Are we “Problematic Characters”?
“Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm but the harm does not interest them.“ -T.S. Eliot
Censorship didn’t end with the end of the Biden Administration. Unfortunately we have just traded one flavor of censorship for another.
We must beware of a future where criticism of the government is not permitted (aka the First Amendment has been violated). Beware, the future is now.
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/sally-mann-warns-of-government-censorship-1234753655/
In January, Sally Mann’s art was seized and removed from the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. After thorough investigation, her art was returned and all charges dropped. Unfortunately many see “porn” when there is only innocence. This is not new, Sally’s art has been under fire since 1992. In 2001, Time magazine named Mann “America’s best photographer.” Sally is not some unknown, random person clicking a shutter button.
Exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution are under review again from the Trump Administration. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/smithsonian-white-house-national-museum-american-history-1234746903/
Bluesky has implemented “age verification” preventing users from reading their chat messages or viewing “adult” posts unless the user identifies themselves. Bluesky is a liberal version of Twitter. This isn’t Bluesky’s fault, it is their response to government censorship laws being enacted. So if you live in Mississippi (or rather if your Internet connection originates there) you can’t use Bluesky at all. South Dakota and Wyoming have slightly more sane censorship laws and thus the requirement to identify yourself. Users in the UK face the same requirement to identify themselves.
MeWe is the only platform that I’m aware of that doesn’t censor. Their “moderation” is very reasonable. 99% of my social media activity is on MeWe. I’ve enjoyed MeWe for the past eight years. MeWe is social media that is actually social!
So far there has been no technical solution to age verification that doesn’t eliminate privacy. Without privacy, persecution and censorship flourish.