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This is the government suppressing speech by proxy. Even if it survives legal review, this harms the spirit of the Bill of Rights, which is incorporated agains

This is the government suppressing speech by proxy. Even if it survives legal review, this harms the spirit of the Bill of Rights, which is incorporated against the States. Voters should reply in November with their ballots as appropriate.

agildehaus 7y ago
Where's the government in this? The government isn't forcing Facebook's hand.
- Lammy 7y ago
  The government can be forcing Facebook's hand by making Facebook fearful of being investigated, fined, broken up, etc if they are found to have allowed manipulation of the 2020 election in any way, and the coronavirus and related topics have become unfortunately intertwined in that.
  - CamperBob2 7y ago
    Huh? If any forcing is going on -- which there isn't -- they would presumably be forced to toe the Trump party line, not to suppress or censor it. Wouldn't the present Federal government be happy if Facebook were to encourage protests and general disrespect for warnings from health authorities? If anything, Facebook's actions here are courageous. It takes a lot to get me to defend Facebook, but the arguments popping up in this thread are proving to be more than sufficient.
    - sfkdjf9j3j 7y ago
      Well, the official Trump party line is indeed that social distancing and other restrictions are still necessary. This is a very confusing situation since the protesters against the protective measures seem to be almost exclusively from Trump's base.
CamperBob2 7y ago
And forcing Facebook to publish points of view they disagree with doesn't harm the Bill of Rights?
- a1369209993 7y ago
  Of course not. Facebook is a corporation; people are what have rights.
  - CamperBob2 7y ago
    So Facebook is an organization of what, robots? Are you OK with similar rights being stripped from your hometown newspaper on the grounds that they are a "corporation", despite the explicit specification of the press as a protected entity in the First Amendment?
  - otterley 7y ago
    As assemblies of people, corporations have rights. In fact, the right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition the Government for redress of grievances is explicitly protected in the First Amendment of the Constitution.
  - oldsklgdfth 7y ago
    In America, corporations are people. Citizens United v. FEC
    - SamWhited 7y ago
      This doesn't mean what you think it means. Not all rights that attach to people attach to corporations. The bill of rights doesn't uniformly apply to corporations, and different rights may or may not attach under certain circumstances.
      - a1369209993 7y ago
        More importantly, the government declaring something doesn't make true. See anything from the entire Soviet Union to the various attempts to legislate that π = 3.

agildehaus 7y ago

Where's the government in this? The government isn't forcing Facebook's hand.

Lammy 7y ago
The government can be forcing Facebook's hand by making Facebook fearful of being investigated, fined, broken up, etc if they are found to have allowed manipulation of the 2020 election in any way, and the coronavirus and related topics have become unfortunately intertwined in that.
- CamperBob2 7y ago
  Huh? If any forcing is going on -- which there isn't -- they would presumably be forced to toe the Trump party line, not to suppress or censor it. Wouldn't the present Federal government be happy if Facebook were to encourage protests and general disrespect for warnings from health authorities? If anything, Facebook's actions here are courageous. It takes a lot to get me to defend Facebook, but the arguments popping up in this thread are proving to be more than sufficient.
  - sfkdjf9j3j 7y ago
    Well, the official Trump party line is indeed that social distancing and other restrictions are still necessary. This is a very confusing situation since the protesters against the protective measures seem to be almost exclusively from Trump's base.

CamperBob2 7y ago

And forcing Facebook to publish points of view they disagree with doesn't harm the Bill of Rights?

a1369209993 7y ago
Of course not. Facebook is a corporation; people are what have rights.
- CamperBob2 7y ago
  So Facebook is an organization of what, robots? Are you OK with similar rights being stripped from your hometown newspaper on the grounds that they are a "corporation", despite the explicit specification of the press as a protected entity in the First Amendment?
- otterley 7y ago
  As assemblies of people, corporations have rights. In fact, the right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition the Government for redress of grievances is explicitly protected in the First Amendment of the Constitution.
- oldsklgdfth 7y ago
  In America, corporations are people. Citizens United v. FEC
  - SamWhited 7y ago
    This doesn't mean what you think it means. Not all rights that attach to people attach to corporations. The bill of rights doesn't uniformly apply to corporations, and different rights may or may not attach under certain circumstances.
    - a1369209993 7y ago
      More importantly, the government declaring something doesn't make true. See anything from the entire Soviet Union to the various attempts to legislate that π = 3.