“Are We Witnessing the Slow Death of Our Favorite Online Platforms?”
In the chaotic realm of social media, a question lingers: who really holds the reins? Just the other day, as I sipped my morning coffee and scrolled through my feeds, I couldn’t help but chuckle at how we tirelessly curate our online lives while someone else—be it a corporate giant or a public figure—controls the strings. Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter (now X), for example, has been pivotal in reshaping our understanding of ownership in the digital world. It seems more evident than ever that the platforms we rely on are asserting, rather boldly, that we are merely guests at a lavish dinner we thought we were hosting.
In a stunning twist, recent legal developments reveal that our cherished accounts are not ours at all! X has positioned itself as the true owner of our online identities, a stark reminder that we might be renting space in a grand mansion, never really intended to redecorate. So, as the internet teeters on the edge of an identity crisis, we find ourselves pondering whether we have any say in this digital landscape.
As we dive deeper into the implications of these changes, a candid exploration of who is really in control—and what it means for free speech—becomes indispensable. Ready to grapple with the truth? It’s a wild ride that demands our attention! LEARN MORE.
This Just In: Platforms want us to know exactly who controls the internet. It’s not us, but it can be!
I began my crusade against platforms a few years ago. Multiple things prompted this belief, but Elon Musk’s purchasing of Twitter really opened my eyes.
The night Twitter died, I listened to dozens of people mourn, reflect, and predict exactly what would happen next. While some of those predictions would end up wrong, many who warned about the reduction in free speech and access to journalism ultimately proved correct.
Since then, platforms (either spurred by Musk’s actions or encouraged by them) have collectively gotten worse.
X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) recently filed a brief in the Infowars bankruptcy hearing asserting that it, not you, owns your account. Here’s Jason Koebler at 404 Media:
The legal basis that X asserts in the filing is not terribly interesting. But what is interesting is that X has decided to involve itself at all, and it highlights that you do not own your followers or your account or anything at all on corporate social media, and it also highlights the fact that Elon Musk’s X is primarily a political project he is using to boost, or stifle, specific viewpoints and help his friends…
Post Comment