Episode 238 – They’ve Asked for It!

 

 

Hunter Biden Update

OK, we are a day from my last report on Hunter Biden’s laptop. Here’s what we know:

  • The laptop is real. The FBI has it.
  • Hunter Biden, himself, did drop off the laptop. His signature on the receipt has been confirmed.
  • An attorney for Hunter Biden asked to get the laptop back from the laptop repair store.
  • The laptop is being reviewed by a pedophile investigator at the FBI.
  • The DNI John Ratcliff released the information that there was no Russian disinformation because of the media, not because they thought there was Russian disinformation.

 

More to come. This story is big.

 

Social Media Censorship

Twitter and Facebook are in some trouble.

Last week, when the New York Post released their article about Hunter Biden’s laptop, Twitter decided to block the article. Then, as the link started to be passed around, either through Tweet or DM, Twitter made sure that the link was inaccessible. but, the Tweet still was making its rounds. Finally, Twitter went out and started suspending accounts. That included Trump’s Campaign account and the account of Kaylee McKineyne.

Needless to say, this has blown up on Twitter from the right wing Tweeters and from Republicans in Congress and the President.

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, said, once again, it was a mistake. In a Tweet conversation between Jack Dorsey and Vijaya Gadde

Couple problems here:

  • They allowed the links from Trump’s tax records to be accessible, even though Trump said they weren’t real.
  • Trump’s tax records were illegally disseminated. Which is worse than hacking, which might have been done.
  • Hunter Biden’s E-mails weren’t hacked. It is real. We have a signed receipt from Hunter. No one has denied the E-mails are real, including the Biden campaign.
  • With all this being said, the New York Post’s Twitter account is still suspended.
  • You still cannot post the link. They’re lying. This is censorship.

 

I do, also, want to point out that all the mistakes Twitter makes, and everyone makes mistakes, go in one direction. It’s always the Right that gets censored. It does not look like censorship and Jack Dorsey is lying.

So President Trump said he wants a review of U.S. Code 47, section 230. The Senate agrees. First thing we should do is look at Section 230 and see what it actually says.

This is from eff.org and there is a link to the entire law. I am going to quote the first couple of paragraphs of the article:

Tucked inside the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 is one of the most valuable tools for protecting freedom of expression and innovation on the Internet: Section 230.

This comes somewhat as a surprise, since the original purpose of the legislation was to restrict free speech on the Internet. The Internet community as a whole objected strongly to the Communications Decency Act, and with EFF’s help, the anti-free speech provisions were struck down by the Supreme Court. But thankfully, CDA 230 remains and in the years since has far outshone the rest of the law.

Section 230 says that “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider” (47 U.S.C. § 230).

So what they are trying to define is a platform versus a publisher. A publisher is when there is a company sponsored individual provides content, he and the company is responsible for that content. They are subject to slander laws.

A platform is not controlled by the company. Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, YouTube and any comments sections on the Internet are considered platforms. They are not subject to any slander laws.

So let me get you an example. If you are writer for the New York Times and you call me an asshole, you are subject to slander laws and I can sue you. That’s because you work for a publisher that is edited by other agents of that company. You have to be able to prove I’m an asshole. This is why Nick Sandman won a crap load of money by suing CNN and MSNBC. That’s because these companies are publishers.

If you are on Twitter and you call me an asshole, I have no case. Even if you have no proof. That’s because a platform allows for free discussion. Free speech. You can say anything about me outside of killing me. I have to deal with it or make an argument. I have no problem with this. If I don’t like it, I get off the platform. That simple.

The problem is these platforms are acting like publishers. They, especially Twitter, are picking and choosing who can say what. Then the suspend, block or warn accounts that post something that go against the terms of use. The problem with their terms of use is that they are vague. I could post a picture of a puppy and that could be construed as “violent content” according to their terms of use.

This might not be a big problem but the banning of certain things is always one-sided. It is all conservative groups. You dead-name a traitor, you’re suspended. You post an article on how an abortion is performed, you’re suspended. You are a doctor that says that masks and closing the economy, you’re suspended. The President of the United States has been suspended because he posted something about children going back to school.

The Senate, the Department of Justice and the President have had enough.

Though wavering right now, Congress has decided to vote on whether of not to subpoena the CEOs of Twitter and Facebook, Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg respectively, to answer questions about their bias towards conservatives. I don’t blame them from wavering on issuing subpoenas because our Senate knows nothing about technology and they usually look stupid. Outside Ted Cruz and Ben Sasse, everyone sounds stupid and nothing gets accomplished.

What’s really funny? Twitter doubled the viewership of that article by creating this controversy.

In the biggest news, and I need to read a bit more about this, the DOJ has decided to start an investigation of Google for monopoly practices. This is huge and Google is going to have a real problem dealing with this. Google deals with the search engine, YouTube and Android operating system on most of our phones. They have been in bed with China. They have fired people for having right wing views on hiring and Title IX.

They might be in some trouble much like Microsoft was in the 90’s.

What I Think

I am a Libertarian. I do not like the federal government making business decisions for private companies and forcing them to break up. I did not believe this in the 90’s when they did it to Microsoft. I thought Microsoft created a great product that everyone wanted and that did not result in a monopoly. It resulted in other companies trying to create a better product. It turned out the break up did not hurt Microsoft once because Bill Gates is really smart.

But Google, which my life is completely immersed in, is stepping over the line. Now, how do I love Google?

  • I search everything with Google.
  • I have a premium YouTube account.
  • This podcast is published on YouTube.
  • I have an Android phone and love it.
  • I subscribe to YouTube TV instead of cable.
  • I have a Google Chromecast.
  • I have a Google Nest.

 

Yeah, I’m a Google fan. I’m going to keep being a Google fan. That does not mean I can’t change or thing what they are doing is a good thing. They hate my philosophy so much, maybe they should be investigated.

As far as Twitter and Facebook, they are publishers. I have to worry about every Tweet I send and that’s not because I’m sending a pic of my taint. I think Section 230 needs to exclude Twitter and Facebook. They are no different than the New York Times or the Washington Post. Which, by the way, is no different from the New York Post except they tend to be conservative.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/twitter-refuses-to-unlock-new-york-post-account-until-outlet-deletes-hunter-biden-coverage-tweets
https://www.dailywire.com/news/twitter-censors-white-house-health-expert-for-questioning-widespread-mask-wearing
https://www.dailywire.com/news/twitter-reverses-course-following-widespread-outrage-over-censorship-senators-announcing-subpoenas
https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-panel-will-not-vote-to-subpoena-twitter-facebook-ceos-over-bias-after-republicans-object
https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230

 

Biden Would Be a Disaster

The Biden tax plan. This is going to be a mess.

Top Rates in Each State Under Joe Biden’s Tax Plan