Corporate Censorship or a Public Service - Kudos to Pintrest

Pintrest recent announced that it will stop returning search results on the topic of vaccines. This is an interesting move in several senses for any social media network.

This could be derided as an act of censorship motivated by the political leanings of a Silicon Valley based tech company. Why should Pintrest get to pick and chose what it shows to the public? If they block search results for vaccines, what's to stop them from blocking other search terms and controlling the spread of information to suit a certain philosophy or world view.

Or, this could be heralded as an act of public service, a Silicon Valley technology company finally taking concrete steps towards stopping the peddling of harmful miss-information. Pintrest may be seen as the paragon in a new age of social media civic responsibility, catalyzing other companies to take action to stop the proliferation of harmful miss-information that can negative impact our society.

It's an intense debate, but one that should be surfaced more regulatory. It's not new that social media companies (Google included) can manipulate our emotions and understanding of the world around us by controlling the type of content we see. Conversely, a totally open system without responsible checks and processes can cause significant harm, under the cloak of free speech and expression.

Despite Pintrest's commendable effort at choosing to control the conversation on its platform (and beyond) on the miss-information of whether or not vaccinations are effective or harmful, it's still an uncomfortable thing to reconcile that a big technology company - motivated as all companies are by profit - gets to pick and choose what information we see or don't see.


It's clear - at least for this viewer - that social media needs to be regulated and that the control of information - and the public consciousness in many ways - should not be left to the whims and sentiments of big Silicon Valley corporations, despite whether or not some of their actions may align with public interests.

It's time for the United States government to consider and then build the necessary regulatory and policy frameworks to ensure technology companies don't become the puppet masters of the 21st century.