Trump Social Media Ban: Do Big Tech Companies Have Too Much Power?
“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”― George Washington
“Freedom of speech does not protect you from the consequences of saying stupid shit”― Jim C. Hines
Just a few years ago, it would have been unimaginable to envisage a situation where the President of the United States of America is banned from communicating via social media by Big Tech companies founded by Americans. However, the world of Donald Trump is a spontaneous one and he has been banned/suspended from using Facebook and Twitter for the remainder of his time in office while Google has also pulled down his videos for violating their policies.
Firstly, do the Big Tech companies have too much power? Should that be a concern to you and why should you care? In the Netflix Television documentary series The Social Dilemma film director Jeff Orlowski highlighted the power, influence and capitalistic advantage of Big Tech companies and called for its regulation. In 2019, Facebook was fined over $6billion for privacy violation by US federal regulators. From controlling narratives, violating privacy rules, and determining the outcome of elections, Big Tech companies have proven to be powerful and maybe too powerful for comfort.
During the #EndSARS protest against police brutality in Nigeria, Facebook and Instagram prevented posts with the #EndSARS hashtag and in a few cases tagged such videos and pictures as ‘fake’ when in reality those contents were true and in no way violated the user policy guide of Facebook. This attempt to gag freedom of expression was well documented by Uwagbale Edward.
Secondly, the monopoly exercised by Big Tech has made them the de facto decider of what is ‘good’ or ‘evil’. Preventing any individual, not least a sitting US President from using social media platforms completely is an abuse of power and should worry anyone in the technology industries. Everyone is aware of Trump’s excesses, in most instant removing his tweet or adding a disclaimer under his claims has been effective, but his outright suspension sets a dangerous precedent for decades to come. As a private citizen it is worrisome that a private company can decide to gag my freedom of expression, this medium post is at the mercy of the company and my ability to tweet/post on social media is at the mercy of Big Tech companies.
At what point do we realize that Big Tech needs to be regulated? The result I get from a simple Google search is determined by algorithms by Google, consequently, their algorithms and inner workings have the potential to control the public narrative; Google will only lead us to websites that fit certain criteria, and Twitter will only show us the tweets it deems most relevant. How do you define ‘relevant’?.
In conclusion, the suspension of Donald Trump from using social platforms by Big Tech companies is a defining moment in the history of modern technology as it relates to freedom of expression. For many African countries with leaders looking for reasons to deny citizens their basic rights, this is a yardstick for them, a template for stifling opposition and perceived enemies. The benefits of Big Tech cannot be over emphasized, but the power it wields should be regulated to save it from self destruction.
