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"Free speech" is freedom from government reprisals. Nothing in the article relates to this, merely that private companies wish not to support Neo-fascists. You

"Free speech" is freedom from government reprisals. Nothing in the article relates to this, merely that private companies wish not to support Neo-fascists. You can be upset about this, but please don't confuse it with Freedom of Speech.

yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
No. Free Speech is a human right, which governments sometimes codify into law.
- confounded 9y ago
  > No Can you be more specific, especially with regards to private property and enterprise? Are you arguing that it's my human right to publish on the front of the NYT, or have my submissions on the front page of HN? Or to give speeches in your living room?
  - yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
    This is actually an decent question; I tend to favor view that platforms should have less room to censor in scale with their size. The idea being that a tiny forum can censor at will because its impact is minimal, whereas YouTube shouldn't be allowed to censor legal material, because forums are a dime a dozen, but YouTube is a monopoly, so if they decide they don't like you then you effectively have no voice. This is the same problem as malls and the like have; privatization of public space doesn't make the space not public. Also, I would oppose censorship in your particular examples. I would think that it is your right to publish in the NYT under the same terms as anyone else (i.e., be interesting or have money), to top HN (if upvoted), or to speak in my home (if invited). And if the NYT blacklisted someone speaking on corrupt reporting, if HN blocked stories because they were right-leaning, or an acquaintance refused to talk to me because they disagree with my politics, I would be rightly upset at them.
    - confounded 9y ago
      That's wonderful. But, again this has nothing to do with freedom of speech; just your feelings. So, next time something like this happens, instead of saying "but this is hurting freedom of speech" you can just say "but this is hurting my feelings; I believe I have a fundamental human right to feel good about things, and things are making me feel bad".
cgore 9y ago
Freedom of Speech is a basic human right. Like the right to life, liberty, and property. Can SuperMegaCorp, Inc. decide to murder me? They're not the US Federal Government after all, so they aren't infringing on my Freedom of Life.
- confounded 9y ago
  > Can SuperMegaCorp, Inc. decide to murder me? No. But they're free to have terms of service. I don't see how this is relevant.

yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago

No. Free Speech is a human right, which governments sometimes codify into law.

confounded 9y ago
> No Can you be more specific, especially with regards to private property and enterprise? Are you arguing that it's my human right to publish on the front of the NYT, or have my submissions on the front page of HN? Or to give speeches in your living room?
- yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
  This is actually an decent question; I tend to favor view that platforms should have less room to censor in scale with their size. The idea being that a tiny forum can censor at will because its impact is minimal, whereas YouTube shouldn't be allowed to censor legal material, because forums are a dime a dozen, but YouTube is a monopoly, so if they decide they don't like you then you effectively have no voice. This is the same problem as malls and the like have; privatization of public space doesn't make the space not public. Also, I would oppose censorship in your particular examples. I would think that it is your right to publish in the NYT under the same terms as anyone else (i.e., be interesting or have money), to top HN (if upvoted), or to speak in my home (if invited). And if the NYT blacklisted someone speaking on corrupt reporting, if HN blocked stories because they were right-leaning, or an acquaintance refused to talk to me because they disagree with my politics, I would be rightly upset at them.
  - confounded 9y ago
    That's wonderful. But, again this has nothing to do with freedom of speech; just your feelings. So, next time something like this happens, instead of saying "but this is hurting freedom of speech" you can just say "but this is hurting my feelings; I believe I have a fundamental human right to feel good about things, and things are making me feel bad".

cgore 9y ago

Freedom of Speech is a basic human right. Like the right to life, liberty, and property. Can SuperMegaCorp, Inc. decide to murder me? They're not the US Federal Government after all, so they aren't infringing on my Freedom of Life.

confounded 9y ago
> Can SuperMegaCorp, Inc. decide to murder me? No. But they're free to have terms of service. I don't see how this is relevant.