The conflict between the US president and the tech giants has created a wave of controversial public opinion in the Chinese online community.
When the world is still fiercely debating about the power of large technology corporations, President Donald Trump is again banned by a series of social networking platforms. This incident attracted worldwide attention.
The tech giants are turning their backs on Trump. Photo: Global News. |
Since the days of the Capitol that Americans faced, Trump has been banned by Twitter and Facebook from using the service indefinitely. Most recently, YouTube also banned Trump’s account from posting new content for a week.
The incident also attracted the interest of Chinese Internet users. Especially in the context of the US-China trade war reaching a tense peak in 2020.
Many were amazed at the Big Tech’s daring to “silence” the president in office. Others claim that Trump deserves the consequences.
Those who sympathize with Mr. Trump have linked his predicament to their own experience of being banned on social platforms.
The Chinese media see the ban introduced by the tech giants as an abuse of power. Many people also believe that the ban goes against the US policy of free speech.
Mei Xinyu, a researcher at China’s Ministry of Commerce, expressed concern about the possibility that too free technology platforms could pose a political threat to nations.
“The tech giants want to plot to overthrow Trump. This is a wake-up call for China. In other words, we must not let Internet companies, especially their alliances, be monopolized, ”said Wang Sixin, a professor at the Communication University of China.
In an article published on Weibo, Hu Xijin, the editor of the paper Global Times claim that the US has once disparaged the right of freedom of expression in China. Now, they are proving that their society is binding on freedom of expression.
“The government cannot limit freedom of expression, but corporations can. This is an ‘interesting’ situation in America, which is why social organization in America is different from China, ”said Ren Yi, a famous blogger in China.
Chinese public opinion and media give two conflicting opinions. Photo: South China Morning Post. |
Before this wave of controversy, Victor Shih, associate professor at the University of California, gave an explanation. “The standards for controlling Internet content are different in both countries. In the US, misinformation can lead to a large-scale riots, ”Victor said.
Therefore, the tight squeeze of US technology companies on Mr. Trump’s internet does not mean they are going against the right of free speech in this country.
Under Mr. Trump, Big Tech faced antitrust investigations, often resulting in corporations being broken down to limit the concentration of power. Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter were in turn targeted.
Antitrust investigations receive support and encouragement from both Democrats and Republicans. Even so, President Trump is often blamed for being the instigator of criticism.
On the other hand, Trump also accused Big Tech of “gagging” him, adopting “double standards” when labeling warnings to his posts.
Before the Big Tech turned their backs on Mr. Trump, the newspaper Politico Big Tech was too naive to think that beating Mr. Trump would end their nightmare series.
The Biden administration will continue to put pressure on the Big Tech. Photo: Global News. |
The retaliation of the tech giants has raised concerns among American politicians. Both parties fear that Big Tech’s power in society will grow.
The administration of the President is elected Joe Biden is expected to continue to pursue the antitrust lawsuits that the Trump administration has initiated. During the past week, Mr. Biden selected Mr. Vanita Gupta, a fierce Facebook critic, as the number three official in the Justice Department. In addition, the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives proposed a series of major changes, facilitating the split of Big Tech.
According to the Zing / South China Morning Post
Elon Musk has criticized the US companies that ban President Trump
The head of Tesla seems to be on the opposite side of the US “Big Tech”. He in turn criticized from Amazon, Twitter to Facebook.
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