The Decentralists – Hot Topix: Free Speech is not Free

When Apple and Google banned the “free speech” social network Parler from their app stores, and Amazon banned them from their cloud services—it was the final nail in Parler’s coffin. 

Before Parler was buried alive, it was home to tens of millions of conservatives, conspiracy theorists, and Trump devotees who felt that they were being censored on “leftist” platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Unfortunately for Parler, their platform was used to plan and carry out the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol—this was the beginning of the end.

Is banning apps the new normal?

Can any centralized social network actually guarantee freedom of speech?

Why is Parler being treated differently than Twitter and Facebook? They also host dangerous/problematic users.

It’s clear that the definition of free speech is getting muddier by the day. While moderating social media is necessary, what’s to stop Big Tech monopolies from getting trigger-happy when it comes to banning apps? Will free speech cease to exist?