Robert Williams
So, if you are an unpopular
regime desperately clinging to power, what do you do?
In supposed democracies, this
latest "benefit " to your people - cracking down on dissent
"democratically" -- means using technology rather than firepower to
crush freedom of speech.
"⚠️Danger:
Governments will dictate what you see, burying opposing views and creating echo
chambers controlled by the state. Free exploration of ideas? Gone—replaced by
curated propaganda." — Pavel Durov, Founder and CEO of Telegram, X,
February 4, 2026.
"⚠️Danger:
Vague definitions of 'hate' could label criticism of the government as
divisive, leading to shutdowns or fines. This can be a tool for suppressing
opposition. These aren't safeguards; they're steps toward total control. We've
seen this playbook before—governments weaponizing 'safety' to censor
critics." — Pavel Durov, X, February 4, 2026.
"Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress
of grievances." — First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The problem, of course, is
that usually "hate" is never defined -- meaning that anything and
everything can be labeled "hate" and often is. Judgments about what
constitutes "hate" become entirely subjective and run the danger of
existing exclusively "in the eye of the beholder."
France is planning a similar
move, "to ban minors from Instagram and TikTok," and Germany is also
seriously considering introducing such a ban as well.
Denmark, Greece and Britain
are also in various stages of either introducing or seriously considering
banning X, and European authorities are simultaneously seeking to come up with
other ways to close down X.
All this is in addition to a
€120 million fine that the European Commission has imposed on X under its
"Delete. Silence. Abolish" Digital Services Act.
To the European governments
that refuse to acknowledge that many of their citizens are sick and tired of
their repressive policies, when the ayatollahs slaughter their citizens in
Iran, it is not a pressing problem, but banning X is of the highest priority.
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