4 ms·

Mentioning Section 230 is to back up the "To be honest it's a pretty uniquely American view..." part of the GP comment.

nvm0n2 3y ago
It's really not that American. Americans didn't invent the concept of free speech, not by a long shot. The idea that it's somehow "un-European" to allow people to say things "harmful to democracy" is wrong legally and culturally, but the cultural affinity so many Europeans have for authoritarianism is exactly the reason Europe has no tech industry to speak of.
- azernik 3y ago
  Americans did not invent the concept of free speech, but they take it to an extreme that is extremely far out of the mainstream in Europe and always has been.
  - nvm0n2 3y ago
    It's clearly not that extreme, given that Europeans overwhelmingly express strong preferences for American-built communications and information tech.
    - azernik 3y ago
      They don't have that preference because of American free speech principles; they have that preference because software is generally better in the States and there aren't European competitors. You can make all kinds of arguments about what the root causes of that are, but none of those are the actual reason Europeans use US social networks.
      - nvm0n2 3y ago
        There aren't meaningful gaps in software quality here, most of the "American" services and sites are half built by European workers anyway. There aren't competitors for a bunch of reasons, but the far more restrictive EU laws around speech are a big one. Europeans don't actually like or support those laws which is why they then flock to platforms that aren't so beholden to them.
        azernik 3y ago
        They may be a factor in where the services are built; they are not a factor in consumer choice. It's not like there was a European Facebook competitor that users shyed away from because of European speech restrictions.
        nvm0n2 3y ago
        There were such sites actually. Germany used to have one, it even looked just like Facebook and had some modest success for a time, but soon disappeared. I can't quite remember the name. Mostly in Europe people just don't set up social networks at all. The laws just aren't compatible with the concept.

It's really not that American. Americans didn't invent the concept of free speech, not by a long shot. The idea that it's somehow "un-European" to allow people to say things "harmful to democracy" is wrong legally and culturally, but the cultural affinity so many Europeans have for authoritarianism is exactly the reason Europe has no tech industry to speak of.

azernik 3y ago
Americans did not invent the concept of free speech, but they take it to an extreme that is extremely far out of the mainstream in Europe and always has been.
- nvm0n2 3y ago
  It's clearly not that extreme, given that Europeans overwhelmingly express strong preferences for American-built communications and information tech.
  - azernik 3y ago
    They don't have that preference because of American free speech principles; they have that preference because software is generally better in the States and there aren't European competitors. You can make all kinds of arguments about what the root causes of that are, but none of those are the actual reason Europeans use US social networks.
    - nvm0n2 3y ago
      There aren't meaningful gaps in software quality here, most of the "American" services and sites are half built by European workers anyway. There aren't competitors for a bunch of reasons, but the far more restrictive EU laws around speech are a big one. Europeans don't actually like or support those laws which is why they then flock to platforms that aren't so beholden to them.
      - azernik 3y ago
        They may be a factor in where the services are built; they are not a factor in consumer choice. It's not like there was a European Facebook competitor that users shyed away from because of European speech restrictions.
        nvm0n2 3y ago
        There were such sites actually. Germany used to have one, it even looked just like Facebook and had some modest success for a time, but soon disappeared. I can't quite remember the name. Mostly in Europe people just don't set up social networks at all. The laws just aren't compatible with the concept.