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Why does it matter that it’s a state compromising our democracy vs a private company? Anyway, I maintain that Twitter and other major social networks represent
by weberc2 7y ago
Why does it matter that it’s a state compromising our democracy vs a private company? Anyway, I maintain that Twitter and other major social networks represent such an overwhelming volume of our speech that they are not simply “private companies”. To the OP’s point, their sheer power over the political process is the entire alleged Russian attack vector.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- belltaco 7y agoI'd agree with you if Twitter Inc. isn't being fully transparent with its actions or manipulating things on the back end without visibility and favoring one side, like the intentions and effects of the Russian interference.
- weberc2 7y agoCool, so we agree? Twitter’s moderation is completely opaque. All sides of this debate acknowledge this much.
- r00fus 7y agoGuns and wars that’s why. Twitter doesn’t have an army and can’t dictate laws without getting its chain yanked. Russia/China/USA etc is a whole different story.
- weberc2 7y agoThen you misunderstand the debate. Russia’s attack model isn’t guns and wars, it’s subverting our democracy by influencing who sees what via Twitter et al. If the Russians can change our laws by using social media to covertly influence elections, then clearly Twitter can as well. And “Twitter getting its chain yanked” depends on our ability to audit Twitter’s traffic shaping, which is nonexistent—there is no transparency.