4 ms·

There is, but when you consider that at least a small portion of Trump’s base and the people this Bannon ghoul appeal to are brazen and stupid enough to plan an

by Fezzik 6y ago

There is, but when you consider that at least a small portion of Trump’s base and the people this Bannon ghoul appeal to are brazen and stupid enough to plan and prepare to kidnap a state’s governor you need to be pretty careful about what these ding-a-lings have access to as far as encouragement is concerned. Remember the moron that shot up the pizza shop in NY because the internet said there was pedophile ring being coordinated out of the non-existent basement? We’re not really talking about “common discourse” at that point. Edit, to add: also, remember that Dr. Fauci has already received numerous death threats from Trump supporters.

dvt 6y ago
I'd like to posit that curbing free speech because there might be morons out there is a dangerous slippery slope. After all, there are always morons out there. Simply consider the alternative: authoritarian and ad-hoc censorship (in this case perpetrated by tech companies that don't have the public's best interest in mind). You may agree with it today -- in fact, on a surface level, so do I -- but will we agree with it tomorrow? It's important not to lose sight of the future and accidentally throw the baby out with the bathwater. I have a feeling you might disagree, but that's a hill I'm willing to die on.
- Fezzik 6y ago
  Twitter has nothing to do with free speech. Twitter is free to decide who can and cannot use their platform and run their TOSs how they see fit. The government has taken no steps to curtail Mr. Bannon’s free speech. If they had, I would be livid. He is free to go to the town square and project his crazy rantings until his lungs give-out or he becomes a nuisance.
  - dvt 6y ago
    > Twitter has nothing to do with free speech. Can we at least disagree in good faith? Let's not pretend massive social networks with billions of users have "nothing to do with free speech." The status of these tech companies (and more specifically, Section 230) will be almost certainly litigated in the upcoming decade[1]. There's also some precedent when it comes to TV networks (see the Turner rule[2]). [1] https://regproject.org/blog/big-tech-the-whole-first-amendment/ https://regproject.org/blog/big-tech-the-whole-first-amendme... [2] https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/512/622/ https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/512/622/

by Fezzik 6y ago

dvt 6y ago

I'd like to posit that curbing free speech because there might be morons out there is a dangerous slippery slope. After all, there are always morons out there. Simply consider the alternative: authoritarian and ad-hoc censorship (in this case perpetrated by tech companies that don't have the public's best interest in mind). You may agree with it today -- in fact, on a surface level, so do I -- but will we agree with it tomorrow? It's important not to lose sight of the future and accidentally throw the baby out with the bathwater. I have a feeling you might disagree, but that's a hill I'm willing to die on.

Fezzik 6y ago
Twitter has nothing to do with free speech. Twitter is free to decide who can and cannot use their platform and run their TOSs how they see fit. The government has taken no steps to curtail Mr. Bannon’s free speech. If they had, I would be livid. He is free to go to the town square and project his crazy rantings until his lungs give-out or he becomes a nuisance.
- dvt 6y ago
  > Twitter has nothing to do with free speech. Can we at least disagree in good faith? Let's not pretend massive social networks with billions of users have "nothing to do with free speech." The status of these tech companies (and more specifically, Section 230) will be almost certainly litigated in the upcoming decade[1]. There's also some precedent when it comes to TV networks (see the Turner rule[2]). [1] https://regproject.org/blog/big-tech-the-whole-first-amendment/ https://regproject.org/blog/big-tech-the-whole-first-amendme... [2] https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/512/622/ https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/512/622/