Similar to the financial sector, tech companies are increasingly pressured to act as a de facto arm of the government, particularly on issues like censorship. This has led to a power struggle, with some tech leaders now publicly pre-committing to resist future government requests.

Senator Ed Markey argues that government overreach succeeds partly because large media companies choose to "roll over" and pay fines or accept chilling effects rather than legally challenging threats to their First Amendment rights. This corporate capitulation is a key, overlooked factor in the erosion of free speech.

In a polarized media environment, audiences increasingly judge news as biased if it doesn't reflect their own opinions. This creates a fundamental challenge for public media outlets aiming for objectivity, as their down-the-middle approach can be cast as politically hostile by partisans who expect their views to be validated.

Rushdie contends that when progressives advocate for censoring speech they disapprove of, they weaken their moral standing to defend other forms of expression, like political satire. This internal contradiction makes it harder to argue against authoritarian censorship, as the principle of free speech is applied inconsistently.

Tyler Cowen's experience actively moderating his "Marginal Revolution" blog has made him more tolerant of large tech platforms removing content. Seeing the necessity of curation to improve discourse firsthand, he views platform moderation not as censorship but as a private owner's prerogative to maintain quality.

To circumvent First Amendment protections, the national security state framed unwanted domestic political speech as a "foreign influence operation." This national security justification was the legal hammer used to involve agencies like the CIA in moderating content on domestic social media platforms.

The common mantra 'go woke, go broke' is backward. US media revenue cratered 75% due to the internet's rise. This financial brokenness forced extreme message discipline ('wokeness') as a desperate survival strategy to retain jobs and a shrinking audience base. Financial collapse preceded the ideological shift.

The promise of new media was to foster deep, nuanced conversations that legacy outlets abandoned. However, it is increasingly falling into the same traps: becoming predictable, obsessed with personality feuds, and chasing clicks with inflammatory content instead of pursuing truth.

While both the Biden administration's pressure on YouTube and Trump's threats against ABC are anti-free speech, the former is more insidious. Surreptitious, behind-the-scenes censorship is harder to identify and fight publicly, making it a greater threat to open discourse than loud, transparent attacks that can be openly condemned.