The last year and a half has shown that the government will use private institutions and corporations to enforce policies that it would otherwise have no ability to put into legislation.
I’m willing to concede that the government has always been involved in the affairs of corporations to some extent, due to the very nature of regulations, like antitrust suits. However, I think the government’s involvement this time is more nefarious than in those circumstances. It’s no longer just arms dealers working with the government to sell military supplies, while giving those in congress great returns on their stock portfolio. It has now gotten to the point where the government will act with and for private institutions.
On July 15, Jen Psaki, the White House Press Secretary, said in a press briefing, “within the Surgeon General’s Office, we’re flagging posts for Facebook that spread disinformation.” Having the government directly flag things for Facebook sets a dangerous precedent, as the government should not be the ones dictating Facebook’s policy on the matter. So while this may seem innocuous on the surface, the government is effectively legislating through Facebook.
This is not the first time that the government has enforced policies it can’t properly legislate. If this sounds familiar, it should. The government used the same tactic in the aftermath of 9/11. By passing the PATRIOT Act the government enabled itself to radically abuse its power in the surveillance of American citizens, often without warrant. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has said that the act, “[results in] unchecked government power to rifle through individuals’ financial records, medical histories, Internet usage, bookstore purchases, library usage, travel patterns, or any other activity that leaves a record.” Under the PATRIOT act, corporations were required to sign agreements with the government that they would aid in any investigation, no questions asked. The PATRIOT Act itself didn’t enable the government to spy on individuals, but instead forced corporations to do it for them.
We are seeing a similar situation play out via the government’s response to COVID, and there are few bounds on what actions can be taken to slow the spread. We are now seeing the government threaten employers with fines as high as $700,000 if said private institution doesn’t mandate the COVID vaccine. Because the government knows that it couldn’t legislate a mandate for the vaccine, especially given the current political climate, they instead outsource it to the companies. It’s not too dissimilar from the collection of people’s phone records and internet history by all of the telecom companies–their playbook hasn’t changed much.
We are approaching the precipice of that particular cliff. The government and private institutions working together to violate the rights of American citizens is a dangerous action, which could lead to a brave new world.
Surely said cliff is not in direct sight. However, I doubt it is far from the horizon. It’s a dangerous trail that we are steadily heading down. No matter how many times we feel the need to walk down this path, it has never led to anywhere nearly as great as the sales pitch might have you believe. I think it’s time we take a break and think about if we really want to keep travelling.
One only has to remember that material which makes the road to Hell so pleasant to travel on.
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