Almost two weeks on from the storming of the US Capitol it’s becoming plainer that the most substantive changes to our political and public spheres are brewing not in Congress but on the internet.
First, let’s be clear: Twitter had to act against Trump. By deleting his account, it shut down a large part of his ability to provoke civil unrest. Trump has not been unfairly ‘censored’ and free speech does not give someone the right to stoke violence and insurrection: either in principle or in law.
The wider ethical and even philosophical ramifications of gagging the leader of the free world are a different story. Angela Merkel called the ban ‘problematic’ and even Twitter’s CEO acknowledged the problems inherent in a handful of tech bosses having the ability to decide who does and does not have a voice on the internet. They’re not wrong.
But I want to discuss the narrower, practical ramifications.
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