One other constant shared between the pre- and post-broadcast eras of media was an extremely high level of distrust towards politicians. Why? Well, the handful of companies that owned TV broadcast licenses weren't about to start biting the hand that fed them. Also, the FCC outright banned them from pushing overtly political narratives. This ultimately acted to reduce the total amount of information voters knew about their candidates.
Let's say that you happen to have brainworms. And your local Senator promised on TV that every brainworm had a right to live in a person's head. You, obviously, vote for him. However, Congress then passes the Comprehensive Brainworm Mitigation Act of 1973. But you remember that your Senator fought for you and your brainworms, because that's all you saw of him on TV. In fact, he goes to the press and swears how he fought to tone down the brainworm bill, or included an amendment for brainworm sanctuaries.
Today? Well, the moment that the Worm Free Children Act of 2023 passes, you're already getting pings on Facebook and Twitter about how your Senator betrayed you. You hear rumors about how he secretly agreed to pass the bill months ago. Someone's already spamming you with memes about how he sleeps with earplugs in his ears, constantly in fear that a brainworm might slither into his ear canal. You're talking in realtime with millions of other brainworm hosts, all of whom are angry and planning protests against your brainworm-hating Senator.
Of course, all of that could be a complete and total fabrication. It does not matter. Defamation is dual to censorship, after all.
This actually isn't a new condition, but regression to the mean. American politics in the 1800s was chock full of people with brainworms trading wild accusations around in similar fashions. The main difference between then and now was just the speed at which news travelled, but the effects were the same.
It's not that complicated:
Politicians don't know technology
Politicians hear there's this thing that lets bad guys have fully secure conversations that even 3 letter agencies can't crack.
Politicians see blocking that as a political win.
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All of this nonsense about corruption... you think politicians are successfully going to get social media giants to intercept DMs that say bad things about them?
Or this is the first step to a CPP-esque lockdown on free speech?
That's fantasy at best and a disturbing level of paranoia at worst.
> This entire comment is the definition of FUD.
This would have been true if this was the first bill. But this bill (and variants of it) keep getting proposed again and again. From different and multiple angles. It's not a small political win here they are looking for.
> you think politicians are successfully going to get social media giants to intercept DMs that say bad things about them?
Yes. But you need the Technology there first. Once it's there, it's much easier to pass these things.
> Or this is the first step to a CPP-esque lockdown on free speech?
Yes. It worked for China. So it might work for us.
> That's fantasy at best and a disturbing level of paranoia at worst.
It's not. The amount of restrictions and surveillance we have today is unprecedented. Things can move fast once the technology is ready and the moment is there to seize.
You agree your comment is FUD except... politicians keep pushing for a bill they see as a political win.
Right.
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And your entire comment is doing exactly what you said I shouldn't: explaining for politicians.
Except you're taking this paranoid interpretation where elected officials are un-ironically intentionally trying to turn the US into the next CPP.
Also I love the very well buried lede with "amount of restrictions". Might be related to the pandemic that killed millions but who knows...
I think, what most people are missing, is that Democratic (the free world) governments have lost control of the narrative. It's not that there wasn't corruption before, but people trusted the government more back in the day. Before the immersion of social media, information moved slowly. There wasn't free channels to transfer information (the Media controlled what can get out) and people couldn't take high-quality photos, videos and live stream to their fellow citizens.
This changed now. This means the government and politicians can't control the narrative anymore (ie: almost all politicians are corrupt now!). This is doubly worse since young people disproportionately use social media. TV is still watched, but only by seniors. They'll be gone soon and the politicians will have to rule a ruly population.
The next decade is going to be quite challenging to Democracy, Freedom of Speech, Privacy, Freedom of Movements and all freedoms and liberties really. Many of the liberties the West population take for granted are quite expensive; you better be ready for this change.