> That said, Google could face a backlash from the other side of the ideological divide if it reverses course.
Google faces a backlash regardless.
However, the "deplatforming" trend of the last couple of years is deeply worrying. Today Living Hope Ministries could be deplatformed from the Google app store. Tomorrow it could be deplatformed from PayPal. Someday maybe banks will deplatform them as well.
The problem is intertwined with the tendency for technology to produce monopolies. When the one platform that matters (say, Amazon if you're an author) decides to deplatform you, it's a blow you might not recover from.
There may be a ray of hope here, though. Left to its own devices, deplatforming will tend to produce a monoculture repellant to large numbers people (think about the narrow range of Disney movies). The deplatformed (and their supporters) will seek out new platforms more tolerant of actual diversity, rather than the pretend diversity gaining favor today. Some of them will thrive and eventually challenge today's gatekeepers.
Google faces a backlash regardless.
However, the "deplatforming" trend of the last couple of years is deeply worrying. Today Living Hope Ministries could be deplatformed from the Google app store. Tomorrow it could be deplatformed from PayPal. Someday maybe banks will deplatform them as well.
The problem is intertwined with the tendency for technology to produce monopolies. When the one platform that matters (say, Amazon if you're an author) decides to deplatform you, it's a blow you might not recover from.
There may be a ray of hope here, though. Left to its own devices, deplatforming will tend to produce a monoculture repellant to large numbers people (think about the narrow range of Disney movies). The deplatformed (and their supporters) will seek out new platforms more tolerant of actual diversity, rather than the pretend diversity gaining favor today. Some of them will thrive and eventually challenge today's gatekeepers.