Before people jump to say they violated Twitter's ToC, just remember that this isn't the first time Modi has coerced Twitter:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/technology/india-twitter....
Twitter locks account of India’s largest opposition party
51–60 of 74 posts
Re: Twitter locks account of India’s largest opposition party
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes
Well, you've just got it all figured out, don't you? Thankfully, we didn't have this type of rampant censorship before the discovery of germ theory, or we'd all still be bloodletting.
Look, I understand why you view this as censorship. But I hope you can understand why I don't- as far as I am concerned (and as far as US law is concerned) Twitter is a private actor and has the same rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association that I have. If me or Twitter genuinely believe that the info Rand Paul is putting out is harmful, neither of us should be required to host his opinions, in my opinion.
Re: Twitter locks account of India’s largest opposition party
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes
Well, you've just got it all figured out, don't you? Thankfully, we didn't have this type of rampant censorship before the discovery of germ theory, or we'd all still be bloodletting.
In 1860 barely any countries allowed women to vote. So public opinion was maybe slightly more moderated back then, than what you think.
Not to mention that newspapers work slightly different than online messaging platforms.
Re: Twitter locks account of India’s largest opposition party
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
What if the party’s account violated Twitter’s ToS?
International law supersedes Twitter's ToS and Twitter's actions are entangling the United States into international political conflicts that we don't need to be dumped into. The core question as far as international law is concerned is whether or not Twitter's actions in these instances are those of a state or if it is a private actor. Twitter would say it's a private actor, but considering the close historical coor…
I am neither clueless, brain damaged, or a stooge, and I think Twitter is a wholly private actor. My opinion on this topic is backed by a raft of laws and legal precedent; yours is not.
Re: Twitter locks account of India’s largest opposition party
#55I hope they lose their 230 protection sooner than later.
It's always worth remembering that lacking 230 protection, they won't be allowing this content... They'll be blocking more. 230 protection limits their liability if somebody uses their service to communicate information that could be civilly actionable to they platform as host if other people's words and images. Lacking that protection, vast quantities of content (potential copyright infringement, potential libel, po…
Worse than that, it effectively makes the site legally impossible to run. When people say "remove section 230 protection" what they're really saying is "shut the website down".
Re: Twitter locks account of India’s largest opposition party
#5611 comments on HN so far, discussing politics and complaints about Twitter, and so far not one has responded to the content of the article, in which Twitter claims to have locked every account that posted a picture of a rape victim's family, violating its policy on doxxing.
This article has more details. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/12/tech/twitter-india-congre... The opposition party clearly had the permission of the parents to post the photo. The Indian government appears to have requested of Twitter to remove the photo since it was used for political purposes by the opposition.
> The opposition party clearly had the permission of the parents to post the photo
Where does it say in the article you have linked?
Re: Twitter locks account of India’s largest opposition party
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hm, maybe. But maybe, some parties are worse than others. I can think of 10s of political parties that should not have been allowed to participate in the democratic process as they (before elections) shown to condone political violence.
So? Condoning violence is irrelevant to if a party represents the electorate.
They’d have to make it legal to condone violence first then.
Re: Twitter locks account of India’s largest opposition party
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
should we lock GOP's twitter account because a senator said masks aren't effective?
It's funny you say that. Senator Rand Paul was just suspended from YouTube for disputing the effectiveness of cloth masks: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/11/business/youtube-rand-pau...
Banning an individual for their actions is vastly differently than banning an entire party for the actions of one of its members.
Re: Twitter locks account of India’s largest opposition party
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's always worth remembering that lacking 230 protection, they won't be allowing this content... They'll be blocking more. 230 protection limits their liability if somebody uses their service to communicate information that could be civilly actionable to they platform as host if other people's words and images. Lacking that protection, vast quantities of content (potential copyright infringement, potential libel, po…
Worse than that, it effectively makes the site legally impossible to run. When people say "remove section 230 protection" what they're really saying is "shut the website down".
Yes. At which point, we'll be where we are right now but with several fewer communications services. People who want this content shared would still be able to host it on their own servers (and assume the liability if someone brings legal action), as they can do right now.
Re: Twitter locks account of India’s largest opposition party
#6011 comments on HN so far, discussing politics and complaints about Twitter, and so far not one has responded to the content of the article, in which Twitter claims to have locked every account that posted a picture of a rape victim's family, violating its policy on doxxing.
This is like when Twitter removed a joke meme post by Trump because it was “manipulated media.”