In the software business, everyone struggles for government-like power in their own spheres, and sometimes they attain it. Looping around These are no longer small questions. Time Magazine lists the most powerful Americans. The New York Times reports that Microsoft is flexing its power with the government of the People's Republic of China. The leaders of China are listening, respectfully.
Platforms are economies and places where people express themselves.
The owners of the platforms have enjoyed extraordinary power, beyond that normally allowed to corporations. I'm not asking for regulation or governmental presence in the software industry. On the other hand, the system that we've used hasn't been very effective in guaranteeing the traditional benefits of being part of a free society. So, looping around, I think the economic and free speech issues of the web are inevitably linked to the economic and free speech issues of the software industry. There's an unprecedented wave of growth in the software world again.