Telling us all what to think is a bug, not a feature but a little ==known bylaw in Seattle might point the way forward:
Unlike most political jurisdictions in the United States, Seattle expressly forbids discrimination on the basis of “political ideology.” Seattle defines political ideology expansively as
“any idea or belief, or coordinated body of ideas or beliefs, relating to the purpose, conduct, organization, function or basis of government and related institutions and activities, whether or not characteristic of any political party or group. This term includes membership in a political party or group and includes conduct, reasonably related to political ideology, which does not interfere with job performance.”
Seattle’s sweeping ban on discrimination based on political ideology doesn’t just apply to employment or public accommodations. It also includes a “Fair Contracting Practices Ordinance” banning discrimination in contracting.
This is important because contracting includes almost anything a business does when interacting with consumers and other businesses. Whenever a business sells a product or a service to customers, it is contracting with those customers to provide something.
The potential reach of Seattle’s law is breathtaking.
John G. West, “Little-known civil rights law could bring big tech to its knees” at Mind Matters News
It would sure create a problem for Big Tech’s current “Get out of jail free” card. They can be “publishers” when they want to censor and “carriers” when they want to disclaim liability. That’s got to end. It affects us all.
While you’re here: You may also wish to read:
Florida governor, nation states, take on Big Tech. Rattled by censorship and deplatforming, many jurisdictions are looking at ways to make Silicon Valley respect citizens’ rights. Florida’s Governor DeSantis may be the most colourful. Mexico’s president, Poland’s government, and Hungary’s justice minister all want more freedom of expression for citizens than Big Tech seems to want to provide.
and
Prof: America now has two Constitutions — Yours and Big Tech’s People who are being debanked, depublished, and deplatformed are discovering that, whatever the Constitution says, they don’t have rights if Big Tech says they don’t. University of Texas at Austin prof Michael Lind argues that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is a “Get out of jail free” card for Big Tech authoritarians. Change that, he says.