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Comment by lettergram | Hacker News Reader

1. Are you serious? Why is Alex Jones censored? Why is Trump censored? Why did people get indefinitely banned for discussing many of those topics on social media?

Just a few days ago Zuckerberg was discussing banning / suppressing discussion of the Hunter Biden laptop - https://nypost.com/2022/08/25/mark-zuckerberg-criticizes-twi...

Idk what to say about that. It’s not editorial decisions when DMs are being censored or social media posts. Particularly when the FBI / government is suggesting it.

2. This is a perfect example of my point. Most people don’t even realize they are surrounded by censorship. Or they outright agree with it. Look up the list of topics bannable on YouTube. On Twitter you can’t even call someone by the name their parents gave them if they disagree. In schools near where I live you can get suspended for using proper pronouns, if someone disagrees.

Censorship in the US is different, but very apparent.

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You’re conflating business and government. Businesses have the right to do what they want with their property within the law.

Otherwise, I don’t know what you’re suggesting to be done. Do you want to expand the powers of the government to moderate these companies and their property?

If government comes to you and says “this should be taken down due to X reason” then it is government censoring. China does the same thing. I linked elsewhere in this thread examples of the government asking Facebook or Twitter to censor directly.

There’s an implied threat. The Supreme Court has already ruled on this previously. I expect in the next couple years as court cases about the censorship work through the courts, the same thing will happen again.

If the government was silent and the censorship occurred then MAYBE it’s legal. That of course depends on if it’s a common carrier or public space. Both arguably are true for social media, but again it takes time for the courts to figure it out. I would concede that point, but again government asked for the censorship here.

They were asked because the government has no legal grounds to force them. In this situation, Facebook and Twitter are not legally obligated to take action. If they took action, it is because they chose to. In China, companies are legally obligated to take action whether they want to or not. It’s not the same thing.

[citation needed]

Ok, I’ll take a stab at feeding the troll tonight. The difference is that Facebook and Twitter and just turn around and tell the us gov to fuck off. In china, that’s not really an option.

Seriously, what are you talking about? Last I checked Alex Jones has his own show and Trump has his own social network which has been (might still be) #1 in Apple’s App Store. I am confused on how this is censorship?

That said, if a private company like Twitter thinks Alex Jones is a liability because he spreads conspiracy theories of shape shifting lizard people from alternate dimensions sabotaging the Trump Presidency via the deep state because he’s prepping the military and cia to take out the satanic cultists that worship and appease said lizard shapeshifting creatures via the blood of post-coital children, well…

There's an argument that huge social media sites that have wide-scale usage are like utilities. The water company isn't allowed to shut off your taps because you said something they don't like.

That's a very valid argument, but it's a bit of a tangent from censorship.

Let me make an analogy to Alex Jones and Trump: if the water company cuts someone off, but they continue to run a huge fountain in front of their mansion, then you can't reasonably claim they're being deprived of drinking water.

> Just a few days ago Zuckerberg was discussing banning / suppressing discussion of the Hunter Biden laptop - https://nypost.com/2022/08/25/mark-zuckerberg-criticizes-twi...

The main problem is that you compare the freedom of social media platforms to regulate the content they host, to outright government-controlled censorship of all media. If it was actually the government censoring the topic, you would not have been able to link to a nypost article talking about it, and Trump wouldn't be able to post on his own social media platform.

> Look up the list of topics bannable on YouTube. On Twitter you can’t even call someone by the name their parents gave them if they disagree. In schools near where I live you can get suspended for using proper pronouns, if someone disagrees.

Why are those topics bannable? Could it be that there is some kind of "code of conduct" that makes sure people are respectful to each other? Those people disagreeing are still free to host their own service, if they desperately want to deadname someone.

My point was censorship, not who’s doing it.

There’s a faction / ideology (across all party lines) in the west that is doing the same thing as China. For the same reasons “to be respectful to one another”.

That’s kinda the point I’m trying to make.

Hey, great news! You can start your own site without censorship. The marketplace will determine whether your site succeeds or fails. Alex Jones makes a great living peddling his claptrap despite his claims otherwise- go forth and make your own fortune!

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