Vinicio A. Castillo Semán
The censorship imposed by the major technology platforms on the President of the United States, Donald Trump, so that he cannot send any message, is the greatest threat the world has to freedom of speech. This measure evokes a series of reflections beyond Trump’s controversial figure.
The questions we have to ask ourselves are simple and clear: who is the judge? Who will judge whether a president, a leader or a citizen has abused the freedom of speech through social networks, since this is a fundamental right of every human being?
The owners of the major networks are becoming a superpower.
From now on they are the judges. They will decide who to shut up and who can express themselves. That is the beginning of dictatorships against which the free and democratic world has fought so hard.
The excuse used to silence Trump is that he called for violence and instigated through the networks the shameful attack on the US Congress.
I’ve looked at Trump’s posts, and none of them called for violence or caused the regrettable nonsense. It is my opinion. Others may have a different opposite, but the judges should be the only ones who can determine whether he has committed that serious crime that is imputed to him. If the judge’s position passes into private hands, today it will be Trump’s, tomorrow they can do it against any citizen who expresses opinions that are not to the liking of the owners of social networks.
When that consolidates, we move into the global tyranny of thought. Eliminating, through social networks, the dissent that is so fundamental to a democratic and free society would be the most catastrophic thing that can happen in the present time.
There was a phrase in history, the authorship of which is still debated, that sums up the axis of these reflections. “I don’t agree with your opinion, but I would give my life to defend your rights.” Trump’s censorship is simultaneously a warning to Biden and his new administration, and to all the rulers of the free world, where the real world power is. A subtle but clear warning to those who, from governments, dare to face, regulate or restrict those powerful interests.
President Trump looked hard at them. And they removed him from power. And now they want to turn him into a civilian death. And whoever dares to do the same to them in the future, warn them that they would pay the same price.
Defending freedom of speech is essential to living in a democracy.