Posted on 03/04/2021 6:41:25 AM PST by Kaslin
Three stories about apolitical businesses and charities, like the many others before them, portend a scary future for using social media platforms to market one's cause or business.
Three stories about apolitical businesses and charities, like the many others before them, portend a scary future for using social media platforms to market one's cause or business.
The second story is even worse. It involves an incredible charity called the Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (ECCAC), whose mission is to provide support for children who have been sexually or physically abused, neglected, or assaulted. What was ECCAC’S social media crime?
Facebook categorizes ECCAC as a “social issue organization,” and Facebook has banned ads for these types of nonprofits since October 27, 2020. So ECCAC was unable to run a digital fundraising membership campaign to end 2020, the most challenging year in their history due to the lockdowns. With Facebook’s ban now ending on March 4, ECCAC also missed out on their early 2021 online fundraising.
Bottom line: A charity that needs donors to fund their efforts to save sexually and physically abused kids from harm is being banned from promoting their work to grow supporters and their community on Facebook. This is actually happening.
I’ve had my own issues with Facebook. They banned my soon-to-be-released business marketing book called “The Undefeated Marketing System — How To Grow Your Business And Build Your Brand Using The Secret Formula That Elects Presidents.”
Let me ask you a question: does that title sound like a book that’s trying to influence an election? Or does it sound like a business marketing book?
Facebook said my title was a violation of their political ad ban and that my ads were trying to influence an election. What election was I trying to influence?
Flabbergasted, I told my team to appeal the decision and explain to the moronic Facebook “hall monitors” that the book has nothing to do with right versus left or any election; it’s about how business leaders should employ a five-step marketing system that is used to elect presidents, including Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or any political candidate at all.
I’ll give you one guess as to how the referees at Facebook responded to my appeal. You got it right, they refused to back down and then banned my business book ad campaign, again, claiming it was a violation of their policy for trying to influence an election.
Still confused? So were Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino of Fox News when they interviewed me on this Facebook ban story:
Since 2018, political advertisements have been subjected to the scrutiny of the social media police. You might think that’s a great idea (everyone hates those crazy political ads!) until you realize that it now extends to certain charities, like ECCAC.
It only took two years for these policies to seep into the nonprofit and corporate marketing world. The tech oligarchs don’t care what your intent is, they will decide what ad, what message or what company triggers their algorithm and thus can determine your fate. Right or wrong — doesn’t matter.
So @amazon announcing that it will no longer sell books with "material we deem inappropriate or offensive" makes me wonder if they'll start with The Bible, The Koran, or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) February 27, 2021
Over the past two years, I’ve laid out my belief that social media is coming upon a big disruption. Whether it happens in the next year or five years, I’m more convinced than ever that it’s coming.
Ultimately, Congress must do something stop this blatant censorship. The law in place right now, called “Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act,” basically gives the social media companies legal immunity over their users’ words and actions.
This has given those social media companies the leverage to police speech. A few Democrat U.S. senators want to address some of these issues with their recent proposal called the Safe Tech Act.
Still, unfortunately, their effort will fall short of holding big tech accountable and might actually give these platforms more power over you and your messages, data, and ad dollars. It’s a scary time.
“Government is Force”
Big Tech is the censoring arm of the government. If they don’t approve of what you want to say, it won’t be heard. You are silenced. Congress has effectively given Big Tech permission to be the arbiters of speech.
Part of me says we need to go back to handwritten correspondence for most communication.
Big Tech does not need government permission to deny publication of content they disagree with. As private companies that is their right.
What the government is doing is an end run around the constitution. Instead of making laws repressing speech, which would be blatantly unconstitutional, the government is leaning on the tech giants to impose restrictions. The giants are happy to comply as it sets them up in a nice government enforced oligopoly.
That is exactly what I was trying to say, in case it wasn’t clear. Congress is allowing Big Tech to effectively limit our speech.
Not my point at all. You still have it bass ackwards
1. Congress does not “allow” speech. Quit being whiny and passive. Are you suggesting that the government should force tech to carry speech it disagrees with?
2. Congress is prohibited from regulating speech and is prohibited from making laws laws that stop tech from carrying or denying speech on their platforms.
But
3. But the government via congressional threats and various regulatory agency machinations is bullying tech into acting as a censor. This is roughly similar, in the process, to how the fed will kiln the oil industry.
4. The battle is with the government coercion not tech.
Go to Amazon. You can buy this book that Jeff Bezos approves of: Mein Kampf by Adolph Hitler
Meanwhile Dr. Seuss is being banned.
Fortunately for them, almost no one really cares...
Life is now very simple:
Bow down!... Obey!... Snitch!...
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