twitter Shutdown: Twitter Inc. has done something that was once thought unimaginable. It shut down one of its biggest attractions — Donald Trump’s account — and in doing so also canceled a sitting US president.
The ban and public-safety rationale behind it are part of a wave of crackdowns on the public digital spaces where the president’s most radicalized supporters congregate, and it comes in response to the violence and bloodshed of last week’s assault on the Capitol. Over the weekend, fledgling conservative social network Parler’s was effectively shut off by the technology giants it relied on to reach its user base – including its removal from Google’s and Apple Inc.’s app stores and the decision by Amazon.com Inc. Amazon Web Services to stop hosting Parler’s service. While the logic behind the actions was legitimate, the latest developments illustrate the power these companies possess as gatekeepers of content and information; their willingness to exercise that power opens a new chapter in the story of Big Tech.
Disputes have erupted in the US and Europe over Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms’ decision to ban US President Donald Trump. In this case, social media companies have also been criticized by many leaders and experts who have been opposed to Donald Trump. Critics say that what people read or see, high-tech companies cannot decide on the purpose of profit. In this connection, it is being mentioned that social media companies have been the medium to spread their ‘propaganda’ throughout the tenure of Trump. Now that she is running out of power, she has rallied against him.
Twitter has banned Trump permanently. Among those who have raised their voice against this move are German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel did not have a good relationship with Trump. But now he has said that this need has been felt more by the recent trend of social media that strict rules need to be imposed on these companies.
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Merkel’s spokesperson called the ban against Trump incorrect. He said, “The fundamental right to freedom of expression can be interfered with, but it should be done under the rules defined in the law.” This cannot be done under the management decisions of social media companies. ”
The French government has also objected to the ban on Trump. French Foreign Minister Bruno Le Maier said that although Trump’s lies are scandalous, Twitter’s decision to delete all of Trump’s tweets from its platform is not correct. He said, the digital oligarchy cannot regulate the digital world. France’s deputy minister of digital affairs, Cedric O, has also questioned the social media company’s recent behavior. He said- Social media companies can regulate public discussion only under their term and condition. Therefore, it seems that the steps he has taken in America are not right from a democratic perspective.
The actions were the right thing to do and inevitable at this point, as I argued last week, even if they do raise larger questions about technology companies as the arbiters of discourse and highlight the arbitrary nature of the standards and rules that govern content across the industry. The evidence is incontrovertible that the angry mob had used Facebook, Twitter and Parler to coordinate their Jan. 6 attack. Twitter said one of the main reasons for its suspension was a proliferation of posts planning future armed rallies after Trump’s most recent tweets. To allow the same extremists to again use public platforms to incite more violence would be irresponsible given the events of last week, so it’s good they’ve been shut down.
There are already attempts to regulate social media companies in Europe. Shortly before, the European Union (EU) issued a document regulating these companies. One of the main roles behind these efforts is Thierry Bretton. He said in an article on the website Politico.eu – “It is disturbing that a CEO can arbitrarily pull the plug of a US President’s loudspeaker.” This gives an idea of the strength of these companies, as well as it shows how weak our society is in terms of organizing the digital space. ”
In this regard, EU diplomacy chief Joseph Burrell wrote in a blog that social media networks in Europe need better regulation. This should be done while protecting freedom of expression. It is not possible to accept that private sector companies regulate content on their platforms under their own rules.
Voice against Twitter has also been raised from Russia. The famous opposition leader Alexi Navalny called it an unacceptable step of censorship. He said that Twitter took this action under any rule, no one knows it. These steps have been taken on the basis of feelings and personal political preference. Russian state media worker Vladimir Soloviev has said that the move makes the US constitution seem less important than the internal documents of the Twitter company.
Many social media experts in the US have said that social media companies should not be empowered to impose a complete ban on a person. Ramesh Srinivasan, a professor and social media researcher in California, told the online channel Democracy Now that these companies had already done the same to left-wing activists. Now he has targeted Trump in the midst of a changed political environment in America. If they are not stopped, the Left will have to bear the maximum brunt of it.
