It's going to be exhausting watching people explain how the First Amendment works, ad nauseam, over the next few days.
Fine, fine, I get that a lot of people here are chilled by threats to open discussion. But please go further, how do you balance that with a private company's right to do what they want with their own product?
I personally find it very threatening as a product developer that there might be laws requiring me to allow people to use my products in ways that are abhorrent to me. Yes, the government has defined protected classes and I will respect those (not hard for me). But if a bunch of Trumpers wanted to use my software to organize a coup, do people really think I have to support that?
Where is that line?
edit: and to be clear the thing I am most disappointed in my comments is the brevity. I am disappointed in myself the most for making terse comments.
You're asking for logic from people who learned from a young age that doing bad things gets them attention.
Trump is their icon. He was quick and happy after the "capitol storm" riot to finally say there will be a peaceful transition on the 20th. Why? Because he was asked to do it and he feels he is being helpful by complying.
Nevermind that he created the problem in the first place. He's always felt, since a young age, that he didn't get enough attention, and only received it when he acted out. Like, when you use your fork to eat food for the first time and dad doesn't even look at you. Then you throw it on the floor and Dad is suddenly alert. Boom, that's a life lesson. Repeat that scenario 1,000 times, give the child a billion dollars and you get someone like Trump.
In my view the query posed by this conflict is, what is the solution when private platforms hold apparent monopolies over public discourse?
And IMO the answer to this is to encourage competition by lowering barriers to entry for new content providers. Bring back net neutrality with the FCC and FTC's Antitrust should crack down on regional broadband monopolies, content conglomerates, zero rating, etc.
Breaking up Google/Facebook isn't going to provide sufficient competition. We need to ensure there is space for new pastures.
> Now that Twitter has booted Trump, the next 24 hours will be devoted exclusively to people who don't understand the First Amendment explaining the First Amendment to people who do.
With a corollary I want to add that "everyone will believe themselves to be in the latter category."
Let's just avoid social media for a while and enjoy peace of mind.
Stormfront has been an openly racist community forum, spouting hate speech unimpeded for 24 years. Their one weird trick: they're not relying on someone else's platform to do it.
Except that's not a problem at all, let alone "dangerous." You're entitled to free speech, you're not entitled to 'reach' or any audience for that matter.