Not so long ago, only governments were powerful enough to engage in censorship. The rise of the tech giants has changed that.

Counter to what some on the left and the right believe, censorship in America has not disappeared, it has been outsourced.

“Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.” Those are the exact words of the First Amendment in our Constitution. Because of this law, it is illegal for the government to censor or regulate speech. Yet that’s exactly what it does without any say from the people.

The real issue we are currently facing is censorship from big tech. Examples of big tech companies are Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, and Instagram. Members of Congress overwhelmingly agree that big tech companies are bullies that abuse their powers to stay on top, per The New York Times.

Google, Facebook and Twitter work to maximize their control over the flow of information. Then they turn around and decide what information their users can and cannot see.

Recently, we have seen Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter purging accounts bringing you the news.

If there were any doubt, it is now clear that Twitter’s censorship system is set up to survey, capture, control and manipulate the political narrative within this country.

Powerful men such as Jack Dorsey and the other tech giants who control social media platforms are censoring free speech. Their efforts are a dangerous threat to our free society. It is hard to imagine a more insidious effort to subvert freedom of speech, expression, and the free flow of ideas, good or bad, than algorithms designed to shut down speech they don’t like.

The titans of social media, Dorsey at Twitter and Zuckerberg at Facebook, lead their companies the way China does. These men want to control what the public sees, which enables them to better monitor and to influence every aspect of society and life. It is similar to China’s “free speech elite,” where only speech from certain individuals and of certain categories is permitted, all controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, per Armstrong Williams, a columnist for the Daily Signal.

In their tenure, the modern public square has evolved from having the right to free speech to limited and controlled speech.

All of this is driven by goals to daily influence a person’s actions and decisions, whether it be to try a new diet trend or product, hold certain views, or take preferred actions. Now we face a real issue, as these titans have been unmasked as wanting to control our thoughts.

Here is a powerful quote by James Madison: “Our First Amendment freedoms give us the right to think what we like and say what we please. And if we the people are to govern ourselves, we must have these rights, even if they are misused by the minority. We can never lose sight of this because the moment we do will be the moment we cease to be free.”

Whether you agree or disagree, it is clear that these tech giants have one clear narrative, and that consists of controlling what we see, hear, and say.