A common misunderstanding among some people is that the 1st Amendment protects free speech for Americans. In reality, the 1st Amendment prevents GOVERNMENT from stifling free speech. Lords of a domain are able to regulate speech within their own domain. For example, a private business owner can prohibit cursing on their property and the 1st Amendment would not apply.
This has been the common argument by those who have defended censorship on “platforms” such as Twitter. That argument has been countered in recent months with revelations that government prompted Twitter to engage in quashing certain ideas. Last night’s “Twitter Files” completely obliterated the argument forever.
As Elon Musk noted:
If this isn’t a violation of the Constitution’s First Amendment, what is?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 3, 2022
If this isn’t a violation of the Constitution’s First Amendment, what is?
He elaborated:
Twitter acting by itself to suppress free speech is not a 1st amendment violation, but acting under orders from the government to suppress free speech, with no judicial review, is
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 3, 2022
Twitter acting by itself to suppress free speech is not a 1st amendment violation, but acting under orders from the government to suppress free speech, with no judicial review, is
The real question is whether there will be repercussions. At Twitter itself, there already have been. But the real deviants in this whole mess are the government officials who annihilated their oath to defend the Constitution by ripping it to shreds for political gain.
