[HN Gopher] AWS disables ISIS propaganda website it had hosted s...
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       AWS disables ISIS propaganda website it had hosted since April
        
       Author : mariojv
       Score  : 31 points
       Date   : 2021-08-28 14:47 UTC (8 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.washingtonpost.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.washingtonpost.com)
        
       | tehbeard wrote:
       | Have to wonder if one of the three letter agencies quietly told
       | them to keep it up with some "additional oversight" in place..
        
       | mberning wrote:
       | More proof that these platforms have zero content moderation and
       | actually do not give a shit until somebody notices. I don't see
       | how such examples make their content policies and enforcement
       | thereof highly questionable within the legal system.
        
         | belltaco wrote:
         | Are the free speech absolutionists against this move or not?
        
           | torstenvl wrote:
           | > _free speech absolutionists_
           | 
           | I'm sure this was unintentional, but hilarious nonetheless.
        
           | oceanplexian wrote:
           | Did banning the app magically stop ISIS and end terrorism?
           | 
           | The terrorists will circumvent this and use some other app
           | while law-abiding people continue to have their human rights
           | infringed on by censorship and deplatforming.
        
             | 2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote:
             | It infringes Amazon's rights. Why should they be forced to
             | host this?
             | 
             | > _The company took down the site, which touted the suicide
             | attack that killed at least 170 people in Kabul, after The
             | Post reported extremists were using the service_
             | 
             | 170 people. 13 service members. Amazon wants no part of
             | this and that is their right.
        
         | Hikikomori wrote:
         | How would they notice it?
        
           | xyzzy21 wrote:
           | If the "correct politically aligned group" tells them about
           | it.
           | 
           | If it's the "incorrect" group, it will be ignored.
        
       | throwawaysea wrote:
       | It is incredible that all these tech companies colluded to ban
       | Parler because Parler wouldn't enact their desired level and
       | flavor of censorship, and banned Trump on unsubstantiated
       | accusations of inciting violence. It is even more incredible that
       | they are totally okay with Facebook/Twitter remaining in the App
       | Store even though the Capitol riot was mostly organized there,
       | okay with BLM-affiliated groups or Antifa groups organizing on
       | their platforms despite a year of demonstrated political
       | violence, and okay with the Taliban spreading their terroristic
       | propaganda on their platforms. Why is it surprising that they
       | were also hosting ISIS? These companies and their employees only
       | care about censoring their direct political adversaries, and all
       | the euphemisms they use (like "moderation") can't hide their
       | intentions, due to how inconsistently they apply even their own
       | rules.
       | 
       | Tech companies have enough power to sway entire populations and
       | influence elections. They are as powerful as many governments and
       | must be reigned in. Other countries are recognizing this problem
       | of big tech's political power (see
       | https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/11/germanys-merkel-hits-out-at-...
       | or https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/20/biden-always-
       | unf...), and America too must recognize it. We need updated anti
       | trust laws and aggressive application of them, targeting
       | companies that are too big and companies that benefit from
       | network effects.
        
         | DaveExeter wrote:
         | >Taliban spreading their terroristic propaganda
         | 
         | They are not "terrorists" anymore. The Taliban is the
         | legitimate government of Afghanistan.
         | 
         | Those opposed to the Taliban are now the terrorists!
        
           | stinky613 wrote:
           | The Taliban in Afghanistan isn't/wasn't listed officially as
           | terrorist group by the US government. The Taliban in
           | Pakistan, however, is a terrorist organization, according to
           | the US government.
           | 
           | The Taliban in Afghanistan may be morally repugnant, violent
           | fundamentalists, but they are technically not a terrorist
           | organization (in the context of the US)
           | 
           | https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/
        
         | OJFord wrote:
         | (Whenever I vouch for a comment - and typically, as here, I
         | don't also up-vote, because that's different - I feel the need
         | to explain, so here goes.)
         | 
         | I've vouched for this, because it seems like something some
         | people obviously disagree with politically, but not something
         | that there's any reason to _flag_. (Though _down-voting_ for
         | disagreement is, however some (myself included) feel about it,
         | explicitly allowed.)
         | 
         | I'm not American, I've never used Parler (I've just about heard
         | of it, know that it has far-right associations), don't care
         | much for US-specific politics.
         | 
         | I just think, agree or disagree, this is a reasoned comment
         | that doesn't deserve flags.
        
           | jhardy54 wrote:
           | Respectfully, I disagree and have flagged the comment
           | accordingly.
           | 
           | I think my flag is appropriate because the comment contains
           | blatant misinformation. While I tend to assume that the
           | author is operating in good faith, I think they're parroting
           | misinformation that does not belong on HN.
           | 
           | Easy example: Trump's Twitter ban was not "unsubstantiated",
           | it was clearly explained with direct examples [0]. I'm open
           | to dissenting opinions on what action was appropriate, but
           | the idea that the ban was "unsubstantiated" is unambiguously
           | misinformation.
           | 
           | Zooming out, I'm happy to have HN host opinions that I
           | strongly disagree with, but outright misinformation should
           | not be allowed.
           | 
           | [0]: https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspe
           | nsio...
        
         | ozzythecat wrote:
         | I'm an engineer at Amazon. Your post is misguided and
         | incorrect.
         | 
         | This website staying online is a miss on Amazon's part. I don't
         | work on whichever service was specifically used to host this
         | content and don't know about what specific mechanisms they have
         | to discover and take down illegal content.
         | 
         | This was obviously a miss. Amazon should and has to do better.
         | There's no question about that.
         | 
         | By the way, no one colluded to ban Parler. I don't speak in
         | behalf of Amazon, but the content on Parler, where people were
         | calling for assassination of American government officials, had
         | full visibility. It wasn't obscure or unknown to Amazon. It was
         | a high traffic, well known app. That issue was very visible and
         | corrective action was quickly taken.
         | 
         | Unfortunately, this issue wasn't so visible. Once it was
         | identified, corrective action was taken.
         | 
         | And your accusations of being "okay with terror organizations"
         | is wrong.
         | 
         | For full disclosure: I'm not speaking on behalf of the company,
         | and I see you have political grievances with Amazon. But to
         | turn that into Amazon or it's employees being okay with hosting
         | terrorist content is so absurd, it's not really even worth
         | responding too.
        
       | bobobob420 wrote:
       | How brave of them. I'm sure it was a tough decision.
        
       | [deleted]
        
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       (page generated 2021-08-28 23:02 UTC)