Maajid Nawaz points out inconsistencies in big tech censorship
9 January 2021, 16:42
Maajid Nawaz calls out big tech for inconsistencies around censorship
Maajid Nawaz suggests that tech companies should not have the final say on whether the US President has a platform or not.
"Nobody can deny the disproportionate power that these tech platforms have," Maajid Nawaz argued, speaking amid the furore surrounding the banning of Donald Trump from Twitter.
He posed the question: "Does anyone deserve to have that much power?" Arguing that inconsistencies in how big tech discipline their users must be addressed.
Maajid pointed out that laws around free speech in the US Constitution disallowed President Trump him from blocking people in the past and wondered how the opposite is acceptable.
"You're a sitting president, how on earth is a tech company allowed to silence you?"
"It cannot be that you should be allowed to ban a sitting president," he insisted.
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Maajid assured listeners that he wasn't taking sides in the debate: "This isn't about Trump for me. I value the office of president in the greatest and most powerful democracy...more than any disdain for any president."
"If he's not allowed to block people why can he be blocked himself?"
He pointed out the hypocrisy of banning Donald Trump for inciting hatred, while allowing propaganda and misinformation from the Chinese Communist regime.
"Think about the fact that YouTube shuts down a radio station here in Britain for being anti-lockdown while allowing Chinese government paid-for propaganda to obfuscate for genocide."
"Never stop asking why these glaring inconsistencies exist," Maajid insisted.
