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In a recent video published on Rubin Report's YouTube channel, host Dave Rubin and clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson they announced that they will leave both Patreon on January 15th. During the thirty minute video, Rubin and Peterson discussed Patreon's ability to remove specific types of content creators from the platform in the search for more social capital and greater profits.
In an effort to allow any content maker to make money on the Internet, Rubin and Peterson now plan to launch their Patreon alternative.
"It's about taking a stand against this unstoppable violation of freedom of speech, freedom of expression and the rest," Rubin said in the video.
"It is not obvious to me that multinational companies can successfully manage communication platforms without network constraints in today's climate," Peterson added.
During the video of the announcement, the duo discussed the issue of deplatforming, as payment processors affect freedom of speech and if Bitcoin could be the appropriate solution to these problems.
Patreon and Deplatforming
The basis of this conversation around Patreon was the removal of Carl Benjamin (also known as Sargon of Akkad) from the platform. Benjamin has about 1.5 million subscribers to his various YouTube channels and was earning over $ 12,000 a month via Patreon before it was banned.
According to Patreon, Benjamin has been removed due to the use of a racial death on the YouTube channel of another content creator. Critics of the decision, like the philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris, said the decision was politically motivated.
Deplatforming and demonetizing have become more widespread in the last two years, with YouTube Adpocalypse perhaps being the most important example of a technology company that removes or demonetizes certain types of content in the search for greater profits or appeasement of a certain segment of the population. Many YouTube creators have turned to Patreon the day after the Apocalypse.
Visa and Mastercard as another Chokepoint
While online platforms like Patreon are free to set their own terms and conditions, they are not the only intermediary between content creators and their audience. Payment processors such as Visa and Mastercard also have the ability to demonetize creators of content they consider to be immoral or unpleasant.
Middle-aged men can also cope with the pressure of public opinion to demonetize the creators of content that offend a particular segment of the population. Indeed, this is the goal of Change the terms.
Of course, surveillance of digital transactions goes far beyond the ability of content creators to earn a living. As Rubin and Peterson noted in their discussion, a recent New York Times article by Andrew Ross Sorkin the suggested credit card companies should keep track of everyone's financial activities in an effort to prevent mass shootings.
"The idea is that the companies we have entrusted with our monetary system to a large extent (which would be credit card companies) can review our spending patterns to determine if what we have purchased is in accordance with this. that they consider morally acceptable, "explained Peterson.
"I can not believe that a reasonable person would think that through and then he wants to live in a society where your spending habits are being monitored by the company that basically produces your money," Peterson added. "I can not think of anything more totalitarian than that."
As Rubin pointed out, there is also the potential for the concept of deplatforming to enter the real world through social credit systems, such as the one being developed by the Chinese government, where the possibility of traveling or obtaining government services is potentially limited by a social score. Someone who is demonetized on YouTube today could be cut off from meal vouchers in the future.
Is Bitcoin the solution?
So, Bitcoin is the solution here? After all, one of the key features of the peer-to-peer digital payment system is that it allows users to make transactions that would be censored or blocked by the traditional financial system. The use of Bitcoin to circumvent the financial block around Wikileaks it was one of the first major plots on the digital resource.
For now, Rubin and Peterson are focused on creating a Patreon alternative with multiple payment portals that we hope will allow any content creator to be paid for their work. But what about payment processors? Here's where Bitcoin could come into play.
"I have a real and growing sympathy for the types of cryptocurrency," said Peterson. "The problem is that, as far as I can tell, their solution is still technically complex enough to keep it out of traditional use – and also not sufficiently liquid to actually constitute a realistic and current substitution even for credit cards" .
"Maybe crypto is the definitive answer, but tomorrow is not the answer," added Rubin.
For now, Peterson and Rubin will collect donations on their personal websites as they continue to work for the launch of their Patreon alternative.
"Perhaps this will be the idea of 2019," said Rubin. "I think we're basically at the point where people have to decide what kind of internet they want, and it's not just what kind of internet, what kind of freedom do you want in a digital world?"
