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Comment by iron0013 | Hacker News Reader

It's not a "fallback", I'm pretty sure being a private company is their entire raison d'etre. And, you know, like the sign in every small-town diner says: “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.”

Which is to say, they can give any reason, or no reason at all, for showing a user the door. That's their prerogative as the owners and operators of a business.

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Except they've worked hard to intentionally become what can be classified as a public broadcast medium. They can try and refuse service but it's unlikely they won't be compelled by the courts or legislation to provide open access. That means thru can't just live with their own rules.

They can put up any sign they like, but that hasn't been true since passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Donald Trump does not belong to any class protected under the Civil Rights Act.

The point is this: With the CRA, the idea that business owners have freedom of association is officially dead. They must provide service to whomever the government compels them to.

I think the majority of HNers:

- Don't like it when private companies do racism

- Like it when private companies do censorship

So they should just say so. Don't try to bamboozle me with tactical Libertarianism.

I’m the opposite of a libertarian. I completely support the civil rights act and the governments ability to compel businesses to provide service to members of protected classes. Donald Trump does not belong to a protected class. How is this hard to understand, I don’t get it

Right, I'd expect just that from a company where a Saudi prince owns more shares than Jack Dorsey.

And I'm from a small town, and I've been to many. I've never seen a sign like that.

Most consumer-oriented businesses ranging from laundromats to coffee shops to bars to diners have signs that say that.

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