4 ms·

> before it cuts someone off from what is becoming a vital service Facebook is not a vital service. Popularity doesn't determine what is and is-not vital, nor

by midev 5y ago

> before it cuts someone off from what is becoming a vital service Facebook is not a vital service. Popularity doesn't determine what is and is-not vital, nor does it remove the rights of a private business.

imgabe 5y ago
We regulate private businesses all the time when their actions are harmful to the public. Labor laws, environmental laws, workplace safety, discrimination, and on and on. "Private business" is not a magic phrase that means you get to do whatever you want with no regard for the rest of society.
- secondaryacct 5y ago
  If the State wants a fully regulated communication system, it can put facebook under the same umbrella as the telcos. Interestingly, it will surely be what you dislike so what is your point? If facebook becomes public utility I want to be able to regulate speech on it with my tax money. If it's private, I dont care if it tries to regulate harmful speech the way it wants as long as it doesnt impact where my tax money is going (so I dont want to pay for girls empowerement to have facebook massively undermining it by letting sheikhs explain the youth how to beat their unruly wives)
  - imgabe 5y ago
    > If facebook becomes public utility I want to be able to regulate speech on it with my tax money. What makes you think you should be able to do that? Do you get to cut off someone's water utility if they say something you don't like?
    - guerrilla 5y ago
      > Do you get to cut off someone's water utility if they say something you don't like? Coming soon to a Hell on Earth near you.
pope_meat 5y ago
A lot of small business/self employed folks don't have any kind of web presence other than FB/Instagram. It's not as cut and dry as you're making it out to be.
- midev 5y ago
  > A lot of small business/self employed folks don't have any kind of web presence other than FB/Instagram. This is pretty cut and dry. Dom't build your business on top of another business, for which you have no contract. There are plenty of alternatives, from Shopify to Etsy. None of which require a FB presence.
  - pope_meat 5y ago
    Where do you advertise your Etsy/Shopify business? I don't use facebook myself, but it's pretty hard to deny that they hold a vital position in the market. You can avoid them out of principle, but you're not setting yourself up for an easy start.
matheusmoreira 5y ago
> Facebook is not a vital service. WhatsApp is. Everyone in my country uses it. Not even a judge can get away with blocking WhatsApp as punishment for encrypting messages because the consequences are too great.
Levitz 5y ago
>>Popularity doesn't determine what is and is-not vital Then, pray tell, what does? It is the assumption that these services are used that turns them into important infrastructure. Everyone just assumes you have a bank account or a telephone, and that makes both bank accounts and telephones desirable, we wouldn't invest ungodly amounts of money in infrastructure on roads, traffic lights etc if automobiles weren't popular and they surely wouldn't be if we didn't have the infrastructure.

by midev 5y ago

imgabe 5y ago

We regulate private businesses all the time when their actions are harmful to the public. Labor laws, environmental laws, workplace safety, discrimination, and on and on. "Private business" is not a magic phrase that means you get to do whatever you want with no regard for the rest of society.

secondaryacct 5y ago
If the State wants a fully regulated communication system, it can put facebook under the same umbrella as the telcos. Interestingly, it will surely be what you dislike so what is your point? If facebook becomes public utility I want to be able to regulate speech on it with my tax money. If it's private, I dont care if it tries to regulate harmful speech the way it wants as long as it doesnt impact where my tax money is going (so I dont want to pay for girls empowerement to have facebook massively undermining it by letting sheikhs explain the youth how to beat their unruly wives)
- imgabe 5y ago
  > If facebook becomes public utility I want to be able to regulate speech on it with my tax money. What makes you think you should be able to do that? Do you get to cut off someone's water utility if they say something you don't like?
  - guerrilla 5y ago
    > Do you get to cut off someone's water utility if they say something you don't like? Coming soon to a Hell on Earth near you.

pope_meat 5y ago

A lot of small business/self employed folks don't have any kind of web presence other than FB/Instagram. It's not as cut and dry as you're making it out to be.

midev 5y ago
> A lot of small business/self employed folks don't have any kind of web presence other than FB/Instagram. This is pretty cut and dry. Dom't build your business on top of another business, for which you have no contract. There are plenty of alternatives, from Shopify to Etsy. None of which require a FB presence.
- pope_meat 5y ago
  Where do you advertise your Etsy/Shopify business? I don't use facebook myself, but it's pretty hard to deny that they hold a vital position in the market. You can avoid them out of principle, but you're not setting yourself up for an easy start.

matheusmoreira 5y ago

> Facebook is not a vital service. WhatsApp is. Everyone in my country uses it. Not even a judge can get away with blocking WhatsApp as punishment for encrypting messages because the consequences are too great.

Levitz 5y ago

>>Popularity doesn't determine what is and is-not vital Then, pray tell, what does? It is the assumption that these services are used that turns them into important infrastructure. Everyone just assumes you have a bank account or a telephone, and that makes both bank accounts and telephones desirable, we wouldn't invest ungodly amounts of money in infrastructure on roads, traffic lights etc if automobiles weren't popular and they surely wouldn't be if we didn't have the infrastructure.