Given this insanity, I believe that social media should follow the rules that our country has set out for the government. The bigger the company, and the more users they have, the more free range for expression they should allow. The biggest ones should essentially allow anything that would be protected under the First Amendment. That’s my view, and while it’s not shared by everyone — Ken White held the opposite position, for example, in a debate I saw a Reason’s offices in Culver City — I think I’m right.

But the social media companies don’t have to agree with me.

And when they don’t, running to the central government is the wrong solution.

Everywhere I look, from the Kurt Schlichters of the world to the Ted Cruzes, conservative demagogues are suggesting that we should rely on government to decide what private companies must allow in terms of speech.

As conservatives have always said: “Government will fix the problem.”

Private companies engaged in providing a platform for speech are entitled to have the government stay the hell out of their decisionmaking. Because this is speech we’re talking about, and I don’t trust the government to regulate it.