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Facebook shuts down the Socialist Workers Party in Britain

swp.org.uk

361–370 of 550 posts

Re: Facebook shuts down the Socialist Workers Party in Britain

#361
post #13
post #9

I assume this is a mistake, although I think they're mad I don't think the SWP are malicious a la some political sects

Facebook is a private platform: they're free to block any content they want, malicious or not.

No, they have to keep with laws of the countries they operate in.

In difference to the US:

- some countries clearly differentiate between private and cooperate

- have proper free speech laws which are not limited to government inference into free speech but free speech itself

- have laws about discrimination and protection of political organizations which does not allow you to arbitrary "block" people

etc.

I don't know about UK law. But I'm pretty sure this would have been unlawful in Germany, and potentially all of EU (due to EU wide regulation, but while I'm pretty sure about Germany I'm less so about EU wide regulations).

Re: Facebook shuts down the Socialist Workers Party in Britain

#363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>How is this not foreign political interference? America doesn't "interfere" in elections, it gently persuades people to follow the true democratic path. Truthfully, it is nothing more than American exceptionalism. Even as our nation spent years outraged over Russian interference, we continued both private and public interference in elections worldwide.

Gentle? Is that how we describe 10,000lb bombs over Baghdad?

Looks like you've missed the sarcasm.

Re: Facebook shuts down the Socialist Workers Party in Britain

#364
post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, "Happy Birthday" is an imperialist imposition of western cultural values. It also mocks the elderly. Such micro-aggressions are no longer permitted on our platform. You have been "fact-checked" and given your first and last warning and a temporary ban of 90 days.

Recipes are also guilty of cultural appropriation...

Ahh the “retards” of hackernews! Nice to have finally come across some degenerates

Re: Facebook shuts down the Socialist Workers Party in Britain

#366
post #334
post #287

How is this not foreign political interference? The UK media has been preaching to us about dangers of Russian election interference for years at this point, but simultaneously they seem completely unconcerned that a handful of wealthy Americans how the power to censor popular media outlets, entire political movements and political activists at a whim. The SWP is massive. I don't know for sure, but I suspect they had…

Because it's not an attempt to interfere in politics and they are assuredly not being banned due to their political views. Facebook bans groups and people all the time, it does not imply that it's political. It seems FB has no given their reasoning for the ban, which is rather odd given the significance, I suggest we'll either hear from them forthcoming with evidence of 'violence' or they'll walk back their mistake.…

It's political interference if it was intentional or not. It's not the intent but the outcome that's the problem here..

Re: Facebook shuts down the Socialist Workers Party in Britain

#367
post #287

How is this not foreign political interference? The UK media has been preaching to us about dangers of Russian election interference for years at this point, but simultaneously they seem completely unconcerned that a handful of wealthy Americans how the power to censor popular media outlets, entire political movements and political activists at a whim. The SWP is massive. I don't know for sure, but I suspect they had…

[deleted]

Re: Facebook shuts down the Socialist Workers Party in Britain

#368
For any non-Brits, the SWP is the main left of Labour party in Britain. As a student in the 80s I remember them as an earnest, way too serious bunch of ideological zombies ranting into microphones at the Student's Union about the latest crimes against humanity perpetrated by 'Thatcher'. They're the kind of people that come up to you in the street with leaflets about some atrocity in Africa and shout "Would you murder children" at you. I'm not entirely sure they'd recognise what an actual 'Worker' was if they met one. I always found them quite comical.

However they are a serious party, they're a highly motivated and active movement with significant influence in the Labour Party grass roots. They're sort of our equivalent of Antifa in that they are a significant organising presence in lefty street protests, but much more politically active and spend a lot of time in conferences and action committees wondering what Capitalism ever did for us.

Importantly, they are in no way shape or form a terrorist or criminal organisation. I would not be at all surprised if some ultra-violent or would-be Red Army Faction types joined or associated with them, but that's not at all who the SWP are as an organisation. They're the well meaning, impressionable white middle class girl next door with a class guilt complex and a side shave that's been going to BLM protests.

If they are getting banned by Facebook something has gone horribly wrong. Quite possibly some of them got a bit excited and posted things they shouldn't, so I'm not saying this is for sure Facebook's fault, but they're not about to murder any bobbies in Parliament Square.

Re: Facebook shuts down the Socialist Workers Party in Britain

#369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand the argument here. It's not injurious to them to moderate content because they have §230. §230 isn't there to protect online publishers from the court of public opinion; that's impossible. It's there to protect them from libel lawsuits. If §230 went away, and Facebook continued moderating, they would be liable if anyone posted defamatory content to Facebook -- something which surely happens on a co…

no - the reason that 230 exists is because it was argued effectively that the task of moderating content was too great, to the point that it be an undue burden to internet companies. If that is not currently the case and these companies can effectively moderate the content on their networks without driving themselves out of business with the cost, well, they don't have the justification for 230's exemption anymore.

You appear to hold some very idiosyncratic beliefs about section 230. It does not provide immunity or any other benefit to a publisher that doesn't perform moderation. Such a publisher was already immune under preexisting law.

It provides immunity to publishers who (1) publish user-generated content, and (2) perform moderation on some of that content. They are free to do their moderation without being required to moderate everything posted to their site.

It's still quite obviously true that Facebook is not able to moderate everything posted to its website. What are you trying to say?

Re: Facebook shuts down the Socialist Workers Party in Britain

#370
post #287

How is this not foreign political interference? The UK media has been preaching to us about dangers of Russian election interference for years at this point, but simultaneously they seem completely unconcerned that a handful of wealthy Americans how the power to censor popular media outlets, entire political movements and political activists at a whim. The SWP is massive. I don't know for sure, but I suspect they had…

Me-thinks that their automated procedure for banning right-wing actors removed large swathes of left-wing actors too. Not surprising really. After all, the SWP describes itself as "revolutionary" and that has got a bad name in recent days. Looks like they will need to make special "permit-list" for the language of left wing parties.

Why should onky left wing parties get special protection?
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