January 26, 2021

All-In Podcast | Big tech Banning Trump, The Ramifications For The First Amendment & The open Internet

People forget there are legitimate views on both sides of a polarizing topic; a nuanced opinion can trigger either side against you. Thus, patience and tolerance are important
Freedom of speech is vital for democracy and freedom, it’s now under the threat of censorship. The biggest power grab in history has happened
“Our free speech rights got privatized, the town square got digitized and centralized” – David Sacks
- Thus, it’s vital to create an online bill of rights, defendable in court
“Censorship always starts as something you like and it ends as something you don’t like when it finally gets turned against you” – David Sacks
- Decentralized apps and protocols are the free-market answer to censorship
A possible second-order consequence of ban-policy: governments consider social media reach as a lever of national power and may demand nationalizing the rails of social media to allow their operation

Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) is the CEO of Social Capital
David Sacks (@DavidSacks) is the founder of Craft Ventures and cofounder of Yammer and PayPal
David Friedberg (@friedberg) is the founder and CEO of The Production Board
Host: Jason Calacanis (@Ja s on)

People forget there are legitimate views on both sides of a polarizing topic (e.g. Trump); nuanced opinion can trigger either side against you
- Thus, patience and tolerance are important
- “Don’t fall for the simple, easy, out. To assume that being a conservative means you are a Trump supporter, or being a liberal means you are not a Trump supporter” – Chamath Palihapitiya
David Sacks describes himself as anti-hysteria, whether that means criticizing Trump or the resistance
Chamath characterizes his political views as sometimes conservative, calling for less intervention from an incompetent government
- While supporting more government intervention in dire cases that require public mandates, such as climate change or health care

Freedom of speech is vital for democracy and freedom, it’s now under the threat of censorship. The biggest power grab in history has happened
- Your online identity and right to participate in public conversation can be taken away with no explanation
“Our free speech rights got privatized, the town square got digitized and centralized”
- “Half a dozen oligarchs now have the right to determine what we see and read and people are cheering” – David Sacks
Tech companies reacted in unison and issued bans that are beyond any legal requirements, this is a slippery slope of subjective censorship

Big tech operates as a quasi-governmental organization with the choice to operate in a free market or as a monopoly.
- As a result, power becomes in the shadows, with no accountability, due process of law, or a way to redress rights infringements
  - Put it this way, “who do we appeal to when we get canceled by Google or Apple?” – David Sacks
Basic observation: “The law hasn’t kept up with the internet” – David Friedberg
- Censorship laws ultimately boil down to: “who has the power to decide?”
- Thus, there is an argument for an internet court that creates online standards, defendable in court
Some may argue online platforms are private services that can be disrupted on the open Internet. However, alternatives like Parler were also banned

“Censorship always starts as something you like and it ends as something you don’t like when it finally gets turned against you” – David Sacks
Governments consider social media reach as a lever of national power and may demand nationalizing the rails of social media to allow their operation
- Keep in mind, major social media platforms are too complicated to have a single team implementing international policies
Social media CEOs face the pressure to implement a ban policy from both employees and politicians
- “Jack is leading Twitter from behind, the mob runs Twitter now” – David Sacks

A moderation policy that is consistent with the first amendment could mean a temporary suspension or a certain tweet ban rather than a lifetime ban and de-platforming
Information wants to be free. Decentralized apps and protocols are the free-market answer to censorship (E.g. Bitcoin and Mastodon)
Forming an online bill of rights that is defendable in court

Only in America: Anthony Noto and Chamath Palihapitiya both grew up on welfare programs, they took SoFi public in a major deal