In my opinion, we've reached a technological point where we need to rethink specific media services and how we handle them. That is, yes, the various social media companies are private companies. However, their services have become so dominant within our culture that they essentially serve as the public commons, a sort of digital Town Square. This is rather unlike any situation we've had to deal with before. Simply allowing this small set of companies to control 'allowable' discourse has problematic ramifications. Likewise, imposing government control over these corporations to stop them from controlling discourse also has problematic ramifications. There is no easy answer.
Sure, this year it's Alex Jones, a particularly unsympathetic example. That's no surprise , it's not like they would start with somebody everyone loved. at different points in our cultural history [ and potential futures] the speech and speakers that were banned may have been, for example, civil rights advocates or political dissidents. And while I certainly disagree with Jones on certain topics [ I don't know his position on many things], being banned from the public commons sits wrong with me. I might not like you, or what you have to say, but that doesn't mean I think you shouldn't be able to say it. And yes, that includes things that are potentially, or even certainly offensive. Simply pointing out that he can simply go somewhere else and that nobody has to provide a platform is far too simplistic of an answer, ignoring the changes in modern-day communication and culture.
That doesn't mean I have a good Solution on this one. I certainly don't want the government in control. And in my opinion large companies have shown they shouldn't have control either. I feel like this issue is almost bigger than both. Sort of like these companies need to somehow acknowledge that the power they wield in hosting our social networks transcends to some sort of public service. In the past, various technological limitations and competition helped to keep things in line. But it seems to me we've reached a point where we are past that.
