The upside: we all pirated a crapload of good music. The downside: new era of fascism. And it's worth noting that the piracy, which is in itself a form of speech, was shut down... But the racism wasn't.
Like, if I copied and pasted the above Dispatch article into the comment below, what would happen? Would I get moderated down? Banned for copyright infringement? C&Dd?
We all believe in limitations to speech. Copyright infringement, threats, fraud... I mean go ask a C-level working on a merger how "free" their speech is about the state of the company.
We protect a zillion things with restrictions on speech via the legal system.
We protect the legal system with laws against perjury and filing false reports.
We protect business interests from fraud.
We protect consumers from false advertising.
We protect anybody who can afford a good lawyer from defamation.
But we don't protect public health. Rebroadcasting Hulk Hogan's video will get your business obliterated, but telling Grandma that vaccines are fake, ultimately leading to her untimely death? Totally fine.
Lying about climate change? Totally fine. Lying about democracy? Totally fine.
Tricking hundreds of people into invading the capitol with lies about a stolen election? Well that's okay... except for the voting company you lied about. They have grounds for a lawsuit. The people who were beaten and terrorized in the capitol probably don't.
The line is arbitrary.