Jay Boisseau interviews three experts in social media influence - Sherri Greenberg and Talia Stroud, professors at The University of Texas at Austin, and Paul O’Brien, CEO of Mediatech Ventures. After the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021,Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms disabled the accounts of then President Trump. Additionally, to further reduce risk, tech companies including Google, Amazon, and Apple, refused to host apps and services for platforms enabling misinformation leading to the events at the Capitol. Is all of this legal? Is it wise? Is it the way forward? This first part lays the foundation, and part 2 will dive deeper into the issues and possible future.