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Comment by rmc | Hacker News Reader

> If you don't like Facebook's censorship policies, don't use Facebook.

Why? Don't I have a right to free speech (on Facebook)?

Should it be moral for the government to set up small, limited, "free speech zones" far away from everywhere and say "If you want free speech, go here?". (Yes I know that has sorta happened in USA) What about requiring that all bookshops/newspaper sellers in a certain area only sell books/newspapers that don't mention $TOPIC. You're quite free to go to a bookshop 100km away which will sell you anything. Is that not a restriction on free speech?

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No, you don't have a right to free speech on Facebook. No, the government can't ban bookshops from selling books about $Topic. One of these would be the government suppressing free speech (the bookstore's free speech, not their customers'), the other does not involve the government at all.

> Why? Don't I have a right to free speech (on Facebook)?

No. What makes you think you do?

> Why? Don't I have a right to free speech (on Facebook)?

Absolutely not. Your right of free speech applies only to freedom from government censorship and that's it. Facebook can do whatever they want on their website, you have no rights at all on their website. Please go read the first amendment.

That same first amendment also contains the ostensible provision for businesses to bar African Americans via freedom of association. But as country we (rightly) decided that that's bullshit and enacted laws to stop that practice. It's not inherently unreasonable for someone to suggest that we need to similarly rein in platforms acting against the intellectual discourse values this country was founded upon.

I'm not sure I agree that it does, it used to be interpreted that way but what really changed was the courts interpretation of equal treatment under the law as well as the incorporation of the first 10 amendments which allowed it to say no the first amendment doesn't allow states to discriminate because those amendments apply to the states as well. We as a country didn't decide anything, the supreme court did all on its own.

Additionally I'll any attempt to demand private companies stop censoring their properties hurts free speech and is in fact a direct violation of it.

You're just confusing morals and laws. Facebook censorship might be immoral, but the only way to make it illegal would be to rescind Facebook's freedom of speech, by making them publish whatever the government wanted.

If the government were forcing Facebook to censor some topic, that would be immoral and illegal. All of your examples fall into this category.

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