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Our first amendment rights in the US restrict the government from prohibiting free speech. But that doesn't mean free speech isn't a principle that can, and sho
by tarboreus 6y ago
Our first amendment rights in the US restrict the government from prohibiting free speech. But that doesn't mean free speech isn't a principle that can, and should, be applied in other areas of life. When people say Facebook is violating free speech, that absolutely makes sense as a violation of a principle that many of us care strongly about, and that our society is to a great extent founded upon. Just because free speech as a right is enshrined in the first amendment doesn't mean the first amendment is where the principle of free speech begins and ends.
- shadowgovt 6y agoBut the utility of it on other areas of life is up for debate. The US considers the question settled for government intervention, not for private actions. Free speech doesn't protect my right to blare Nazi propaganda 24/7 into your living room using focused sound technology. Nor should it. In the US, it doesn't even grant a person the "right" to blare Nazi propaganda 24/7 using a licensed FM radio station. Many people seem to take as granted that free speech is a virtue that an entity like Facebook should support, but their statements assume without evidence that free speech protection is a virtue in that context.
- tern 6y agoI do suspect it's confusing to refer to something our constitution calls a "right" and another thing, which is merely a "principle," by the same name.
- x86_64Ubuntu 6y agoMy goodness, "Free Speech" whatever HN folks imagine it to be does not mean you get to use FB's infrastructure to disseminate it.
- shadowgovt 6y agoBasically. Forcing them to disseminate it infringes Facebook's freedom of the press. Or freedom of association; there are arguments to be made in both directions.
- x86_64Ubuntu 6y agoNot really. You would think in a forum full of techbros, FB being a private entity would be the end of the discussion. But because it's white supremacist viewpoints that many of the forum users are sympathetic with, it gets moved into a conveniently gray area.
- betwixthewires 6y agoThis accusation is severely dishonest and in bad taste. It is a character attack when substantial discussion is warranted. It allows you to undermine opposing viewpoints without examining them. You're accusing people of abandoning their stated principles for nefarious reasons. It is toxic. If you want to have productive discussions with people you'll be better off not labelling them as evil from the outset.