Slashdot Mirror
FCC Chairman Keeps Up Assault on Social Media (axios.com)
Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is doubling down on his critique of tech companies, asking whether social media is "a net benefit to American society" in remarks at the Media Institute on Wednesday. "Now, I will tell you upfront that I don't have an answer." From a report: What he said: Pai made the case that social media has been key to the politicization of many aspects of American life. "Everything nowadays is political. Everything. ... This view that politics-is-all is often made worse by social media," he said, per his prepared remarks.
I might be able to agree that social media is not a net benefit to American society. But for entirely different reasons than Ajit Pai.
Ajit Pai doesn't like it because people can express opinions -- oh my!
I think it is simply a huge black hole for time that could be productively used for employment, study, personal enrichment, and trolling slashdot. With the additional benefit of avoiding more ads. Don't get me started about TV.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
He is also Republican in that he decries the large role of politics of society and in doing so denigrates politics overall - part of the game plan of any authoritarian sect. Remember that if you don't have politics deciding issues, you have authorities deciding issues. Yes, democracy and the resulting politics sucks, but they suck a lot less than the alternative.
That is all.
His policy ideas? I am not sure they are really his. I remember very similar ones from 80's Bulgaria.
The government had become very interested in "Non-formal social groups", and was looking very hard at which ones were beneficial to Communist society, and which one were not. The leader of 'non-beneficial groups" would find themselves harassed and 'counseled' if they were innocuous enough, or set up, compromised, and possibly expelled/fired/reeducated if they were deemed threatening.
I did not expect to see the same thing happen again when I made a life for myself in the United States. But on the bright side, I guess the criteria by which targets are judged will be different in Trump's America compared to Communist Bulgaria. Although I bet at least two things will not change. There will be a lot of subjectivity involved and Muslims will be on top of the shit list.
I'm curious as to which operations will end up having been conducted with more skill and success.