Censorship Without Government
The platforms removed 847 pieces of content from Republican legislators last month. Not suspended. Not reduced reach. Removed. The total was zero for Democrat legislators. That is not an algorithm. That is editorial control.
The argument that they are private companies ergo can do whatever they want ignores the unique position these platforms hold. A utility does not get to refuse service based on political viewpoint.
The First Amendment restricts government censorship. It says nothing about corporate censorship. And corporate censorship is more insidious because it lacks constitutional constraints, judicial review, and democratic accountability.
The Scale Problem
TikTok has 170 million American users. Facebook has 200 million. YouTube has 240 million. These platforms shape political consciousness at a scale unprecedented in human history. They have done it with essentially zero democratic accountability.
Treating this as a Republican versus Democrat fight misses the point. Freedom of speech means nothing if the infrastructure of speech is owned by one ideological faction and operated without accountability.
