Meta blocks posts sharing database of ICE agents | Hacker News Reader

Meta blocks posts sharing database of ICE agents

politico.com

11 pointsrurp5 comments

To me, this raises an interesting question: how can social networks serve the "small brother" use-cases, which openly oppose government, while government can exercise pressure on the company behind them?

Short answer is they can’t. Nor can any company, not just social networks. The solution is balancing the power and ownership in society through redistribution, unions, or other ways. It’s harder to bribe the thousands of employees and shareholders of a company (if they have same votes).

I'm sorry, but when you say "redistribution" I hear "communism", which is always totalitarian. This would prevent the non-harmonious social network from existing in the first place. Even if a company is owned by it's employees - it is the case with Meta, btw, they might still vote for the highest profit, which in some circumstances equals not being shutdown by the totalitarian head of state.

I do agree with having checks and balances. One of the pillars, missing here, is having a legislature which is not too busy getting rich to exercise its role in society.

> I'm sorry, but when you say "redistribution" I hear "communism", which is always totalitarian.

This is incorrect. Unless you think taxes are communism.

> Even if a company is owned by it's employees - it is the case with Meta, btw,

False, see Zuck’s special shares.

Good. At least this will open the eyes of its users, however slightly, that they are being manipulated. Next step is to make them realize the algorithmic suppression/promotion is even more effective at propaganda. The step after that is realizing the same applies to the selection of stories focused on by traditional media. This is not the only thing Meta bans: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/27/707258353/facebook-bans-white...

If you want to keep a democracy, you simply cannot let your fellow voters expose themselves so completely to manipulation.

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