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Why some laid-off employees turn to TikTok for career flexibility

Some laid-off workers try their hand at content creation rather than trying to return to traditional employment, though success online is not always easy to come by.

China's Psyop Is Expanding: TikTok Set to Launch Instagram Competitor

China's TikTok, the social media platform wildly popular with American teens, is gearing up to release a new photo-sharing app that could potentially rival Mark Zuckerberg's Instagram, according to recent notifications sent to users.

The post China’s Psyop Is Expanding: TikTok Set to Launch Instagram Competitor appeared first on Breitbart.

China's schools use AI. Why don't ours?

Artificial intelligence isn't designed to replace humans, it's supposed to augment them and give them new tools. It's how the US will stay competitive with China -- through education.

Hypemaster Elon Musk Announces Tesla Robotaxi Despite History of Broken Promises

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again stirred up excitement and skepticism with his latest announcement of an upcoming Tesla Robotaxi unveiling on August 8, 2024, despite a history of unfulfilled promises surrounding the currently non-existent "robotaxi" service.

The post Hypemaster Elon Musk Announces Tesla Robotaxi Despite History of Broken Promises appeared first on Breitbart.

Netflix Announces Layoffs in Films Division

Streaming giant Netflix is reportedly restructuring its films division and has announced it is laying off 15 employees in this initial phase.

The post Netflix Announces Layoffs in Films Division appeared first on Breitbart.

Watch Live: NASA Covers Solar Eclipse Across North America

NASA is providing coverage of the total solar eclipse from areas across North America on Monday, April 8.

The post Watch Live: NASA Covers Solar Eclipse Across North America appeared first on Breitbart.

Japanese Companies Warn that 'Social Order Could Collapse' in Age of AI

Two influential Japanese companies are warning that "social order could collapse" in the new AI era as they call for new laws to restrain the technology.

The post Japanese Companies Warn that ‘Social Order Could Collapse’ in Age of AI appeared first on Breitbart.

Snapchat Turns Off Controversial Feature Fueling Teen Anxiety

Snapchat has adjusted its 'Solar System' feature, turning it off by default, in response to recent criticism and concerns over its potential negative impact on teens' mental health and relationships. The Solar System feature serves as a friend-ranking tool, driving teen anxiety by making them worry about their social status. One teen explains, “It’s everyone’s biggest fear put onto an app.”

The post Snapchat Turns Off Controversial Feature Fueling Teen Anxiety appeared first on Breitbart.

Bidenomics in Action: Best Buy's 'Geek Squad' Tech Support Unit Hit with Massive Layoffs

Retail giant Best Buy is conducting massive layoffs within its Geek Squad tech support division, leaving numerous employees suddenly jobless and struggling to come to terms with their unexpected termination.

The post Bidenomics in Action: Best Buy’s ‘Geek Squad’ Tech Support Unit Hit with Massive Layoffs appeared first on Breitbart.

Two new stealthy malware threats are targeting those of you who use Macs

Two types of malware are designed to trick Mac users and steal data. So, it's important to make sure your private data is locked down.

Colombia Denounces FARC Terrorists for Recruiting Minors with TikTok

The Colombian government asked its citizens to denounce TikTok accounts that are being used by the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) terrorist organization to recruit minors into its ranks, Colombia's Communications Minister Mauricio Lizcano announced Thursday.

The post Colombia Denounces FARC Terrorists for Recruiting Minors with TikTok appeared first on Breitbart.

Microsoft: China Is Deploying AI-Powered Disinformation to Influence U.S. and Taiwanese Voters

China is leveraging artificial intelligence to target voters in the United States, Taiwan, and other countries with disinformation campaigns, according to recent cybersecurity research from Microsoft and U.S. officials.

The post Microsoft: China Is Deploying AI-Powered Disinformation to Influence U.S. and Taiwanese Voters appeared first on Breitbart.

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Introduces 'Made with AI' Labels Ahead of 2024 Election

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is claiming to address the potential misuse of AI during the upcoming 2024 presidential election through a new system to label AI-generated videos, images, and audio posted on its platforms.

The post Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Introduces ‘Made with AI’ Labels Ahead of 2024 Election appeared first on Breitbart.

Elon Musk's Tesla Faces Trouble as China EV Market Cools Off

China, the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) market, is expected to see a slower growth rate in electric cars sales this year, spelling trouble for major players like Tesla and local competitor BYD. More than half of Tesla's sales come from the communist country, adding more problems to the company which is the worst performing stock in the S&P 500 this year.

The post Elon Musk’s Tesla Faces Trouble as China EV Market Cools Off appeared first on Breitbart.

What to do when your own number appears to ring your home phone

What happens when your landline rings and the caller ID lists your number? Strange, right? This happened to one of our subscribers, who reached out to ask us about it.

10 tips to speed up your PC's performance

Have you been having issues with your PC moving at a snail's pace? Before you invest in a new PC, here's what you can do first to help your computer get back up to speed.

Elon Musk's X/Twitter Claims to Fight 'Bots & Trolls' with System Purge

In a series of recent updates, Elon Musk's social media platform X (formerly Twitter) says it is taking significant steps to combat "bots and trolls" while also reinstating the blue verification checkmark for influential users that refuse to pay the platform for the privilege.

The post Elon Musk’s X/Twitter Claims to Fight ‘Bots & Trolls’ with System Purge appeared first on Breitbart.

Apple Lays Off 600 in Wake of Electric Vehicle Failure

One of the most valuable companies on Earth, tech giant Apple, has laid off more than 600 employees in California, signaling a shift in the company's priorities as it faces a multitude of challenges under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook. Many of the layoffs were related to the company's failed electric vehicle project, which was shut down in February.

The post Apple Lays Off 600 in Wake of Electric Vehicle Failure appeared first on Breitbart.

CIA denies whistleblower allegation that agency 'stonewalled' IRS interview with Hunter Biden 'sugar brother'

The Central Intelligence Agency is denying whistleblower claims that it “stonewalled" an IRS interview with Hunter Biden’s “sugar brother" Kevin Morris, saying it “did not prevent or seek to prevent IRS or DOJ from conducting any such interview."

They Want Your Data AND Your Money: Google Considers Introducing Paid AI Features in Search Results

In a significant shift from its long-standing ad-funded model, Google is reportedly exploring the possibility of charging users for AI-powered search features, according to a recent Financial Times report.

The post They Want Your Data AND Your Money: Google Considers Introducing Paid AI Features in Search Results appeared first on Breitbart.

Elon Musk Hands Out Free Verification Checks on X/Twitter for 'Influential' Users

Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter, has reportedly restored blue check marks to prominent users overnight, with some expressing their disapproval of the unsolicited perk.

The post Elon Musk Hands Out Free Verification Checks on X/Twitter for ‘Influential’ Users appeared first on Breitbart.

Apple Moves into Home Robotics as Next Frontier After Car Project Fizzles

Apple is exploring the field of personal robotics as a potential new growth area following the cancellation of its electric vehicle project earlier this year.

The post Apple Moves into Home Robotics as Next Frontier After Car Project Fizzles appeared first on Breitbart.

Amazon's 'Just Walk Out' AI Shopping Tech Relies Heavily on 1,000 Indian Employees Watching Customers

Amazon's "Just Walk Out" technology, touted as a fully automated checkout-free system, has been revealed to rely heavily on human reviewers, particularly a team of over 1,000 workers in India.

The post Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out’ AI Shopping Tech Relies Heavily on 1,000 Indian Employees Watching Customers appeared first on Breitbart.

Now He's Sorry: Sam Bankman-Fried 'Haunted' by 'Bad Decisions' that Led to Fraud, Billions in Stolen Funds

Disgraced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said on Tuesday he is "haunted" by his decisions, which led to the collapse of the digital currency exchange and billions of dollars of customers and investors' funds lost.

The post Now He’s Sorry: Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Haunted’ by ‘Bad Decisions’ that Led to Fraud, Billions in Stolen Funds appeared first on Breitbart.

Bloomberg: Elon Musk's X/Twitter Has a Major Pornography Problem

As Elon Musk's social media platform X/Twitter continues to struggle with an advertiser exodus, another issue has come to the forefront — the proliferation of pornographic content on the site.

The post Bloomberg: Elon Musk’s X/Twitter Has a Major Pornography Problem appeared first on Breitbart.

Mario Is Woke: Nintendo Job Listing Emphasizes 'Culturalization' and 'DEI Awareness'

Nintendo of America has highlighted the importance of "culturalization" and DEI awareness in a job listing for a localization production specialist  position based in Redmond, Washington.

The post Mario Is Woke: Nintendo Job Listing Emphasizes ‘Culturalization’ and ‘DEI Awareness’ appeared first on Breitbart.

Netherlands hyperloop aims to improve transportation of people and freight with new technology

A hyperloop in northern Netherlands aiming to bring in a new era of transportation as advocates say it is more efficient than short haul flights, high-speed rail, and freight trucks.

Gen Z and Millennials Say Streaming Costs Them Too Much a Month

Non-stop entertainment comes at a price and for Gen Z and Millennials that price is increasingly too high, a poll reveals.

The post Gen Z and Millennials Say Streaming Costs Them Too Much a Month appeared first on Breitbart.

George Carlin's estate reaches settlement over AI-generated comedy special

George Carlin's estate agreed to a settlement with the media company it sued earlier this year over the "George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead" comedy special that was created using artificial intelligence.

Elon's Disaster: Tesla's Q1 Deliveries Drop 8.5% amid Production and Competition Challenges

Elon Musk's Tesla reported an 8.5 percent year-over-year decline in deliveries for the first quarter of 2024, marking the company's first such drop since the pandemic-affected second quarter of 2020.

The post Elon’s Disaster: Tesla’s Q1 Deliveries Drop 8.5% amid Production and Competition Challenges appeared first on Breitbart.

Google Agrees to Destroy Billions of 'Incognito' Browsing Records in Proposed Settlement

Google has agreed to destroy or "de-identify" billions of records of web browsing data collected from users in its private browsing "Incognito Mode," as part of a proposed class action settlement filed on Monday.

The post Google Agrees to Destroy Billions of ‘Incognito’ Browsing Records in Proposed Settlement appeared first on Breitbart.

House Bans Use of Microsoft AI Copilot Due to Security Concerns

The U.S. House of Representatives has implemented a strict ban on the use of Microsoft's AI-based chatbot, Copilot, by congressional staff members, citing potential security risks.

The post House Bans Use of Microsoft AI Copilot Due to Security Concerns appeared first on Breitbart.

Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Other Stars Demand Developers Cease 'Predatory Use of AI; Warn It will Replace Them

More than 200 musical artists -- including popular names like Billie Eilish, Katy Perry, and Nicki Minaj -- signed an open letter urging AI developers, tech firms, and digital platforms to "cease" the use of AI, saying the technology will end up replacing human artists if they continue.

The post Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Other Stars Demand Developers Cease ‘Predatory Use of AI; Warn It will Replace Them appeared first on Breitbart.

Florida Volunteer Team Uses Sonar to Solve Cold Case Mysteries

John Martin and Mike Sullivan, two half-brothers from Florida, have made a name for themselves using sonar technology to locate submerged vehicles and help solve cold case mysteries throughout the Sunshine State.

The post Florida Volunteer Team Uses Sonar to Solve Cold Case Mysteries appeared first on Breitbart.

'Everyone's Biggest Fear:' Snapchat Fuels Teen Anxiety with 'Friend-Ranking' Feature

Snapchat's friend ranking feature, part of its paid subscription service, is exacerbating feelings of insecurity and anxiety among teenagers by quantifying their social status within their friend group. The feature is just another example of how Silicon Valley titans place tremendous pressure on today's teens to be part of the "in crowd," leading one teen to explain, "It's everyone's biggest fear put onto an app." 

The post ‘Everyone’s Biggest Fear:’ Snapchat Fuels Teen Anxiety with ‘Friend-Ranking’ Feature appeared first on Breitbart.

Pamela Geller in American Thinker: Banned From LinkedIn, Who Is Giving These Orders?

Check out my latest article at the American Thinker:

I was banned from LinkedIn for telling the truth

By Pamela Geller Amerian Thinker, March 18, 2023:
On Thursday, I got yet another notice from the LinkedIn’s “Trust & Safety Team”: “Your post goes against our policy on misinformation. It has been removed and only you can access it.” The post that LinkedIn found objectionable was from my website, the Geller Report, and was entitled

“CORPORATE STATE: Domestic Terror Group Black Lives Matter Received Nearly $83 Billion from Corporations.”

My post consisted of an excerpt from a Breitbart article plus three lines of my own commentary. LinkedIn didn’t dispute the accuracy of anything in my post or its source; it just doesn’t want it said. This comes after LinkedIn had banned me from their platform for nearly three years for posting accurate and well-sourced information that goes against the leftist narrative.

Who is giving these orders?

Keep reading……

 

Pamela Geller, American Thinker: Urgent Case for Legislation against Facebook and Google

Read my latest over at The American Thinker. We are seeing an unprecedented erosion in our First Amendment rights, increasingly prohibiting the flow of ideas and free expression in the public square (social media). Run by left-wing self-possessed snowflakes, social media giants are indulging their worst autocratic impulses. And because they can, it is getting worse. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Having grown up in the 1970s, I can tell you it was a vastly different country then. It was free. But we aren’t any no longer, and it is time we took back what is ours — our unalienable freedoms.

January 30, 2018

The Urgent Case for Legislation against Facebook and Google

By Pamela Geller, American Thinker

Having been one of the early targets of social media censorship on Facebook, YouTube et al, I have advocated for anti-trust action against these bullying behemoths. It is good to see establishment outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and National Review coming to the same conclusion, or at least asking the same questions.

Just this week, Facebook launched its latest of many attacks on my news site, the Geller Report. It labeled my site as “spam” and removed every Geller Report post — thousands upon thousands of them, going back years – from Facebook. It also blocked any Facebook member from sharing links to the Geller Report. The ramping up of the shutting-down of sites like mine is neither random nor personal. The timing is telling. The left is gearing up for the 2018 midterm elections, and they mean to shut down whatever outlet or voice that helped elect President Trump, the greatest upset in left-wing history.

In fighting this shutdown, we had to go back to the drawing board in our lawsuit against these social media giants. The basis of our suit was challenging Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) under the First Amendment, which provides immunity from lawsuits to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, thereby permitting these social media giants to engage in government-sanctioned censorship and discriminatory business practices free from legal challenge.

[the_ad id=”104820″]

Facebook and Google take in roughly half of all Internet ad revenue. According to the Wall Street Journal:

In the U.S., Alphabet Inc.’s Google drives 89% of internet search; 95% of young adults on the internet use a Facebook Inc. product; and Amazon.com Inc. now accounts for 75% of electronic book sales. Those firms that aren’t monopolists are duopolists: Google and Facebook absorbed 63% of online ad spending last year; Google and Apple Inc. provide 99% of mobile phone operating systems; while Apple and Microsoft Corp. supply 95% of desktop operating systems.

Both companies routinely censor and spy on their customers, “massaging everything from the daily news to what we should buy.” In the last century, the telephone was our “computer,” and Ma Bell was how we communicated. That said, would the American people (or the government) have tolerated AT&T spying on our phone calls and then pulling our communication privileges if we expressed dissenting opinions? That is exactly what we are suffering today.

Ma Bell was broken up by the government, albeit for different reasons. But it can and should be done.

It’s not a little ironic that, according to Breitbart:

AT&T has called for an “Internet Bill of Rights” and argued that Facebook and Google should also be subjected to rules that would prevent unfair censorship on their platforms.

AT&T, one of the largest telecommunications companies, called for Congress to enact an “Internet Bill of Rights” which would subject Facebook, Google, and other content providers to rules that would prevent unfair censorship on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Comcast or AT&T as well as content providers such as Facebook and Google.

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson wrote, “Congressional action is needed to establish an ‘Internet Bill of Rights’ that applies to all internet companies and guarantees neutrality, transparency, openness, non-discrimination and privacy protection for all internet users.”

Stephenson posted the ad in the New York Times, Washington Post, and other national news outlets on Wednesday.

We must get behind this — all of us — and fast. Because what is happening is being engineered at the government level. A chief officer from a major American communications company went to the terror state of Pakistan to assure the Pakistani government that Facebook would adhere to the sharia. The commitment was given by Vice President of Facebook Joel Kaplan, who called on Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. “Facebook has reiterated its commitment to keep the platform safe and promote values that are in congruence with its community standards.”

Why the block? Because under Islamic law, you cannot criticize Islam. Facebook adhering to the most extreme and brutal ideology on the face of the earth should trouble all of us, because Mark Zuckerberg has immense power. He controls the flow of information.

Early last year, I wrote: “The US government has used anti-trust laws to break up monopolies. They ought to break up Facebook. Section 2 of the Sherman Act highlights particular results deemed anticompetitive by nature and prohibits actions that ‘shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations.’ Couldn’t the same be applied to information? The United States government took down Standard Oil, Alcoa, Northern Securities, the American Tobacco Company and many others without nearly the power that Facebook has.”

NRO has come to that same conclusion:

Tech companies such as Google and Facebook are also utilities of sorts that provide essential services. They depend on the free use of public airwaves. Yet they are subject to little oversight; they simply make up their own rules as they go along. Antitrust laws prohibit one corporation from unfairly devouring its competition, capturing most of its market, and then price-gouging as it sees fit without fear of competition. Google has all but destroyed its search-engine competitors in the same manner that Facebook has driven out competing social media.

Clearly Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, and Jeff Bezos are contemporary “robber barons.” So why are they not smeared, defamed, and reviled like the robber barons of yesteryear? Says NRO:

Why are huge tech companies seemingly exempt from the rules that older corporations must follow? First, their CEOs wisely cultivate the image of hipsters. The public sees them more as aging teenagers in T-shirts, turtlenecks, and flip-flops than as updated versions of J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, or other robber barons of the past. Second, the tech industry’s hierarchy is politically progressive.

In brilliant marketing fashion, the Internet, laptops, tablets, and smartphones have meshed with the hip youth culture of music, television, the movies, universities, and fashion. Think Woodstock rather than Wall Street. Corporate spokesmen at companies such as Twitter and YouTube brag about their social awareness, especially on issues such as radical environmentalism, identity politics, and feminism. Given that the regulatory deep state is mostly a liberal enterprise, the tech industry is seen as an ally of federal bureaucrats and regulators. Think more of Hollywood, the media, and universities than Exxon, General Motors, Koch Industries, and Philip Morris.

The groovy t-shirt-turtleneck vibe may keep the great unwashed under their spell, but it’s the shared political ideology with the left that keeps these corporate managers free from accountability. The WSJ writes that antitrust regulators have a narrow test: Does their size leave consumers worse off? Surmising that if that’s the test, “there isn’t a clear case for going after big tech.”

I disagree. The consumer is far worse off. If we are not free to speak and think in what is today’s Gutenberg press, than we could not be worse off.

Pamela Geller is the President of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), publisher of The Geller Report and author of the bestselling book, FATWA: Hunted in America, as well as The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration’s War on America and Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook.

Pamela Geller, American Thinker: Urgent Case for Legislation against Facebook and Google

Read my latest over at The American Thinker. We are seeing an unprecedented erosion in our First Amendment rights, increasingly prohibiting the flow of ideas and free expression in the public square (social media). Run by left-wing self-possessed snowflakes, social media giants are indulging their worst autocratic impulses. And because they can, it is getting worse. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Having grown up in the 1970s, I can tell you it was a vastly different country then. It was free. But we aren’t any no longer, and it is time we took back what is ours — our unalienable freedoms.

January 30, 2018

The Urgent Case for Legislation against Facebook and Google

By Pamela Geller, American Thinker

Having been one of the early targets of social media censorship on Facebook, YouTube et al, I have advocated for anti-trust action against these bullying behemoths. It is good to see establishment outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and National Review coming to the same conclusion, or at least asking the same questions.

Just this week, Facebook launched its latest of many attacks on my news site, the Geller Report. It labeled my site as “spam” and removed every Geller Report post — thousands upon thousands of them, going back years – from Facebook. It also blocked any Facebook member from sharing links to the Geller Report. The ramping up of the shutting-down of sites like mine is neither random nor personal. The timing is telling. The left is gearing up for the 2018 midterm elections, and they mean to shut down whatever outlet or voice that helped elect President Trump, the greatest upset in left-wing history.

In fighting this shutdown, we had to go back to the drawing board in our lawsuit against these social media giants. The basis of our suit was challenging Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) under the First Amendment, which provides immunity from lawsuits to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, thereby permitting these social media giants to engage in government-sanctioned censorship and discriminatory business practices free from legal challenge.

Facebook and Google take in roughly half of all Internet ad revenue. According to the Wall Street Journal:

In the U.S., Alphabet Inc.’s Google drives 89% of internet search; 95% of young adults on the internet use a Facebook Inc. product; and Amazon.com Inc. now accounts for 75% of electronic book sales. Those firms that aren’t monopolists are duopolists: Google and Facebook absorbed 63% of online ad spending last year; Google and Apple Inc. provide 99% of mobile phone operating systems; while Apple and Microsoft Corp. supply 95% of desktop operating systems.

Both companies routinely censor and spy on their customers, “massaging everything from the daily news to what we should buy.” In the last century, the telephone was our “computer,” and Ma Bell was how we communicated. That said, would the American people (or the government) have tolerated AT&T spying on our phone calls and then pulling our communication privileges if we expressed dissenting opinions? That is exactly what we are suffering today.

Ma Bell was broken up by the government, albeit for different reasons. But it can and should be done.

It’s not a little ironic that, according to Breitbart:

AT&T has called for an “Internet Bill of Rights” and argued that Facebook and Google should also be subjected to rules that would prevent unfair censorship on their platforms.

AT&T, one of the largest telecommunications companies, called for Congress to enact an “Internet Bill of Rights” which would subject Facebook, Google, and other content providers to rules that would prevent unfair censorship on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Comcast or AT&T as well as content providers such as Facebook and Google.

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson wrote, “Congressional action is needed to establish an ‘Internet Bill of Rights’ that applies to all internet companies and guarantees neutrality, transparency, openness, non-discrimination and privacy protection for all internet users.”

Stephenson posted the ad in the New York Times, Washington Post, and other national news outlets on Wednesday.

We must get behind this — all of us — and fast. Because what is happening is being engineered at the government level. A chief officer from a major American communications company went to the terror state of Pakistan to assure the Pakistani government that Facebook would adhere to the sharia. The commitment was given by Vice President of Facebook Joel Kaplan, who called on Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. “Facebook has reiterated its commitment to keep the platform safe and promote values that are in congruence with its community standards.”

Why the block? Because under Islamic law, you cannot criticize Islam. Facebook adhering to the most extreme and brutal ideology on the face of the earth should trouble all of us, because Mark Zuckerberg has immense power. He controls the flow of information.

Early last year, I wrote: “The US government has used anti-trust laws to break up monopolies. They ought to break up Facebook. Section 2 of the Sherman Act highlights particular results deemed anticompetitive by nature and prohibits actions that ‘shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations.’ Couldn’t the same be applied to information? The United States government took down Standard Oil, Alcoa, Northern Securities, the American Tobacco Company and many others without nearly the power that Facebook has.”

NRO has come to that same conclusion:

Tech companies such as Google and Facebook are also utilities of sorts that provide essential services. They depend on the free use of public airwaves. Yet they are subject to little oversight; they simply make up their own rules as they go along. Antitrust laws prohibit one corporation from unfairly devouring its competition, capturing most of its market, and then price-gouging as it sees fit without fear of competition. Google has all but destroyed its search-engine competitors in the same manner that Facebook has driven out competing social media.

Clearly Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, and Jeff Bezos are contemporary “robber barons.” So why are they not smeared, defamed, and reviled like the robber barons of yesteryear? Says NRO:

Why are huge tech companies seemingly exempt from the rules that older corporations must follow? First, their CEOs wisely cultivate the image of hipsters. The public sees them more as aging teenagers in T-shirts, turtlenecks, and flip-flops than as updated versions of J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, or other robber barons of the past. Second, the tech industry’s hierarchy is politically progressive.

In brilliant marketing fashion, the Internet, laptops, tablets, and smartphones have meshed with the hip youth culture of music, television, the movies, universities, and fashion. Think Woodstock rather than Wall Street. Corporate spokesmen at companies such as Twitter and YouTube brag about their social awareness, especially on issues such as radical environmentalism, identity politics, and feminism. Given that the regulatory deep state is mostly a liberal enterprise, the tech industry is seen as an ally of federal bureaucrats and regulators. Think more of Hollywood, the media, and universities than Exxon, General Motors, Koch Industries, and Philip Morris.

The groovy t-shirt-turtleneck vibe may keep the great unwashed under their spell, but it’s the shared political ideology with the left that keeps these corporate managers free from accountability. The WSJ writes that antitrust regulators have a narrow test: Does their size leave consumers worse off? Surmising that if that’s the test, “there isn’t a clear case for going after big tech.”

I disagree. The consumer is far worse off. If we are not free to speak and think in what is today’s Gutenberg press, than we could not be worse off.

Pamela Geller is the President of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), publisher of The Geller Report and author of the bestselling book, FATWA: Hunted in America, as well as The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration’s War on America and Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook.

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