The implication being that private companies (Google, Facebook, etc.) now fill the role that common carriers did a few decades ago, and that, curiously, they enjoy many of the privileges usually allotted to common carriers (eg. can't be prosecuted for content passing through their networks) without the responsibilities.

Isn’t that fact quickly changing with laws like SESTA? I feel like tech companies have been at forever war against not being afforded common carrier protections in a way phone companies were not, and I wonder if that regulatory uncertainty has led to self-policing & hedging