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In this case reporting two dozen small fry accounts to moderator teams is very weak as far as censorship goes. They’re doing the same thing as everyone else who
by Apocryphon 4y ago
In this case reporting two dozen small fry accounts to moderator teams is very weak as far as censorship goes. They’re doing the same thing as everyone else who hits report on Twitter does, except cutting in line. But you can bet there are tens of thousands of businesses, especially Twitter’s advertisers, who have the same if not closer relations with Twitter and, if made displeased, could cause Twitter to censor you even quicker than the FBI could.
- colordrops 4y agoI don't see anything about being a "small fry" mattering when it comes to the law. It's pretty cut and dried. What the FBI is doing is unconstitutional and illegal. Why are you minimizing it? That they are doing it all is extremely alarming. It's like saying "the concentration camp only has 5 people, what's the big deal?" And why are you comparing them to private companies? Private companies are not covered by the same laws when it comes to the first amendment.
- Apocryphon 4y agoWhat is the law that is being broken here, and how are punishments measured for its infraction? Is it based on amount of impact? Because if so, then asking moderation for a dozen or two accounts with limited reach is something that might carry a small amount of punishment, if any at all. The first amendment is about the government making laws to infringe upon free speech. I see no laws being made here. So it is the government behaving exactly like a private company. Which may be problematic, but not unlawful.
- colordrops 4y agoIf the FBI suggested to the various tech companies to shut down all your accounts and they complied, you'd be singing a different tune.
- Apocryphon 4y agoI already am. The FBI just shut down the Z-Library with the help of Google and Amazon, which is a far more significant scandal over unjust power than this is. This is nothing more than chaff meant to distract from that atrocity. You are all crying about two dozen low-follower accounts while the FBI has successfully shuttered an immense knowledge repository. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33646513 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33646513
- colordrops 4y agoI'm confused as to why only one of these can be criticized.
- Apocryphon 4y agoIt's about priorities. This is distraction while FBI makes all sorts of boneheaded mistakes, like getting all of their secure contacts hacked. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33982223 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33982223 Wouldn't be surprising if these files are an op to get the public riled up about something other than what they are up to now.
- colordrops 4y agoDistraction for whom? Is HN ground zero for prosecuting the FBI? The audience here is capable of holding many things in their heads at once.
- Apocryphon 4y agoThe FBI is putting pressure on Apple to drop Enhanced Encryption, and still refusing to declassify their JFK files. Those are far more urgent issues than getting mad at mods. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33906649 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33906649 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33883834 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33883834
- djur 4y agoIf the FBI was legally compelling or coercing Twitter into banning users, that would be unconstitutional. That is not what has been demonstrated here.
- colordrops 4y agoWhy is the FBI spending tax payer dollars trying to influence media outlets at all? Do you not find this alarming? It's absolutely outside their realm of responsibility.
- Apocryphon 4y agoThe Pentagon routinely screens Hollywood blockbusters to ensure the content does not offend the military, and makes suggestions to studio executives as to how to best portray the military. The government is constantly influencing media outlets, none of this is new.
- colordrops 4y agoLet me cut and paste my comment with a minor change: Why is the Pentagon spending tax payer dollars trying to influence media outlets at all? Do you not find this alarming? It's absolutely outside their realm of responsibility. What does being "new" have anything to do with whether it matters or not?
- Apocryphon 4y agoIt's not alarming because it's so pervasive it's the way things are. Thus when something new is brought up their impact needs to be weighed accordingly to prioritize.
- colordrops 4y agoGrowing up in a fascist regime may make it seem normal but at some point you need to raise your hackles and feel alarmed regardless of the past, because it's a fascist regime.
- drewbeck 4y agoEvery time the government tells anyone that something possibly harmful is happening, with the hope that folks stop that, it's censorship. The government shouldn't be involved at ALL in talking or thinking about what its citizens do or say. Any time the FBI posts a most-wanted list it's clearly an attempt to shut down speech or behavior. This is censorship and is just like a concentration camp.