The premise of Thomas Knapp, guest opinion in the July 16, Triplicate, that the government is trying to censor social media is false. It is true that some social media companies have censored groups and individuals they feel post patently false and conspiratorial content, but they are private companies and can do what they want. Period. Legal decisions support these rights of private companies and they are not bound by the first amendment.Michael A. Sommer II, Ph.D.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');Smith River googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });