Where is Big Tech in the pursuit of ending mass violence? It’s a question that more and more public policymakers are asking.
The premise is simple: When Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube host speech on their platforms, and, at the same time, can filter, censor, and even harvest the speech of users using algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI), they have the technological power at their disposal to identify and report to law enforcement authorities individuals who display signs of a propensity to violence.
Inanimate objects don’t kill people; people kill people.
Public Platform or Content Publisher?
Starting with the premise that Big Tech can act—supported by the censorship of content such as Prager University by YouTube, Jesse Kelly by Twitter, and many more—why are we seeing post-incident reports that reference social media manifestos, posts, and commentary that were known of before the crimes took place, while at the same time, Big Tech remains silent on the sidelines?
When Big Tech elites can conspire with their preferred social action mobs, such as abortion activists to ban from their platforms “pro-life ads ahead of an important abortion vote in Ireland last year,” according to Life News, it begs the question, why isn’t Big Tech stepping up to identify threats to society with simple reporting?
The case of pipe bomber Cesar Sayoc presents a case in point. Sayoc’s social media profiles online included conspiracy theories, specific threats, and even graphic images. All of this was found after he made mail-bombing attempts against critics of President Donald Trump and key Democratic Party political figures in October 2018. All of this was discovered after the fact.
Then there’s the more recent case of Connor Betts, the alleged Dayton, Ohio, mass shooter. “A Twitter account that appears to belong to Betts retweeted extreme left-wing and anti-police posts as well as tweets supporting Antifa, or anti-fascist, protesters,” CNN reported. Betts is said to have “often simulated shooting other students and threatened to kill himself and others on several occasions.”
At the other end of the spectrum, CNN reported, “a tip from a colleague led police to arrest Rodolfo Montoya. … ‘Suspect Montoya had clear plans, intent, and the means to carry out an act of violence that may have resulted in a mass-casualty incident,’ [Police Chief Robert] Luna said.” Preemptive action stopped a massacre from happening.
