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Comment by throwanem | Hacker News Reader

Why should that be clear? Judging them by their actions rather than their words, it's quite plain that "free speech extremists" are no such thing, except inasmuch as it applies to them. They demand to be free to say whatever they like, and they demand everyone else be required to listen while they do it.

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They ARE free to say whatever they like; their problem is that they then have to face the consequences.

I mean I can say whatever I want on this platform as well, but if I cross a line my posts will be hidden and eventually my account blocked. And that is fair, it's what I agreed to, and not only that but it's morally just.

The free speech extremists confuse freedom of speech with protection from consequences.

Interestingly, Trump and some other celebrities on Twitter have had special protection from said consequences.

> They ARE free to say whatever they like; their problem is that they then have to face the consequences.

Specifically, the consequence of other people exercising the same freedom of speech, including by deciding not to relay certain speech of the self-styled “free speech” advocates.

I mean by that logic you could say that China has free speech but anyone who speaks out against the government just has to 'face the consequences' of being put in prison.

The obvious difference is that Twitter isn't the government.

It is not, though this gets at the subtext of this whole thing: companies with greater power than many national governments.

Tech CEOs can now influence the public as much or more so than any politicians. So this is fundamentally about power to influence.

Trump is mad because he thinks he is and should be the most powerful person on the planet. This action stands in contrast to that.

Companies do not have the power to throw people in jail or legally kill with a military.

> Companies do not have the power to throw people in jail or legally kill with a military.

Blackwater is a private enterprise and arguably is able to legally kill (and is in a sense a form of private military). Beyond that obvious example, private police agencies have existed in the US for some time.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_police_in_the_United...

Um... What is the United Fruit Company?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Guatemalan_coup_d%27%C3%A...

A lot of people don't like the idea of these social media (i.e. ad-tech) companies trying to influence public opinion, especially when these platforms initially billed themselves neutral parties.

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