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MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars

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Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars

#11

Honest question. For those of you happy that these censorship policies are being implemented by companies in reaction to pressure, do you believe that the ideal end-goal would be 'anti hate speech' laws like those of Germany?

That is exactly what I want.

Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars

#12

Interesting that the Japanese rising sun flag is mentioned alongside the swastika and the stars and bars; the rising sun flag remains in contemporary use by the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force.

The Maritime version is very slightly different. The Imperial Army version has the sun centered, while the Maritime version is slightly to the left.

Practically speaking probably doesn't make that much of a difference though.

Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars

#13

Honest question. For those of you happy that these censorship policies are being implemented by companies in reaction to pressure, do you believe that the ideal end-goal would be 'anti hate speech' laws like those of Germany?

Yes - we have them here in Canada and I’m a huge fan. Say whatever you want but you should be held responsible for you words.

Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars

#14

Honest question. For those of you happy that these censorship policies are being implemented by companies in reaction to pressure, do you believe that the ideal end-goal would be 'anti hate speech' laws like those of Germany?

Given the immense resistance of the US system to hate speech laws (first amendment, the fact that Republicans exist and sometimes get elected), and also given the immense desire of corporate elites to get rid of hate speech, what we will probably see is a corporate extra-legal "pragmatic law" against it, but no real law.

The mechanism of "pragmatic law" is coordination between power centers mediated through shared cultural norms. In the 1950s this kept black people off TV, despite the lack of any law against it, for instance. Presently we have a rapidly strenghtening cultural norm against the tolerance of hate speech, so we are likely to see the same mechanisms kick in again.

Corporations coordinating to enforce elite norms has a terrible history, but so does the enforcement of democratically approved majority norms, so it is not entirely clear whether the fact that this can happen is good or bad.

Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars

#15
Why is this newsworthy? Random video game publisher implements arbitrary rule in video-game land. Seems to me like the goal of this story is just to stir up controversy over something that's not at all important. Anyone who plays a lot of online games knows that game publishers regularly ban users for a wide variety of arbitrary reasons, even mundane profanity is enough to earn a ban or suspension in many popular games.

Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars

#16

Honest question. For those of you happy that these censorship policies are being implemented by companies in reaction to pressure, do you believe that the ideal end-goal would be 'anti hate speech' laws like those of Germany?

No. It’s apples and oranges.

Companies should be free to regulate hate speech on their platforms. The government should not regulate speech in the public domain.

The actions of private companies on private property (virtual or otherwise) are an entirely different domain than government intervention.

Even if you remove the censorship angle, it can be argued that moderating hate speech is simply good business sense. People buying Forza and paying for it don’t want to see this. If it becomes an issue, they lose customers.

Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars

#17

Honest question. For those of you happy that these censorship policies are being implemented by companies in reaction to pressure, do you believe that the ideal end-goal would be 'anti hate speech' laws like those of Germany?

To me, that'd be a good outcome for the confederate flag. It is a hate symbol and exists almost exclusively to project hatred towards black people.

Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars

#19

Honest question. For those of you happy that these censorship policies are being implemented by companies in reaction to pressure, do you believe that the ideal end-goal would be 'anti hate speech' laws like those of Germany?

I think the status quo is the ideal. Companies can react to pressure from customers as they see fit with respect to their business needs. There is a market opportunity for a company willing to allow racist user-content in their games based on customer demand.

Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars

#20

Honest question. For those of you happy that these censorship policies are being implemented by companies in reaction to pressure, do you believe that the ideal end-goal would be 'anti hate speech' laws like those of Germany?

To me, that'd be a good outcome for the confederate flag. It is a hate symbol and exists almost exclusively to project hatred towards black people.

> To me, that'd be a good outcome for the confederate flag.

Where does it end?

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