At a conference in Munich, Germany, Facebook founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg called upon Western governments for direction on what type of speech should be allowed on his platforms. Zuckerberg (shown) made the remarks at the annual Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
Zuckerberg looked to the movers and shakers involved with the conference for leadership and regulatory boundaries on just what type of political speech should be allowed on Facebook.
“There should be more guidance and regulation from the states on basically — take political advertising as an example — what discourse should be allowed,” Zuckerberg said. “Or, on the balance of free expression and some things that people call harmful expression, where do you draw the line?”
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While Zuckerberg was speaking to an international audience, most of whom did not come from a country with America’s First Amendment, the question could be considered chilling from an American viewpoint. Is Zuckerberg suggesting that there should be limits to free speech beyond the obvious ones like incitements to violence, malicious slander or personal threats?
“There are a lot of decisions in these areas that are really just balances between different social values,” Zuckerberg stated. “It’s about coming up with an answer that society feels is legitimate and that they can get behind and understand that you drew the line here on the balance of free expression and safety. It’s not just that there’s one right answer. People need to feel like, ‘OK, enough people weighed in, and that’s why the answer should be this, and we can get behind that.”
That might sell in Europe where many countries have hate-speech laws and routinely regulate free speech, but here in the United States, we are not guided by “enough people” weighing in. We are guided by our Constitution, which is pretty clear on the subject.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” [Emphasis added.]
Back in 2018, Zuckerberg confounded some Members of European Parliament leaders by seemingly dodging direct questions asked of him. But this year, the Facebook honcho came to Munich in full appeasement mode. Zuckerberg had already leaked that he was resigned to paying more taxes in some European nations once new cross-border tax rules are rewritten. In the days leading up to the Munich conference, he said, “I understand that there’s frustration about how tech companies are taxed in Europe. We also want tax reform and I’m glad the OECD is looking at this.”
The OECD or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is a globalist trade and economic group, which was originally founded to administer the Marshall Plan after World War II. It has since expanded to include 36 member nations, of which the United States is still, sadly, a member.
“We want to OECD process to succeed so that we have a stable and reliable system going forward. And we accept that may mean we have to pay more tax and pay it in different places under a new framework,” Zuckerberg said.
So, Zuckerberg is okay with new taxes and is now asking governments for regulations on what sort of content is considered okay on his platforms. By extension, he is also asking for other tech companies such as Google, YouTube and Twitter to be regulated as well.
The Facebook CEO might as well have waved a white flag of surrender to political correctness with his request for “regulation” on what should be allowed on his platform. Countries without First Amendment — such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom — teach us what to expect, should Zuckerberg allow them to regulate what content is allowed.
Anti-free speech laws only ever go one way. Such laws never become less restrictive, only more so. Zuckerberg may be looking to gain some new European friends with his call for regulation of free speech on his platform. But by doing so, he risks alienating the people of his own country.
Photo of Mark Zuckerberg: Munich Security Conference/Kuchlmann
James Murphy is a freelance journalist who writes on a variety of subjects, with a primary focus on the ongoing anthropogenic climate-change hoax and cultural issues. He can be reached at [email protected].
