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At this point, Republicans take it for granted that “Big Tech censorship” is a profound threat to free speech. It’s not just that Facebook and Twitter disfavor conservatives, the thinking runs; it’s that they are despots wielding state-like control over the pathways of communication.
The large social media websites’ clout is vastly overstated. Platforms that host heterodox views, such as Substack and Rumble, are thriving. Investors (some more serious than others) are backing efforts to build new conservative social media products. The mainstream platforms are challenged by able competitors, such as TikTok and Reddit, and recondite market forces, foremost among them the ever-shifting tastes of the young.
Ironically, the belief that Facebook and Twitter are juggernauts, and that something must be done to topple them, could spur the passage of legislation that only shores up their power.