Social Media Is an Intel Gold Mine. Why Aren’t Governments Using It?

A cardboard cutout of Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, dressed up as the QAnon Shaman, along with cutouts of other people involved in the U.S. Capitol insurrection on the National Mall in Washington on March 25. Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

On March 25, the CEOs of tech giants Facebook, Twitter, and Google appeared before Congress for the first time since the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection—an event that fundamentally changed the relationship between Washington and Silicon Valley.

On Jan. 8, as if on cue, Twitter suspended then-U.S. President Donald Trump indefinitely, following in a slew of deplatforming efforts on sites ranging from Facebook to Pinterest. But eliminating Trump’s platform didn’t eliminate the ideas he espouses. Nor did Trump’s removal adhere to an established precedent—or create a new one. If Trump is a problem, why does Twitter continue to give voice to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and his Holocaust denial? Ultimately, Trump’s suspension is a classic case of Silicon Valley’s performative self-regulation. Honor systems don’t protect us.