> They ARE free to say whatever they like; their problem is that they then have to face the consequences.
This is the definition of free speech that North Korea likes.
This is the definition of free speech that North Korea likes.
Bad, ignorant, hateful ideas are bad because they are wrong; if they were true, you would not call facts "bad". That being the case, the correct response is to defeat them with truth-- not censorship, whether state or privately enacted. Censorship is just admitting that you dislike the ideas but cannot argue them down with reason and are resorting to the cudgel.
But we do. Any facts that cast certain religions (but not others!), or certain lifestyle choices (but not others!) in a bad light are considered _____-ophobic. Bad.
Facts are routinely politicized and made out to be evil.
> Censorship is just admitting that you dislike the ideas but cannot argue them down with reason
This is true. And this is why it is so hard to have an honest debate. Many people in the United States (perhaps elsewhere?) think with their feelings, and not facts or reason. The videos of people screaming over the top of presenters on college campuses are case-in-point.
The world as a whole is marching towards the cudgel. Hate speech laws are a manifestation of this. What remains is the removal of an individual's right to defend their life. After that we have tyranny.
In my view, the most powerful person in the world unilaterally shutting down companies he disagrees with is much closer to tyranny.
If he succeeds, it is definitely a step in that direction.
How many media outlets are thinking twice before possibly attracting his ire?
So true! People should consider why we call politically correctness that. We don't call them facts or truth, but that they can be said and not hurt "feelings".
the Supreme Court certainly has not upheld compelled speech. And internet theories about private services as de facto public forums continue to be defeated in court (PragerU v Google being the most recent example).
"Despite YouTube's ubiquity and its role as a public-facing platform, it remains a private forum, not a public forum subject to judicial scrutiny under the First Amendment," the court said."
https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/youtu...
The whole POINT of 'free speech' is that there are no consequences.
(And no you shouldn't be allowed to shout 'fire' in a theatre).
That's not the consequence here.
The consequence is “other private parties might choose not to relay your speech or continue association with you, exercising their own rights to free speech and association.”
Me not allowing you to use my resources to magnify the reach of your message isn't analogous to the state subjecting you to capital punishment.
> The whole POINT of 'free speech' is that there are no consequences.
No, the whole point is that the state doesn't have their thumb on the scale, allowing ideas to succeed or fail by their ability, or not, to attract support from private actors. Legislation in which the state intervenes to prevent private consequences through the exercise of free speech are not only on their face contrary to free speech, but sabotage the operation of the marketplace of ideas.
But I also wont bend the definition either. That’s where the problems start.