Commentary
By now it should be perfectly clear that the most prominent Big Digital companies are not strictly private, for-profit companies. As I argued in “Google Archipelago,” they are also state apparatuses, or governmentalities, undertaking state functions, including censorship, propaganda, and surveillance.
Katherine Boyle, “a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz where she invests in companies that promote American dynamism, including national security, aerospace and defense, public safety, housing, education, and industrials,” has suggested that tech “startups have begun usurping the responsibilities of governments at breathtaking pace.” If this wasn’t already obvious, The Intercept’s recent revelations that U.S. government officials have access to a special portal through which they can directly flag Facebook and Instagram posts and request that the posts be “throttled or suppressed” should put the question to rest….