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A hand holding a smartphone displaying CNN coverage of Trump s inauguration highlighting Mark Zuckerberg. Alamy Stock Photo

Zuckerberg's Meta under Trump 'As an American, my only option is to quit its platforms'

With Meta’s new policy changes for American users, many are moving to alternative platforms for free speech protection.

AROUND THE WORLD, it’s becoming a dire era for free speech. In the United States of America, freedom of speech is constitutionally secured in its First Amendment and traditionally considered as the nation’s founding principle.

Yet, this protection for me, an American, is now starting to feel nonexistent on social media platforms. Because of this limitation, I’m quitting all Meta platforms. 

Screenshot 2025-02-11 at 20.51.42 Meta's three main platforms - Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp. Alamy Alamy

Before the newly elected US president took office, his predecessor President Joe Biden warned Americans in his farewell address a forming oligarchy of “extreme wealth, power and influence” holds dangerous consequences for democracy, basic freedoms and rights. Particularly, he emphasised the rising power of leaders in the technology industry. This has also been long predicted by American Senator Bernie Sanders to become both a national and global threat. 

What is an oligarchy, let alone a tech oligarchy? It’s the opposite of a democracy, a government directed by its citizens. An oligarchy means a small group of people maintaining control over a country. Specifically, the new tech oligarchy in America consists of a tiny circle of elite, White male tech giants monopolising the global communication space with their social media platforms. 

Meta

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) is a technology corporation founded by American tech entrepreneur and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg (also the CEO and chairman) which includes the ownership of social media platforms Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Within the top four globally leading social media platforms are Facebook and Instagram, accounting for over 5 billion users – for perspective, there are about 8 billion people on Earth. 

washington-united-states-of-america-20th-jan-2025-washington-dc-january-20-l-r-priscilla-chan-meta-founder-mark-zuckerberg-lauren-sanchez-amazon-founder-jeff-bezos-google-ceo-sundar-pich Washington, United States Of America. 20th Jan, 2025. (L-R) Priscilla Chan, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Tesla CEO Elon Musk attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

In January, Meta made unprecedented, consequential industry changes for its social media platforms while claiming this move was to protect against censorship and to align with mainstream discourse. 

Since then, Meta has faced widespread criticism. First revealed by WIRED, Meta’s updated policy eliminates restrictions on “topics like immigration, gender identity and gender”. This would, for example, allow users to call people mentally ill based on their gender identity and sexual orientation – doing so is considered derogatory or disrespectful language, which can be illegal.  

There are many other consequential policy alterations, including giving users the nod to discuss gender-based limitations (i.e. what roles women should/n’t have), discriminate protected characteristics (age, religion, gender, race and sexual orientation) and use socially excluding language (i.e. certain spaces should not be open to groups of people based on their gender). Discrimination is typically illegal. 

Meta also replaced its independent fact-checking team with a system like Community Notes, which is used on X (formerly known as Twitter) – a social media platform purchased by Elon Musk, another tech entrepreneur and billionaire. Community Notes has been criticised for its inefficiency in managing mass misinformation, polarisation and speech moderation (hate speech). Particularly, this is because the Community Notes’ algorithm is based on community voting, meaning despite factual evidence, a topic’s credibility is presided by popular votes. Misinformation, polarisation and hate speech are all threats to democracy, and basic human rights and freedoms. 

The day after the US presidential inauguration, Instagram users around the world reported content searches for hashtag topics like #Democrat and #Democracy were blocked, while searching for #Republican was not. Meta claimed this was a system error. Such an established tech corporation should hold itself to greater accountability to avoid irresponsible errors. 

With Meta having a history of being internationally fined for abusing users’ data, silencing content supporting Palestinian human rights and failing to minimise content invoking violence in Ethiopia, the corporation is completely transparent on whether it values basic freedoms and rights. In short, it doesn’t. 

Freedom of speech

In an article on a global digital oligarchy, The Conversation concluded democratic institutions need to prepare for and address the “growing power of tech platforms”. For EU Member States, the EU Digital Services Act protects online users’ rights by empowering users to have more control over their content and mitigating risks like disinformation and hate speech. Meta, however, thinks this is censorship.  

The First Amendment of the US Constitution only applies to protection against speech regulation from government agencies. So, if I’m exposed to hate speech or harmful content on social media, this amendment doesn’t cover me – instead, it would protect the social media platform. The amendment also legalises hate speech, unless there is clear incitement of fear or violence. 

Eleanor Roosevelt, on freedom, said: “Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.” 

Indeed, with freedom comes responsibility. Freedom of speech is not absent of upholding ethics, or moral principles, online and offline. Maintaining standards and values should not be seen as restrictive. 

Making the switch

Many news outlets, journalists and users have transferred away from Meta platforms to alternatives, such as BlueSky. An app described as similar to X but instead protecting users’ data, it allows users to customise their feed and regulates misinformation, discrimination and other toxic content. BlueSky is disassociating with platforms that violate people’s safety, trust and wellbeing. 

poland-29th-jan-2025-in-this-photo-illustration-the-bluesky-logo-is-displayed-on-a-smartphone-with-stock-market-percentages-in-the-background-photo-by-omar-marquessopa-imagessipa-usa-stri Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

While the American government fails to protect me, I retain autonomy by remaining highly conscious of what social media platforms I engage with and how ethical they are.

Though a consumer’s burden, I’m carrying my own weight, contrary to the tech oligarchy. In protection of my free speech, I’m quitting all Meta platforms. I do so also to stand in solidarity with people most affected by its policy changes, including women and gay and trans people. 

Despite these changes being for American users (for now), Meta’s proven track record of disregarding its user’s well-being is universal. I invite you all to join the collective movement in quitting Meta. 

Elizabeth Rymut is a freelance journalist. You can follow her on BlueSky.

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    Mute Dave Walsh
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    Oct 24th 2019, 7:08 AM

    Well paid full-time jobs gone. what’s out is there is mostly short-term or zero hour part time positions. And if you attempt to join a union, your gone.. Not to mention if your older… In a few weeks they people who lost there jobs will be long forgotten by Dublin…

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    Mute Fifty Shades of Sé
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    Oct 24th 2019, 7:03 AM

    Multinationals aren’t the benign overlords of FFG Mythology but relentlessly greedy entities that only care about enriching their own shareholders.

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    Mute Peter Carroll
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    Oct 24th 2019, 7:12 AM

    @Fifty Shades of Sé: The purpose of every business is to create value for a shareholder by delivering value to a customer.

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    Mute Fifty Shades of Sé
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    Oct 24th 2019, 7:36 AM

    @Peter Carroll: Yet we treat them as if their purpose is to improve our domestic economy, structuring our entire tax code in their favour while ordinary Irish workers get constantly shafted.

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    Mute Peter Carroll
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    Oct 24th 2019, 7:44 AM

    @Fifty Shades of Sé: No, that’s our (the State’s) purpose. The multi-nationals come here to take advantage of and benefit from the incentives on offer. Everyone knows that that’s the deal.

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    Mute Fifty Shades of Sé
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    Oct 24th 2019, 7:57 AM

    @Peter Carroll: The state is doing a much better job enriching obscenely wealthy companies than it is taking care of it’s own citizens. The Novartis employees will have to live on €200 a week until they find another job, many of them won’t be able to pay rent or a mortgage, but hey, the hedge fund owners who invest in companies like Novartis might be able to buy more private jets so it’s all good.

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Oct 24th 2019, 8:33 AM

    @Fifty Shades of Sé: what do you suggest? The vast majority of businesses are run the same.

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    Mute Peter Carroll
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    Oct 24th 2019, 10:08 AM

    @Fifty Shades of Sé: I am not making a moral point. You can deal with the State through the ballot box, if you can get enough people to agree with you. Ironically, Ireland has one of the worlds largest aircraft leasing businesses!

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    Mute Fred Coloe
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    Oct 24th 2019, 10:14 AM

    @Fifty Shades of Sé: These companies have been employing people for decades allowing said employees to build their own standard of living. Are you serious with your comment? Do you think the workers would have preferred unemployment instead?!

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    Mute Kieran Woods
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    Oct 24th 2019, 3:39 PM

    @Fifty Shades of Sé: Absolute rubbish. Multinational manufacturers are huge net exporters which contribute massively to our economy without which our exchequer would not be able to provide many of its services. They have given hundreds of thousands of well paid jobs which in turn supports local suppliers, contractors and businesses. What should we do, run them away and return to making clay pipes and fiddles and become third world?

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    Mute Richard Mccarthy
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    Oct 24th 2019, 11:23 PM

    @Fifty Shades of Sé: So just what do you suggest is the answer,are you suggesting we force multinationals to keep employing people against their will,they wouldn’t even set up manufactoring plants in this country in the first place, it would be much better if people like you with a huge chip on their shoulder got rid of the victim mentality and done something positive.

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    Mute Michael Patrick Newell
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    Oct 24th 2019, 9:00 AM

    Sadly when a country like ours, who over rely on the mercy of these up and leave at any time multinationals, then you always run the risk of huge job culls at times. However while the government can’t be blamed for this, it is a bit of a stomach churner that these large and very wealthy companies are given special treatment in relation to things like the tax they pay here, while home grown businesses are made to pay higher amounts all because they don’t maybe have the same financial muscle or employee numbers, but will likely last longer and not do a runner when a better opportunity in some other low level country presents itself to move operations there and leave its employees jobless…..

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    Mute Corkonian In Dublin
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    Oct 24th 2019, 11:48 AM

    The sad thing is that by announcing the job losses now to start taking place from April / May next year, actually helps Fine Gael’s election prospects in a Spring 2020 election. If those job loses were announced in April with immediate impact, it would be difficult campaigns for Simon “Get me to a BRXIT or other EU meeting to avoid home trouble” Coveney. Like Michéal “I want all the power, but not during BRXIT” Martin, they have failed the city and county of Cork.
    FFG forget that there are people outside the M50.

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