EXCLUSIVE: New York Times author and ex-journalist Alex Berenson, who has fought with Amazon in the past, thinks the company’s decision to close Parler illustrates how dangerous it is that Big Tech can silence anyone it wants.
Amazon Web Services’ decision to shut down Parler after the January 6 deadly riot on Capitol Hill sparked a heated debate over what is actually protected by the First Amendment. The change came shortly after Twitter banned President Trump, but Berenson feels Amazon’s decision to silence Parler is “the most dangerous thing that ever happened” after the Capitol rebellion.
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New York Times author and ex-journalist Alex Berenson, who has fought with Amazon in the past, thinks the company’s decision to close Parler is “dangerous”.
“This is destroying a business,” Berenson told Fox News. “You can argue about Trump’s comments and how they were incendiary and whether Twitter should have done that … but there is a discussion on both sides. Parler has done nothing wrong. All things in Parler you can find on Twitter and Facebook. “
Berenson said he personally received death threats on Twitter, so he doesn’t want to hear that the hateful rhetoric is unique to Parler.
“These big social media channels have a lot of nasty speeches about them, period. If we believe Parler’s version of the events, they have reacted a lot to Amazon,” said Berenson. “Amazon effectively destroyed a functioning business in a matter of days and protected Twitter.”
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Parler is suing Amazon for his decision to sever ties, claiming the action is “motivated by political animosity” and is both a breach of contract and an antitrust violation. Berenson called Amazon’s decision “very problematic” and is not even sure that the company that purported to be a non-partisan public square did something wrong.
“It is not clear what Parler’s offense was, I mean, this is not the dark web. It was not created to sell drugs, this is a broad freedom of speech platform that contains some negative aspects, like all of them. It is not clear what was Parler’s offense, as well as being a place where conservatives met, “said Berenson, who was also subjected to Amazon antics.
Last summer, Berenson’s coronavirus booklet, “Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns: Part 1”, became the best seller on Amazon’s Kindle Store after it was initially rejected by the online retailer.
Berenson, a strong critic of the government’s reaction to the coronavirus pandemic, was told that his booklet did not meet company guidelines.
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The former New York Times reporter quickly launched a protest on Twitter, calling the measure “outrageous censorship from a company that has gained enormously from the blockade” as millions are forced to shop online. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and other prominent journalists defended Berenson, and Amazon eventually allowed the book to be sold on its platform.
“It is dangerous that all this power has been attributed to a handful of companies, there is no doubt about it. And it is not just freedom of expression, it is that the internet is so central, it is the backbone of so many sectors,” he said . “For me, for example, if Amazon banned my book, that would be a big problem for me. They may say, ‘OK, you can sell it on your website’, but what if the host doesn’t host me? What if Square doesn’t process payments for me? “
Berenson hit another black road in November, when the second installment of his booklet was released, when Amazon removed the book from its online store before reversing the decision. He feels that his First Amendment rights would no longer matter if Amazon could permanently prevent the sale of his book.
“I can theoretically have First Amendment rights, but if companies are starting to behave in overtly prejudiced ways based on the content of the speech, this is a very dangerous time. And, furthermore, the second danger here, which is very next related to the first, is that people who should be protecting freedom of expression, many of them are neutral or in favor, “said Berenson, noting that members of the liberal media in major media outlets like the Times and CNN applauded censorship.
Berenson feels that the tragic Capitol rebellion “has encouraged the left”, allowing liberals in the media and Big Tech to get away with blatant attempts to silence conservatives.
“There is a lot of anger at Trump on the left, there is a lot of anger at conservatives on the left, and what happened revolted many people, including many Republicans, angered many people and provided coverage for some very aggressive actions that may not look so good in a few months” said Berenson.
“We are in a dangerous place.”
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As for Parler, executive director John Matze’s company registered its domain on the host-sharing website Epik last week, following Amazon Web Services’ decision to shut down Parler for not moderating “blatant content” related to the Capitol riot. Matze said that his business will not end for long.
“I am confident that by the end of the month we will be back,” Matze told Fox News during a telephone interview on Sunday night.