Declare your independence from Google right now
You can fight back against the tech oligarchy without even leaving your chair
Today is Independence Day in the United States of America. It is the 248th anniversary of the publication of the Declaration of Independence. Yet even as I hear my neighbors ignite fireworks, the ancient evil of censorship is reappearing in a new disguise. Fortunately, this time it is surprisingly easy to fight this evil. This emerging threat can be countered by taking several simple steps that can be accomplished without even leaving your chair.
A recent Supreme Court decision disappointed many Americans by allowing the government to continue to pressure big tech firms such as Google and Meta/Facebook to censor online content. The big tech firms themselves are broadly leftist in outlook and will often suppress dissenting views on their own accord. It's quite common for comments to be erased without a trace on YouTube, for example.
How can the average American fight back when even an entire state such as Missouri has been ruled to have "no standing" to sue the federal government to make them behave properly? The answer is that every American can simply bypass big tech by embracing alternative tech.
There are many search engines, browsers, video hosting sites, etc., to choose from. Pick and choose the ones that are more strongly dedicated to freedom of speech than the tech behemoths. This will also remove revenue streams from monoliths such as Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube. Many of the leaders of these companies are notorious for giving huge sums to leftist causes. Drain them dry, slowly but surely, one missed ad and one blocked tracker at a time.
There are far too many alternatives to cover them all, so I will simply recommend the ones that I use daily. Other people may prefer other alternatives. I get no revenue for endorsing these, I'm simply suggesting them as examples that I like better than the mainstream sites.
Here's what you should do to declare your independence from big tech censorship and hubris:
Set your default search engine to Qwant. This English language website is hosted in France and is out of the jurisdiction of the censors in Washington, D.C. It's a French site, so they have no incentive to censor or micromanage Americans. This cuts off the flow of your personal data to Google, and prevents them from subtly brainwashing you by giving you bad search results with most of the truth omitted. It's a subtle irony of history that France helped the USA win its independence, and now a French search engine can help the USA preserve its freedoms. Vive la France!
Download an alternative web browser such as Brave and cut off the flow of free data to Google. It also blocks all ads, so YouTube gets no revenue if you watch it using Brave. You'll be amazed at how many ads it blocks. I'm at 5,684,268 trackers & ads blocked, 79.12 GB bandwidth saved, and 3.29 days of time saved. If you use your computer rather than your TV for getting most of your information and entertainment, then it's like getting an extra half day to a day of free time every year. Try it out first, and if you like it, then set it as your default browser.
Use alternative video sites such as BitChute, Rumble, etc. Bookmark them so that you get in the habit of using them rather than big tech sites. Check to see if your favorite video content creators are on those sites, and if they are then switch. Migrate away from YouTube to avoid censorship.
Switch your e-mail to something other than Google, so that they can't spam you or track your activity.
Delete Facebook and other legacy social media. They drain your time and censor points of view that the government does not want you to hear. Cut all ties with them.
For extra credit, learn to use Linux so that Microsoft's monopoly is eroded. They are a fading tech giant but it's still worth it to help accelerate their decline and fall.
Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, but it's simple and easy to end the evil of online censorship as soon as it is recognized. Free your mind first, and your body and spirit will soon follow.