, Columnist
Would You Blame the Phone for Russian Interference?
No? Then why is Facebook under such pressure from Congress?
Who's calling?
Photographer: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Facebook Inc. takes its place as the new political whipping boy in congressional hearings this week, revealing that at least 126 million Americans were exposed to Russia-backed content on the site during the 2016 election campaign. Yet most of the circulating critiques of Facebook are grossly overstated, and are often little more than variants on the age-old charge that free speech allows many bad and even harmful ideas to circulate.
Just to be clear, I am not a fan of Facebook as a way of using our time or shaping our culture, but the best protest is voluntary abstention. I am worried that the exaggerated rancor against Facebook will become an excuse to renege on principles of free speech.