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No, mortenjorck had it right. There is a clear distinction between government and private enterprise--governments have the force of law to back them up. That's

by Zanni 5y ago

No, mortenjorck had it right. There is a clear distinction between government and private enterprise--governments have the force of law to back them up. That's the critical threat. Yes, it's a problem if power is centralized in organizations, but you always have the option to walk away from Facebook, Twitter, etc., or even start a competitor. There's a huge difference between "Facebook jail" and actual jail.

Sebb767 5y ago
There are similarly powerful industries and they are regulated strictly. Take banking, as an example: In theory, you can "choose" not to use a bank, but realistically, you won't be able to and still live a normal live in modern society. That's why we regulate them and disallow them to simply take your money for no reason, impose insane fees etc.. I don't see why Facebook should be given a cop-out given how essential many of their services are to a normal live.
- mannerheim 5y ago
  What service by Facebook is essential? Is posting and commenting on Facebook essential? Because that's what most people complain about when it comes to censorship from Facebook.
  - iammisc 5y ago
    My local politicians have closed their offices due to covid. The phones do not work because they go to the offices. The only official way to contact them is via email. The only way people seem to successfully get a response is via Facebook. Facebook has willingly inserted itelf as the arbiter of all social and governmental actions in our brave new world. Stop pretending.
    - mannerheim 5y ago
      OK. So that's a case for forcing Facebook to allow people to contact politicians, not a case for forcing it to allow people to make posts or comments.
smsm42 5y ago
Ah, the famous "you can build your own twitter" (which is "you can build your own Internet" now, thanks Parler) argument. Turns out, it's not that easy to build your own internet. You can walk away from Facebook, but if Facebook can control who gets elected to control the jails, then the distance between Facebook jail and real jail is not as big as you might have thought.

by Zanni 5y ago

Sebb767 5y ago

There are similarly powerful industries and they are regulated strictly. Take banking, as an example: In theory, you can "choose" not to use a bank, but realistically, you won't be able to and still live a normal live in modern society. That's why we regulate them and disallow them to simply take your money for no reason, impose insane fees etc.. I don't see why Facebook should be given a cop-out given how essential many of their services are to a normal live.

mannerheim 5y ago
What service by Facebook is essential? Is posting and commenting on Facebook essential? Because that's what most people complain about when it comes to censorship from Facebook.
- iammisc 5y ago
  My local politicians have closed their offices due to covid. The phones do not work because they go to the offices. The only official way to contact them is via email. The only way people seem to successfully get a response is via Facebook. Facebook has willingly inserted itelf as the arbiter of all social and governmental actions in our brave new world. Stop pretending.
  - mannerheim 5y ago
    OK. So that's a case for forcing Facebook to allow people to contact politicians, not a case for forcing it to allow people to make posts or comments.

smsm42 5y ago

Ah, the famous "you can build your own twitter" (which is "you can build your own Internet" now, thanks Parler) argument. Turns out, it's not that easy to build your own internet. You can walk away from Facebook, but if Facebook can control who gets elected to control the jails, then the distance between Facebook jail and real jail is not as big as you might have thought.