- Joined
- Feb 2, 2012
- Messages
- 9,532
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- 113
We have political figures who are exhorting private market entities to shut voices down and deplatform people, and that is only in one ideological direction when it occurs. I don't think that the playing field is neutral given the current bias on the exchange in the not so free marketplace of ideas. And I'm not the only one who sees the political animus which is having real effects on the ability to exchange those ideas.Our constitutional rights and free speech are there to protect us from either being limited by our own government. They don't and can't offer any type of protection from the decisions of those in private enterprise. Those enterprises aren't "free" and they aren't a government entity. Spotify is a publicly traded company headquartered in Sweden. The way I see it, they can remove Joe Rogan or give him a bigger contract or whatever they want. Their customers can subscribe or cancel whenever they want. Artists on their service can pull their music or add more. If public opinion drives down listenership, Spotify will choose to do what is in their best interest. If listenership goes up and Joe Rogan becomes more popular which generates more revenue, Spotify will also do what is in their best interest.
Personally, I have never listened to a single Joe Rogan podcast and I am a Spotify subscriber.