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It's very surreal watching this happen. CloudFlare will be next, and they've already set the precedent that they will cease to serve websites that are "detrime

It's very surreal watching this happen. CloudFlare will be next, and they've already set the precedent that they will cease to serve websites that are "detrimental to society". Followed by Digital Ocean, Amazon, Verizon, Comcast, AT&T. For those of you who championed XKCD #1357 at every opportunity, congratulations! You've won. For a short time. The consequences of censorship will be dire. I'm no fan of Sagan, but he was right what he saw here: > I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; [...]

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bhawks 6y ago
I often see the meme that modern technology has made free speech too dangerous. I wonder how has modern technology made censorship safer?
louwrentius 6y ago
It's funny to me. Big words about censorship and dire consequences, but I see it as a sane correction of the current wild-west that is untenable. Finally, some big players kick off bad-faith actors from their platforms. People that call for violence and hate. There is no need for a platform in this world where you can use racial slurs, call for hate and violence.
throwawaysea 6y ago
Wow that Sagan quote is prescient. Where is that from? And yes it is deeply concerning that an infrastructure service like Cloudflare is becoming increasingly political. This is what happens when companies stop acting neutrally and allow themselves to be influenced by activist employees or outside social/political pressure. The precedent they set will probably extend to all the other infrastructure players. And this is why it is more crucial now than ever for us to enforce antitrust laws and split up and/or regulate powerful companies. They are acting government agencies simply shielded from the same responsibilities because they are technically private.

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bhawks 6y ago

I often see the meme that modern technology has made free speech too dangerous. I wonder how has modern technology made censorship safer?

louwrentius 6y ago

It's funny to me. Big words about censorship and dire consequences, but I see it as a sane correction of the current wild-west that is untenable. Finally, some big players kick off bad-faith actors from their platforms. People that call for violence and hate. There is no need for a platform in this world where you can use racial slurs, call for hate and violence.

throwawaysea 6y ago

Wow that Sagan quote is prescient. Where is that from? And yes it is deeply concerning that an infrastructure service like Cloudflare is becoming increasingly political. This is what happens when companies stop acting neutrally and allow themselves to be influenced by activist employees or outside social/political pressure. The precedent they set will probably extend to all the other infrastructure players. And this is why it is more crucial now than ever for us to enforce antitrust laws and split up and/or regulate powerful companies. They are acting government agencies simply shielded from the same responsibilities because they are technically private.