Donald Trump has apparently struck a chord of disdain with US technology sector leaders. At least substantial enough to elicit an open letter, which at certain parts is mawkish and borders on the hypocritical.
While the majority of the letter’s content bemoans Trump’s behavior towards women and policy on immigration, the intriguing verbiage focuses on his willingness to enact measures in increasing online security to protect both domestic and information interests. This is where the proverbial wheels of the letter come off.
“His penchant to censor extends to revoking press credentials and threatening to punish media platforms that criticize him.”
While a number of the letter’s signees work or worked in the world of social networking, including Facebook, sighting Trump on employing tactics such as digital omission or intimidation is laughable. It is widely known that world’s largest social network is involved in deliberately burying conservative news content and altering advertising algorithms involving certain keywords. At no point in the letter does there exists language addressing the diminishing First Amendment rights of online users and businesses, who are subject to the terms and conditions of specific sites, rather than the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
