Like many business owners I have increasingly relied upon social media to communicate with my customers. I provide my customers and contacts with an informative newsletter and was able to use Facebook to communicate important, timely messages that supplemented the newsletter.

That is, until Facebook censored my business account, without good reason.

I am in the home heating business.  My newsletter and social media posts include important information for my customers about economic factors and state polices that impact my customers’ fuel supply and costs.  They appreciate I have informed them about proposed or approved legislation that impacts their family budgets.

As a leader in the industry, I am aware of the legislative proposals or study results when they are made available. The Vermont media is not covering key issues like this of importance to Vermonters in ways they did in the past.  My social media communications on these key issues were partly filling that gap until the tech media denied me that opportunity. 

It is clear to me that anticipated energy policy changes will increase fuel costs.  These changes will weigh most heavily on working people, and likely benefit those who can afford to invest in alternative energy.  My communications through social media were made in a professional manner, based on facts from the studies and testimony.  Interestingly, it does not appear that Facebook and other social media are censoring the posts of lawmakers and special interest groups that are promoting these policies which will increase the cost of heat and energy for working Vermonters.

My conclusion is that the elite class, through social media, is controlling speech through these mechanisms and denying us the opportunity to understand both sides of a policy debate.  If such censorship has reached down to the social media account of a small company in rural Vermont that's an illustration of how pervasive this censorship has become.