On platforms, publishers, and censorship

The social media companies are not publishers by definition. They do not choose who uses their platforms, what they talk about, or the words they use. It is not social media’s right to enforce a zeitgeist or status quo. They are not even responsible for decorum. When we discuss private companies we must not be aiming to increase their advantage over the private citizen.

There was the Tea Party, there was Occupy Wall Street, and before 2000 every liberal was against global corporations crushing local competition. Only neoliberals and neoconservatives supported monopolies gaining hegemonic control.

Private businesses do not get to define their means of operation. Before the 1970s, oil paints were produced without archival labeling. This meant that artists did not know how long paints would last unless they had studied in chemistry, and had memorized the longevity of every chemical compound of paint. Works by Van Gogh had already begun to fade a little after more than half a century of existence.

Archival paints are not perfect, and the chemistry behind paint is not completely studied, but those labeled archival promise up to two centuries of color. If these practices had been in place in the 1800s then there are innumerable modern masterpieces that could have stayed true to their original color composition to this day. Granted, it would not make art immortal, but it would have given expression itself a worthy gift.

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