Google has complained that Australia’s rules go further than Europe’s, because they would apply even to links and snippets of articles, which it says limits internet users’ free speech.
I consider myself strongly libertarian but the hypocrisy of the tech oligarchs is stunning. They claim they are protecting “free speech” but in fact are highly abusive of their near monopolistic power over social media, to hinder free speech of those they don’t like. If Nov. 2020 didn’t prove that, nothing will.
Libertarians are against monopolistic concentrations of power, particularly economic power, especially that which is protected by political power(ie. fascism) - which is clearly the case with Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc…. A libertarian should advocate breaking-up their monopoly and stranglehold over internet speech.
I’m all for that. But I don’t agree with accomplishing it by allowing foreign countries to force American companies to do business there at a loss. This cure is worse than the disease. Use anti-trust laws to go after big tech.
“A libertarian should advocate breaking-up their monopoly and stranglehold over internet speech.”
The way I was taught by a Libertarian, decades ago, but his head still looks pointy today, was that the FREE MARKET will solve all problems...so if there is no power here in Texas with people freezing, or airplanes falling out of the sky because pilots weren’t told about a new system, or Pintos exploding from small, rear-end collisions - same answer:
If enough people die, industry will ‘fix’ the problem.
Unfortunately PEOPLE VOTE, and if they don’t like airplanes falling out of the sky, for example, and if a certain political party is going to allow this type of ‘natural selection’, based on death-count, they’ll be voted out.
Same here...our pointy heads in the Senate basically said “If you don’t like Facebook, Twitter, and Google, then start your own company”.
Well, we have Biden/Harris now, due to that ‘idealism’. And as I always say, we have to fight by THEIR RULES, and if it means compromising our ideals, so be it.