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Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

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Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#311
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious why so many Democrats were allowed to encourage the BLM riots (more than 25 dead, $2 billion in property damage) without so much as a peep from Google, Twitter, Facebook or any other tech giant. Kamala Harris said "they should not stop" and helped with a bail fund for the people who were involved with them. I think protest is a fundamental requirement of democracy, and as Chris Cuomo himself reminded us:…

These people are a little crazy and this is now a declaration of war by big tech. I really hope they're ready because this is a stupid move in my opinion.

So, you’re saying that these people are crazy and presumably dangerous, and therefore we should be more supportive of them?

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#312
post #2

Here is my suggestion for Parler’s new moderation plan, which is what at least Apple is demanding: 1. Illegal content is not allowed. That’s it.

Reddit seems to have just as much illegal content. All of this just seems like empty virtue signaling by tech companies way too late to actually change anything.

Does it? How many properly violent subs still exist on Reddit?

Don't forget that they banned ChapoTrapHouse along with The_Donald way back when

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#313

Wow, is this the great purge? I don’t support certain people, but man I don’t think this is going to end well. This censorship just seems crazy to me.

If wal-mart stops selling a brand of ice cream, is that censorship? Is it censorship that wal-mart doesn't sell playboy in their store? If not, then why is the removal of an app from the app store censorship? The world wide web still exists. Parler is still on the internet. Seems like there should be some acknowledgement that there's a difference between refusing to actively participate in distributing content and ce…

There are tens (hundrends?) of alternative ways of selling ice-cream other than walmart, there are 2 ways to to get access to Parler for most people, either through the browser or an app - you're cutting off the easiest way for most people to gain access to that content through a phone - do you see the difference between what's happening and your analogy?

This is assuming services like Cloudflare and hosting services won't cut Parler - they've done this before

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#314
post #28
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not censorship, it's free market. These are private companies.

You realise that it’s possible for entities outside of the government to censor things, right? That word isn’t only applicable to state actions, and nor should it be.

Yes, but that also requires adopting a rather expansionist idea of corporate power and freedom of speech, even compared to post-Citizens-United America. Restricting a private actor from removing content they don't like creates a positive duty to publish content. For example, Net Neutrality regulation was legally opposed specifically on 1st Amendment grounds, and that was a far looser regulation than what would be necessary to prohibit social media companies from making political decisions about what to publish.

More concretely, YouTube has actual knowledge that extremist right-wing political views damage their brand reputation - they've gone through several waves of pulled advertising that has harmed both themselves and their relationship with their creators. Advertisers have told them in no uncertain terms that they will not have their content on the same platform as, say, KKK rallies. So now we need to extend this positive duty to publish onto anyone who does business with these platforms, in order to prevent them from exercising the power of the purse to soft-censor views they don't like.

Furthermore, even this "duty to publish" standard for free speech does not always seem to meet the standards of some. I've heard people (not necessarily you, so the following is a strawman) argue that public rebuke is a form of censorship; if only because it may cause adverse publicity to have one's views opposed. This is absurd; the prescribed answer to offensive speech is counter-speech. If people decide not to do business with someone because they find their political views offensive, that shouldn't automatically be treated as censorship. Even at a "duty to publish" level (what you actually seem to be arguing for), you need to be careful to define common carriers narrowly to avoid forcing people into unwanted relationships, lest you run into this trap of "speech is consequence-free".

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#315
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's almost like there was some sort of catalyst event that occurred very recently that would provoke such a response. /s

That’s an excuse, not the reason. Blocking parler does jack shit in stopping people’s ability to coordinate violence. Mass texts, email chains, WhatsApp, signal, 4chan boards, etc are all there.

Maybe an unpopular opinion here but I think people should have a platform where they can safely coordinate activities that those in power don't agree with. Limiting peoples ability to organize is a decent into a police state IMO. Granted there has to be some tension where law enforcement is looking for terrorists, but overall, shutting down platforms to prevent people you disagree with from organizing is antithetical to being a free country.

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#316
post #56

Here are some of the screenshots [1] from Paler since Wednesday. Please let me know if you think Google is making a mistake or not. [1] https://twitter.com/YourAnonCentral/status/13473740754552299...

Just a cursory glance on Twitter finds the same kind of unmoderated content but towards conservatives. Two wrongs don't make a right. But let's not act like these platforms are bastions of fair moderation. They are leftist corporatists, tried and true. https://twitter.com/CustomsFatman/status/1163877317208264705... https://twitter.com/kxxtcxcxxnx/status/1322190172872712192?s... https://twitter.com/AlmightyBoob/status…

Your first tweet is actually from a trump supporter, his timeline is filled with #stopthesteal and other non sense. Weird choice.

https://twitter.com/CustomsFatman

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now this makes the “cops let them in” conspiracy super interesting. The timing is pretty convenient!

Why did they do it? There's video footage showing cops literally pulling back the barricades and waving people in. I don't understand why they did that, and surely their not doing that would have prevented the subsequent violence?

I wish this incorrect notion would die,

The cops didn't just let them in. The protesters pushed past the main barricades.

After the cordon had been broken, the police retreated back towards the Capitol building.

The police repeatedly did this until they were completely overwhelmed by the protesters.

One police officer died in the melee and several others sustained injuries.

The failure on the day was one of leadership and intelligence, but the poor guys on the ground did their best.

https://twitter.com/elijahschaffer/status/134696651499014963...

https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/comments/krvssn/trum...

https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/krvboi/clas...

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Real censorship means that the government prosecutes you for speech, no matter where or how or to whom are you saying it. That was happening in parts of Europe from 1945 to 1990. This what is happening in USA right now is nowhere near that. It's just free market. If you're banned from a certain platform you can reach your audience in another way. No one is censoring your speech. It's just a certain company not wantin…

> This what is happening in USA right now is nowhere near that It's going to happen. These platforms are so large they encompass a signification amount of the communication market .. and I don't say that lightly. Look at how Facebook has literally gobbled up all its competition and now is pushing policies that make WhatsApp and Oculus useless without handing over full control of all your accounts and devices? These c…

Why this assumption that you need a smartphone? That's patently silly. Your life and liberty do not depend on you owning a smartphone. This is an app on an app store. Do I think it's a great precedent to set? Not really, despite my political beliefs being heavily progressive. But this overblown reaction is bananas.

Like, my life is proceeding just fine without either WhatsApp or Oculus products. Or a Facebook account that I use, for that matter.

(edit: For the record, the reason I am not happy with the precedent is that isolating communities like this seems to usually just serve to increase radicalism rather than remove it.)

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#319
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Months of violent rioting in the streets? 2/3rds of democrats believing Russia hacked and changed vote counts in 2016? The hypocrisy is unbelievable. This will not end well.

> 2/3rds of democrats believing Russia hacked and changed vote counts in 2016? [Citation needed] The chronology of Russian involvement with and around the Trump campaign, illegal or not, is pretty damn well established now thanks to the Mueller report, disclosures from other parallel cases, and the recent senate committee report. Changing vote counts isn't part of it. Meanwhile, as per YouGov [ https://today.yougov.c…

> Changing vote counts isn't part of it.

Amazing! Then please explain where they got that idea put into their heads?

"Two out of three Democrats also claim Russia tampered with vote tallies on Election Day to help the President – something for which there has been no credible evidence."

https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/20...

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#320
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious why so many Democrats were allowed to encourage the BLM riots (more than 25 dead, $2 billion in property damage) without so much as a peep from Google, Twitter, Facebook or any other tech giant. Kamala Harris said "they should not stop" and helped with a bail fund for the people who were involved with them. I think protest is a fundamental requirement of democracy, and as Chris Cuomo himself reminded us:…

Did the BLM riots promote sedition? That's probably why. Also worth noting that there was no property damage or injuries in more than 97 to 98% of protests[1] [1]: https://today.uconn.edu/2020/10/study-2020-protests-shows-di...

Is it better that they looted and burned local businesses rather than confronting the politicians who were the architects of their oppression?
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