Twitter Is About to Get Way Worse | Hacker News Reader

Twitter Is About to Get Way Worse

bariweiss.substack.com

29 pointsbarbacoa7 comments

> Today, what’s left of our open internet is already less safe.

Twitter is not the open internet and never was. Free speech on the open internet is doing fine.

You could argue the opposite, that Twitter is part of the open internet to some extent: unlike Facebook, it is fairly searchable with normal search engines [1] and unlike Instagram, it doesn't actively discourage linking to other websites. Long time ago, it even used to offer RSS feeds [2]. There are custom clients for it too. Apparently, Jack tried to push for decentralized social media protocols [3]. However, I would certainly agree that it is getting closer to a being yet another brick in the wall.

As for free expression on the open internet, I think it is under active threat. The centralization [4] makes the job of the censors much easier. The calls for internet surveillance and censorship are ubiquitous.

[1]: e.g. https://google.com/search?q=site%3Atwitter.com+jack+open+int...

[2]: https://archive.md/IPLAx#selection-215.17-215.123

[3]: https://cointelegraph.com/news/what-does-twitters-new-decent...

[4]: e.g. https://easydns.com/blog/2020/07/20/turns-out-half-the-inter...

It's an easy thing to say when nothing you want to say is removed or censored. I think the article did a good job at disproving your assertion.

The main point, as I understood the parent you're replying to, is that Twitter isn't The Internet and it never was. Being censored on Twitter does not mean you cannot participate in the internet anymore. And the article does nothing to disprove the statement "Twitter isn't the open internet".

It seems like many prominent people who complain about censorship on Twitter (or FB) seem to be able to do so from large newspapers, well-visited websites, popular radio stations, etc. Always seemed odd to me.

I vehemently disagree. Twitter is relied upon for government announcements, political activists, journalists and many public figures. It can help promote revolution as quickly as it can sell a brand.

It's a public utility, full stop.

>Let’s be honest, the guy just always kind of looked like someone who wanted to censor you.

What does this even mean?

>Twitter might be reduced to a single lens through which you engage with the social internet. It would no longer be the social internet.

As someone who has never had a Twitter account, I was unaware that it was "the" social internet currently.

I guess Dorsey's glorious beard makes him look sanctimonious and patronizing.

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