Social Media's Attack On Religious Freedom And Free Speech

Social media corporations have been the greediest profiteers of hate, bigotry and incitement towards violence. After receiving a backlash, and under fear of finally being regulated, they have now become the greediest non government destroyers of free speech and religious freedom.

Religious freedom, a concept they fail to understand, includes not only the freedom to worship a religion, but also the freedom to criticize, reject, and challenge religious ideas and beliefs.

Social media corporations are not mere platforms, and must stop being treated as such.

Ideas critical of how plastic pollution is responded to by some of the organizations that claim to be against plastic pollution meant a permanent block by one social media giant with no avenue to contest their block. The social media giants explanation for the block reads as follows: "Your message couldn't be sent because it includes content that other people on Facebook have reported as abusive".

Under the broad umbrella of the term abusive, social media corporations grant themselves unlimited powers of censorship. Social media corporations fail miserably at screening out content that promotes hate, bigotry and violent incitement. They arbitrarily block content and close accounts that have nothing to do with hate, bigotry and incitement to violence without providing any real avenue to contest such decisions.

Social media corporations must be regulated like utilities. They never should have been allowed to become monopolies. They are poorly regulated and must be reigned in. They are incapable of self regulation, and should no longer be afforded this opportunity.

Also, a special tax must be levied upon them in order to fund an independent organization responsible for final determinations regarding when content promotes hate, bigotry and incitement towards violence and must be removed, and when social media arbitrarily blocks content that someone or some organization finds objectionable but that does not promote hate, bigotry and incitement towards violence

Regulate the monopolies like a utility. Tax them to create an independent organization that makes final decisions regarding content. The days of social media giants making freedom of speech and religion decisions behind closed doors, accountable to no one, with no legitimate avenues of appeal made available, must end.