The Time Has Come: Why Social Media Platforms Are ‘Common Carriers’

Too many of us take for granted that we cannot be denied passage on an airplane, bus, train, or taxi.  We know that our political views will not be considered when we hop on. One cannot be turned away by any of these transportation services, nor by the post office, UPS or Fedex, even if — gasp! — you voted for Trump. Or even if you still believe that Trump won the 2020 election. Heck, you can’t be turned away even if you are a rotten person and even if you fully confess your character to the ticketing or package clerk. We know, accept, and take for granted that all of these things are irrelevant, but we don’t always think about the reason why they cannot be considered. But those reasons are important.

We cannot be turned away by these providers because they are classified as common carriers; and a common carrier may not treat you differently than anyone else, regardless of your views, beliefs, or deplorability level (unless you are actually committing an illegal act).