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No, we don't need to make a government service that doesn't discriminate. We just need to designate things like payment processors and hosting providers as util

No, we don't need to make a government service that doesn't discriminate. We just need to designate things like payment processors and hosting providers as utilities. Your electric company, plumbing company, or mail carrier can't just choose not to do business with someone because they dislike their political views.

magduf 8y ago
A hosting company isn't a utility. A utility is a monopoly in almost every case (or sometimes a duopoly). There's countless hosting companies out there, and you can make your own too. If you don't like your hosting provider, find another, or set up your own service. There's lots of payment processors out there too. However, Mastercard and VISA do have an oligopoly, and those deserve a lot more regulation than they currently get, for other reasons than discrimination.
- manfredo 8y ago
  We're increasingly getting to the point where some technologies have no effective competitor. Even sites like Cloud Flare that have decided to kick people off their service have pointed out the dangers of such a practice: https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/ https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/ > Someone on our team asked after I announced we were going to terminate the Daily Stormer: "Is this the day the Internet dies?" He was half joking, but only half. He's no fan of the Daily Stormer or sites like it. But he does realize the risks of a company like Cloudflare getting into content policing.
  - magduf 8y ago
    I have a small, personal website. If Cloudflare doesn't like me, it's not a problem, because I don't need their service anyway. If DS has so much traffic that it needs service from someone like Cloudflare to not collapse under the load, well then maybe some of those people should start their own hosting service that can handle that much load. Otherwise, it seems the DS crowd isn't willing to put their money where their mouth is, so I have no sympathy.

magduf 8y ago

A hosting company isn't a utility. A utility is a monopoly in almost every case (or sometimes a duopoly). There's countless hosting companies out there, and you can make your own too. If you don't like your hosting provider, find another, or set up your own service. There's lots of payment processors out there too. However, Mastercard and VISA do have an oligopoly, and those deserve a lot more regulation than they currently get, for other reasons than discrimination.

manfredo 8y ago
We're increasingly getting to the point where some technologies have no effective competitor. Even sites like Cloud Flare that have decided to kick people off their service have pointed out the dangers of such a practice: https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/ https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/ > Someone on our team asked after I announced we were going to terminate the Daily Stormer: "Is this the day the Internet dies?" He was half joking, but only half. He's no fan of the Daily Stormer or sites like it. But he does realize the risks of a company like Cloudflare getting into content policing.
- magduf 8y ago
  I have a small, personal website. If Cloudflare doesn't like me, it's not a problem, because I don't need their service anyway. If DS has so much traffic that it needs service from someone like Cloudflare to not collapse under the load, well then maybe some of those people should start their own hosting service that can handle that much load. Otherwise, it seems the DS crowd isn't willing to put their money where their mouth is, so I have no sympathy.