Ask HN: What are your thoughts on Parler ban by Big techs?

The problem I see is it evolves from the free speech arguments (pro / against private companies being held to it) to one of concern about true utilities. I would argue AWS is more inline with a utility than social media ever was. The problem for consumers is that even if you look for alternatives, it's possible and highly probable that AWS is the backend hosting for third parties as well. This makes it very difficult to bypass a tool using their platform.

The issues get even dicier when you start talking about AWS or say cloudflare, blocking content. What happens when the block at the DNS level. Sure you can use other providers, but what happens when those providers, unbeknownst to you, integrate block lists from the aforementioned?

Yes people have a choice in products and can go else where, but when the products are so deeply intwined into the modern version of the internet, it becomes ever so more risky.

Everyone is onboard when its something they feel is morally right, but how long until it flips on them? It's not an if, but a when.

It's an extremely slippery slope we've been headed down for a long while.

Every time big tech bans or suspends a user, another supporter of Trump is born.

Got it. But these corporation have alot of influence in our political system. If things will go on like this we might end choosing the govt. (or the political system) they want. Bcz they might filter the other feeds which are impacting them somehow.

Companies censoring Parler is completely OK, it's the closed monopolies they have created that is the problem.

If network effect information monopolies would not be allowed, then corporation censorship would not be a problem. These monopolies can be broken by mandatory federation and open API's. (EU legislation is moving towards that direction).

I approve.

I've commented so much about this in the past I'll just say this: I think the conception of social media as lofty forums for society to wrestle with serious issues is horse crap. Either I'm some genius (I'm not), or what you see online is what you get: 99% garbage.

The way people discuss online censorship is like that scene from Star Wars 'I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.'

Facebook Twitter et al are just companies, and companies come and go. They are a source of amusement, to be sure, but, at their most serious, they spread more darkness than light. Sci-hub is more likely to contribute to a cure for cancer, or heart disease. If Instagram called it quits tomorrow, it would no more detriment the life of the average person than if a restaurant or a disco they liked went out of business.

In short: these social media websites, as designed, are just bad at, for lack of a better phrase, 'enlightenment stuff'. Millions of people use them (sure, someone pooped out a good physics paper on 4chan, even) but they mainly produce memes and self-promotional nonsense. Not worth ruining liberal democracy, and social harmony over.