Good point, but:
A Power Company is a private company should they turn off my power because of my free speech? I uses their service to power my computers.
Can AT&T turn off my phones because of my free speech?
Maybe we need to drop Facebook! Thinking about starting my own family website to communicate events and etc.
I just quit LinkedIn, an easy one to drop.
Very happy Free Republic has it’s own forum.
“Can AT&T turn off my phones because of my free speech”
I think the obligation to provide service should depend not on whether the company is providing an essential public service, but rather should depend on whether it is benifiting from government enforced monopoly.
A privately owned bakery should be able to refuse to bake a same sex wedding cake if they wish (or refuse service to anyone for any reason). This is only fair - if buyers can decide when, whether and from whom to purchase, then why shouldn’t sellers be able to decide when, whether and to whom to sell?
Similarly, a telephone service should be abie to refuse service to anyone for any reason assuming it is truly private. However, I would argue that AT&T is not truly private - to the extent that utilities are regulated, and access to the market is granted by government in exchange for regulatory compliance, licence restrictions and fee structures, a compliant utility is essentially benifiting from government enforced monopoly and protected from compitition from competitors who can’t comply.
This is why they should not be allowed to withhold services, NOT because the services are deem “essential public services”.
In a free enterprise economy, free of government subsidies and regulatory interference, all transactions should be between willing participants - either party should be entirely free to enter into the transaction, or not, regardless of the nature of the service or product being exchanged. Pastries, telephone services, medicine, electricity - it makes no difference - both parties should be free to make the exchange or refuse to make the exchange, for any reason.
Only in a government regulated industry should the government have any grounds for forcing utilities to provide service.
But that begs the question “Should any industries be regulated?”
I say no, but I’m not a fan of government.
Check out https://mewe.com
The CEO sounds like a patriot. Doesn’t like the way facistbook is doing things so he started something very similar. Good on privacy, no facial recognition. Nice working system.
Please show how.