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You people who say that freedom of speech laws only apply to government restrictions, not to private companies: Do you realize that if this approach were taken
by pmdulaney 6y ago
You people who say that freedom of speech laws only apply to government restrictions, not to private companies: Do you realize that if this approach were taken to private restaurants we would still have whites-only lunch counters?
Social media are de facto public utilities and should be treated as such. Trump's email should not be turned off for the same reason that his water and gas shouldn't be turned off.
- mistersquid 6y ago> You people who say that freedom of speech laws only apply to government restrictions, not to private companies: Do you realize that if this approach were taken to private restaurants we would still have whites-only lunch counters? In the US, partisan political affiliation does not constitute a protected class, and incitements to violence are not protected speech.
- pmdulaney 6y agoYes, but someone who has committed a speech crime (such as incitement to violence) gets tried for that crime -- he doesn't get forced to wear a gag in public or have his phone service taken away.
- hairofadog 6y agoBeing banned from Twitter isn’t equivalent to being forced to wear a gag in public; it’s equivalent to being asked to leave the restaurant. Presumably if someone came into a restaurant falsely and loudly claiming the food had been poisoned and inciting the customers to inflict violence on the chef, they’d be asked to leave the restaurant.
- pmdulaney 6y agoWell, no. It's more like being banned from a restaurant for life, isn't it? Besides my argument is that social media is more like a utility than any particular restaurant is. Even if you were banned for life you could go to many others.
- jgwil2 6y agoTell it to Ajit Pai