It wasn’t a matter of if but when and how big tech would target Donald Trump’s social media platform - Truth Social.
Truth
Social was recently barred from Google Play Store, which is a digital
distribution service for applications meant for Android phones.
The number of Android
smartphone users in the United States was more than 130
million in 2021, that number has to be considerably higher now.
Axios
reported the following statement from Alphabet which owns Google.
“On
Aug. 19, we notified Truth Social of several violations of standard policies in
their current app submission and reiterated that having effective systems for
moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for
any app to go live on Google Play.”
Trump
Media and Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes said the decision on whether the app
would be available was "up to the Google Play Store". Nunes had
previously called Google a "monopoly".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgMg_vlY5pc
Google
reiterated that Truth Social’s violations, and the steps to redress them, have
been clearly communicated with the company.
Trump
Media pushed back, saying Truth Social was creating a “vibrant, family-friendly
environment.”
Google
says it is up to Truth Social to comply with its rules.
The
dispute continues.
Truth
Social was founded as a free speech platform, following the coordinated social
media ban on President Trump following the occurrences of January 6th.
Upon
its launch, Truth Social became the most downloaded
application on the Apple Store
Big
Tech had to find a way to undo this and restrict the reach of Truth
Social.
Big
tech is vehemently opposed to the idea of people speaking their minds and
effectively questioning the approved talking point from the establishment.
A
perfect example is the Hunter Biden laptop story.
In
October 2020, The New York Post had carried
myriad reports
on the shady lucrative business dealings of Hunter Biden, enabled by
his father Joe Biden when he was vice president.
The
laptop also contained photos of drug-addled Hunter in a compromising position
with a prostitute. There were messages of Hunter using racist
language and videos of him using drugs.
The
stories showed Joe Biden as corrupt, nepotistic, and potentially compromised by
hostile foreign countries.
During
the 2016 Presidential Elections, President Trump and his supporters effectively
used social media to counter the narrative of the establishment. The
establishment characterized it as disinformation and hate speech.
During the 2020 Presidential election, Big Tech didn't allow factual information to hurt the Democrats
Twitter locked the NY Post’s account. Facebook restricted the spread of
the story, CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed the acted following a warning from the
FBI about "misinformation."
This
suppression of vital information was a blatant act of meddling in the 2020
presidential election
A poll revealed
that 16% of Biden voters said they would have voted differently had
they known of Hunter's laptop.
So
how did Big Tech grow into this monster that interferes in the elections with impunity?
They
began like all providers by offering their applications such as Facebook and
Twitter for free. People registered and their reach and popularity grew.
Over
the years they built their eco-system by eliminating or buying out all
competition.
Old
social media sites such as Orkut gradually faded away from public memory.
Competitors
such as Instagram, the popular photo and video sharing social networking
service, and WhatsApp which is an instant messaging and voice-over-IP service
were acquired by Facebook Inc.
The
growth was rapid and vast such that these platforms have become official
communication channels for governments worldwide.
In
time they didn’t just have control but a total monopoly, it was at this point
they assumed the role of arbiter and controller of information.
If anyone questioned
the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines their message was either blocked,
restricted, or labeled as unreliable. At times the user was de-platformed for
being a 'serial violator'.
However,
if anyone overstated the efficacy of the vaccines their message was promoted.
The
world wide web was meant to be a platform that challenged the monopoly of the
establishment. It was supposed to be a forum for rebels and dissenters.
It
is most unfortunate that Big Tech engaged in total surrender to become allies
with the establishment.
Back
to Truth Social.
Truth
Social is to Big Tech what Trump is to Washington DC.
Big
tech has built an ecosystem that comprises echo chambers, if Truth Social is
allowed to exist, it blows a gaping hole in this ecosystem, and soon everything
implodes.
Both
Washington DC and Big Tech realize that one dissenter can destroy their
ecosystem and hence they are going to use all their might to crush the
rebellion.
This
is merely the beginning of Truth Social’s battles, there are myriad they can be
attacked.
Don’t
be too surprised if the Apple Store follows Google to challenge Truth Social for
the violations of standard policies. It is not beyond the realm of possibility
that they add clauses to their policies just to restrict Truth Social and block
the app from i
But
applications are not the only way that Truth Social can be accessed.
Truth
social can be accessed via the web, here too big tech can play their games.
Big
Tech can collude with various internet service providers to either restrict or reduce
the download speed for Truth Social.
Browsers
such as Google's Chrome or Apple's Safari or Microsoft’s Edge can reduce the download
speech of Truth Social.
This
could result in it taking forever for Truth Social to load and users quitting
in frustration.
Big
Tech can also go after Truth Social’s infrastructure.
Big
Tech controls not just applications but also the infrastructure such as servers
that host the apps as well as the network infrastructure.
Truth
Social wisely chose not to use Amazon servers.
This
may be the cause of a rocky phase initially but it will be beneficial for Truth
Social’s longevity.
Parler,
which promised free speech to its users was banned from using Amazon's servers.
This occurred when Trump was banned from social media, and there were rumors
that Trump would join Parler.
In
the future, Amazon will make attempts to buy out the firms that provide servers
to Truth Social.
Let's
look at personnel, a great deal of Truth Social’s success will also depend on
its staff who will both maintain the app and add new features as the app grows.
Big
tech could pledge never to employ any individual who worked for Truth Social.
This policy may not be explicitly stated. But blacklisting a company means it
won't always attract the best talent.
When
the GOP wins the House and the Senate following the mid-terms
Confronting
Big Tech must be a high priority.
They
must ensure that Truth Social and other platforms that challenge the big tech
monopoly are allowed to grow.
While
it is true that government must never interfere in the functioning of a free
market.
But
when certain parties have a total monopoly over the market owing to the backing of
a political party, the government has to intervene and level the playing
field.
Also Appears on American Thinker
Comments
Post a Comment