A lot of noise is being made about censorship on social media platforms such as Facebook, You Tube, and Twitter. Many are claiming that these companies are engaging in censorship when they remove or limit certain content. The truth is, no private company can engage in censorship.
Censorship is a legal prohibition on the expression of certain ideas. If you express those ideas, in any form, you will be subjected to fines or prison. Only government can do this.
Private businesses have a moral right to establish the terms and conditions for using their property. For social media platforms like Facebook, You Tube, and Twitter, this means that those companies have a right to determine what ideas they will allow on their platform. If you don’t like their criteria, you are free to use another platform.
Those running social media companies are dominated by leftist ideas. Therefore, it is not surprising that conservative ideas are frequently the target of bans or removal and are crying censorship. But conservatives practice the same ideological selectivity on their own platforms.
Conservative talk radio hosts do not provide leftists with an equal opportunity to express their ideas. The ideas expressed on conservative talk radio are conservative ideas. They have a right to determine how they use their property–the content of their programs–and they are not guilty of censorship if they refuse to give Al Gore, Bernie Sanders, or Hillary Clinton air time. Gore, Sanders, and Clinton are free to express their ideas on other programs.
Conservative publications and websites do not publish diatribes from the political left. They publish articles that promote conservative ideas. They are not engaged in censorship is they refuse to publish a manifesto from Antifa, a defense of Planned Parenthood, or any other article. Antifa, the defenders of Planned Parenthood, and other leftists are free to express their ideas elsewhere. Each individual (and business) has a right to determine how he will use his property, and that includes what ideas he will promote and publish.
Freedom of speech and property rights are inseparable. The owner of a property has a right to determine its use. The owner has a right to determine what ideas he will allow to be expressed on or via his property. If we wish to defend property rights and free speech, they we must defend those who use their property in ways we don’t like, as well as those who express ideas with which we disagree.