In today’s edition of corporate cowardice, it looks like Twitter is deleting accounts that might be critical of China.
.@twitter has apparently suspended a large number accounts that are critical of #China including accounts of people outside of China. Twitter has become a Chinese govt censor. https://t.co/TsDQZs7juq
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 1, 2019
And that’s not all.
Xia Yeliang’s account has been suspended. 夏业良老师的推号被封了。请推友在跟帖中报告你们所知的被封账户。请截屏。@Twitter @twittersecurity @TwitterSupport @TwitterForGood pic.twitter.com/X8A6ICfCxK
— Yaxue Cao (@YaxueCao) June 1, 2019
@sonofreedom suspended today. @Twitter, please look into this immediately. This has to be an attack by a state actor. @twittersecurity @TwitterForGood pic.twitter.com/hej2eFcqx3
— Yaxue Cao (@YaxueCao) June 1, 2019
Among the accounts suspended are some prominent, long-time Chinese-language tweeps: @Sasha_Gong, @wmeng8. Both live in the US. More accts have been suspended than I can keep up. @Twitter @twittersecurity @TwitterForGood pic.twitter.com/QCDa6yRu1K
— Yaxue Cao (@YaxueCao) June 1, 2019
Two accounts, both living in New York, have been suspended: @liu_juefan, wife of recently detained Beijing activist #ZhangBaocheng and new to New York; and Chen Jun @chenjunnyc, a dissident and a New Yorker for at least three decades. pic.twitter.com/Jtxo68qW5G
— Yaxue Cao (@YaxueCao) June 1, 2019
It’s interesting – technology helped free people by connecting them, and there’s some great examples like the fax machine under the Soviet Union, but lately, it appears it is the opposite. With centralized social media platforms, all a despotic government has to do is threaten the corporation and they become complicit with government censorship. Freedom is only the future when we fight for it.