Live data from Hacker News

U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech

reuters.com

621–630 of 1001 posts

Re: U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech

#621

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"In my opinion, if you subvert public spheres by making spheres of discussion that are more enticing, but still free, but obviously you make money from secondary means from it. This in itself is against free speech." This is an interesting argument. However, if you are conservative especially, where does such specific extras for freedom of speech come from? This also isn't something that would just come about because…

I've actually updated my response with two more arguments just before you posted. I think it addresses some of your other questions here.

"Now logically, this implies an assumption that you can assemble and petition somewhere that will reach others and the government."

I agree, however it doesn't say you have to be able to reach all or even a large percentage of the people, that they have to listen, and the like for the government.

When the first amendment was written if you were to go outside and protest in a public square how many people would hear your speech? As for the government, that's what elections are for. You can also contact your member of congress or send a letter. They ignore you? Don't vote for them.

"It would be silly to say, ok, you're allowed to do this, but only in some isolated room that's sound proof by yourself."

This is an appeal to extremes. Being censored by private companies does not lead to complete isolation of your speech because there are multiple private companies and other ways of expressing yourself.

----------------------------

"If people are now online and on some social media platform, and that's realistically the only place to reach others and the government, "

Why? Whatever method of reaching government prior to social media existing still exist now. Why is it "realistically the only place"?

---------------------------

"Public means: done, perceived, or existing in open view > ordinary people in general; the community"

This is the definition of the word "public" in the public/private space debate we are talking about "public space" which isn't a word and doesn't have a defitinion in the diction however just a few lines from Wikipedia:

'A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads (including the pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space.'

What a public space is or isn't is debatable. However what isn't is a private space. A business is a private space. A home is a private. Facebook's servers are private property on private space.

If I have an open house (because I'm selling) and invite the public that doesn't mean people can come in and say whatever they want. This is like a public area of Walmart, it's public per the companies rules not the state. ------------------------------

"I think just the fact many people are asking for this can be good enough to consider a reasonable way of making it happen"

The first amendment to the US condition is:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

It doesn't say people or businesses can't make rules regulating free speech. You want to change this there is a process to amend the constitution.

Perhaps a quote from Gov Abbott -

"During my time as a judge, as a justice, and as attorney general, I've had one overarching goal, and that is a strict interpretation and application of the laws and the Constitution.

Re: U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech

#622
post #590
post #539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Added a context link. Here it is for you https://www.wsj.com/articles/anticompetitive-woke-law-school...

That’s an opinion piece like a blogpost

Does it make it not true. Feel free to argue against it. Newspapers like New York times and WSJ require their opinion letters cite facts for statements they make. If the ABA is pushing woke curriculum on law schools, is that not the ABA being leftist with their policies?

I'll save you some trouble, the ABA replied here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/american-bar-association-aba-la...

Re: U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech

#623

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you filter "spam" from your email inbox? If so, why? By your...train of thought. "Censorship of any kind" means that rejecting those leagues of boner pills and overseas wives ready to marry you is rejection of their right to speak freely to you

You can’t be serious. Are you serious? Spam is not censored. You have access to it. You click on the spam folder and you can read the spam email in all it’s glory! And before you even mention auto deletion, you can disable that. I think that should be opt in not opt out but, yeah, spam in not being censored.

That's incorrect. Most of the spam never reaches your mailbox. It's only the least dubious of it that gets passed on.

Re: U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech

#624

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The very fact that you made this comment implies that you expect the public to understand what it means. Therefore, so would a jury of your peers. In other words, if you get that this behavior is just a twist on botting, it's safe to assume the courts will too.

What is 'botting'? Would it include paying a bunch of college kids $50 to spam reply this message to people for 3 hours a day?

> What is 'botting'?

It's whatever your acceptable-use policy defines "botting" to be, as long as that definition is viewpoint-neutral.

A restriction against "paying a bunch of college kids $50 to spam reply this message to people for 3 hours a day" is clearly a viewpoint-neutral one, and so, yes, it would be obviously legal.

Re: U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech

#625

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being kicked off Twitter isn't the same as being silenced.

What would you call it?

Well, here in Guatemala journalists are being silenced, and it doesn't mean they're being kicked off Twitter. I really hate big tech censorship, but you're naivete about the impact of "being silenced" reminds me of this part from Days and Nights of Love and of War

>Perdí varias cosas en Buenos Aires... No me quejo. Con tantas personas perdidas, llorar por las cosas sería como faltarle el respeto al dolor.

Translates roughly as:

>I lost various things in Buenos Aires... I don't complain. With so many people lost, to cry over things seemed to lack respect for suffering.

In a kind of similar vein, you're complaint about Twitter users being silenced lacks some respect for people who are actually being silenced. Although I agree with your underlying sentiment.

Re: U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech

#626
post #419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are reading something very weird into it, but the idea is that if I want to hear what you want to tell me it shouldn't be someone else's decision to prevent us both from doing that.

If you want to hear his opinion, he can email you… I can’t believe so many people are in favor of compelled speech here.

I can't believe so many people (or bots) here are defending the social media oligopoly.

This isn't forcing a mom and pop store to bake a cake, it's giant corporations that are picking and choosing which users and ideologies in the world can be heard.

We don't let ISPs or mobile carriers do this, why let giant social media platforms do it?

These platforms have government officials and even entire administrations solely using them.

Re: U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech

#627
Surprisingly, I see no mention of DMCA in the comments here, even though the same company are actually mandated by DMCA to effectively regulate content. (And yes, the right or not to share cultural content freely on the internet is a political topic…)

Re: U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech

#628

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Section 230 is a federal law, it cannot make a state law that would otherwise violate the First Amendment as incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment somehow okay. That’s not how the relationship between state, federal, and constitutional law works.

Can someone explain to me how corporations are protected by the first in America? I’ve never understood this.

Corporations are entities that exist as contracts between people. The theory is that the speech of a corporation is thus the speech of the people involved in the contract.

Re: U.S. appeals court rejects big tech’s right to regulate online speech

#629

Will this apply to bots? What if I have a big list of a complaints about a certain politician (use your imagination, there's more than one politician to complain about), but the "other party" doesn't follow me, in fact, I have very few followers overall. So I create a bot that spreads my opinions by replying to millions of other Tweets. Anyone who mentions the politician of interest will receive a reply from "me" (my…

> Texas law that bars large social media companies from banning or censoring users based on "viewpoint,"

But this doesn’t mention barring banning accounts because they break ToS about bot usage.

Post reply on HN