It’s frankly not surprising that writers for The Atlantic are anxious to put some distance between a new piece claiming that in the debate over freedom on the internet, “China was largely correct, and the U.S. was wrong.”

Coronavirus will speed the process by which Big Tech and the government infringe on freedom of speech. @TheAtlantic thinks that's a good thing. 'Speech control' will show that we are 'mature' and have proper 'norms' and 'values.'

https://t.co/ZFB1Rrw8Kz pic.twitter.com/lQfYtpkdVa — Byron York (@ByronYork) April 26, 2020

That is not the position of the magazine, which publishes work by people with different views on the same question. I work at The Atlantic. And I think infringements on free speech and privacy are bad things. — Conor Friedersdorf (@conor64) April 28, 2020

Of course, the piece is written by two academics, Jack Goldsmith, Harvard Law School professor, and Andrew Keane Woods, professor of law at the University of Arizona College of Law. They write:

But the “extraordinary” measures we are seeing are not all that extraordinary. Powerful forces were pushing toward greater censorship and surveillance of digital networks long before the coronavirus jumped out of the wet markets in Wuhan, China, and they will continue to do so once the crisis passes. The practices that American tech platforms have undertaken during the pandemic represent not a break from prior developments, but an acceleration of them. … In the great debate of the past two decades about freedom versus control of the network, China was largely right and the United States was largely wrong. Significant monitoring and speech control are inevitable components of a mature and flourishing internet, and governments must play a large role in these practices to ensure that the internet is compatible with a society’s norms and values.

Crazy to think that college professors would believe the communist Chinese are doing things right. We will give them credit for still believing the coronavirus originated in the wet markets (at least they’re not buying the Chinese story that the U.S. military infected them), but one of our alarm bells is their second wake-up call”: “The second wake-up call was Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.” Yeah, Facebook ads?

I’m breaking my rule on not commenting politically. China is never right about anything. Progressives want the field to themselves and to heck with the Constitution. — Ernie Myers (@PastorErnie) April 27, 2020

@TheAtlantic is a dangerous communist propaganda pusher. — CharlestonCard⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@pbv2103) April 26, 2020

People at @TheAtlantic wonder why gun nuts exist. The Atlantic creates them with paragraphs like this one. — #DefundNPR (@trumpulist) April 26, 2020

Let’s start with first stifling the pure garbage coming from @TheAtlantic — Bradley Marcus (@MarcusP62428099) April 26, 2020

Bold move @TheAtlantic, coming out against the 1st amendment. — red ice conservative (@redicecon) April 26, 2020

How the hell did this make it to publication? — NiedsDeadGhost (@NiedsG) April 27, 2020

I don't need other people to set my "norms & values." God & my parents set them long ago. I certainly see no reason to change them now! See, the thing is – I'm happy, & so many people with current norms.& values AREN'T happy… OR content. Something to ponder. — Jackie Walker (@ShowBizGAL1996) April 27, 2020

It amazes me to no end that those who espouse the greatness of the US Constitution are the very ones that fail to put trust in its strengths. They have little faith in their own Constitution. — armchairpundit🇨🇦 (@GAKechnie) April 27, 2020

CONTROL……..they are testing and they SEE how easy it is when the people think they have no option. — ⛈⛈EyeOfTheStorm⛈⛈ (@trumps_all) April 26, 2020

Co-author: "Jack Goldsmith is a professor at Harvard Law School and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He was an assistant attorney general in the George W. Bush administration." #elitist #Progressive #ThisIsHowYouGotTrump — Trigger"ChinaWuhanVirus"Warning ︻芫═─ (@AshLikeSnow17) April 27, 2020

Communism light. — zz (@downdrabbithole) April 27, 2020

Hello fascism. — Fred Small (@whip48fs) April 26, 2020

That’s very forward thinking for these liberal media which will be the ones to go once the authoritarian regime takes control. May be that’s what they meant by a good thing. — Agent Smith (@TDIpower) April 27, 2020

They are out of their freaking minds — Patrick Triola (@Therealptriola) April 27, 2020

Thank you Atlantic. This was just the spurring I needed to finish my AR. You’re absolutely insane and anyone who agrees with you would be much happier as a cog in the CCP or NK and I will gladly help you pack. — FrankY DFW (@FrankYTheLand) April 27, 2020