Why the Elimination of Parler Is More Scary Than You Think

It's official, Parler is down. And while this might look like something good, it actually represents one of the worst news of 2021. 

The elimination of Parler is the way Big Tech giants have tried their capacity to censor their competency without suffering consequences. And they have succeeded.

People like Donald Trump indeed take advantage of social media, but it is very true that it were social media giants who put him there to make a profit from it. Social media has exaggerated for years the division we are suffering as human beings.

Not long ago, we discovered that social media like YouTube and Facebook use algorithms to show you more of what you like to make you spend the most possible time on their platforms at the cost of your radicalization. And they did not care while they could earn some money from it. Nature has another article on that.

Big Tech corporations make millions from trading with our lives and manipulating us to behave in certain ways that will only benefit them.

We have learned that We also learned that Facebook collects vast amounts of data about us for political ends and that Twitter will put a shadowban on certain users, depending on if what they tweet is related to its interests. So, the abuse of social media of its own power inside their own services is not new.

It is not new either that they buy or slow down other services in order to keep monopolizing the market, as Facebook did with Instagram or WhatsApp, which was the reason they had a trial together with Amazon, Apple, and Google by mid-2020.

What is new is the abuse of power towards other services to simply destroy them, like the situation with Parler.

Parler was —according to its creators, born as a social media platform aimed towards free speech, from any side. It could be a good place to debate with others without Facebook or Twitter controlling every word we write.

And that is their real reason to censor it because it would take away some of their power when it comes to deciding what we see, think, or feel.

Parler's worst defect is not entitling itself or its CEO to decide for its users what is right or wrong, but letting its own users decide, always within what the law allows. Meaning that the minimum boundaries set by the law were respected.

And that is what Facebook and Twitter pursue, to impose their standards on everybody because they know they can not lose a game where they are setting their own rules. And if they do not lose, they will stay in power forever.

This shows they have infinite power to push their private agendas to the limit without fear of any negative repercussions. It places them above any law or world citizen and gives them the right to do and undo as they please, without any consequences.

It proves that they can sell to the world an act of censorship and make it be applauded by millions because apparently is directed towards a greater good. And dismiss any hint of protest with the "Terms of service" argument, just like in dystopian movies.

But this event they are selling as a greater good is going to turn into greater division, it is going to sow more hate among individuals who are going to see their options silenced, and will steer towards even more violent ways while Big Tech owners reap their benefits.

And this article is not by any means a way to protect Trump or its supporters, because fascism should always be confronted; but to state that big corporations should not have more power than any government in the world, and that censorship is never the solution. 

And today we have checked how not only they do hold that power, but also how easy is for them to make us cheer their maneuvers.

What today can be used against Trump, tomorrow could be used against anyone else, from any other party or ideology if it bothers big corporations. And then, it will be too late.

Did you like this piece? Consider leaving a little tip and sharing it with your friends, so I can keep writing. I would appreciate any kind of support.

JM is a Spanish writer who endlessly talks about cars, philosophy, and revolution when he's not playing guitar or practicing Yoga. You can follow him on Twitter to see more content: @jm_miana