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In real life, if somebody borrowed my megaphone and started shouting racist things, I'd have the right to snatch it away because it belongs to me. So the privat
by sxp62000 8y ago
In real life, if somebody borrowed my megaphone and started shouting racist things, I'd have the right to snatch it away because it belongs to me. So the private companies that refused service to Gab were doing nothing wrong.
Also, just noticed that Epik calls itself the "Swiss Bank of Domains", so they're staying true to their brand I guess.
- oceanplexian 8y agoA private website isn't a megaphone. No one is forcibly making people visit a URL and read their content (Beyond say...spam or clickbait, and in that case, sure, I can sympathize with you). But the internet is a lot more like a library than it is a crowded city street with a megaphone. You can go your entire life on the internet and not have to read an opposing political viewpoint. Especially if you read curated content from mainstream media outlets that don't allow commenting, voting, and social participation. Or simply skip the comments. It isn't that hard to avoid the "hateful" content.
- sxp62000 8y agoThe internet aspired to be a library, but even libraries are curated. I'm not saying people shouldn't be allowed to say whatever they want to say, but a private company has the right to refuse service to customers who intentionally won't or are unable to meet their terms of service. This has applied to all sorts of things in the past and still does, e.g. filesharing, pornography and music streaming sites. Also, let's not kid ourselves that the stand that Epik has taken has anything to do with free speech. It's good for their business, just like it's good business for news agencies to have a view point and not remain neutral. People who run torrent and porn sites and companies who host them have used this argument for ages.