Alan Dershowitz, legal adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump (Trump), speaks during the Senate impeachment of Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 27, 2020.
U.S. attorney Alan Dershowitz, a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, said social media platform Twitter, online video platform YouTube and other traditional technology companies have become “partisan political tools” and should not be protected by Section 230.
YouTube is no longer a platform, Twitter is no longer a platform,” Dershowitz said on his podcast Tuesday (Jan. 12). They have become a partisan political tool that can be used for purposes other than those intended by Section 230. Section 230 must be amended, or at least not applied to platforms that are censored.”
He noted that YouTube, Twitter and other tech companies are selective in their use of their own so-called censorship policies.
Dershowitz asked, “You have to ask yourself, why do (YouTube and Twitter) allow other things to continue to be filled with blatant lies, defamation, all kinds of bias on (their platforms)? Doesn’t that send a mixed message?”
Dershowitz noted that these companies are waging a dangerous war against free speech.
Dershowitz added, “Now, does this pose a threat to our Constitution? Not yet. They’re not bound by the First Amendment. They’re more or less private. But they’re really so powerful that the question arises: what is the line between private enterprise and the public sector when it comes to large-scale social media and communications?”
But he noted that these companies “undoubtedly pose a threat to the culture, the climate of ideas, the freedom of choice of Americans that the First Amendment protects.”
Recently, Google and Apple have removed Parler from their respective App stores, and Amazon Web Services suspended its service to the social media company on Monday morning (Jan. 11). In response, Parler filed a lawsuit against Amazon in Washington state, claiming the company engaged in monopolistic practices and tore up its contract with Amazon.
A few days ago, Twitter announced it was blocking President Trump’s (Trump) account, claiming he was promoting speech that incited violence. Responding to reporters on the issue before departing for Texas on Tuesday, Trump said his comments to protesters before the violence and vandalism at the U.S. Capitol were appropriate.
“People thought what I said was perfectly reasonable,” Trump told reporters in response to questions about accusations that it was his Jan. 6 speech to protesters that sparked the tech giant’s outcry. “We don’t want violence …… absolutely don’t want violence.”
Trump commented, “People thought what I said was totally appropriate, and if you look at what other people, top political figures have said about the riots (last) summer, the terrible riots (in) Portland and Seattle and everywhere else, that’s the real issue.” He noted that political leaders across the country made various speeches and statements during the historic riots last summer.
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