5 ms·

But this isn't someone's house. This is a public square where nearly everyone is invited to speak, and also given tools to block people they don't want to hear.

But this isn't someone's house. This is a public square where nearly everyone is invited to speak, and also given tools to block people they don't want to hear. And I never spoke about the 1st Amendment or any of the free speech laws, but of governing principles of the United States - that Democracy only works when all voices are heard. People who don't have a voice might decide this whole Democracy thing isn't working for them and decide they should be heard through violence. And we had 300,000 years of that shit. Democracy is mind boggling special considering our history and every effort should be made to make sure everyone has a seat at the table. And like it or not, Facebook is one of the most important tables these days. Bad ideas should be discussed publicly so that all can see the arguments against. Covering up/hiding such speech doesn't end that speech, it just makes sure that those who believe it never hear a refutation.

maym86 8y ago
It's not a public square. It's a private platform that already censors people for other reasons, often to do with making profit. There are low hanging fruit that have been discussed and we know the the answer, e.g. holocaust denial, where the content is just designed to hurt others. Why bother having that discussion over and over and trying to convince trolls and racists? Don't give them a platform to waste everyone's time. Do you think Facebook should allow paid antisemitic advertising on the platform? https://boingboing.net/2015/11/06/facebook-is-censoring-links-to.html https://boingboing.net/2015/11/06/facebook-is-censoring-link... https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2016/10/12/13241486/facebook-censorship-breast-cancer-nipple-mammogram https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/11/facebook-censorship-news-feed-trending-topics https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/11/facebook-...

maym86 8y ago

It's not a public square. It's a private platform that already censors people for other reasons, often to do with making profit. There are low hanging fruit that have been discussed and we know the the answer, e.g. holocaust denial, where the content is just designed to hurt others. Why bother having that discussion over and over and trying to convince trolls and racists? Don't give them a platform to waste everyone's time. Do you think Facebook should allow paid antisemitic advertising on the platform? https://boingboing.net/2015/11/06/facebook-is-censoring-links-to.html https://boingboing.net/2015/11/06/facebook-is-censoring-link... https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2016/10/12/13241486/facebook-censorship-breast-cancer-nipple-mammogram https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/11/facebook-censorship-news-feed-trending-topics https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/11/facebook-...