Libertarian pushes censorship at Facebook

PBS TV

Four months after Facebook indefinitely suspended former President Donald Trump's account, the company's oversight board backed the initial decision to throw him off the platform at the time. But the board may have opened the door to allowing Trump back on this fall. John Samples, vice president of the Libertarian Cato Institute, is a member of the board and explains the decision to Stephanie Sy.

Yes, the Libertarian defended censoring Trump for six months because Facebook has a right to prevent imminent harm.

Remember when Libertarians believed in freedom? And the ACLU believed in civil liberties?

I have come to believe that Libertarian organizations are doing more harm to the cause of freedom, than help.

Nothing Trump said was harmful, unless you just see harm in political opinions with which you disagree.

Liz Cheney seems to be still mad that a lot of Democrats refused to accept the legitimacy of her father's election in 2000, and calls it poisonous to question an election. Okay, that is her opinion. But if you believe in free speech, or any Libertarian principles, then surely a politician can question election procedures and outcomes.

A bunch of other free speech organizations put out statement:

Dear President Biden,

Congratulations on your election and your administration’s impressive first hundred days. We are writing as a coalition of human rights, free speech, democracy, and technology organizations to urge the creation of a federal interagency Disinformation Defense and Free Expression Task Force with domestic policy leadership.

As we think about the next four years, we are keenly aware of the challenge the rampant spread of disinformation poses to our nation. The prevalence of deceptions, propaganda, and conspiracy theories related to the 2020 election, COVID-19, and the recent Capitol insurrection illustrates the clear and present threat that disinformation poses to our democracy and national security. ...

Finally, disinformation is both an urgent and a rapidly evolving issue. The threat is protean. In order to make the Task Force effective we believe it must have twin mandates: to provide near term recommendations and to provide ongoing consultation and new initiatives over time. The Task Force should be mandated to deliver, within the first year of your administration, a comprehensive set of principles and overall policy, funding, and legislative recommendations for addressing disinformation and protection of free expression. It should also be mandated to provide periodic updates to these recommendations in recognition of the rapidly shifting cultural, political, regulatory, and technological environment.

In other words, a bunch of leftist groups that were previously committed to free speech, are now asking Pres. Biden to regulate it.