If you spend much time on Facebook, you have probably run across a number of people who claim that they have been in “Facebook jail.” These individuals have had their account suspended for a period of weeks because they posted material that Facebook considered offensive. While these individuals may have a valid complaint, to claim that they have been in jail reveals a dangerous trend.
The trend is to equate the actions of a private business with the actions of government. Facebook cannot and does not send individuals to jail. Government can and does. Facebook can’t prohibit an individual from expressing an idea. Government can.
A private business can set terms and conditions for entering its facilities or using its platform. Individuals are free to accept or reject those terms and conditions. But a private business cannot force anyone to accept its terms and conditions.
Government, however, is an agency of force. Accepting its “terms and conditions” is not a matter of choice. We must do as government says, or else. And or else means fines and an actual jail with bars and guards.
We may not always like how others choose to use their property. But if we want the freedom to use our property as we choose, then we must respect and defend their freedom to do the same. We may not always agree with the ideas that others support (or don’t support). But if we want the freedom to support ideas we think to be true, then we must respect and defend their freedom to do the same.
It has become popular among both conservatives and Leftists to attack big tech and call for antitrust persecution of Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other tech companies. While Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey can’t imprison those they disagree with politically. Elizabeth Warren and Ted Cruz can.
In this context, the difference between private parties and government is the difference between the voluntary and the coercive. It is the difference between freedom of choice and government mandates.