Apple’s Attack on Free Speech

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Yesterday, in my article titled “Big Tech Attacking Democracy,” I highlighted some of the problems that are occurring not only on social networks but with search engines because of Google. YouTube is also accused of censoring conservatives who deign to have an opinion not sanctioned by the Left, though of course, YouTube denies it, claiming that they treat everyone equally. This is truly far-fetched at best and an outright lie at worst.

Much of this is coming from the mouths of Google’s own executives who were caught on undercover video from Project Veritas explaining how they were going to essentially pull out all the stops to ensure that Trump does not win re-election in 2020. As most know, Google is the largest search engine for the Internet and as such, they use algorithms to censor conservative sites. Twitter uses algorithms to shadow-ban conservatives. It’s interesting when I post on Twitter to some Leftist’s account, just after my post, I’ll note that it is first as it should be. I will go to another page, then come back into check my post and I am always unable to find it. Twitter’s algorithms essentially take my tweets and put them way down toward the bottom even though things are supposed to appear in order of when they were posted. Twitter also “pins” certain individual’s tweets to the top of, for instance, President Trump’s timeline so that these offensive and often harassing tweets are always on top.

This type of action is tyrannical and fascist. Moreover, it is seditious behavior because they are alleged to be doing everything possible to change a democratic election in the United States. It’s fine if people offer their opinions about a candidate. In fact, doing what can legally be done to ensure that a candidate is elected is part of the fabric of America. Some might choose to use dirty tricks to gain a victory but what we see happening with Big Tech corps like Google, Twitter, Facebook and others is far worse than simply using “dirty tricks.” It is the deliberate attempt to silence the opposition in favor of a specific agenda that caters to the Left. The First Amendment does not support this type of action and doing what can be done to silence opposing viewpoints is paramount to shutting down the First Amendment.

Of course, the Left disagrees with this saying that Twitter, etc., are private companies. Not really since they are publicly traded. Moreover, these companies are involved in interstate commerce. Beyond this, they are actually acting as the “door keepers” and only want those who share their Left-wing opinions to have the opportunity to speak. This is radical to the extreme and even though internal Google docs as released by Project Veritas highlight the fact that Google executives love to call conservatives like Ben Shapiro, etc., “Nazis,” the reality is that it is Google who are acting like Nazis because of their desire to silence anyone who does not agree with their narrative.

A few days ago, I received a notice from WordPress about an article I had published a few years ago. In that article, I included a cartoon that depicted “hate speech” but was only one-sided. The cartoon was a two-panel cartoon. On the left, the Qur’an was immersed in a toilet. On the right, the Bible was immersed in a toilet. The cartoon was an effort to highlight the fact that when it comes to compliance and political correctness, it’s fine to immerse the Bible in a toilet (or urine for that matter and call it “art”). However, don’t dare immerse a Qur’an in a toilet because that is highly offensive to Muslims.

WordPress legal department informed me they had received a cease and desist from Pakistan demanding that the image they found offensive taken down. WordPress said they would not comply and simply left it up to me, noting that eventually, Pakistan may choose to outlaw my website, making it invisible to Pakistanis. The fact that any government can censor something they don’t like it anathema though we expect it from what we might call third world countries who often hold an iron grip over its citizenry.

We do not expect that from corporations within the USA and in reality, it should not exist. Unfortunately, the door keepers like Google, Twitter, Facebook, etc., have tremendous power and wield it to shut down any dissent.

Just this morning, I read another article about Parler. If you’ve not heard of it, it is a true free speech social network and it can be found here: https://parler.com

The CEO of Parler (French for “to speak”), is John Matze and he posted recently how Apple is doing their best to shut Parler down. He’s had numerous phone calls with execs at Apple who are concerned about the free speech at Parler. They want Matze to shut down conservatives, but in reality, Matze started Parler to give everyone an opportunity to speak freely. You can read the entire article here: Apple Stalling Parler Free Speech App Update After CEO Refuses To Delete Conservative Content

In essence, Apple has the power to delete any app from their App Store they wish. They’ve done it with another social network called GAB. Gab found a way around it but they were kicked out of Apple’s App Store for allowing “hate speech” on their platform.

The truth here is that the First Amendment makes no distinction between “hate speech” and speech that is not. People should be allowed to say whatever they want to say. Others don’t have to like it and may choose to vehemently disagree with it, but the First Amendment guarantees the right of people to say what they want to say. But someone will argue, “You can’t yell ‘fire!’ in a crowded place if no fire exists.” Actually, you can and if a person does that, they will face consequences if people are hurt as they attempt to flee the area.

Someone can lie if they choose in an attempt to defame or libel another person. The targeted person then has the right to sue for defamation, which would force the person making the claims to prove those claims. If they cannot, they will likely be on the receiving end of a huge lawsuit.

If Big Tech companies continue to be successful in shutting down voices with which they do not agree, they become tyrannical, fascist and violently opposed to the First Amendment. These door keepers of the Internet have way too much power. They need to either be broken up or Congress needs to relabel these companies and/or remove the safeguards given to them if they are going to continue to infringe on people’s rights to speak freely.

How far will it go? If Apple decides that they will not accept Parler’s app in their App Store any longer, what’s next? Will they begin cracking down on people with iPhones, ensuring that they only talk with people who are on the Left or that their conversations do not contain “hate speech”? This is not only absurd but it is clearly reminiscent of the book burnings created by the Nazis during WWII.

They had no problem contacting CEO John Matze and demanding that he purge “offensive” content from Parler. If Matze did that, he would be no better than Twitter or Facebook.

John Matze believes in free speech and to prove it, he allows anyone with any viewpoint on Parler. It’s a growing social network that has some bugs that they need to work out. They’ve also been attacked by Left-wing groups in attempts to hack and overwhelm. This is what the Left does. They cannot handle anything that is not aligned with their particular viewpoint and they cannot offer arguments that hold up to scrutiny either. So, their only recourse is to shut things down. Yet, in spite of the fact that Google has deliberately modified their search engines so that conservative content does not come up and YouTube has deliberately canceled people like Steven Crowder and Alex Jones, they all claim they are not doing this.

They are doing it, this censoring and if they are not stopped, it will only get worse. Ask yourself why Muslims/Islam are given preferential treatment. Why is it verboten to offend Muslim sensibilities but not Christianity? The reality is that Big Tech companies are doing their best to change the fabric of America. Their constant attacks on parts of the Constitution is a problem that cannot continue to be ignored. They are using Islam to push their agenda and when they’ve finished, they will simply shove Islam to the side. This is why the large majority of people who are resettled in the USA (including illegal aliens) are Muslim. Look at what has happened in Dearborn with a huge influx of Muslims from various places. One must ask the question why these people have been brought to the USA in the first place especially considering the fact that when they speak about the USA, it is clear they do not like our country. They prefer to live in a country where Sharia law is practiced. Why were they brought here under Obama? What was the purpose in doing so?

So, if you believe free speech is worth fighting for as guaranteed under the Constitution, then head over to Parler and open an account. If you do, please feel free to follow me there with the same handle I use at Twitter: @DrFred57

Yesterday and today, Google execs are being grilled by Congress. James O’Keefe III (Project Veritas) has promised more information about Google from inside whistle-blowers, so look for that from his Twitter account. There are actually people at Google, Apple, Twitter, and Facebook who are fans of the First Amendment and are absolutely appalled at what these Big Tech giants are doing and attempting to do to the First Amendment. It’s shameful that we have powerful companies working against aspects of the Constitution, but it exists.

Speak freely. If you allow them to censor you or you self-censor, you’ll see your First Amendment rights evaporate. We can and should stand up against the tyranny, fascism, and Nazism of these Big Tech giants.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective