Are you miffed or relieved that the major social media platforms banned former President Donald Trump? I was relieved at first, then slightly miffed about the idea of a private company muzzling a public figure, then I decided that we’re arguing about the wrong thing.
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram are not the free press. Even the free press is not free, not the way you might think.
Every social media platform you use, and most of the media you consume, are owned by private companies. In some cases (this newspaper, for example), the profit motive is not the underlying business model.
Here in small town newspaper land, we stand on principle more often than we stand on profit. Even the large and profitable media outlets value a rapidly shrinking concept of fairness and truth, and a devotion to being the watchdogs of democracy and freedom.
But, social media? Nope.
You might think that Facebook’s product is an ever-evolving and interesting scroll of ideas, amusements, outrages and ads, and that when you like, share and comment on what you see, you’re taking part in a vast social network that’s bringing us closer.
Seeing your wife’s high school friend’s birdwatching photos is enjoyable, and it’s comforting to grow a network of folks who all distrust the same people, but the product is something quite different.
The product is you.
In exchange for the videos of your niece’s adorable twins, the photos and stories from the place you grew up and the heart-stirring memes of inspiring quotations superimposed on breathtaking scenery, you willingly provide loads of personal information about your interests, your age, your health, your family, what you love, what you hate, what you desire and what you disdain.
If that’s OK with you, keep tweeting, posting, sharing, liking and following. But, don’t forget that you are part of the largest information gathering experiment in human history. Vast computer arrays and dazzlingly complex algorithms are processing more information on you than your insurance company, your healthcare provider, your employer, maybe even your family.
Your “right” to privacy? Forget it. You gave that up when you skipped over the fine print disclosures and clicked “accept” so you could go play on social media.
And, it’s all privately owned and lightly regulated. That’s the point about free speech. When Twitter banned its most famous tweeter, it was exercising its right as a private business to control its product.
A local example: when I was a newspaper editor, I sometimes did the same thing. Every few years, I would receive a letter to the editor that was so vile, so mean, so wrong, that I refused to print it. I would always let the writer know (unless it was anonymous) and they would always ask: “What about my freedom of speech?”
In response, I always said: “This has nothing to do with your freedom of speech. This newspaper is a private business, and we have ethical standards, which you’ve violated.”
That’s not quite what happened to Trump. Twitter, Facebook and the other social media giants worry a lot about marketing you as a product. He was interfering with their marketing plans, and their value, so he had to go.
Ray Holley is resigned to a loss of privacy. He can be reached at ra*******@gm***.com.
