First things first. When a social media company removes posts by a specific user, or even

in the case of the former president Donald Trump removes a user altogether, it is not

a first amendment issue.

One big reason is because the first amendment defines your rights against the government.

It doesn't define rights against a private company.

Daphne Keller, who spoke to NPR this past week, is the platform regulation director at the

Stanford Cyber Policy Center.

There have been more than 30 lawsuits in the US by users saying they have a right to speak

on platforms and demanding that platforms reinstate them.

And the platforms always win those cases.

Basically, the government can't silence your ability to say almost anything you want

on a public street corner, but a private company can silence your ability to say whatever

you want on a platform they created.

Because the platforms themselves have their own first amendment rights to set editorial

policy and decide what to take down.

So yeah, the legal debate is pretty cut and dry.

But the cultural debate about whether tech companies are engaging in something that could

be called censorship, that's another story.

You know, I think everyone who pays attention is worried about the idea that a very small

number of private companies exercise gatekeeper power over some of the most important forums

for public discussion these days.

Consider this.

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