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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

#431

Post by rootusrootus »

rcstank wrote: post #211
midasuni wrote: post #10

Excellent. Pissing off 30% of the vocal people in the country may damage the walled garden ecosystem.

30%? Where do you find that number?

I am guessing it refers to the number of people who are registered as Republican in the US [1].

I'd quibble about the 'vocal' part, however. People across the ideological spectrum are vocal, but it's probably more like 1% or less, not 30%. Our views are shaped by the few people who bother to say anything. I wonder if we'd be happier if everyone else could remember that.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_party_strength_in_U....

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#432

Post by djsumdog »

refurb wrote: post #304
codecamper wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They were domestic terrorists and they will stand trial. And whoever organized the event will hopefully be tried for treason. With a punishment that is appropriate for that crime.

Exactly. Now is not the time to be quibbling about constitutional rights or the influence of big tech on political discourse. We'll deal with all that petty stuff when the crisis is over.

Yep, I'm sure those rights will be restored once the "crisis" is over. That's what governments always do.

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#433

Post by manfredo »

H8crilA wrote: post #290
manfredo wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think one potentially positive outcome is increased knowledge of side-loading apps. Granted, this really only exists as an option on Android but Fortnite demonstrated the feasibility of this approach. If side-loaded apps gain traction it might break the Google Play store monopoly.

This is a pretty likely outcome - fracture. And certainly wouldn't be the worst for the Internet. What if the same happens to the Union ...

I'm not sure if a fractured internet is more likely to lead to a fractured Union as compared to an internet were a substantial segment of the population feels suppressed. I highly doubt that these bans are going to be effective in terms of curbing undesirable communication. On the other hand, I am confident that they will reinforce perceptions of biased and uneven enforcement.

I am also particularly worried that politicians will use the threat of regulation to coerce companies into suppressing political opponents' messages. The government can't directly ban speech, but if they can intimidate platforms into censuring political opponents they will have achieved the same effect. Better, in fact, because the politicians' agency in this censorship is not visible.

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#434

Post by neogodless »

post_break wrote: post #4

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.

A brief history of the Trump movement:

1. Trump is a popular public figure that has been tweeting against Democrats for the past decade.

2. Trump runs for office, and immediately starts calling into question mainstream media and election integrity.

3. Trump wins the election, and his voters accept his premise that the media cannot be trusted. They turn to him as their sole voice of reason.

4. Given that they believe everything spoon fed to them by Trump, they cannot accept alternatives.

5. The voice of Trump is amplified by his followers across the internet (and this is aided by complicit Republican in and out of government.)

6. When Trump wins, they believe that he won the election. When he loses, they cannot accept it and instead choose to believe the word of Trump.

Should this voice of Trump be forced by the U.S. government to be supported by every public and private corporation to continue the Trump movement?

Would drowning out all other media and sources of information be the ideal way forward for the United States?

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#435

Post by SpaceRaccoon »

mhh__ wrote: post #357
SpaceRaccoon wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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...

Well where did they then? Find me a reference to something from a three letter agency, and I'll believe you. You're skirting around making the allegation via a rhetorical question. If you're trying to pin something on me, keep in mind that I'm not even American, let alone a Democrat.

Many prominent voices were guilty of spreading the conspiracy. Here's one analysis: https://news.ku.edu/2019/10/15/dangers-saying-russia-hacked-...

"Those on the political left who play fast and loose with the term “hacked,” as in “Russia hacked the 2016 presidential election,” are aiding the Kremlin in its mission of undermining Americans’ faith in the democratic process, two University of Kansas researchers write in a new scholarly paper.

...

The authors lay the blame for this problem at the feet of the liberal media, which they define as media that liberals consume, including the Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC.

They wrote, “We demonstrate that the insular nature of much of the liberal media ... enabled the spread of this misleading definition. Through a rhetorical analysis of texts defining Russia’s influence campaign as ‘hacking,’ we demonstrate that Twitter and the publications produced by the liberal media were highly influential in creating the widespread notion that Russia ‘hacked’ the election.”"

An example of a name: Biden Appointee Neera Tanden: https://greenwald.substack.com/p/biden-appointee-neera-tande...

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#436

Post by h_anna_h »

danijelb wrote: post #349
vlovich123 wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taking this to its logical conclusion, if you used the “login with X” feature (X being Apple, Google, Facebook), and you suddenly find yourself deplatformed, what are the knock-on consequences? I don’t have a huge problem deplatforming itself. I do have serious problems when it suddenly cuts you off from other unrelated websites or paid-for assets. These knock-on effects aren’t immediately obvious and can be quite se…

In my opinion, the solution needs to be a guarantee of transfering your account to another provider. We can do it with phone numbers, we can do it with banks (at least in Europe). I don't see a reason why we couldn't apply the same on social media and auth providers. Banned from "login with apple"? I should have a right to transfer my account to "login with google/facebook/my own server" and it should work. The same…

You might be interested in the "fediverse" then. One instance can ban you but you can make an account in others and still interact with people from your old instance.

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#437

Post by AndrewBissell »

guscost wrote: post #399
AndrewBissell wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wednesday's riots were not a threat to anything either. They knew it was coming days in advance and allowed it to proceed so it could be used as a pretext for the ongoing crackdown and consolidation of political and cultural dominance (as well as splitting U.S. populist factions onto multiple platforms where they will no longer see each other).

Perhaps. The strongest supporting evidence seems to be the rejection of federal assistance: https://apnews.com/article/capitol-police-reject-federal-hel...

Rejection of federal assistance, Capitol contractors told to stay home days in advance, numerous security barriers left wide open in the buildings, Pelosi is in charge of Capitol Police but left a laptop lying around so that could become a big HN headline ....

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#438

Post by zapita »

saithound wrote: post #404
roberto wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

> These are private companies. So are Baidu and Tencent. Large companies are part of an industrial–congressional complex, with lobbying and political contributions on one side, political approval and threats of regulation on the other. Just because something is done by a private company, it doesn't mean that it's not the state or the government wielding its power. In the current political climate, and given how inter…

Trying to maintain a distinction between Twitter and the Trump administration is comical?

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#439

Post by Asparagirl »

mixedCase wrote: post #88
viro wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you been on the Donald. Win lately? At what point are we allowed to stop people from planning treason?

This is a strange comment to make, are you making an investigation of sorts or do you frequently go on websites of people you politically despise?

Yup, I purposely follow some blogs and Twitter accounts of awful people, to see what they're up to.

Keep your friends close, and...

Re: Google suspending Parler from the Google Play store

#440

Post by arsome »

awillen wrote: post #17

Good for them for not bothering with the half-assed CYA nonsense Apple is doing. "Give us a moderation plan in 24 hours" is just such a ridiculously unmeetable demand (at least if they require that plan to be anything close to actually feasible) that it's just pointless. Just kick them off. And to the people complaining about censorship, this is an app that was literally used to plan a violent attack on the capitol.…

If it was Signal, Tor or Freenet that was primarily used would you support a similar ban?
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