There's something deeply disturbing about near-monopoly platforms deplatforming users with no due process or transparency. YouTube controls more than 70% of the online video sharing market. Its parent Google controls over 85% of desktop search. This damages democracy.

I share libertarians' skepticism of government regulation & believe in empowering private businesses to make their own decisions. But we have to be honest about the distortions of monopoly power — especially over information and sense-making, and in turn democratic integrity.

This is why I support more antitrust action along the lines of what @matthewstoller advocates. (I am also open to regulatory tweaks, like fine-tuning Sec 230.)

Step one: Break up Google.

We also have to look at coordinated deplatformings through the lens of anti-competitive behavior.

Finally, there's a human rights issue to consider when near-monopoly platforms that drive much of our democratic discourse engage in this behavior. See UN Article 18. https://twitter.com/jeffgiesea/status/1273649069110505472?s=20

Too often these discussions are framed as more vs less regulation. I don't see it that way. The question to ask is, what's the best *regulatory framework* to encourage innovation, competition, & democratic integrity? This is what animates my POV.