Social Media monopolies are a problem |Trump's Ban

Whatever political view you have or whether you agree with the ban or not, there is a serious problem this exposes. These guys were nice enough to put it into words that everyone can agree on. A deeper issue that is bigger then trumps ban itself. Thoughts?

Facebook: YOU'RE FIRED!!!

Ex prez:

social media are private companies, it's a good thing they ban trump so the politicians and head of states everywhere will realize these channels are nothing official and stop using twitter as a press conference and stop shitposting like trump

Every small business is hung on amazon's balls because they're too lazy to set up their own e-commerce, and after that they blame amazon for being a monopoly!

Same thing for twitter... Noone forces you to use them

Posted by Antiphates

I agree but I think it's merely one of the more visible and clear aspectes of the deterioration of western democracies and political/civil discourse. It's not just a monopoly issue.

It's not limited to western societies at all. There are clear examples from other countries were people are literally marching in the streets in mass about. The most current transgressions I've heard about China(as always) and surprisingly, India is going through a Shit Storm of epic proportions. These "arbitrary" censorship moves with very weak justifications are a serious concern globally. Trump absolutely deserved being shut down on Twitter from that rediculous amount of TOS violations in the past.

However, The fact trump TOSed suddenly without any form of due process and the evidence used for justification being weak, is troubling. It sets a precedences on it's own. They didn't sight his many previous violations because they didn't call him on those. The tweets that they did sight, are not violations on their own and it was blanket ban on all platforms. It lowers the bar for future situations. That is a dangerous precedence.

I honestly hate to say it, but I have to agree and call a foul on this. Not for trump but the future.

What happened to the right of businesses to refuse service?

Nothing is stopping you from starting your own sm network. IJS

Posted by hydorah

social media are private companies, it's a good thing they ban trump so the politicians and head of states everywhere will realize these channels are nothing official and stop using twitter as a press conference and stop shitposting like trump

Every small business is hung on amazon's balls because they're too lazy to set up their own e-commerce, and after that they blame amazon for being a monopoly!

Same thing for twitter... Noone forces you to use them

You are correct. However you can not ignore the impact and influence on society and out government these private companies have. As for other options, that currently doesn't apply. They have literally bought out or squeeze out, competition and other forms of alternative media. There are already serious moves to move in other areas in the market and they are gaining market share rapidly using the other business platforms. Future competition will be bought out or squeezed out without government intervention. A good start would be officially labeling these companies Monopolies.

Before you say anything about government intervention in the free market, you need to consider how business are AMORAL entities that exist to make money. The last time libertarian and capitalism ran free in society was the post industrial revolution period. Feel free to look up the conditions people worked and lived in despite working 12 hours plus a day. There is a reason regulations and government exist. It keeps a very important balance.

As for monopolies. Some years back when internet commerce became popular the publishing industries was feeling it. Amazon bought out their competition in that sector and used that to undercut pricing and strong arm contracts terms with publishers. They even strong armed middlemen distributors to squeeze out publishers that refused to do business with amazon. Publishers got together to discuss this under pricing that they couldn't survive on and amazon sued them for anti-trust. It would be fair to say business coming and going is the natural evolution of the market but this wasn't based on consumer preference but dirty business tactics.

Last year amazon as a distributor of goods got into the producing market and was using the data from the other business side to promote their products first on the search algorithm as well as using their surplus revenue to under cut the competition.

But why is this a problem? Historically and logically, the next step for a amoral entity once there is no competition is to simply eat more, raises prices(make a higher profit). Then continue to expand into other markets like a giant Amoeba. Devouring or simply kill any threats by any means once they pop up. There is nothing free about a market environment like that. The end conclusion would naturally be a few Amoebas controlling everything but not completing( Coke and Pepsi🙃) and no innovation or evolution of commerce and society in the western world. There must be a balance.

People who believe majority of things they read on social media are also the proble imo. The sheep are as stupid as the farmer herding them. I try to tell this to my parents all the time. They are constantly like "That is 100% fact. They said it themselves." Problem is most of the information is likely out of context or has been manipulated in favor of the editor/ writer. People will smile and say anything, and the bigger the check the bigger the smile. That and some times politicians on top of media leaders are honestly just saying bullshit and stirring the pot for the shock value/ ratings.

I feel social media should come with a warning about potential false information when people sign up, and maybe even a small 20 question mental exam to judge how sensitive they are to random information that might be factual, or more likely isn't. Oh and told they aren't safe from hackers, or getting their information stolen. Specifically looking at Facebook on that statement.

Old people on the internet - the real pandemic no one is talking about.

Posted by xiongmao

Posted by Hypnotoad

I would argue that his needless bullshit has drowned out too much real important issues and information not to ban his ass.

I argue that his access to social media is how he got in power and his being in power responsible for millions of covid deaths across the planet not only in his own country but many others who followed suit or were hir by collateral damage. Personally I think he shouls be trialled for genocide and I don't thik anyone being trialled for genocide should be alloud on social media.

I also beleive that he is responsible for fucking the worlds economy by dragging covid out and should be trialled for that too.

Why should anyone like that have a voice? Lmfao.

The issue that some have seems to be why he wasn't banned earlier.

click to expand

Exactly. When there is a option whether or not to enforce rules that govern everyone it leads to corruption. The influence of social media in our world can not be under estimated. It bleeds into other parts of society and our like as well as other industries.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-56163550

For starters, there's officials from foreign oppressive governments that get away with far more hatemongering than Trump on Twitter. It was a purely political move to ban him and Jack Dorsey can suck a floppy donkey dick and die of equine AIDS for all I care. I've never cared for Fuckerberg and his censorship of every little thing so he can do the same.

If Trump is responsible for the world's Covid deaths than so is Biden, as soon as he got in office he admitted a lockdown would do nothing to flatten the curve and refused to enact a nationwide lockdown. According to Biden 1400 dollars is a legitimate COVID cure.

As far as Trump being responsible for the economy, thats a load of bullshit. The democrats are the ones who shut their states and businesses down which cost people their jobs. It was another purely political move: As soon as Biden took office states started opening up again.

And since I can't say it on FB or Twitter without getting banned:

Anyone who wants their dick chopped off or their feminine reproductive organs removed is mentally ill.

Posted by LadyNeptune

What happened to the right of businesses to refuse service?

Nothing is stopping you from starting your own sm network. IJS

Yes I'm glad Trump and any other conservatives were banned. This will force conservatives to get their own networks which should have been done a long time ago.

Posted by Antiphates

Posted by Lostthoughts

Posted by Antiphates

I agree but I think it's merely one of the more visible and clear aspectes of the deterioration of western democracies and political/civil discourse. It's not just a monopoly issue.

It's not limited to western societies at all. There are clear examples from other countries were people are literally marching in the streets in mass about. The most current transgressions I've heard about China(as always) and surprisingly, India is going through a Shit Storm of epic proportions. These "arbitrary" censorship moves with very weak justifications are a serious concern globally. Trump absolutely deserved being shut down on Twitter from that rediculous amount of TOS violations in the past.

However, The fact trump TOSed suddenly without any form of due process and the evidence used for justification being weak, is troubling. It sets a precedences on it's own. They didn't sight his many previous violations because they didn't call him on those. The tweets that they did sight, are not violations on their own and it was blanket ban on all platforms. It lowers the bar for future situations. That is a dangerous precedence.

I honestly hate to say it, but I have to agree and call a foul on this. Not for trump but the future.

We have some worldwide things going on but I think the underlying conflict as well as the problematic relationship between those social media companies and our (mostly western) democracies is specific and not to be found in nations like China, because they had a different relationship with them from the beginning. China always censored stuff. That's not new.

What, I think, is the underlying conflict that fuels those actions is a state of anomie, a lack or even total absence of a clear social norm, and the fight about what should be the new (or old) social norm/standard. The thing is that Trump wasn't cancelled by one social company, but that by multiple and even other actors like banks. That's not a monpoly issue but a society (or parts of it) deciding that someone has transgressed boundaries that are so important that said person no longer can be seen as part of this society. The same can easily happen in a normal market situation with plenty of competition and no one would bat an eye. What makes Trumps case a point of contention is that there no longer is an overall accepted red line everyone agrees with.

I think Twitter simply handled the case poorly and they formally fucked up, but we still would have the same or similiar conflict over this even if they handled it better. All the main problems pretty much are still there and remain unaffected.

click to expand

China has recently dialed everything up a notch. It's no longer behind closed doors. They are actively shaping laws and the countries population out in the open without much pretense. But yes same road as always.

India is very troubling though. The current president has fascist overtones and the population isn't having any of that and pushing back.

Social norms are always changing and evolving. That's completely normal. It's the direction and future implications of such changes that are the real issue. Not change itself.



Twitter handled it badly by not slapping clear TOS violations from the start. They didn't just handled it badly they set a precedent by doing it that way. People are just letting that go because they strongly oppose trump so they are not speaking up. That in turn indirectly will reenforce that kind of actions in that way and be a serious issue later under different circumstances. Basically it's like writing a blank check as far as accountablity goes with social media companies.

This matters so much because humans have a big part of our biological hard wiring that is influenced by our society. We are social creatures. Not everyone truly understands this and the influence this has on us. Social media has already begun to effect of to a ridiculous degree in a alarming rate. Basically you got to taking everything into account and look at the big picture here.

Posted by alexscaries

Posted by Lostthoughts

Whatever political view you have or whether you agree with the ban or not, there is a serious problem this exposes. These guys were nice enough to put it into words that everyone can agree on. A deeper issue that is bigger then trumps ban itself. Thoughts?

The issue is the vacuity of modern living.

Monopolies have existed since industrial revolution. The problem is silencing voices whether it's Trump, Paul Joseph Watson or Alex Jones. Sure, they have controversial opinions, but the only way to have a debate is to make those voices heard. I'm not on social media, I haven't used Twitter for a decade as there was too much negativity with almost every post being an argument, even on benign subjects.

click to expand

lol that's my point. School glorify the industrial revolution and gloss over the horrors it caused. The vast majority of the population working their waking hours in slave like conditions for only living conditions akin to the bowls of a slave ship. Multiple families literally stacked into a eating what we now considered scraps. That was the life of the majority of people. Day in and day out.

It was future innovation and government regulation that brought us out of that state of being. People care about people not entities that refuse to acknowledge their impact and influence on society. There is no accountability with monopolies because their are no consequences because people don't have valid alternatives. Lack of valid alternatives is what creates monopolies in the first place. In our current environment where companies actively gobble up or suppress competition with impunity, a modern version of the industrial revolution conditions with a modern twist would be the natural conclusion as things are right now. To much is under the control of for profit entities as things stand.

Campaign finance laws need to be updated as well as more intuitive regulation. It's time as a society we stop worshiping money before we become even more of a salve to it.

Posted by _elle_

Posted by LadyNeptune

What happened to the right of businesses to refuse service?

Nothing is stopping you from starting your own sm network. IJS

This too.

How is this any different from the cake shop being allowed to refuse service to a gay couple?

If you make a rule, don't be a fucking hypocrite.

click to expand

Yep. The glaring difference here is that refusing service because of someone's protected status ( sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, etc) is against the law. However there is no law protecting someone from misusing terms of service, spreading misinformation that oopsies led to an uprising against our democracy.

Five years from now, kids will be growing up in divorced households because daddy liked another girl's IG post.

Posted by DonnaLibra

Posted by LadyNeptune

What happened to the right of businesses to refuse service?

Nothing is stopping you from starting your own sm network. IJS

Yes I'm glad Trump and any other conservatives were banned. This will force conservatives to get their own networks which should have been done a long time ago.

click to expand

They already have their own networks and streaming platforms!

But the absolute irony of people like the op crying about trump being banned, he literally has an entire system of media at his disposal as the president! If he wanted to make a statement after the capitol siege he encouraged he literally has the biggest platform to do it on. Being banned on twitter wasn't muting him. He CHOSE not to speak to the American people he failed. This is just a narcissist who is throwing a temper tantrum because he can shit post anymore.

Yes and hopefully he will continue not to speak to the American people and keep his thoughts to himself until later. Conservatives need more networks and platforms so this is a good motivator to get them.

Zero issue.

Make your own website and go media your social life over there.

Posted by Antiphates

Posted by Lostthoughts

Posted by Antiphates

I agree but I think it's merely one of the more visible and clear aspectes of the deterioration of western democracies and political/civil discourse. It's not just a monopoly issue.

It's not limited to western societies at all. There are clear examples from other countries were people are literally marching in the streets in mass about. The most current transgressions I've heard about China(as always) and surprisingly, India is going through a Shit Storm of epic proportions. These "arbitrary" censorship moves with very weak justifications are a serious concern globally. Trump absolutely deserved being shut down on Twitter from that rediculous amount of TOS violations in the past.

However, The fact trump TOSed suddenly without any form of due process and the evidence used for justification being weak, is troubling. It sets a precedences on it's own. They didn't sight his many previous violations because they didn't call him on those. The tweets that they did sight, are not violations on their own and it was blanket ban on all platforms. It lowers the bar for future situations. That is a dangerous precedence.

I honestly hate to say it, but I have to agree and call a foul on this. Not for trump but the future.

We have some worldwide things going on but I think the underlying conflict as well as the problematic relationship between those social media companies and our (mostly western) democracies is specific and not to be found in nations like China, because they had a different relationship with them from the beginning. China always censored stuff. That's not new.

What, I think, is the underlying conflict that fuels those actions is a state of anomie, a lack or even total absence of a clear social norm, and the fight about what should be the new (or old) social norm/standard. The thing is that Trump wasn't cancelled by one social company, but that by multiple and even other actors like banks. That's not a monpoly issue but a society (or parts of it) deciding that someone has transgressed boundaries that are so important that said person no longer can be seen as part of this society. The same can easily happen in a normal market situation with plenty of competition and no one would bat an eye. What makes Trumps case a point of contention is that there no longer is an overall accepted red line everyone agrees with.

I think Twitter simply handled the case poorly and they formally fucked up, but we still would have the same or similiar conflict over this even if they handled it better. All the main problems pretty much are still there and remain unaffected.

click to expand

Very Lord of the Flies

Posted by alexscaries

Posted by hydorah

social media are private companies, it's a good thing they ban trump so the politicians and head of states everywhere will realize these channels are nothing official and stop using twitter as a press conference and stop shitposting like trump

Every small business is hung on amazon's balls because they're too lazy to set up their own e-commerce, and after that they blame amazon for being a monopoly!

Same thing for twitter... Noone forces you to use them

The thing with say setting up e-commerce is Amazon, eBay, Etsy etc already has a massive user base. It's difficult to get as much traffic with a new site. You wouldn't set up shop in a ghost town.

click to expand

Difficult but not impossible

All these big companies started just like the little guy.

Where in a renaissance period.

This IS the time for the little guy.

All the unemployed are clamoring for the easy job, to be an employee of someone else.

The pandemic may have killed off a lot of small businesses but the little guy WILL make a come back

For example, I’m starting a business and my goal is community sales and then regional, national, international

Some people are intimidated by the hard work

Tbh it's hard for me to comprehend this topic.

Can anyone make it clearer?

Is the issue about us having been controlled by those giant corporates?

Or is the issue about the importance of govt setting up regulations against that?

Or is the issue about the annihilation of free speech?

What's the root cause?

So I'm confused.

Do they say we are controlling what should be displayed on sm network or they control what we see on their platforms? Which one, coz I heard them mentioned both situations.. :/

He also mentioned about how hard it is for startup business to stand a chance against them and how it becomes a problem?

There are so many issues he brought up. Like one thing leads to another and we are all responsible for it.

Fine. Stop using social media then.

Wait, oh no I need them to sell products/ services..

Posted by Subliminals

Tbh it's hard for me to comprehend this topic.

Can anyone make it clearer?

Is the issue about us having been controlled by those giant corporates?

Or is the issue about the importance of govt setting up regulations against that?

Or is the issue about the annihilation of free speech?

What's the root cause?

All three. This is a structural problem that touches a lot of subjects and will effect our future.

Corporations are amoral in nature. Corporations' only forms of accountability is government regulation and public opinion & commerce.

The first one OS being nullified because politicians have become over reliant of money and " donations" to run for office. They can get everything they need from a handful and therefore beholden to them.Integrity has become a rarity in office atm.

Public opinion can be bought through the media.

Not enough of the population use their brain (critical thinking) and question what is being pushed.



The last one is being nullified by the monopoly power of the corporations. You have very little alternate options and they are getting even fewer. People give boycotts a lot of shit, however this form of response is on of the few options the public have. The only thing that needs to be modified is proper investigations( critical thinking) before doing this. It's actually not hard to google statements, alternate reports, and actual court briefs. Don't trust media and stop being lazy people lol

It is really up to every individual to question and think for themselves.

" Don't trust media and stop being lazy people lol"

Here is a recent and prime example of this: the spa shooting. Was it really a act of racism or something else?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/inside-mind-killer-psychologists-detail-some-reasons-why-man-killed-8-spas-across-metro/FW6XIO3KDZGFXN😆S2EQLL6ZAA/% 3foutputType=amp