This website was built to provide a platform for free speech as other social media sites are censoring speech that they do not agree with.
Most of us have a love-hate relationship with social media. It is a wonderful tool for communication but it does have its drawbacks. Recently, we have become aware that the companies that own these websites have been gathering our personal information and using it in ways that we do not necessarily approve of and censoring political speech that they do not agree with.
When we began to use these websites we were under the impression that they were mere platforms and that as public spaces for communication we would be able to communicate freely, within the boundaries of the laws that govern free speech in the public square of course. As Americans, we have an expectation of being able to exercise our constitutional rights, such as freedom of speech, in the public square.
Now, we are finding out our speech is increasingly being censored to prevent opinions that do not align with the personal opinions of the leadership of these companies. Some of this is done overtly where a user is being deplatformed (removed from the website), demonetized (not allowed make money), while some is done covertly through shadowbanning (posts are hidden from some or all users), etc.
What is particularly concerning is that these companies control a significant percentage of public communication and they have made it clear that they intend to increasingly prohibit speech that does not align with their personal political views.
Even if the government is beginning to consider the need to reign in these encroachments on speech it will take time and we have a number of significant elections coming up that are likely to be impacted by these capricious personal political maneuvers.
These websites are either mere platforms or they are publishers with editorial rights. So far, they have been attempting to benefit from the laws that protect platforms while exercising the editorial rights of publishers without being held accountable under the law as publishers.
Now that they have amassed power they are attempting to take advantage of it for their own political purposes.
Our system of government in the United States requires that our citizens be able to exercise free speech in the public square. You cannot have a free society without free speech. This website is a mere platform. You are entirely responsible for what you post here.
As long as you are not saying anything illegal and/or dangerous you are welcome to post here.
With kind regards,
Katherine
