From article Barack Obama Calls for More Censorship: First Amendment ‘Does Not Apply to Facebook and Twitter.’ Charlie Spiering. April 21, 2022.
Former President Barack Obama in a major
speech on Thursday called for more regulation of social media content, to
diminish “disinformation.”
The
former president delivered a speech on the issue at Stanford University after
spending months studying the subject.
He
described himself as “pretty close to a First Amendment absolutist” but
immediately clarified it did not apply to social media companies.
…
“The
First Amendment is a check on the power of the state.
It
doesn’t apply to private companies like Facebook and Twitter,” he said, calling
for more “value judgements” on content moderation and censorship on social
media.
“While content moderation can limit the
distribution of clearly dangerous content, it doesn’t go far enough,”
Obama added.
…
The
former president complained current content models for social media platforms
allowed all content to flow equally.
“Over
time we lose our capacity to distinguish between fact, opinion, and wholesale
fiction. Or maybe we just stop caring,” he said.
Obama complained an overwhelming flood of
information made it difficult to discern the truth.
“Our
brains aren’t accustomed to taking in this much information this fast, and a
lot of us are experiencing overload,” he said.
…
Obama
warned that dangerous people were using social media to distract the public.
“People
like Putin and Steve Bannon for that matter understand it’s not necessary for
people to believe disinformation to weaken democratic institutions, you just
have to flood the public square with enough raw sewage,” he complained.
HE argued for a series of social media reforms
and regulation, warning the nature of democracy itself was at stake.
…
He
complained there was no way to distinguish online between “a peer-reviewed
article by Dr. Anthony Fauci and a miracle cure pitched by a huckster.”
The
wide variety of content on the coronavirus and vaccines, Obama said, was
concerning, as some people chose not to get vaccinated.
“People
are dying because of misinformation,” he said.
Obama
noted content moderation by tech companies already exists, but argued for more moderation, even though
disinformation is difficult to identify.
“That
doesn’t mean some things aren’t truer than others. Or that we can’t draw lines
between opinions, facts, honest mistakes, intentional deceptions,” he said.
…
The
former president laid out a set of principles of how content should be
moderated, either by tech companies themselves or by a government entity:
-whether
it strengthens or weakens the prospects for a healthy inclusive democracy.
-whether
it encourages robust debate and respect for our differences.
-whether
it reinforces rule of law and self-governance.
-whether
it helps us make collective decisions based on the best available information
-whether
it recognizes the rights and freedoms and dignity of all of our citizens
“Regulation has to be part of the answer,”
Obama said, calling for ways to start “slowing the spread of harmful content”
online.
…
Obama
expressed regret he believed, prior to the 2016 election, the public could
still distinguish fact from fiction on social media, even though he suffered
personally and politically from disinformation.
“What
does still nag at me was my failure to fully appreciate at the time just how
susceptible we had become to lies and conspiracy theories,” he said.
Obama
cited the principles in the “Fairness Doctrine,” widely criticized by the
conservative movement, to help control what kind of information was allowed in
broadcasting.
He
also called for social media algorithms
to be regulated by government inspectors and regulators, just like other
industries.
…
Obama
recalled what he described as the happier days of the internet, when he was
first elected president.
“In
the early days of the internet and social media, there was a certain joy of
finding new ways to connect and organize, there was so much promise,” he said.
“I know, I was there.”
“We have a choice right now: Do we allow our
democracy to wither? Or do we make it better?” he said.
(end
of article)
… …
“Obama complained
an overwhelming flood of information made it difficult to discern the truth.”
Likely
in the future there will be two types of social media sites:
-Democrat,
socialist (regulated markets) type, less free speech needed, only approved
speech allowed
-Republican,
capitalist (free markets) type, more free speech needed, all speech allowed
The
fight won’t be over free speech but rather over how much government will be able
to regulate Republican sites.
…
“He argued
for a series of social media reforms and regulation, warning the nature of
democracy itself was at stake.”
Would rephrase to
wut dems are actually thinking: “the power of Democrat politicians themselves is at stake.”
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