Author Name: Carribean Channel, Cuba TV.
This story was originally published on canalcaribe.ict.cu. [1]

Trump and Biden go for the Big Tech
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For those who thought that everything was going to stay like that, well, once again, here it goes: it is news in the world of networks and politics that former US president Donald Trump will file a class action lawsuit to hold the ‘Big’ accountable. Tech ‘in the name of freedom of expression.

“Today together with the America First Policy Institute I am filing, as its principal representative, a major class action lawsuit against the big tech giants, including Facebook, Google and Twitter, as well as their CEOs, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey,” he announced the New York tycoon.

Let us remember that the ex-president’s accounts in the main social networks and some online services have been suspended since the beginning of January 2021: some temporarily like Facebook and others definitely like Twitter, his main communication platform.

The leitmotif of such decisions by these corporations was the use of digital platforms, by the then tenant of the White House, to incite violence and prevent in any way the inauguration of the newly elected Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. . As a result, on January 6, hordes of supporters – at the instigation of Donald Trump himself – attacked the national Capitol, leaving five fatalities and material damage of around 1.5 million dollars. The United States experienced a climate of political and social instability never before seen in its history.

“We demand the end of the disguised suppression, the end of the silencing and the end of the blacklists, the prohibitions and cancellations that you know so well,” said the former Republican candidate, who also reaffirmed that his defense will show that “this is illegal, unconstitutional and completely anti-American. ‘

In his own words, also defend the First Amendment to the Constitution and that the “Big Tech” stop “silencing”, “blacklisting” and “canceling” Americans. The newspaper El Universo reports that the lawsuit will begin in the state of Florida, supported by the America First Policy Institute, which groups together politicians of his ideological line and former members of his cabinet.

Let’s not forget that social media is the foundation on which Donald Trump’s entire political platform stands. Before being suspended, the ex-president had almost 89 million followers on Twitter, 35 million on Facebook and 24 million on Instagram. Hence his desire to regain direct contact with his electorate with a view to the 2024 presidential elections.

To what extent is this lawsuit feasible?

According to Russia Today, in the United States’ Communications Decency Act of 1996, “Internet companies are generally exempt from liability for material posted by users.” The law also allows social media platforms to moderate their services and remove posts that, for example, are obscene or violate the terms of use, but as long as they act in “good faith”.

The site specialized in technology and social networks MyComputer explains that the crux of this case is that the First Amendment of the North American Constitution prohibits the limitation of freedom of expression and of the press by public powers, not by companies and private entities , category to which the social networks demanded by Donald Trump are assigned:

“The US federal government cannot intervene, in any case it is up to the courts to act if, as a result of said communications, other fundamental rights are violated. In other words, the judiciary can determine the deletion of content or the closure of a medium, but the executive cannot ”.

Interestingly, the former Republican president invited (even) people opposed to his ideology, including Democrats, to join his crusade against the big tech corporations, arguing that these companies have teamed up with the government to decide what disinformation is, and that in a few years they could be the victims.

Washington vs. the Big Tech, too?

Coincidence or not, this Friday, July 9, the current president of the United States, Joe Biden signed a new executive order aimed at fighting anti-competitive practices in the economy, and in particular, in the technology industry, various international media report.

Capitalism without competition is not capitalism. It is exploitation, “he said from Washington in a speech before signing the directive that includes 72 actions and recommendations that involve more than a dozen federal agencies, and aims to” quickly address some of the most pressing competition problems “in the American economy, according to a White House fact sheet.

The measure, based on the defense of the basic capitalist principle of the law of the market, aims to curb abuses in its superior position by a few companies, which translate into higher prices for the consumer.

Likewise, this decision emphasizes that the Biden Administration will pay special attention, in the field of technology, to “the acquisition of emerging competitors, serial mergers or the accumulation of data.” According to the newspaper El País, the federal communications agency (FCC) must restore the rules that impose the so-called “net neutrality”, adopted under the mandate of Barack Obama and repealed by Donald Trump. The father of the concept “net neutrality” is Tim Wu, one of Biden’s economic advisers.

In the same article, later on, the Spanish newspaper adds that “without naming them, big technology is on everyone’s mind, given the ongoing bipartisan offensive – Democrats and Republicans jointly – against Big Tech.”

How will the events unfold in the next few days? Only time will tell. The only certain thing is that in the era of surveillance, as the Franco-Spanish political scientist Ignacio Ramonet called it, the parents who defend “freedom” do not like to be watched (controlled) by the big monopolies. And if the question already goes of demands and executive orders, everything indicates that they are feeling the breath of the beast on their own necks.

(C) Cuba TV, Cuban state owned media.
[1] Url: https://www.canalcaribe.icrt.cu/en/trump-and-biden-go-for-the-big-tech/

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