Tag: corporations

Enlightened Algos: Democrats Demand Increased Corporate Controls To Protect Citizens From Their Own Dangerous Curiosities

Below is my column in USA Today on the recent call by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) for Amazon to steer readers to “true” books on climate change. It is the latest example of Democrat’s embracing a type of  corporate governance model to carry out tasks barred to the government under the Constitution. Companies are now being asked to protect us from our own dangerous interests and inquiries. An array of enlightened algorithms will now watch over citizens to help them make good choices and read “true” things.

Two centuries ago, rulers sought to convince subjects that they should embrace the notion of “enlightened despotism,” living without rights under the beneficent watch of overlords. Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II summed up the idea with the maxim “everything for the people, nothing by the people.”

Today, we seem to be living in an age of enlightened corporate despotism, where social media and technology companies watch over what we read and what we discuss to protect us from ourselves.

That corporate governance model was on display this month when Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called on Amazon CEO Andy Jassy to use algorithms to steer readers away from books that spew “misinformation.”

Enlightened algorithms are already responsible for large-scale censorship across social media platforms that reach global audiences. They “stand the wall” as sentinels against dangerous ideas.

Warren argued that people were not listening to the enlightened views of herself and leading experts.

Instead, they were reading views of vaccine skeptics by searching Amazon and finding books, including “falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines and cures, including those written by the most prominent spreaders of misinformation.”

Warren blamed Amazon for failing to limit searches or choices:

“This pattern and practice of misbehavior suggests that Amazon is either unwilling or unable to modify its business practices to prevent the spread of falsehoods or the sale of inappropriate products.”

In her letter, Warren gave the company 14 days to change its algorithms to throttle and obstruct efforts to read opposing views.

What was most striking about this incident is that Warren was eager for others to see her efforts to promote a form of censorship.

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Stonewall accused of “ponzi scheme,” “coercing” brands to promote trans ideology on social media

The charity Stonewall is accused of bullying companies and organizations to adopt its gender ideology on social media for a higher ranking on its top 100 list of best employers, leaked documents revealed.

According to a report in The Times (paywall), Stonewall is using its ranking to “lobby on their behalf.” The charity is rewarding those who promote its gender and sex policies and punishing those who do not.

Hundreds of companies, organizations and government bodies, including the Scottish government and NHS trusts, apply to be included in the charity’s exclusive list. Applicants have to fill a 31-page form, which can take months to complete. The leaked documents revealed the changes applicants have to make to satisfy Stonewall’s diversity policies.

For instance, the Central London Community Health NHS Trust had to replace the term “mother” with “birthing parent” or “pregnant employee.”

The organization was also asked to make sure its social media accounts “clearly shows support for LGBT equality.” With those changes, the organization ranked 339th in last year’s list.

Simon Fanshawe, a former founding member of Stonewall said: “[The index] started out as a way of helping employers ensure their lesbian and gay staff were well looked after.

“But what it has turned into now sounds more like coercion – a way of coercing employers in their language and structure, instead of encouraging them to embrace the different needs of their LGBT staff.”

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