POV: Controlling Free Speech

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WASHINGTON Our corporate executives and congressional lawmakers may not crack down on verbal dissent the way the government of Myanmar deals with the protests of Buddhist monks, but their tactics lately are equally threatening.

If we think our speech is truly free, we are deluding ourselves.

Nothing illustrates the chilling effect of media consolidation more than Verizon Wireless’ move last week to block the messages of the abortion rights group Naral. Verizon claimed it had the right to prohibit “controversial or unsavory” text from being carried across it network.

That





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