it.. it was.. and now it’s not. I think we broke twitter yo..
I seem to be back up but have not tried to post yet. They probably did a Biden search and the main computer overloaded and blew a breaker.
Some people, Dan Bongino as an example, are saying that removing the sec. 230 protection for the Tech Tyrants will do more harm than good. The concern is that it will expose smaller competitors like Rumble and Parler to ruinously expensive lawsuits that the tech titans can easily afford to litigate while bankrupting their competition. The alternative is to apply Federal Election Commission regulations regarding in kind contributions to these Tech Totalitarians and levy massive fines for violations.
Twitter and Facebook lobbyist will write the legislation. What could go wrong?
And I agree. It’s much better that the shareholders (same applies to “woke” companies losing money now) sue the crap out of the management for failing.
A public corporation’s goal is to provide profit to the owners. When it substitutes any other purpose for that, the shareholders can and should replace the management.
Bongino is correct.
Just because Parler (for example, since I have suggested them as a Twit alternative) doesn’t censor political speech does not guarantee that Lawfare will help launch dozens of lawsuits against Parler citing various “damages” to plaintiffs because of what Parler DID allow to be posted.
After all which party is the party of lawyers? (Hint – not Republicans)
Removing 230 altogether is a double edged sword.
OTOH, by using the in-kind campaign contribution angle, that will present Lawfare with a target-rich list of opportunities since every post made in favor of or against a candidate could be construed as a campaign contribution to the candidate who is positively impacted by the post.
Just some thoughts to consider….
Remove the section 230 protection for the tech marxists, since they are censoring content. Treat them as publishers.
Leave the section 230 protections in place for Parler, Gab, etc. since they do not censor content.
Am I oversimplifying this?
Golly I hope that stern letters wont be issued. Maybe they’ll cry. Oh- the Repubs will really be mean: “I am outraged !” “This is unprecedented!” And everybody’s favorite: “We intend to get to the bottom of this!” “Psst..your still mailing the checks right?”
I’d like to see examples, Chmn Pai, where broadcasters and newspapers have been denied Section 230 immunity. Other than libel, what aren’t they getting away with?
“Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.”
Raise your hand if you know what I’m talking about.
If you sign up and participate? You submit to the “big tech”.
Fire them do to disgust. Do a startup or find competitive alternatives.
Big government involvement breeds more and different SEVERE problems…think long term.
Fire them. Ban them. Replace them.
Or? Shut up.
This thing. This idea…America? Is worth you expanding your/our creativity and replacing your/our apathy.
RINOS are not our friends.
Treehouse? Best political site on the web.
????????
1. Twitter outage is equivalent of chickens coming home to roost, the equivalent of a mob-style Antifan beatdown except it’s deserved. More please.
2. FCC can rule make as Ajit Pai would like. ATF does it all the time, as do other agencies absent statute.
Back in 2016 when the Republicans had both houses they could have fixed this. Instead they let them run with the Russian conspiracies and coup efforts.
Anyone else believe that was completely intentional?
The time is NOW to send a clear and present message to these liberal communist socialist platforms that the people have a right to choose the content they listen to and watch – NOT those with an alternate agenda that is both discriminatory and biased. EVERY one of these platforms, (Twitter, Facebook, youtube, etc.) MUST have their S230 protection stripped from them so that they CAN and WILL BE sued by all those whom they have stripped of the Constitutional Rights to express their views without being censored. STRIP them and then fine them to the maximum extent of the law – if they choose to censor people then ship the lot of them off to a communist country of their choosing and good riddance them, their platform and their communist socialst agenda. These are NOT Americans
Big Tech is just one tentacle of a huge beast. They were created and shepherded by unseen hands to do what they are doing. Look at intetnational banking and intelligence agencies for clues about the driving forces.