It might be your opinion that they are not simply commercial businesses whose role is to make money for their shareholders, but it is mine.

None were established as either government or social enterprises. They may now be adopting more responsible oversight and subsequent interventions but that is all being driven by commercial considerations.

Are you ignorant of what drives a business? Have you ever worked in commerce or were you always one who knew better, as you think you do now?

Those that can, do. Those who can't, teach.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

Who gets to define an "inoffensive" opinion?

One of the things that Trump shares with both Hitler and Stalin is his intolerance of any kind of criticism. They went rather further than Trump has in the way they responded to it, although he leaves the impression that he might envy their power to react in whichever way he chose.

Free speech remains protected. It's not what you can say, or think, but where, how and when you can say it that has been clarified. Which is a societal evolution, and not a backward step.

Social media companies are not publishers. No editor, for instance, would allow the lies Trump includes in his tweets to appear in his publication. The lawyers would insist they be removed.

Opinions are not being censored. That's a misconception. Social media companies are merely responding to their advertisers and users preferences in their own commercial interests. They aren't removing posts because of any personal objections. If people want the truth, then that's what they will try to give them. If they see what is regarded as a lie, then it will be flagged or removed.

Trump will answer for a lot of things but allowing social media to become political won't be one of them, because they haven't.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

Why does the POTUS seek pre-emptive pardons for his family?

He is expected to be issuing pardons before his exit and here we can expect the worst of politics, already started with Flynn.

'Bribery for pardons'.

A justice department investigation already underway alleges that an individual offered “a substantial political contribution in exchange for a presidential pardon or reprieve of sentence”.

He will end just a cheap crook like Nixon was.

Free speech in Scotland won’t be as free as it used to be if you can be prosecuted for what you say in your own home.

[Link]

How's that bet looking?

Did you know? 98.0000001% of people are morons.

I quite enjoyed this take from an American on the general state of it all

"The thing you have to realize is that the media channels in this country are basically split in half, and those that support Trump are blatantly outlandish and bizarre in nature because they're talking to a brain damaged audience and need to get that impact.

The intelligent right wing are those that lurk in the shadows. The people who give a f*** about building walls, militias to start race wars, opening coal plants, hillary emails, pedogate are all just kept on a steady diet of tabloid worthy bulls***.

The country would potentially even unify and s*** their pants if they heard what right wing senators ACTUALLY thought and were ACTUALLY working towards. But instead you see "LOL TRUMP CAN'T LIFT A CUP" on the news, instead of "old white men striking yet another deal to benefit each other."

To put it another way, Trump's role as the boss in the Apprentice was supposed to be borderline humorous as he was a failed business icon leading these goofy challenges... but the public is so f***ing uneducated that the cartoon was considered "reality."

That is the caliber of intelligence you have to consider you're dealing with, and there's no fix for it. It's zero different than the National Enquirer and bat boy / jesus in toast level of idiocy.

The left, on the other hand, have more population because the left is represented by diversity and collaboration in major cities. However our political system "weights" rural districts to (crazy sarcastic airquotes) """""""""""""""""""""make it fair""""""""""""""""""""""""".

The left eats itself: too smart, too "correct." And then when they use the same political maneuvering like the party tends to do, it ALWAYS misfires.

And here we are again, a voting system so f***ing broken that our choice is between a single candidate and NOT the single candidate, and not a ranking of who would be best, or who is actually a good fit."

Did you know? 98.0000001% of people are morons.