I fully and 100% support banning Parler and Trump's twitter account. First, it is important to note that despite the false claims by Trump Jr. et. al, there is absolutely no first amendment violation at play. Nobody has a right to utilize platforms like Twitter or Google. Business discrimination is permissible so long as it is not predicated on a legally protected class. But of course just because something is legal does not mean it is justified. However, it is easy to argue that banning Trump and Parler from big tech platforms is perfectly justified.
Not only have Trump and Parler repeatedly violated the terms of service of the platforms that have hosted them, they have arguably used these platforms to facilitate breaking the law. It is entirely possible that Trump could be charged with the crime of inciting violence, in which case these platforms may not feel it is ethical or legal to potentially help him do so. For instance is reported that the tweet which prompted twitter to remove Trump's account is the one where he clarified he would not be attending Joe Biden's inauguration; it was a not so subtle way of telling his violently agitated supporters that they are welcome to attack the event without Trump being in danger.
This is far from being unlikely and it could easily be seen as the intent of his tweet. Just minutes after Giuliani told a crowd of Trump supporters that we should have a "trial by combat," which they celebrated and cheered, Trump told his cult followers to storm the capitol and said he would join them (he didn't) where they proceeded to chant "hang Mike Pence" while frothing at the mouth before scaling the wall + busting open windows at the Capitol building after being let in by some police.
We have seen the president attempt to stage a failed coup which he was reportedly happy about according to sources from inside the White House. We have seen the president utilize social media platforms to peddle false conspiracy theories which threaten the republic and have people calling for civil war, despite the alleged justification proven to have been demonstrably false after investigations. We have routinely seen the president disparage these very platforms he relies on and uses for free, attempting to regulate them into submission despite allegedly being "pro freedom" and "anti authoritarian" which his supporters are obviously too dull to notice is contradictory. And we have seen the president show no culpability or remorse for any of the damage he continues to cause, including getting some incredibly misguided follower(s) of his shot over his massive lie.
Despite this, and despite twitter warning him about potentially losing his posting privileges if he continued to fan the flames of a bloodthirsty mob, the insanely narcissistic Mr. Trump simply could not help himself. He ignored twitter's warnings -- just like Parler ignored Apple and Google's repeat warnings of TOS violations -- and as a result he was FINALLY removed.
Now keep in mind when libertarians and conservatives insist we don't need government regulation, it's because they say the market will regulate itself. The market will weed out the bad apples, right? That's why they are perfectly okay with a Christian baker not baking a gay wedding cake. They insist it is the baker's right to discriminate based on their beliefs, and they say that the market will punish them through boycotts and slander. Well here it is, folks! LIBERTARIANS, REJOICE. We can see the market at work just like you said it would. These private platforms have acted in defense of their deeply held beliefs (among other things I just mentioned above) without the government being able to force them to host these potential criminals.
Or... do "anti authoritarian" conservatives and libertarians suddenly have concerns about private businesses discriminating? o_O HMM. Interesting that the Law and Order enthusiasts would get up in arms (literally, no pun intended) over a private company silencing criminals but will defend to the death the right for bigots to discriminate against people who love someone of the same sex.
Anyway fuck Trump, fuck Parler, and god help the poor people that have been manipulated into supporting them.
The most amusing posts are the ones insisting CONSERVATIVE VOICES ARE BEING SILENCED from right-wing pundits and accounts with huge platforms like Fox News, Breitbart, and a bunch of other demented "pro patriot" sources. It's too much.
