The biggest news yet out of 2021 is that private companies that started out in garages are powerful enough to check the excesses of political leaders, even those of the President of the United States.
Social Media Giants, Twitter, banned President Trump permanently from using its services after the President released a series of misleading information on social media. 9 Tech-enabled companies have since banned the president including Facebook, Microsoft, Stripe, Reddit, Snapchat and Youtube. This is a big deal. Even though the President was on his way out of his 4-Year term, the extermination of Trump’s messages from digital media through these “once called” Startups dealt a devastating blow, and leaves an ominous feeling of future events that may create less inclusion and diversity in societies of the world.
President Trump and his supporters had always relied on Digital Media, the likes of Facebook and Twitter, to get their messages out to the world because of the popular contention that Traditional Media is biased. With Digital media showing less tolerance for extremist ideas by a sitting president who garnered more than 70 million human votes, claiming violations to its content policies, one is left to wonder about the type of divide this action may create and whether today’s victors may become tomorrow’s victims.
Will tech giants owe it to the world to always stand up to Politicians when public interest is at risk, and overtime, will this become too overwhelming for private-owned companies? Will these actions have consequences on their Top and bottom lines; after all these corporations are businesses that must maintain shareholder value— will it become too dangerous to dabble into politics or will staying apolitical become impossible for these tech corporations? Will the Government become more hostile to corporations with such power to sway public conversations?
There will be consequences to the action of de-platforming president trump across Digital media. Below are some angles we have considered about the effects of this action;
- Digital and Tech innovation may face limited markets as political affiliations may become an absolute deal breaker for most people.
- Digital platforms may be compelled by government and the public, through policies, sanctions and cancel-culture, to silence less popular ideologies.
- Inclusivity and diversity may become a farce and it may become much harder to establish in society.
- An uprising of technocrats in the helms of political affairs to secure the future of corporations.
- New coalitions formed by tech giants to promote political agendas.
- Data and Privacy laws becoming more contentious
How do you think this action will shape the world in the near future?
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