Should We Privatize Censorship?

Etzioni, Amitai. “Should We Privatize Censorship?” Issues in Science and Technology 36, no. 1 (Fall 2019): 19–22.

4 Pages Posted: 15 Oct 2019 Last revised: 20 Nov 2019

See all articles by Amitai Etzioni

Amitai Etzioni

The George Washington University

Date Written: October 1, 2019

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the United States has increasingly relied on the private sector to carry out missions that were once considered largely the mission of the state. There are now more private cops (security guards and the like) than public police; there have been about the same number of private contractors carrying out the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as soldiers. There is a sharp rise in for-profit prisons, and even collecting intelligence and torture have been privatized to some extent. Most recently, major technology companies such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter have been, in effect, deputized as censors. They have been pressured to remove a great variety of messages deemed offensive by large parts of the public and its elected representatives. The result is a legal, ethical, and administrative mess, but it is not easy to develop a viable alternative.

Suggested Citation

Etzioni, Amitai, Should We Privatize Censorship? (October 1, 2019). Etzioni, Amitai. “Should We Privatize Censorship?” Issues in Science and Technology 36, no. 1 (Fall 2019): 19–22., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3464349

Amitai Etzioni (Contact Author)

The George Washington University ( email )

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Washington, DC 20052
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.icps.gwu.edu

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