Writer misstates internal debate at Twitter over limiting some content

Editor:

A letter writer in the Orleans Hub, (12/9/22), expressed the opinion that the government suppressed 1st amendment rights of citizens on Twitter.

Implying that it was liberals suppressing right-wing opinions. First of all, the released Twitter documents were from October 2020 and the election the writer is referring to was the 2020 election.

Donald J. Trump was President in 2020 and so it would have been the Trump administration that interfered with Twitter’s free speech. No Democrats or liberals there.

Second, there is no indication from the Twitter documents that the government officials tried to suppress the social media site. There was a Twitter exchange with Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, (D-Cal.), where Mr. Khanna thought Twitter should publish material not suppress it.

None of the released documents show any government interference; not a single one; none. If the writer’s intent was to show government interference in private business’s free speech, he could point to Governor Ron DeSantis’s threats against Disney for their support of the LGTB community.

Third, the first amendment only applies to the government not to private companies and corporations. A private company, even a privately owned social media company, cannot violate your 1st amendment rights, only government entities can do that.

Finally, the Twitter documents released by Mr. Musk reveal nothing new or shocking. The documents are an internal debate among Twitter employees about what documents to release. Sexually explicit material, and hateful content are not appropriate for general release. Trying to create a controversy without evidence or facts is a distraction.

William Fine

Brockport