4 ms·
The reason Substack has "content guidelines" is because they want to make their own laws. If they only followed the law, they would only need to remind users wh
by bambax 5y ago
The reason Substack has "content guidelines" is because they want to make their own laws. If they only followed the law, they would only need to remind users what's illegal and what's not.
And so they have to go to great lengths to explain those laws that they are making, and why they exist, and how they're enforced, etc. And of course they present them as necessary and reasonable, and "the only way".
> We will continue to take a strong stance in defense of free speech because we believe the alternatives are so much worse.
They are not defending "free speech". Free speech is exactly that: let people say anything. Hate speech. Porn. Wild conspiracies. Praise of terrorism. Anything.
They are promoting a version of "speech" that is deemed acceptable in their own social and business circle. That version includes none of the above, but currently accepts antivax.
My guess is that will change.
- ekanes 5y agoClassically, the only way things like that are “hard forced” on a company that refuses to be canceled is visa/mc stop accepting them. This is a real case for crypto-currencies.
- Mikeb85 5y ago> currently accepts antivax What is antivax? Some things which EU governments accept as law is deemed antivax in Canada (recognizing immunity from past infections)... M-W dictionary recently updated antivax to include those opposed to vaccine mandates. But now entire governments are dropping vaccine passports and not implementing mandates at all... So what exactly does antivax mean and why should Substack not allow debate on the matter?
- bambax 5y agoThat's not my point. My point is that Substack pretending to defend "free speech" is deeply misleading, and probably delusional, if they believe it themselves. Substack is not a white knight of liberty, it's the product of a time and a place, and as such is subject to external forces (the customs of said time&place). When those change, so will Substack, theories about "freedom" notwithstanding.
- Mikeb85 5y agoJudging by this whole thread, they are liberal enough (not political liberal, the real meaning) to still be attracting haters who think they're allowing too much. They're definitely pushing what 2022 society thinks is 'too much freedom' although you're also correct in that they're doing it for profit because plenty of people think that the status quo is too restrictive...