Today I want to discuss the delicate nature of America’s First Amendment – sometimes called the “first freedom.”
Recently, Elon Musk sent a shockwave through Big Tech – Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Twitter and a host of other companies – tyrants all, companies too big to fail, leading un-American corporations in a fascist direction. Musk, a different breed of billionaire, committed apparently to the First Amendment bought the largest stake in Twitter. This gives us some hope we might be beginning to see an end in sight to Big Tech tyranny.
But this is NOT the end. It could be the beginning – not the end.
Musk is our great hope – smart, cool, but I hate to gamble the future of an institution as important as the future of America on one man. He was immediately appointed to the board of Twitter.
Twitter’s chief executive, Parag Agrawal, is not even a gamble. By his own admission, he’s not a fan of the First Amendment.
“I’m excited to share that we’re appointing Elon Musk to our board!” he said in tweet. “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board. He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term. Welcome Elon!”
Somewhat disingenuous response, perhaps. He has something up his sleeve.
In a 2018 interview, Agrawal, at 37 the youngest CEO of a Top 500 company, said Twitter should “focus less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed. Where our role is particularly emphasized is who can be heard. And so increasingly our role is moving towards how we recommend content … how we direct people’s attention.”
Wikipedia co-founder and internet theorist Larry Sanger slammed Agrawal’s comments.
“So this is how he feels about free speech. Of course. Another Silicon Valley jerk engaging in doublespeak, using what should be an open public square for manipulation and indoctrination,” Sanger fumed in a tweet.
Why doesn’t Agrawal have any appreciation for the First Amendment? Born in Rajasthan, India, Agrawal studied computer science at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He earned his Ph.D. at Stanford University and joined Twitter in 2011 to work on its advertising tech. Agrawal will get a $1 million salary, $1.5 million “target” bonus, “golden parachute”-style executive severance plan – and $12.5 million in Twitter stock, according to securities filings.
Even many Americans don’t have appreciation for the First Amendment – LIKE DEMOCRATS!
Now, though, many Americans know better. It is increasingly obvious that the American people’s freedoms end where the power of tech tyrants begins.
How do we apply a real fix? Stand up for constitutional principles! We need to explicitly state that tech giants can never engage in de-platforming or censorship over speech that is protected by the First Amendment.
That’s the final test – the constitutional one!
This would bring back the media – somewhat. The game is rigged for now.
It would help WND – a 25-year-old Christian, America-first news site. We’re in trouble now. It could be YEARS before there is an environment that is more conducive to our survival, such as existed before Big Tech took almost total control of the internet.
In the meantime, it’s up to you – and God.
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This article was originally published by the WND News Center.
This post originally appeared on WND News Center.
