'Time to limit the First Amendment': Israeli billionaire says Americans have too much freedom, speech must now be controlled – We Got This Covered
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Shlomo Kramer
Screengrab via CNBC

‘Time to limit the First Amendment’: Israeli billionaire says Americans have too much freedom, speech must now be controlled

"We need to control the platforms, all the social platforms."

For the Israeli government, free speech is a disaster. Since they commenced the Gaza genocide, social media has been full of horrifying videos detailing the IDF’s crimes in explicit detail, all underlined by the frankly ghoulish responses from Israeli social media users.

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This has led to a catastrophic collapse in support for Israel, as not even the most committed propagandist can effectively combat daily videos of limbless, screaming, and emaciated children fleeing from Israeli bombs.

You might think that Israel could stop this problem by simply stopping killing so many kids. But, well, that’s not going to happen. Now Israeli billionaire Shlomo Kramer, former member of the IDF’s cybersecurity and intelligence team, says it’s time to limit freedom of speech on social media and crack down on the First Amendment in general.

During a discussion about the dangers of AI, Kramer told CNBC:

“You’re seeing the polarization in countries that allow for the First Amendment and protect it, which is great. And I know it’s difficult to hear, but it’s time to limit the First Amendment in order to protect it. And quickly before it’s too late.”

Thought police incoming!

Kramer was quizzed about what exactly he meant by this:

“I mean that we need to control the platforms, all the social platforms. We need to stack, rank the authenticity of every person that expresses themselves online and take control over what they are saying, based on that ranking.” 

He then clarified that yes, he wants the government to do this. He later used China as an example, saying that “China has a single narrative that protects its inner stability”, i.e. that what its citizens are allowed to express online is tightly regulated by the state. Kramer believes that “the U.S. allows for multiple narratives”, which is apparently a critical weakness that will destabilize the nation. “So changes must be made.”

Must they? Because this all sounds like deeply authoritarian and extraordinarily anti-American. And, if this were implemented and the government could tightly control the “narrative” Americans are allowed to talk about, you can bet that any speech critical of Dear Leader Trump would be punished.

But no wonder Kramer hates people expressing themselves, because judging by the reaction to his comments, the reaction towards his ideas is uniformly negative. Maybe it’s his speech that should be limited? See how he likes it!


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David James
I'm a writer/editor who's been at the site since 2015. I cover politics, weird history, video games and... well, anything really. Keep it breezy, keep it light, keep it straightforward.