Twitter content battle demonstrates importance of Section 230

A video of an asylum-seeker attacking children with a knife at a playground in France spread like wildfire across the internet last week. Twitter censors were quick to take down the video, which led conservative commentators to question Twitter owner Elon Musk’s commitment to “free speech absolutism.” But calling for the government to force open speech on social media platforms would crush business models and make advertisers flee in droves, reestablishing the supremacy of traditional, controlled media and leaving conservatives without any platforms at all.