I do downvote people I disagree with on HN, that seems like simply a low-effort way of registering one's opinion. Flagging I think of as being intended more for

I do downvote people I disagree with on HN, that seems like simply a low-effort way of registering one's opinion. Flagging I think of as being intended more for abusive, as opposed to just unintelligent, statements. Certainly, if someone abused the tool to flag everyone who expressed a certain opinion, that would be suppressing free speech. Whether the government would be obligated to intervene would likely depend on whether the owners of HN would like the suppression to stop.