Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store • Hacker News Board

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#341

Post by spenczar5 » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:06 PM UTC

kanox wrote: post #246

thomascgalvin wrote: post #169

> Like hate speech is bad and it’s not censorship if it’s not mandated by the government. To be fully accurate, this is absolutely censorship , but it's not a violation of anyone's First Amendment rights. People often conflate the two. We can argue about whether or not Google should ban certain opinions on their platform, or where the line should be drawn, but it is arguable that hey have the legal right to do so. An…

This definition of censorship is bad and must be changed. Large general-purpose platforms should be forced do distribute all content which is not otherwise illegal, and only perform removal based through the standard legal system.

Why should they be forced to distribute it? That's a pretty extreme stance, and you haven't provided a reason.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#342

Post by frollo » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:07 PM UTC

WesolyKubeczek wrote: post #60

They should ban Gmail too, what if some asshole sends me a death threat via email? Wait, Gmail is made „by us” and not „by pesky them”. Gmail is sure ok.

That's why they read your email, to protect you!

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#343

Post by GoblinSlayer » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:08 PM UTC

viro wrote: post #91

john_moscow wrote: post #64

For anyone else concerned with the recent Big Tech censorship, people are actively building alternative social medial platforms and they are taking off. The RedditAlternatives subreddit [0] provides a fairly good overview of them. Some are rather extreme, others are more reasonable, but there are alternatives, and it's up to us, the reasonable people, to choose where we want to spend our time and money. [0] https://w…

When your content is too cancerous for Reddit ...maybe the issue isn't Reddit.

Reddit bans wrongthinkers and hoards cancer.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#344

Post by KirinDave » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:09 PM UTC

I guess Tusky's decision to ban a blocklist a bunch of instances citing that policy is looking pretty prescient, now.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#345

Post by thesizeofa » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:10 PM UTC

cft wrote: post #118

IncRnd wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chrome already blocks websites.

For hate speech? I thought only for malware so far.

Sadly not yet but blocking sites for hate speech cant come soon enough.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#346

Post by limteary » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:10 PM UTC

viro wrote: post #91

john_moscow wrote: post #64

For anyone else concerned with the recent Big Tech censorship, people are actively building alternative social medial platforms and they are taking off. The RedditAlternatives subreddit [0] provides a fairly good overview of them. Some are rather extreme, others are more reasonable, but there are alternatives, and it's up to us, the reasonable people, to choose where we want to spend our time and money. [0] https://w…

When your content is too cancerous for Reddit ...maybe the issue isn't Reddit.

I liked /r/watchpeopledie in a morbid curiosity way.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#347

Post by kevingadd » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:11 PM UTC

oehpr wrote: post #269

gilrain wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A reminder that Gab is not a gray area edgecase, but a purpose-built platform for conspiracies and hate speech.

I'm not deeply versed in Gab's history... But lets hypothetically say that Gab was not created for that purpose, but for precisely the purpose it claims it was created for: To be an open platform for free speech, no censorship. Wouldn't it have ended up in the exact same state it is now? Any service that guarantees no censorship is going to have the majority of its userbase be the runoff from other major websites. Wh…

This is a useless hypothetical. We know what Gab was and why it was taken down.

If you want to know how a healthy alternative would have turned out, go looking for one. It almost certainly exists, there have been at least a dozen twitter competitors in the past and I know a few people who tried them out. (I can't remember their names, though.)

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#348

Post by mynameismonkey » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:11 PM UTC

jasonv wrote: post #331

Justification for "all/most" in submission? Any confirmation of the broad speculation in this thread and the the linked thread..?

For the record, two submissions were combined, the title is not mine.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#349

Post by Vinnl » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:11 PM UTC

thelean12 wrote: post #255

jakelazaroff wrote: post #53

> Holy crap, google is apparently taking down all/most fediverse apps from google play on the grounds that that some servers in the fediverse engage in hate speech. Good thing you can't find any hate speech on Play Store–promoted corporate behemoths Twitter and Facebook!

This is a bad faith argument. Twitter and Facebook do a lot to take down hate speech from their platforms (with exceptions made for "public interest" cases like high level politicians). Some servers on the fediverse specifically allow unfettered hate speech.

But the authors of these apps have no influence over what servers you connect with. It doesn't feel much different from visiting a hate speech website using your web browser, and they (luckily) do not get banned either.

Re: Google is apparently taking down all/most Fediverse apps from the Play Store

#350

Post by KirinDave » Fri, Aug 28, 2020, 4:12 PM UTC

oehpr wrote: post #269

gilrain wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A reminder that Gab is not a gray area edgecase, but a purpose-built platform for conspiracies and hate speech.

I'm not deeply versed in Gab's history... But lets hypothetically say that Gab was not created for that purpose, but for precisely the purpose it claims it was created for: To be an open platform for free speech, no censorship. Wouldn't it have ended up in the exact same state it is now? Any service that guarantees no censorship is going to have the majority of its userbase be the runoff from other major websites. Wh…

Gab bans people openly and credulously discussing marxism. I have experimented with and experienced this directly. So, it fails my litmus test for "an uncensored platform."

And it's a bit comical, because Gab as a community experience is much smaller (in my perspective) from even weird sites like minds or funky social blockchain plays. Why they felt the need to ban discusions of marxism or a general strike is beyond me.