The Pathetic ‘Platform’ Excuse

On the preceding page, Ralph Peters argues powerfully for “revolutionary thinking about the Internet.” But it’s thinking Silicon Valley is all too likely to resist.

“Instead of prostituting every last shred of principle to add billions in profits to billions,” Peters says, “the tech industry needs to shift to ‘provenance transparency,’ unmasking the sources of all public Internet postings.”

Expect plenty of resistance. Much of the tech industry is now lobbying hard against a bipartisan Senate bill that would let victims of sex trafficking sue Web sites that facilitate the blatantly illegal practice.

Social-media outfits keep insisting that they’re just “platforms,” with no responsibility for the content they publish. Somehow, the magic of the Internet is supposed to absolve them of the obligations the more traditional publishing industry has always borne.

Getting away with it is another matter. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), for example, is writing a bill to “require more disclosure about political ads running on social media, the way we do for television ads,” his office told Mike Allen of Axios. “Ads you may see on Facebook are not public and are targeted narrowly to users based on different variables — making disclosure and transparency even more vital.”

Expect Warner’s bill to get plenty of support from both sides of the aisle: Americans across the spectrum are fed up with the tech industry’s insistence on having everything its way.