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Absolutely insane that they would do this. It's like they thought "what's the most obvious anti-trust violation we could implement in a day using existing code?

Absolutely insane that they would do this. It's like they thought "what's the most obvious anti-trust violation we could implement in a day using existing code?" and then did.

bee_rider 4y ago
Is it anti-trust? It seems blatantly anticompetitive but I’m curious what specific law they seem to be breaking (so I can add it to my anti-Twitter complaining heap).
- rvz 4y ago
  > Is it anti-trust? No it is not. Twitter does not have a monopoly on social media. > It seems blatantly anticompetitive but I’m curious what specific law they seem to be breaking (so I can add it to my anti-Twitter complaining heap). None. They have done it in the past [0] and no-one complained apart from techies here getting emotional about it. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31607941 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31607941
  - xg15 4y ago
    Did anyone except techies actually know about it?
monsecchris 4y ago
- walls 4y ago
  - monsecchris 4y ago
    [flagged]
    - anderber 4y ago
      Didn't they post something against their ToS?
      - monsecchris 4y ago
        Nope.
      - _aavaa_ 4y ago
        If you’ve referring to the Hunter Biden laptop story, the TOS were updated in response to that story in order to make the story against the ToS.
- bradhe 4y ago
  [flagged]
carlivar 4y ago
In what way does anti-trust apply? How is Twitter a monopoly?
- bee_rider 4y ago
  I’m not sure whether this actually falls under anti-trust. But you should know they anti-trust laws cover things other than monopolies. I’m sure you weren’t trying to, but switching from anti-trust to monopoly is a pretty common and easy to spot move of the goal-posts. https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/gui... https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/anticompetitive-practices https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/anticompetitive-practices
  - carlivar 4y ago
    Ahh good to know. I definitely equated "anti-trust" with monopoly. I agree it is anti-competitive.
- Robin_Message 4y ago
  Quoting the FTC https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/gui... : "[...] antitrust laws have had the same basic objective: to protect the process of competition for the benefit of consumers, making sure there are strong incentives for businesses to operate efficiently, keep prices down, and keep quality up." A monopoly that abuses its power is one example of anti-trust; it is not the definition.
throwawayacc3 4y ago
I remember for years the left's war cry was "Twitter is a private company, they do not have to host your content". "You and your ilk can post your filth on a dozen other websites, Twitter is not a monopoly." "Twitter isn't censoring you, they just don't want to listen to your bullshit, and they're showing you the door (relevant xkcd posted everywhere: https://xkcd.com/1357/ https://xkcd.com/1357/)" Some of us warned that if the tables turned, so would their tune. "Twitter is much like the public square, and banning dissenting voices shouldn't be celebrated" we warned. Just a few years later, here we are. I feel vindicated.
- swasheck 4y ago
  the problem is that when the people who complained about the behavior now celebrate and initiate the behavior, it renders their initial objection as insincere and self-serving. what i've seen is that a lot of this is less about complaining about the behavior, and more of a crusade to highlight the hypocrisy of both elon and his acolytes. if he wants to ban mastodon links he's certainly welcome to do so - it's his company. it's just a bad look after positioning himself as a free speech, open market crusader who politically platformed himself as against the very thing he's doing.
- imknewhere 4y ago
  So, "the right" has latched on to Free Speech being like a major pillar of their worldview. Musk has shifted himself to be more allied with the right. He also proclaimed that he was taking over Twitter in order to free it from censorship (ie - Twitter is the place for free speech). Now it turns out that Musk doesn't really care about free speech. He just wants to control what the content of the speech is. This is an example that affirms the suspicions of the left: that the right's proclamations about speech are disingenuous. As I understand it, this is why people are calling him out.
  - throwawayfear 4y ago
    No, doxxing someone isn’t free speech anymore than saying “fire” in a crowded theater when there isn’t one is. Against the policies and rules. Doesn’t matter if it’s a CEO you dislike that is being doxxed. The people on the left are the ones being disingenuous.

Absolutely insane that they would do this. It's like they thought "what's the most obvious anti-trust violation we could implement in a day using existing code?" and then did.

bee_rider 4y ago

Is it anti-trust? It seems blatantly anticompetitive but I’m curious what specific law they seem to be breaking (so I can add it to my anti-Twitter complaining heap).

rvz 4y ago
> Is it anti-trust? No it is not. Twitter does not have a monopoly on social media. > It seems blatantly anticompetitive but I’m curious what specific law they seem to be breaking (so I can add it to my anti-Twitter complaining heap). None. They have done it in the past [0] and no-one complained apart from techies here getting emotional about it. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31607941 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31607941
- xg15 4y ago
  Did anyone except techies actually know about it?

monsecchris 4y ago

walls 4y ago
- monsecchris 4y ago
  [flagged]
  - anderber 4y ago
    Didn't they post something against their ToS?
    - monsecchris 4y ago
      Nope.
    - _aavaa_ 4y ago
      If you’ve referring to the Hunter Biden laptop story, the TOS were updated in response to that story in order to make the story against the ToS.
bradhe 4y ago
[flagged]

carlivar 4y ago

In what way does anti-trust apply? How is Twitter a monopoly?

bee_rider 4y ago
I’m not sure whether this actually falls under anti-trust. But you should know they anti-trust laws cover things other than monopolies. I’m sure you weren’t trying to, but switching from anti-trust to monopoly is a pretty common and easy to spot move of the goal-posts. https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/gui... https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/anticompetitive-practices https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/anticompetitive-practices
- carlivar 4y ago
  Ahh good to know. I definitely equated "anti-trust" with monopoly. I agree it is anti-competitive.
Robin_Message 4y ago
Quoting the FTC https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/gui... : "[...] antitrust laws have had the same basic objective: to protect the process of competition for the benefit of consumers, making sure there are strong incentives for businesses to operate efficiently, keep prices down, and keep quality up." A monopoly that abuses its power is one example of anti-trust; it is not the definition.

throwawayacc3 4y ago

I remember for years the left's war cry was "Twitter is a private company, they do not have to host your content". "You and your ilk can post your filth on a dozen other websites, Twitter is not a monopoly." "Twitter isn't censoring you, they just don't want to listen to your bullshit, and they're showing you the door (relevant xkcd posted everywhere: https://xkcd.com/1357/ https://xkcd.com/1357/)" Some of us warned that if the tables turned, so would their tune. "Twitter is much like the public square, and banning dissenting voices shouldn't be celebrated" we warned. Just a few years later, here we are. I feel vindicated.

swasheck 4y ago
the problem is that when the people who complained about the behavior now celebrate and initiate the behavior, it renders their initial objection as insincere and self-serving. what i've seen is that a lot of this is less about complaining about the behavior, and more of a crusade to highlight the hypocrisy of both elon and his acolytes. if he wants to ban mastodon links he's certainly welcome to do so - it's his company. it's just a bad look after positioning himself as a free speech, open market crusader who politically platformed himself as against the very thing he's doing.
imknewhere 4y ago
So, "the right" has latched on to Free Speech being like a major pillar of their worldview. Musk has shifted himself to be more allied with the right. He also proclaimed that he was taking over Twitter in order to free it from censorship (ie - Twitter is the place for free speech). Now it turns out that Musk doesn't really care about free speech. He just wants to control what the content of the speech is. This is an example that affirms the suspicions of the left: that the right's proclamations about speech are disingenuous. As I understand it, this is why people are calling him out.
- throwawayfear 4y ago
  No, doxxing someone isn’t free speech anymore than saying “fire” in a crowded theater when there isn’t one is. Against the policies and rules. Doesn’t matter if it’s a CEO you dislike that is being doxxed. The people on the left are the ones being disingenuous.