The FBI was the primary link between the intelligence community and Twitter • Hacker News Board

Re: The FBI was the primary link between the intelligence community and Twitter

#31

Post by smitty1e » Sun, Dec 25, 2022, 7:08 PM UTC

mef wrote: post #9

I’ve been trying to read these Twitter files threads thoughtfully, and maybe it’s just a sign of the current average level of comfort with government involvement with social media platforms, but I’m generally not seeing much issue with the stuff being revealed. the worst thing about this particular thread seems like the govt agencies talking to Twitter about foreign influence are overreaching a bit (eg asking them to…

We pay fat piles of taxes for the government to secure liberty.

The idea that that government is "managing" that liberty is Constitutionally murky. The "private property" fig leaf is scant comfort.

Re: The FBI was the primary link between the intelligence community and Twitter

#32

Post by decremental » Sun, Dec 25, 2022, 7:08 PM UTC

monsecchris wrote: post #13

The people trying to minimise every intelligence agency working with every tech company on behalf of the Democratic Party are the same people calling this a dangerous far right conspiracy theory not long ago.

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Re: The FBI was the primary link between the intelligence community and Twitter

#33

Post by froggertoaster » Sun, Dec 25, 2022, 7:08 PM UTC

asynchronous wrote: post #27

cyberphobe wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, these people are just desperately trying to generate outrage over nothing. It’s really really dumb. No need to give them too much thought

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Re: The FBI was the primary link between the intelligence community and Twitter

#34

Post by asynchronous » Sun, Dec 25, 2022, 7:08 PM UTC

themagician wrote: post #22

monsecchris wrote: post #13

The people trying to minimise every intelligence agency working with every tech company on behalf of the Democratic Party are the same people calling this a dangerous far right conspiracy theory not long ago.

Not really. What are the intelligence agencies supposed to do if not exactly what is being “revealed”? Are they not allowed to talk to private companies or citizens? If it was being revealed that they were making demands and forcing companies to do things that would be a serious issue. Instead they are asking, nicely, and even paying them for their time and work.

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Re: The FBI was the primary link between the intelligence community and Twitter

#35

Post by stefan_ » Sun, Dec 25, 2022, 7:08 PM UTC

akira2501 wrote: post #26

mef wrote: post #9

I’ve been trying to read these Twitter files threads thoughtfully, and maybe it’s just a sign of the current average level of comfort with government involvement with social media platforms, but I’m generally not seeing much issue with the stuff being revealed. the worst thing about this particular thread seems like the govt agencies talking to Twitter about foreign influence are overreaching a bit (eg asking them to…

The Hunter Biden laptop story was real. The FBI knew it was real. The FBI lied to corporations like Twitter to stop accounts from legitimate publications from reporting on it right before an election where it certainly could have impacted the outcome. Twitter went even further and prevented people from exchanging the story with each other in DMs. I honestly don't see how you could be comfortable with this, unless you…

Ahh yes, all those tweets the FBI reported that Matt forgot to tell you were straight up revenge porn. I really wonder why they were deleted! If only he could have found out using, like, the Web Archive, as many others did afterwards.

(It was the Trump government FBI, by the way. In case your timeline is a bit mixed up?)

Re: The FBI was the primary link between the intelligence community and Twitter

#36

Post by themagician » Sun, Dec 25, 2022, 7:09 PM UTC

potatototoo99 wrote: post #30

themagician wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BREAKING: tech companies usually cooperate with law enforcement and government when requested. Data shows they are more than 100 times more likely to continue to respond to requests when paid.

I think the important thing here is the lack of judicial oversight. There used to be needed a court order to request things from companies, so someone would actually weight in the evidence and legality of it. Now it's just someone from a secret agency shutting down news stories about laptops because it makes one political candidate look bad.

Requests are different from demands. It’s not like the FBI tells Twitter to take something down under threat of violence. They say just ask and Twitter agrees, sometimes, because they are on the same page.

Re: The FBI was the primary link between the intelligence community and Twitter

#37

Post by efitz » Sun, Dec 25, 2022, 7:09 PM UTC

mef wrote: post #9

I’ve been trying to read these Twitter files threads thoughtfully, and maybe it’s just a sign of the current average level of comfort with government involvement with social media platforms, but I’m generally not seeing much issue with the stuff being revealed. the worst thing about this particular thread seems like the govt agencies talking to Twitter about foreign influence are overreaching a bit (eg asking them to…

Except the meetings between the US government and Twitter were the influence campaign.

Re: The FBI was the primary link between the intelligence community and Twitter

#38

Post by asynchronous » Sun, Dec 25, 2022, 7:09 PM UTC

machina_ex_deus wrote: post #21

If you don't see anything wrong with the government forcing censorship on controversial political questions, such as whether elections are safe and fair, just imagine your own reaction if after the 2016 election, Trump's FBI would be monitoring Twitter for any information about Cambridge Analytica / Russia's interference, labeling them as misinformation and censoring and banning everyone mentioning them. If your valu…

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Re: The FBI was the primary link between the intelligence community and Twitter

#39

Post by petesergeant » Sun, Dec 25, 2022, 7:10 PM UTC

poszlem wrote: post #18

I am still baffled by the radio silence about any of that in the mainstream media. My prediction is that this, the Rittenhouse trial coverage, and the attempts to shut down the discussion about the lab Leak theory are going to be viewed in a few years the same way as the mainstream media's complicity and collusion with the government before the Iraq war.

> radio silence about and of that in the mainstream media

Do any of these help?

    site:washingtonpost.com "twitter files"

    site:cnn.com "twitter files"

    site:foxnews.com "twitter files"

Re: The FBI was the primary link between the intelligence community and Twitter

#40

Post by poszlem » Sun, Dec 25, 2022, 7:10 PM UTC

machina_ex_deus wrote: post #21

If you don't see anything wrong with the government forcing censorship on controversial political questions, such as whether elections are safe and fair, just imagine your own reaction if after the 2016 election, Trump's FBI would be monitoring Twitter for any information about Cambridge Analytica / Russia's interference, labeling them as misinformation and censoring and banning everyone mentioning them. If your valu…

It's unsettling to see how lacking in ethical principles some people are. If you truly believe that you would not care if a highly Republican-leaning social media company was collaborating with the government to suppress content from Democratic creators, then I can understand your perspective. However, it's likely that this situation would be viewed differently if the roles were reversed.