Over at Discourse magazine I’ve posted my latest essay on how conservatives are increasingly flirting with the idea of greatly expanding regulatory control of private speech platforms via some sort of common carriage regulation or new Fairness Doctrine for the internet. It begins:
Conservatives have traditionally viewed the administrative state with suspicion and worried about their values and policy prescriptions getting a fair shake within regulatory bureaucracies. This makes their newfound embrace of common carriage regulation and media access theory (i.e., the notion that government should act to force access to private media platforms because they provide an essential public service) somewhat confusing. Recent opinions from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as well as various comments and proposals of Sen. Josh Hawley and former President Trump signal a remarkable openness to greater administrative control of private speech platforms.
Given the takedown actions some large tech companies have employed recently against some conservative leaders and viewpoints, the frustration of many on the right is understandable. But why would conservatives think they are going to get a better shake from state-regulated monopolists than they would from today’s constellation of players or, more importantly, from a future market with other players and platforms?
I continue on to explain why conservatives should be skeptical of the administrative state being their friend when it comes to the control of free speech. I end by reminding conservatives what President Ronald Reagan said in his 1987 veto of legislation to reestablish the Fairness Doctrine: “History has shown that the dangers of an overly timid or biased press cannot be averted through bureaucratic regulation, but only through the freedom and competition that the First Amendment sought to guarantee.”
Read more at Discourse, and down below you will find several other recent essays I’ve written on the topic.
- “FCC’s O’Rielly on First Amendment & Fairness Doctrine Dangers“
- “A Good Time to Re-Read Reagan’s Fairness Doctrine Veto“
- “Sen. Hawley’s Radical, Paternalistic Plan to Remake the Internet“
- “How Conservatives Came to Favor the Fairness Doctrine & Net Neutrality“
- “Sen. Hawley’s Moral Panic Over Social Media“
- “The White House Social Media Summit and the Return of ‘Regulation by Raised Eyebrow’“
- “The Not-So-SMART Act“
- “The Surprising Ideological Origins of Trump’s Communications Collectivism“
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