When corporations and government are influencing each other, we don't have a separation of corporate and state power. A corporatist system of government is at play, whereby legalized bribery happens through corporate lobbying and campaign donations. As a result, regular citizens don't have the power that the rich do. The rich can effectively control government policy in many areas, while the rest of the citizenry is left with little to no influence. The power elite rule in many if not most ways, not the people.
flickr/Glass Lamp, public domain
When corporate power merges with government power, the censorship of corporations can sometimes be linked or equated with state censorship. The power held by the Silicon Valley tech giants seems to show some connection with governmental power infrastructure. When Google has ties to starting up helping the NSA and CIA with massive surveillance and helping in the development of an AI drone program, it's prudent to look at other megacorporations to see how they are being used or merged with state power structures.
Acting like a private corporation while in bed with the state means you're not separate from state power. A company worth a few million doesn't wield much power compared to one worth billions, as monetary power translates into political power. Yielding political power requires working with the political structures or else they will work with your competitors to help them rise, rather than yourself.
When 3 of the biggest tech giants in the world decide to do something within hours of each other, it's not likely random and "interdependent". When Apple, Google an Facebook removed Alex Jones from their platforms, one must questions whether they just did between themselves, or if there was political pressure coming from somewhere as well. Was one ring of power being used to bend them to the power of a common master?
These private companies weren't doing things in private. They likely marched on the same orders to appease some political power they are connected to. Since they are all hitting hard on the right-leaning conservative type of content and personalities, it would seem that they are left-leaning and influenced by the politicians of the left, i.e. the democrats.
With recent threats of regulation and calling these megacorporations "utilities", some may be appeasing political powers to maintain the status quo to avoid government oversight and keep their billions in check.
In the past US election, the democrats needed a "reason" for why they lost, rather than accept it as possible or likely to have been an honest win. In came political powers to create to blame the whole "fake news" hysteria that they use to discredit alternative and independent media. Then came the Russiagate narrative. They got Facebook to support the mainstream narrative that Russia meddled in the election.
This promoted talk about regulating the social media tech giants "for the good of the nation", as responsibility was imposed upon tech giants to regulate and control the flow of information. Now there is Democrat Chris Murphy who speaks similarly about the "good" of removing Alex Jones for the same reason, that they are resposnbile for the "lies" ("fake news") on their platform:
I know Facebook and Apple and YouTube have gotten so big they sometimes seem like the government.But they aren’t.
They are private companies that shouldn’t knowingly spread lies and hate. They took a good first step today by removing Infowars. (Source)
The democrats weren't happy about losing the election, and blamed the social media content. That's the problem they found. Then that illicit a reaction. Their solution seemed to be either for tech giants to regulate and control the information on their platforms, or the government would do it for them. Seems to fit the problem-reaction-solution dialectic.
When democrats like Senator Mark Warner create memos to threaten social media with regulation if they don't censor undesirable information, it seems to fit. Tech companies have cooperated with the govenrmantal and political structure before, and they will do it again, either willingly or compelled to.
Political powers have reverse the direction of influence this time around. Rather than corporations lobbying and donating to gain power in politics, now the politicians are the ones gaining power over the tech giants to use them as weapons. Censorship is being applied through political bullying along the lines of "do what we say, or we're going to put you in a vice and control you anyways."
The democrats seem to yield more power over tech giants, possibly due to compatible political leaning as favoring the left mindset, or from threats to their autonomy by the left politicians. Whatever the reason is, the left-leaning mindset seems to be winning as popular and large right-leaning groups, people and content are being removed from the tech giants' platforms.
When Trump threatens the mainstream media that put out fake news, nothing happens. But when the democratic politicians threaten the tech giants in the new domain of social media, things seem to change in their favor. Isn't that something...
Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.
References:
- Is Democratic Senator Mark Warner the Mastermind Behind Move to Further Weaponize U.S. Tech Giants?
- Google Is Helping The Pentagon Build AI For Drones
- Google’s true origin partly lies in CIA and NSA research grants for mass surveillance
- The Facebook, Google/YouTube, Apple, Spotify and Stitcher Conspiracy Against InfoWars/AlexJones
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I’m still kind of shocked how they’ve all teamed up togther and removed Alex Jones from these platforms... it’s quite scary to me. Why have they felt the need... because he stands against their agenda. But still, it’s quite alarming. I would think he might be in some type of danger, but that would bring more attention to his message.
Sure Alex Jones is a big personality, and he goes crazy etc, but he has great points and talks real.
This will bring more to his infowars platform as they can’t shut that down, most of his listeners don’t use YouTube for infowars anyway.
It’s still strange to me how they’ve all teamed up and removed him. Now they can continue to push forward false idols and encapsulate the youth into thinking crime, voilence and suicide is ‘cool’.
Man I thought we were close to a global awakening but they’ve turned up the EMFs on our asses
I'm a carpenter. One of the things I learned about my work is that I shouldn't hit my fingers with my hammer. Would you agree that is a valuable bit of knowledge?
How do you think I learned that?
I learned it by being hurt that way.
This coordination by all the FAANGs to censor a media giant, Infowars (that has more veiwers than CNN), hurts people that want to know real facts about the world they live in.
What do you think people are going to learn from this hurt?
What I learned from hitting myself with a hammer is not to hit myself with a hammer. I am confident that what people will learn from having their information controlled by the enemedia is not to listen to the enemedia.
This censorship is the most powerful incentive to use decentralized, censorship resistant platforms like Steemit that I have ever seen.
The fools that think this is a victory for the globalists are shortsighted, and will discover that the backlash from evil is good. Pain is the best teacher. The lessons you learn from it are never forgotten.
We can hurry the good that will come from this along by boycotting the FAANGs.
I already do. You should too.
Learning by chaos and the negative and withdrawal participation in it ;)
Yeah, the control apparatus seems to be increasing steadily around us, this time online.
Really enjoy the topics you write about, Krnel. This subject strikes at the root of what stands in the way of restoring democracy. Google, Apple and Facebook are NOT private companies. They are public companies and under the original charter that established corporate entities in the U.S.
they were severely restricted.
A corporate charter was granted for a limited time.
Corporations were explicitly chartered for the purpose of serving the public interest--profit for shareholders was the means to that end. Corporations could engage only in activities necessary to fulfill their chartered purpose. Corporations could be terminated if they exceeded their authority or if they caused public harm. Owners and managers were responsible for criminal acts they committed on the job. Corporations could not make any political contributions, nor spend money to influence legislation. A corporation could not purchase or own stock in other corporations, nor own any property other than that necessary to fulfill its chartered purpose. We need massive reform of corporate rights and responsibilities. Check out www.reclaimdemocracy.org for more information on this important subject. Thanks, Krnel! Keep writing!
I agree, things should be different. The corporation are publicly traded entities, but their not publicly owned entities like a national corporation is, such as CBC or Hydro Quebec. A corporation can own things under the current way things are, and they own property and their services, and like any enterprise can choose to deny service to people much like we can deny entry to our property. If the shareholders don't have a problem with removing people from the platform, or even want it, then it can happen. Otherwise, who gets to decide how their services/product gets used if not them? It's not even being sold, but people freely join to use it according to the terms and services. If people were buying something like access, then it would be issue.
I'm still hoping that the infowar debacle with activate something in regards to Trump.
Irrelevant of what you think about Alex Jones, he was a major aid to Trumps victory, and has red pilled millions.....
The silence about this is very worrying...
I see it as only two possible options now, going forward.
Bigger things are under way vis a vis a deeptate cleaning house operation - and is imminent - as in days, kind of imminent..
Or Trump is impotent to do anything, or part of it......(which I fear of course).
If things are not imminent, he needs to do something, and do something quickly .
This cannot be allowed to stand..
We don't need Trump to save us from Fakenews.
They seek our consent because they need it. They seek our attention on their platforms because they need it. They seek our money because they need it to be the rich scumbags they are.
We don't need them. We don't need their platforms, their likes, or their predatory surveillance. In fact we need to be free of these things.
What can we do to deny the scumbag censors their money, power, and pictures of our penii taken with our webcams and phones?
All we need to do is ignore them, and they will lose everything. Trump can do whatever Trump wants to do. I can ignore him just as easy as I ignore Mark Warner, scumbag that he is.
We have the money, because we make it with our backs. We have the truth, because we speak it when we post here, on Steemit. We have the power to keep the truth free, and this blatant display of arrogant power is the greatest opportunity the free world has had in my lifetime to break the cabal seeking to enslave us and our children in perpetuity, because it's an open declaration of war on our minds; declaring they can make us believe whatever they want us to.
They can't.
All we have to do is ignore them, and they'll go away.
Boycott the censors.
Indeed, we only go there in droves because they are a big market for attention. Apophasis, abdication, removal of support, would change their tune at least ;) Creating something else does that and makes another market place.
We can always hope... hehe ;)
Yup, he helped me start.
Yeha, not sure how much Trump can or is willing to do things. He's not omnipotent ;) lol
if ( a big if), he has the backing of the military..he pretty much is, if it came down to it... If he's alive.
I so wish i didn't live in 'interesting times..' lol
Our government is on the same payroll as these tech giants. And not just talking the democrats, they are just the more absurd side right now as the world elite now corral the herd back to what appears to be the right.
Maybe, but what payroll is that to which you are referring?
The payroll of the perception masters.
@krnel, Alex Jones case truly reflecting as an Conspiracy because in my opinion people who speaks truth is not threat, but people who speaks truth and if they are followed by masses and masses consumes their words then that can become the threats for the wrong doers.
And yes, now is the phase when we see so much of false domination and highly censorship activities and in my opinion all these information war content creators should join the Steem Economy and should use these centralised platforms as secondary one.
And in this case all the giant social media platforms banned one individual then that showcase that, what levels to manipulation and domination is reached.
And in my opinion all should stop using the Facebook and YouTube because they should no that the real power is hold by the people not by the private companies.
Wishing you an great day and stay blessed.
Yes, he;s only a threat for the ppl who don't want his message to influence others. Yeah, the ppl can move to another platform and hen the exiting ones are dead.
Steem Economy is an best option for sure.
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"When Trump threatens the mainstream media that put out fake news, nothing happens. But when the democratic politicians threaten the tech giants in the new domain of social media, things seem to change in their favor. Isn't that something..."
I love this particular paragraph.
But don't you think that if all of them partner together they can achieve more?
They could, but the political divide is deep :/
It is definitely scary when companies come together to silence any one person.
I couldn't count the things Facebook has removed on me, it's why I moved here to steemit. Every time I criticized or challenged political activists David Hogg, my content was removed and I was threatened with a lockout.