4 days ago
Online censorship disguised as protection. Keep government out of social media.
Picture this: You're searching for help online and a forum pops up then doesn't load — 'Page Not Found.' Not because it doesn't exist, but because someone decided you shouldn't see it.
That's not safety. That's erasure.
Online censorship is often disguised as 'protection,' but it's control. It buries truths, silences communities and breeds misinformation. Vague legislation let platforms over-censor to avoid liability — not just deleting falsehoods, but anything 'controversial,' including LGBTQ stories, reproductive rights and mental health support. When truth is treated as inappropriate, truths are erased.
This leads to generations internalizing filtered truths. Some adults believe in conspiracy theories over science— not by accident, but by inaccessible knowledge.
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We cannot rely on the very system that is designed to profit from the misery that stems from our voices online being censored. We must persist, organize, educate and speak. All across every platform.
Remember when TikTok was briefly banned? The silence sparked outrage. When it returned, users demanded answers and accountability. It was resistance. We've proven we're capable of defiance. Now we must protect ourselves, others and the truth, because in a world designed to erase us, persistence is power.
Oscar De Anda, Milwaukee
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I am writing to express my opposition to social media censorship, especially censorship controlled by the government.
This includes government mandated censorship on private companies, even when it limits harmful misinformation. It happened during the COVID-19 pandemic when the Biden administration forced many social media platforms, such as Facebook, to shadow ban certain content that spread misinformation about COVID. If this power is left uncontrolled and unchecked it can lead to propaganda and censorship only seen in authoritarian regimes to a scale unseen before.
While some will argue that it was beneficial in saving many lives during the pandemic to have 'misinformation' blocked from social media platforms, what can be defined as misinformation is so vague to the point where it can be spun to mean anything one doesn't agree with. This can lead to useful information being censored and taken down.
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Twitter, or X's, way of combating misinformation, I believe, is the best way to go. Instead of taking down or limiting the reach of certain content, any user can add context to the post allowing for misinformation to be fact checked and disproved right under the post. This still allows misinformation to be disproved without interference from the government or social media platforms.
Social media censorship only helps the reach the government can have with control of information. Finding ways to combat misinformation without censorship lets people still express themselves without misinformation.
Rhys Erwine, Milwaukee
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: TikTok ban illustrates dangers of government censorship | Letters
