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So the wonderful thing about social media is we're back to having citizen reporters. News and information isn't just what CNN and Fox tells us what is news, it'

So the wonderful thing about social media is we're back to having citizen reporters. News and information isn't just what CNN and Fox tells us what is news, it's now done the way it was originally envisioned: by citizens. This has given us insights into things like which companies are shady, the widespread practice police brutalization, and many other things. Removing section 230 will remove that platform and return us to the CNN and Fox being the gatekeepers of information I'm afraid. The better answer is to disallow social media companies to consolidate and monopolize. We already have the laws on the books.

infamouscow 5y ago
Do you seriously think if congress passed a law stripping Facebook and Twitter of Section 230 that somehow, overnight, they will just magically disappear from the world? I sure don't, especially since it costs money to moderate content.
- Clubber 5y ago
  >that somehow, overnight, they will just magically disappear from the world? Those are your words not mine. It wouldn't happen overnight, but it wouldn't be recognizable within a year or less. They would remove almost all content to avoid liability, absolutely. 230 shields them from liability for the content they host (for the most part). It would turn into nothing but network shows and commercials, just like TV was 10-20 years ago. Here's what EFF describes it, and they support keeping it. https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230 https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230 Removing 230 would absolutely be an affront to citizens free speech and freedom to broadcast. I understand why people don't like it, but the alternative (removing it) is much, much worse. Think of it this way, say you hosted a blog on your own server and you had comments. Now once 230 gets repealed, you are open to lawsuits from anyone concerning any of the comments on your blog, including lawsuits with no merit that you still have to defend. Would you keep comments open? Probably not and even if you did, you probably wouldn't for long for one reason or the other (probably because you were sued). Hell, HN probably wouldn't even be the same. As soon as someone says x company sucks in a comment, HN is now open to a libel lawsuit, meritless or not. HN would have to decide if hiring full time moderators and a legal team for content would be worth the effort to keep the site up. It might be, but for many, if not most sites, it's not.

infamouscow 5y ago

Do you seriously think if congress passed a law stripping Facebook and Twitter of Section 230 that somehow, overnight, they will just magically disappear from the world? I sure don't, especially since it costs money to moderate content.

Clubber 5y ago
>that somehow, overnight, they will just magically disappear from the world? Those are your words not mine. It wouldn't happen overnight, but it wouldn't be recognizable within a year or less. They would remove almost all content to avoid liability, absolutely. 230 shields them from liability for the content they host (for the most part). It would turn into nothing but network shows and commercials, just like TV was 10-20 years ago. Here's what EFF describes it, and they support keeping it. https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230 https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230 Removing 230 would absolutely be an affront to citizens free speech and freedom to broadcast. I understand why people don't like it, but the alternative (removing it) is much, much worse. Think of it this way, say you hosted a blog on your own server and you had comments. Now once 230 gets repealed, you are open to lawsuits from anyone concerning any of the comments on your blog, including lawsuits with no merit that you still have to defend. Would you keep comments open? Probably not and even if you did, you probably wouldn't for long for one reason or the other (probably because you were sued). Hell, HN probably wouldn't even be the same. As soon as someone says x company sucks in a comment, HN is now open to a libel lawsuit, meritless or not. HN would have to decide if hiring full time moderators and a legal team for content would be worth the effort to keep the site up. It might be, but for many, if not most sites, it's not.