Jersey guy let out of ‘Facebook jail’ (Opinion)

Lots of people I know have been in "Facebook jail." Their points of view didn't line up with the monitors at Facebook. Similar and more harsh things were said in opposition to their views, but it seems to go unnoticed or at least unpunished by the faceless Orwellian monitors at Facebook.

A guy named John Mitchelli  lives in Orlando, Florida but expresses his affection for his home state of New Jersey by running a Facebook page called "You know you're from New Jersey when." Earlier this month, he posted some historical notation that he says got him bounced from the site. His arbitrary sentence was about two weeks and was not clearly explained why it was imposed.

The whole "violated our community standards" answer was the best he got. It's not a platform of free expression like most people had thought. If you read the terms of agreement that you clicked on and probably couldn't understand, it's not nearly as free as anyone would think, especially if you are on the wrong side of progressive orthodoxy.

YouTube and Google have also denied people access or "demonetized" plenty of people who don't conform to their rules or point of view. Similar and much harsher things can be posted as long as the target is a generally recognized villain like Trump or anyone trying to spread a conservative point of view that crosses their line. For years people feared the power of the government to silence their voices of dissent, now it's big tech. These companies are more powerful than government because they control the flow of information most of us use to communicate and receive information.

John Mitchelli was let out of "Facebook jail" on Sunday. So now thousands of people all over the state, country and the world can get a little slice of Jersey they're used to. Good for John and his followers, but who knows when you'll be next.

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