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Agreed. I deleted my Twitter account after the UK government floated the idea of having the power to turn off such sites: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-

Agreed. I deleted my Twitter account after the UK government floated the idea of having the power to turn off such sites: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-statement-on-disorder-in-england https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-statement-on-disorder-... > And when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them. > So we are working with the Police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality. The fact that's even a possibility put me off such centralised platforms. (Of course, HN is centralised; but it's a niche forum, rather than a general medium of communication)

zimpenfish 4y ago
> I deleted my Twitter account after the UK government floated the idea [...] > when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality Were you "plotting violence, disorder and criminality"?
- pfoof 4y ago
  Define "violence, disorder and criminality"
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  Most people have something they would protest.
- shmageggy 4y ago
  This argument fails in the same way that “I’ve got nothing to hide” arguments against privacy fail. Even if someone is not currently running afoul of the current government’s current definition of a particular illegal act, we still might not want to grant them absolute power to enforce. These definitons of illegality tend to change (read: expand) over time, and when governments change they tend not to give back powers they’ve been granted.
paganel 4y ago
> So we are working with the Police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality. Wow, had Egypt’s Mubarak done the same just before the Arab Spring maybe his sons would still be in power right now. But, of course, bank then it was totally legit to use Twitter and FB in order to plot “violence and disorder”.

zimpenfish 4y ago

> I deleted my Twitter account after the UK government floated the idea [...] > when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality Were you "plotting violence, disorder and criminality"?

pfoof 4y ago
Define "violence, disorder and criminality"
vorpalhex 4y ago
Most people have something they would protest.
shmageggy 4y ago
This argument fails in the same way that “I’ve got nothing to hide” arguments against privacy fail. Even if someone is not currently running afoul of the current government’s current definition of a particular illegal act, we still might not want to grant them absolute power to enforce. These definitons of illegality tend to change (read: expand) over time, and when governments change they tend not to give back powers they’ve been granted.

paganel 4y ago

> So we are working with the Police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality. Wow, had Egypt’s Mubarak done the same just before the Arab Spring maybe his sons would still be in power right now. But, of course, bank then it was totally legit to use Twitter and FB in order to plot “violence and disorder”.