The Olympics Corrupts Twitter - PC Magazine

The 2012 London Olympics are looking to be the most totalitarian Games ever, which is impressive considering that the 2008 games were held in Beijing.

The most recent outrage involves Twitter shutting down British journalist Guy Adams's account for tweeting the corporate email address of an NBC executive. As the Telegraph reported, Twitter alerted NBC about Adams's tweets, putting this particular outrage on Twitter's head rather than solely on the TV network's.

The Olympics at this point seem to require a suspension of civil liberties in the service of corporate partners, which would make them nearly impossible to hold in any country with a written Bill of Rights. One prime example is the "brand exclusion zone," where McDonald's managed to get small businesses banned from selling French fries (without fish) throughout a swathe of London.

If the Olympics were a purely private corporation, this sort of brand management would be par for the course. But that's not how they're sold. The Olympics are supposed to be a higher calling. Here's what the Olympic organization says in its charter:

"The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity."

Notice it says "at the service of the harmonious development of man," not "at the service of for-profit sponsors."

Here's another line from the charter. The International Olympic Committee's goal is "to place sport at the service of humanity and thereby to promote peace."

Later in the charter, of course, the IOC goes on to claim exclusive commercial rights over the Olympic symbols. That's why it can prevent overenthusiastic florists from building five-ringed daisy arrangements. But the French fry exclusion zone doesn't place sport at the service of humanity; it places sport at the service of McDonald's.

Just like NBC restricting most of its Olympics coverage to people who have signed up for third-party cable providers, actions to slap down chip shops and Guy Adams are within the Olympics' rights, but they don't fit with the image of a group "at the service of humanity" rather than at the service of a few powerful friends.

Banning Speech Is Worse Than Banning French Fries
At least banning French fries is faintly related to a commercial activity. But Twitter struck down Guy Adams's account specifically because he offered average global citizens a way to speak truth to power. He wasn't violating anyone's privacy; he was showing the official, corporate way to contact an executive at work. (Our corporate email accounts here are firstname_lastname@pcmag.com, by the way. But I recommend you post comments under this article, because that way everyone can see what you have to say.)

By blocking his account, Twitter sets a terrifying precedent. In the run-up to the Olympics, we've watched big businesses ride roughshod over small businesses, with multinationals stomping on small food vendors, florists, and shoe stores. Now the Olympic sponsors can silence voices of criticism as well.

Twitter may find that this backfires. Twitter's popularity is in part based on the idea that it's a neutral platform, a protocol for communication that doesn't judge the content of that communication. Yes, there are legal limits on speech, but if tweeters see Twitter policing its user base to protect its commercial interests, they'll trickle away.

Like many other journalists, I've contacted Twitter on this issue but haven't heard back from the company. I'm hoping that by the end of the day, Twitter apologizes to Guy Adams. The Olympics, on the other hand, may be beyond help.