Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers? [pdf] • Hacker News Board

Re: Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers? [pdf]

#91

Post by hoppyhoppy2 » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 3:35 PM UTC

throwawayboise wrote: post #71

slg wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the biggest problem is less spam and more harassment. Simply blocking harassers isn't as effective as blocking spam due to the way social networks generally work. The harasser can just move on to your connections which is potentially even worse than them harassing you. Imagine an ex-partner sending revenge poor to all your contacts. Fighting that requires the ability for users to report potential bad actors a…

Or not making porn.

Not all online harassment involves porn. I'd wager that the vast majority doesn't. You can be squeaky-clean porn-wise and still be the target of online harassment campaigns.

Re: Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers? [pdf]

#92

Post by jmull » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 4:34 PM UTC

fabbari wrote: post #77

jmull wrote: post #75

These social media platforms don’t act like common carriers. It’s a fundamental necessity of the business that social media platforms be able to deliver enough good content that users want to join and engage while filtering out enough bad content that users don’t get fed up and leave. So they implement all kinds of mechanisms designed to promote and emphasize “good” content and minimize “bad” content. It’s important…

But all that spam would come into play with "generic" feeds. You don't expect spam from people, groups and organizations that you subscribe to. You can think of "discovery feeds" as an addon - and maybe even not provided by the same company providing the social network itself. Cherry on top? You would have to actively subscribe to those feeds, forcing them to be interesting/relevant.

Consider HN.

What do you think the main feed and discussion might look like if moderation was not allowed?

Likewise for any special-interest sub-reddit you might subscribe to.

I think these things will be very substantially changed, for the worse, if content moderation isn't allowed.

Re: Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers? [pdf]

#93

Post by ModernMech » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 6:32 PM UTC

temp8964 wrote: post #55

Majromax wrote: post #44

To me, the question is how a common carrier status can coexist with content curation and promotion. Looking at the ur-example of the phone company, AT&T doesn't try to preemptively place calls that a household "might be interested in based on analytics." The modern social media landscape, however, is dominated by "the algorithm." Youtube lives on its recommendations; Twitter wants you to keep refreshing its feed; eve…

If Twitter hides Trump from everyone doesn't follow him, but shows all his messages to everyone follows him. What is the problem then?

The problem for Twitter is that Trump used their platform to further incite a mob as they ransacked the US Capitol. Twitter doesn't want to be a conduit from Trump to his followers if the messages he delivers incite them to commit acts of violence and insurrection.

There is a direct line from Trump tweeting about how Pence lacked the courage to deliver them the presidency by certifying what Trump called a "fraudulent vote", to Trump's followers chanting "Hang Mike Pence" in the halls of the Capitol when they got the message.

Re: Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers? [pdf]

#94

Post by temp8964 » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 6:42 PM UTC

ModernMech wrote: post #93

temp8964 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Twitter hides Trump from everyone doesn't follow him, but shows all his messages to everyone follows him. What is the problem then?

The problem for Twitter is that Trump used their platform to further incite a mob as they ransacked the US Capitol. Twitter doesn't want to be a conduit from Trump to his followers if the messages he delivers incite them to commit acts of violence and insurrection. There is a direct line from Trump tweeting about how Pence lacked the courage to deliver them the presidency by certifying what Trump called a "fraudulent…

Yes, you may interpret this way, but the U.S. law wouldn't designate those speeches as inciting violence. "direct line" is simply insufficient.

Re: Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers? [pdf]

#95

Post by singlow » Thu, Jul 08, 2021, 7:22 PM UTC

Buttons840 wrote: post #48

singlow wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not how laws work.

Your right, this legal "hack" would probably be frowned upon by a judge, but it does demonstrate how silly it is that the literal carrier is not the one considered the "common carrier". It would be illegal for Facebook to arbitrarily prevent someone from accessing Facebook, and legal for Comcast to arbitrarily prevent someone from accessing Facebook. And back to my original proposal, if Facebook and Comcast came to s…

But Facebook cannot do through an agent what it is not allowed to do itself. Doesn't matter if the agent is a subsidiary or a partner.