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Nepal Bans 26 Social Media Platforms, Including Facebook and YouTube

nytimes.com

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Re: Nepal Bans 26 Social Media Platforms, Including Facebook and YouTube

#51

Post by bigyabai »

petralithic wrote: post #49
ffjffsfr wrote: post #27

People in the west are so used to freedom of speech and so focused on problems with social media. They miss the fact, that many authoritarian governments in Asia see freedom of speech in social media as a threat. They are not banning Facebook to improve quality of life, they want to limit freedom of speech.

Yes, and it's shocking to see people cheer it on. An oft-heard refrain is about the legal right of the first amendment of the US constitution preventing the government from blocking speech, but that is based on the natural right of freedom of speech, as Hobbes and Locke would differentiate. Social media platforms are at such a scale in the modern day that they are essentially the public square, so the government bloc…

> Social media platforms are at such a scale in the modern day that they are essentially the public square

This is a ridiculous assertion.

The local Costco is "at such a scale in the modern day" that it, too, is essentially a public square. It's still private property, though. If you show up in Aisle 6 trying to convert people to Mormonism, a Costco employee will ask you to leave and stop harassing their customers. Yes, the same principle applies to Twitter, Facebook, X, Truth Social and Instagram.

Re: Nepal Bans 26 Social Media Platforms, Including Facebook and YouTube

#52

Post by tensor »

ffjffsfr wrote: post #27

People in the west are so used to freedom of speech and so focused on problems with social media. They miss the fact, that many authoritarian governments in Asia see freedom of speech in social media as a threat. They are not banning Facebook to improve quality of life, they want to limit freedom of speech.

People in the west are also incredibly naive about issues around speech, and even more naive about the effects of propaganda, which ironically is what dominates most western media these days.

For example, if you can say a thing, but someone with more money or influence can say the opposite thing so loud that no one can hear you, do you really have a voice? Yes, you have free speech in that you don't get retribution from the government, but you surely don't have fair speech. Effectively you have no voice.

If only your local independent reporter carries a story, and none of the major players do because they coordinate to limit what you see, do you have free speech in practice? When maybe 1% of the population hears the independent reporters, and 99% just listen to the propaganda?

Also as others have said, letting people have free reign to spread both home grown and foreign propaganda is pretty naive and as we've seen in the last several years, has a huge impact.

This is not to advocate for banning speech like you see in many authoritarian governments, but the west needs to be smarter and think deeper about what free speech actually means. At what volume do you get to speak? What consequences to your speech are allowed vs forbidden? Who gets a voice, citizens, everyone in the world including foreign adversaries? Who gets to speak anonymously? Everyone? Just citizens

Re: Nepal Bans 26 Social Media Platforms, Including Facebook and YouTube

#53

Post by sobkas »

dyauspitr wrote: post #19
SilverElfin wrote: post #2

Sad to see anti free speech sentiments all over the world. It was constrained to only some areas but now it’s normalized even in places like the UK. I guess with all that’s happening, Nepal doesn’t surprise me.

Social media is cancer. Let’s go back to expressing free speech in the old fashioned way- at town squares and leaflets.

You mean free speech zones...

Re: Nepal Bans 26 Social Media Platforms, Including Facebook and YouTube

#54

Post by mdp2021 »

perching_aix wrote: post #4

I'm doing basically the same, but voluntarily. It's a calmer life. YouTube is still going strong for me though, I have to admit.

You have simply heavily missed that you are keeping yourself on voluntary diet while the submission context is that, within a complex frame of reasons and regulation attempts, somebody has placed a population on enforced lack of service.

Re: Nepal Bans 26 Social Media Platforms, Including Facebook and YouTube

#55

Post by lioeters »

ycombigators wrote: post #41
ffjffsfr wrote: post #27

People in the west are so used to freedom of speech and so focused on problems with social media. They miss the fact, that many authoritarian governments in Asia see freedom of speech in social media as a threat. They are not banning Facebook to improve quality of life, they want to limit freedom of speech.

And equally, we in the west are so used to genuine free expression of ideas we assume everyone who speaks is real and genuine. Meanwhile, outside actors are weaponising social media to divide us, errode trust and spread conspiracies. There are worse things that banning American media platforms - look at what they are doing to America.

> outside actors are weaponising social media

Inside actors are also spreading misinfo, rage bait, propaganda and general degeneracy of culture. They're blaming outsiders while doing the same or even worse.

Re: Nepal Bans 26 Social Media Platforms, Including Facebook and YouTube

#56

Post by behringer »

bigyabai wrote: post #51
petralithic wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and it's shocking to see people cheer it on. An oft-heard refrain is about the legal right of the first amendment of the US constitution preventing the government from blocking speech, but that is based on the natural right of freedom of speech, as Hobbes and Locke would differentiate. Social media platforms are at such a scale in the modern day that they are essentially the public square, so the government bloc…

> Social media platforms are at such a scale in the modern day that they are essentially the public square This is a ridiculous assertion. The local Costco is "at such a scale in the modern day" that it, too, is essentially a public square. It's still private property, though. If you show up in Aisle 6 trying to convert people to Mormonism, a Costco employee will ask you to leave and stop harassing their customers. Y…

True but you can speak out in front of the Costco. There's no equivalent for fb.

Re: Nepal Bans 26 Social Media Platforms, Including Facebook and YouTube

#57

Post by mdp2021 »

geocrasher wrote: post #17
perching_aix wrote: post #4

I'm doing basically the same, but voluntarily. It's a calmer life. YouTube is still going strong for me though, I have to admit.

Facebook for a couple things, IG for keeping up with friends, sharing pics with friends. And a carefully curated YouTube subscription list. Only stuff that's worth watching: People I can relate to, have no ego, and are just having a good time sharing what they do. I gravitate toward hackaday worthy stuff and off-road exploration type videos. I limit intake of news sites, and instead try to focus on living my own life…

If it is clear to you that it is simplistic, why do you publish it anyway?

Re: Nepal Bans 26 Social Media Platforms, Including Facebook and YouTube

#58

Post by perching_aix »

mdp2021 wrote: post #54
perching_aix wrote: post #4

I'm doing basically the same, but voluntarily. It's a calmer life. YouTube is still going strong for me though, I have to admit.

You have simply heavily missed that you are keeping yourself on voluntary diet while the submission context is that, within a complex frame of reasons and regulation attempts, somebody has placed a population on enforced lack of service.

I didn't miss it, but thanks.

Re: Nepal Bans 26 Social Media Platforms, Including Facebook and YouTube

#59

Post by perching_aix »

mdp2021 wrote: post #57
geocrasher wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook for a couple things, IG for keeping up with friends, sharing pics with friends. And a carefully curated YouTube subscription list. Only stuff that's worth watching: People I can relate to, have no ego, and are just having a good time sharing what they do. I gravitate toward hackaday worthy stuff and off-road exploration type videos. I limit intake of news sites, and instead try to focus on living my own life…

If it is clear to you that it is simplistic, why do you publish it anyway?

Why shouldn't they?

Re: Nepal Bans 26 Social Media Platforms, Including Facebook and YouTube

#60

Post by okasaki »

ffjffsfr wrote: post #27

People in the west are so used to freedom of speech and so focused on problems with social media. They miss the fact, that many authoritarian governments in Asia see freedom of speech in social media as a threat. They are not banning Facebook to improve quality of life, they want to limit freedom of speech.

Did the UK banning RT.com improve my quality of life?
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