Post A3D9QWT44ThR0WSTbs by hurtado@fosstodon.org
(DIR) More posts by hurtado@fosstodon.org
(DIR) Post #A3D35lj3Y2YMWTeuGm by aseem@fosstodon.org
2021-01-13T23:04:56Z
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The shutting down of Trump's all social media accounts by all the surveillance monopolies has some important lesson.The monopolies have vast powers of arbitrary banning or content prohibition. For now, they have used it against Trump, a villain for everyone. But the fact remains that the company officials have become authoritarian arbitrators of democratic free speech.How will they use this enormous power when someone challenges these companies politically, tries to hold them accountable?
(DIR) Post #A3D6iEMvnl5qDzLFRo by SenojEkul@fosstodon.org
2021-01-13T23:45:28Z
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@aseem you're confusing things. Free speech is when the government doesn't dictate what you can and cant say.In Aotearoa we have hate-speech laws, if you say inflammatory racist shit then you get to face the consequences.You do *not* get free-speech from private companies, particularly when you agree to the TOS they have when you sign up to their services.Free-speech absolutists bug the fucking shit out of me. It's shorthand for "I want to say hurtful shit without consequence".
(DIR) Post #A3D6rjNfrwf30rDesa by pbx@fosstodon.org
2021-01-13T23:47:05Z
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@aseem Your point is taken, but rather than saying the company officials "have become authoritarian arbitrators of democratic free speech" I'd say they "have reminded people that they are authoritarian arbitrators of commercially facilitated speech."
(DIR) Post #A3D9QWT44ThR0WSTbs by hurtado@fosstodon.org
2021-01-14T00:15:54Z
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@aseem: There's a risk of confusing things. The centralization is so big in these social media platforms that they factually establish themselves as the public forums, while they still are private. Being private gives them the right to fix and enforce their terms of service as they see fit... and so they do --rather arbitrarily in lots of cases if you ask me.--1/2
(DIR) Post #A3DA3NtFtd2FhMEuO0 by hurtado@fosstodon.org
2021-01-14T00:22:56Z
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@aseem: The lines become blurry. YouTube/Facebook/Twitter act like public services, but they still are technically not. They don't owe us a platform nor free speech, even though being deplatformed kind of leaves us speechless in many cases. And let's not talk about their vague ToS that allow them to block harmful content only when it's useful to their image and interests.2/2
(DIR) Post #A3DA6ntbfFHbDq2BMm by zoot@fosstodon.org
2021-01-14T00:23:32Z
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@aseem totes agree. Good point, well put 😯👍
(DIR) Post #A3DHziZjIXeuLjFU7U by liberlion@fosstodon.org
2021-01-14T01:51:55Z
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@aseem decentralize pøωęr... Çrʁýptoeconomiçs
(DIR) Post #A3DNpC2g042OHM9YAK by boldfilter@fosstodon.org
2021-01-14T02:57:13Z
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@aseem Any concentration of power can potentially be dangerous. To be reminded social media networks aren't public domain but private companies looking out for their interests are often needed.
(DIR) Post #A3E2Jlfy4jwbeIfJEu by aseem@fosstodon.org
2021-01-14T10:30:31Z
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@SenojEkul I am not saying Trump should get absolute FoS. I am saying that the arbitration should be done by public forums.For example, if Twitter took his tweets down or blocked him based on a police complaint or even a resolution of municipal council of Washington DC, it would be very fine.I agree that Twitter etc do not promise anything. But I am saying that it is dangerous that way. They should be forced to make their platforms accountable. They cannot run parallel private government.
(DIR) Post #A3E2ijieUHsyotpJL6 by aseem@fosstodon.org
2021-01-14T10:35:28Z
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@SenojEkul @hurtado I don't know if you followed, but other countries where the corporations are aligned with the government, the arbitration is pathetic. For example in India. There were newspaper reports that the internal documents of these companies showed that the company refused to block dangerous right wing content because that would affect their business. Also, returning the favor, governments have not regulated data theft by these big companies.
(DIR) Post #A3EEfN4JRcTj9S7Uky by LinuxWonky@fosstodon.org
2021-01-14T12:49:19Z
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@aseem I fully support you on this issue. They shouldn't hold that much of a power. They only banned Trump when it was clear what will happen to him. We live in a hypocritical world.
(DIR) Post #A3ElrDW45C2vUIMCOG by SenojEkul@fosstodon.org
2021-01-14T19:01:02Z
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@aseem twitter started taking steps because of the seriousness of the situation only. They failed to act right up until the point where people we're dying because of Trumps tweets.Which is in line with what you said. And to me, really is not good enough because twitter could have prevented or minimised much of what happened.