Internet giants, social media platforms aren’t news organizations

In response to your Wednesday editorial on regulating Internet search engines:

I agree wholeheartedly that content of news organizations should not be regulated, as long as they don’t lie — and, yes, some reporters do lie. That aside, the editorial reflects the misguided impression that Google, Twitter and other social media platforms are news organizations. They are not. They are platforms for people to share thoughts and experiences.

What the president and many conservatives are alarmed about is the censoring by these companies of content they disagree with. This is happening on a daily basis and must stop. Despite repeated assurances from Google and Twitter that the cancelation of people’s accounts and shadow banning are simply unfortunate mistakes, it continues unabated. They must either stop these practices or they should be honest and tell people that they will be censored if they dare to express a conservative view on their sites.

If the RJ was sincerely concerned about free expression, it would condemn what these social media companies are doing as strongly as it supports an unfettered press.