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posted by martyb on Tuesday January 12 2021, @10:59PM   Printer-friendly
from the censoring-the-censorship-to-stop-censorship dept.

Small Idaho ISP 'Punishes' Twitter And Facebook's 'Censorship'...By Blocking Access To Them Entirely

A small Idaho ISP by the name of Your T1 WIFI has decided to punish Twitter and Facebook for perceived "censorship"...by censoring them. In an email to subscribers posted to Twitter, the company claims it will be blocking customer access to both websites by default moving forward. To access the websites, users apparently will need to contact the company to be added to a whitelist

A North Idaho internet provider sent this email out to costumers[sic], absolutely INSANE pic.twitter.com/ecwRFqnzwS

        — Coping MAGA (@CopingMAGA) January 11, 2021

While the company doesn't specify what "censorship" its customers are complaining about, the complaints were likely driven by Twitter's decision to ban Trump after he violated the company's terms of services[sic] by inciting a fatal insurrection. Or perhaps they're complaining about the steady purging of QAnon conspiracy theorists for espousing bogus claims of election fraud. Either way, the ISP claims to ingeniously be combating what they claim is censorship...by embracing the exact same thing:

"Our company does not believe a website or social networking site has the authority to censor what you see and post and hide information from you, stop you from seeing what your friends and family are posting," the email states. "This is why with the amount of concerns, we have made this decision to block these two websites from being accessed from our network."

I'm sure the irony is totally lost on them.

I reached out to contact Your T1 WIFI, but their 1-888 number resolved to a woman's voicemail box that didn't even mention the name of the company. However, company owner Brett Fink spoke to a local CBS affiliate and contradicted his own company's email by claiming they weren't blocking anybody:

"In a phone call with KREM, the owner of the company, Brett Fink, again said the websites would only be blocked for customers who asked.

        "We've had customers asked to be blocked by it. That is what the email was about, so no we are not blocking anybody, only the ones that have asked for it," Fink said."

I wonder if Starlink works in Idaho?


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  • (Score: 2) by Frosty Piss on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:08PM (28 children)

    by Frosty Piss (4971) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:08PM (#1099143)

    I would unsubscribe immediately and request a refund.

    • (Score: 2, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:10PM (10 children)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:10PM (#1099147) Journal

      The Eagles would say, "You can unsubscribe any time you like, but you can never refund"

      Actually, I think it's a little awesome. David and Goliath awesome. We just need to wait, to see if David really has God's blessing!

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:56PM (9 children)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:56PM (#1099178) Journal

        (oh, the idiocy of hoping Bible is relevant to reality)

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 3, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:14AM (2 children)

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:14AM (#1099191) Journal

          Did ya notice I put the Eagles ahead of the Bible? No? Oh well.

          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:28AM

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:28AM (#1099200) Journal

            Yes, I see two parts of your comment that seem unrelated one to the other except for you pretending that you think (grin)

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:10AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:10AM (#1099222)

            Didn't notice since they're usually behind.

        • (Score: 3, Touché) by Arik on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:37AM (1 child)

          by Arik (4543) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:37AM (#1099205) Journal
          Oh the idiocy of thinking the Bible isn't relevant to reality.

          Even if for no other reason than that so man of the homicidal maniacs running or influencing our governments believe it's relevant.
          --
          If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday January 13 2021, @03:20AM

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 13 2021, @03:20AM (#1099283) Journal

            Even if for no other reason than that so man of the homicidal maniacs running or influencing our governments believe it's relevant.

            Nitpicking: the issue has been forced as relevant, yes.

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 2) by meustrus on Wednesday January 13 2021, @04:41PM (3 children)

          by meustrus (4961) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @04:41PM (#1099447)

          You know, a whole lot of this stuff actually makes some sense if you remove the metaphysics and stop thinking of God as a literal sky fairy.

          Imagine God as something closer to the Invisible Hand: not a real physical thing, but a thought experiment. A logical construct to help us understand forces currently beyond our understanding. A personification of the ethereal connections between people, of the power that some ideas hold over others.

          In this case, it's meaningful to ask: is this underdog a David, favored by God to defeat Goliath? Or is this underdog a Sodom, condemned to destruction by its own hubris?

          Of course, if we were in a more typical forum, this thread would be flooded with idiots trying to figure out who followed more commandments. That would miss the point completely. If that's what happened, it would 100% be "the idiocy of hoping the Bible is relevant to reality".

          But just because there are idiots out there ready to take every religious statement as an opportunity to munchkin themselves into heaven, doesn't mean every religious statement is actually that idiotic. One remembers Oppenheimer famously quoting the Bhagavad Gita: "Then he took on this multi-armed formed and said, Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds."

          He meant, we are like gods now, trying to control mortals through fear, and we must take that responsibility seriously. Hindu scripture provides many examples of powerful beings interacting with lesser beings through avatars, and we can all see the truth in those stories through our own life experience. Then we can learn, as we learn through any stories, where the story might be headed once we get beyond our own experience.

          There are three kinds of stories in this world. One kind merely entertains. One kind documents our history. The last kind explores the forces beyond our comprehension. There is educational value to this last kind of story, and it would be illogical to completely discard such stories when we are still incapable of comprehending all of the forces at work.

          --
          If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday January 13 2021, @11:42PM (2 children)

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 13 2021, @11:42PM (#1099689) Journal

            But just because there are idiots out there ready to take every religious statement as an opportunity to munchkin themselves into heaven, doesn't mean every religious statement is actually that idiotic.

            Look, I know the generative ability of the imagination (in whatever form) and its value in exploring the future outcomes of one action.
            1. as long as one keeps in mind those are just mental constructs and appreciate their probability of happening (as opposed to believing in miracles), everything is fine and dandy
            2. another value of stories (by them true or not) - they can introduce shortcuts in communication - like "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra".

            What irked me in

            Actually, I think it's a little awesome. David and Goliath awesome.

            While the reference to the story makes a communication that is terse but still rich in details (thumbs up for point 2), the "awesome" indicates unwarranted hope (thumbs down for point 1).

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
            • (Score: 2) by meustrus on Thursday January 14 2021, @04:20AM (1 child)

              by meustrus (4961) on Thursday January 14 2021, @04:20AM (#1099875)

              The reference also gives you a way to hoist Runaway by his own petard. If this ISP is forced to stop censoring things that don't conform to their narrow ideology (which is increasingly divorced from any claim of "tradition")...when that happens, you can say, it turns out God does not favor this. God is not, in fact, with Trump the serial philanderer, the prideful bacchanalian, the careless blasphemer, the economic dominatrix.

              If you're observant, you can spot these openings in legalistic religious arguments. It turns out there's a lot of beautiful religious language for shit talking the self-righteous. Actually, shit talking the self-righteous is a surprisingly large portion of scripture. It's kind of the point, I think.

              --
              If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
              • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday January 14 2021, @04:40AM

                by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday January 14 2021, @04:40AM (#1099884) Journal

                The reference also gives you a way to hoist Runaway by his own petard.

                With the risk of being called a weirdo for it, I prefer car analogies to the one based on Bible.
                As for hoisting Runaway? Nah, he does it himself way better than I can do within the limits of my time that I can afford to waste on him. (grin)

                when that happens, you can say, it turns out God does not favor this. God is not, in fact, with Trump the serial philanderer, the prideful bacchanalian, the careless blasphemer, the economic dominatrix.

                But then again... God works in mysterious way.
                See? One reason for which I prefer car analogies.

                --
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 4, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:25PM (10 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:25PM (#1099156)

      You do not like people canceling things? Weird everyone seems to like it these days.

      • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:25AM (6 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:25AM (#1099198)

        You obviously know, but I'll spell it out for the mind-controlled: it has to be what the Dems want cancelled. It doesn't work the other way around.

        • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:51AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:51AM (#1099211)

          Give that a few months.

        • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Pslytely Psycho on Wednesday January 13 2021, @03:18AM

          by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @03:18AM (#1099282)

          Oh yes it does. The right has their own cancel culture. Remember Nike? Keurig? Truth? Democracy? The Constitution?

          --
          Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @09:20AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @09:20AM (#1099348)

          You obviously know, but I'll spell it out for the mind-controlled: it has to be what the Dems want cancelled. It doesn't work the other way around.

          Let's discuss for a moment how 'cancelling' typically works. I, as a consumer, may take offense to something i see on TV. Maybe it's support for a proposition that bans gay marriage, maybe it's an athlete kneeling during the anthem, the position on the political spectrum is irrelevant. I just don't want my money going in the direction of that entity. I have, to use a more popular phrase, elected to vote with my wallet.

          So what happens when that sort of vote occurs? Revenue goes down. Usually in the cases we discuss here on SN it's the advertisers that are stung most prominently. Nike in particular comes to mind. We saw both burnt Nikes AND a huge payoff for an ad campaign featuring a player famous for kneeling. So when revenue goes down a fix is sought, and often that ends in severing ties with the individual tarnishing the image. For example: If you're a spokesperson for Basement Nerd Acne Cream and someone snaps a photo of you eating a booger, and that makes the Board of Directors nervous that their audience of 70+ yo. parents whose kids haven't moved out yet will instead stock up on Crater Juice. They'll have every right to invoke a commonly-used clause, provided it's written into the contract, that severs their ties with you. It's legal, nothin wrong with an agreement like that.

          Well this whole debacle that's drawing ire for Facebook was caused by events that are vastly heavier than nose-picking. I mean, in a sense, you're right that Dems don't want a repeat of the violence caused by the lack of evidence's lack of relevance to a bunch of overzealous Trump fans. But you're also missing the point of just how bad what they did was. I mean, is a user of Facebook in the wrong for deciding to remove their account over their role in spreading the Trump Administration's lies? Are Facebooks Advertisers, who are hearing from these individuals, in the wrong from not wanting their name associated with Facebook? Or is Facebook in the wrong for choosing to drop Trump to restore relations with their source of funding? Keep in mind that we're not talking about the gov't action here, this is all about private entities making decisions about their policies. What's the wrong step here? And I don't mean wrong as in "It hurts my feelz cos I'm on the wrong side of popularity!", I mean as wrong as in "There outta be a law". And if there outta be a law how do you resolve that against the 'minimal government' philosophy that comes out a lot ... during democrat terms?

          You tried to make it sound like Democrats are somehow stomping all over the place with iron boots, but in reality the Republicans are finding success elusive for reasons entirely within their control.

          • (Score: 2) by meustrus on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:39PM

            by meustrus (4961) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:39PM (#1099492)

            Exactly.

            It's easy to forget when QAnon is screaming at us that Big Tech is Democrat, but they are actually technoliberatian. They believe government is obsolete. Most of the time, they vote Republicans.

            Of course, they're also not conservative in any sense of the word. They despise the racist power structure constructed by previous generations of de facto aristocrats, because it shrinks the labor pool. It makes skilled labor more expensive. They want to fight climate change, because it is a long-term risk to their business and unlike legacy industries, there's nothing for them to lose by doing so.

            Yeah, they don't like Trump. They also didn't like Hillary. Obama was cool, for exactly the reasons a socialist like me kinda doesn't like his politics. But they're really more in line with someone like Mitt Romney or Jeb Bush. They are more like Ronald Reagan than Jimmy Carter.

            They might dress in jeans and turtlenecks instead of suits and ties, but they are still de facto aristocrats, and that still informs their politics far more than petty party politics. Never forget that.

            --
            If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Aegis on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:59PM (1 child)

          by Aegis (6714) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:59PM (#1099399)

          Right trying to ban TikTok and WeChat was just a figment of my imagination...

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @09:54PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @09:54PM (#1099612)

            We've always been at war with Eastasia.

      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:58AM (2 children)

        by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:58AM (#1099275) Homepage

        I find it to be fucking hilarious that there are so many "progressives" here, supporting casting "Evil Nazis out of society," given that the reason for this place was to escape the cancel-culture of Slashdot.*

        * Or a honeypot to divert malcontents so they'd stop shitposting there

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @04:35AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @04:35AM (#1099305)

          There's like 10 posts above you, mostly saying the opposite of what you claim. Count 'em and weep.

        • (Score: 2) by Tork on Wednesday January 13 2021, @06:37PM

          by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 13 2021, @06:37PM (#1099531)

          LOL you getting the boot from Slashdot was NOT "cancel culture" anymore than my lifetime ban from B&N for repeatedly moving their copies of the Art of the Deal to the funnies section was.

          --
          🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:35PM (5 children)

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:35PM (#1099165) Homepage

      Brett Fink can get away with this as a publicity stunt because he's Jewish. Playing both sides and all that. But I'd specifically request those blockages if I had a business account and didn't want people fucking off on Twitter and Facebook all day. With all the Mexicans who are going to be brought in under Biden's rule, I could certainly implement a "leave your phones in your car or else" policy and find people who want to work and not fuck off on Twitter and Facebook all day, and I could juggle a few of them part-time (a few in place of each full time worker) so I can pay them less than minimum wage as if they were Uber drivers.

      What are they gonna do, complain? We China now, baby! Complainers get sent to the gulag or become involuntary organ donors to rich Jews!

      • (Score: 2) by helel on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:45PM (4 children)

        by helel (2949) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:45PM (#1099171)

        But I'd specifically request those blockages if I had a business account and didn't want people fucking off on Twitter and Facebook all day.

        I don't believe you. I'd bet you'd block them at the router like any sane individual!

        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by HiThere on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:47PM (3 children)

          by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:47PM (#1099172) Journal

          Well, but he said he was doing this as a service to his customers who wanted those sites blocked, and didn't have the skills to do it themselves. That seems perfectly correct to me. And the headline looks like a garbage attempt to foment an argument.

          --
          Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
          • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:57PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:57PM (#1099179)

            And the headline looks like a garbage attempt to foment ferment an argument.

            FTFY

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:27AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:27AM (#1099236)

            The issue was that it was opt-out. So, to satisfy a few (possibly fabricated) requests to block these sites, they are blocking them for all their customers. 'Was' because the ISP has received a backlash from the majority of their customers saying, "the fuck you will."

          • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:31AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:31AM (#1099240)

            Look closer. They originally said that they were going to block them and other unspecified "censorship" websites by default. Unless you choose to opt-out of the block, they would block it. It wasn't opt-in like it is now after the backpedal.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:26PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:26PM (#1099159)

    It's a conundrum. Should I laugh at it?

    Or perhaps I should laugh at it?

    In the end, I think the potato folks should be glad for the call.

    In the end.

    In the long run.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:06AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:06AM (#1099219)

      Too many potatoes, and too much LDS! Idaho has been on the path to full cray-cray right-wing nut-jobism for quite some time. Whether the Bundy's or that child-killer woman, must be something in the water, or the religion?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:45AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:45AM (#1099271)

        It's the loneliness. You should move there, and spread some love.

  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by helel on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:41PM (12 children)

    by helel (2949) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:41PM (#1099167)

    Shouldn't they block Amazon [nytimes.com] too, for fairness sake?

    For my money this is the more serious censorship concern. John Matze decided he didn't like how Twitter and Facebook operated so he went and made his own and then Amazon decided to up and maim his company overnight. I know allot of people argue "he could just build his own server(s)" but that only works if the local ISPs are willing to connect him and the payment processors are willing to service his business and takes a hell of a lot more time than 48 hours.

    It's a thorny issue as there's clear justification for Amazon to cancel their contract in this case but in the past it's been far worthier causes such as Wikileaks [scripting.com] that get the boot for political reasons [scripting.com].

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Grishnakh on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:51PM (8 children)

      by Grishnakh (2831) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:51PM (#1099174)

      Sorry, no. I don't buy it.

      There's absolutely nothing stopping you from buying your own servers and connecting them to the internet, perhaps at a colocation site. Amazon isn't required to host anyone's site, and indeed they *don't* host most peoples' sites. I have a small site, on a cheap webhost; it has no affiliation to Amazon at all. Of course, a cheap webhost won't work for something with huge traffic, but if your company is already worth tens or hundreds of millions, then why is it so hard for you to buy your own hardware, or even your own connection to a backbone?

      Worst case, surely the guy can find a hosting company in Russia...

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Arik on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:08AM (6 children)

        by Arik (4543) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:08AM (#1099187) Journal
        And then the same cartel goes and twists the arms of your new ISP, and they cut you loose so the rest of their customers don't experience an interruption of service.

        Even if it is in Russia.
        --
        If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:01AM (5 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:01AM (#1099215)

          Please stop whining and tell us how you would like to solve the problem of losing access to the basic services needed to run your own service on the net.

          Start with a possible solution that doesn't involve forcing a non-ISP service like Google or Amazon to provide you service.

          • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Arik on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:29AM (4 children)

            by Arik (4543) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:29AM (#1099237) Journal
            I make little use of google and absolutely none of amazon, doh.

            That's also just a red herring, a subject change. Sure, a lot of the people being worst hit now are in that position cause they were stupid people who just used what silicon valley pushed and thought they were smart as a result. But even if they were smarter, they'd only be a few steps ahead of where they are now.

            When all the silicon valley giants agree that you must be de-personed, how do you think you'll get backbone connectivity for your datacenter? What provider is going to risk even a few hours of disruption for all their existing clients in order to accommodate you? How are you going to process payments?

            If your answer is cryptocurrency you just cut your potential customer base down by at least an order of magnitude, and they'll probably use it as an excuse to SWAT you as well.

            --
            If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:06AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:06AM (#1099258)

              I mentioned Google and Amazon just to reference some internet services, search/replace whatever you want. No red herring, the subject remained "what to do about de-platforming and how to protect people's rights."

              Sounds like you want to be able to purchase your own backbone connection in case your network traffic gets large enough, you need a way to process payments from any user that wants to send you money, and I'll throw in domain registration since you forgot that one.

              So we've identified the core problems that could prevent Joe Schmo from running their own internet service. How do you propose we solve those issues?

            • (Score: 2) by meustrus on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:52PM (2 children)

              by meustrus (4961) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:52PM (#1099505)

              There's a principle in law that you don't make abstract decisions without concrete cases. You need a plaintiff who can show they were personally hurt.

              In theory, Amazon shouldn't be able to just cut service like that. But in practice, Amazon did their due diligence. They had a contract in place, which Parler had agreed to. They gave appropriate warnings about content moderation risking their contract. Then when the breach of contract became a threat to Amazon's business, they cut service.

              So this time, Amazon's system worked as legally intended. You can't make a decision to avoid the nightmare situation, because this isn't it. This isn't Amazon deciding which businesses to serve or not serve arbitrarily and capriciously. This is Amazon clearly stating up front what their terms are, everyone agreeing to those terms up front, and some people getting kicked out for failing to follow the rules they agreed to in advance.

              In theory, Amazon has way to much power, and there is a huge risk of abuse. In practice, Amazon is very careful that they do not abuse their power in such a way that it would damage their reputation.

              --
              If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @09:32PM (1 child)

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @09:32PM (#1099605)

                Heh, that reminds me, what happened to SERIES OF CONTRACTS guy? Think he still lurks around here? I'm betting they were big time Trumpers who would be mad about de-platforming

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 14 2021, @04:52AM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 14 2021, @04:52AM (#1099889)

                  lol yeah, guessing that guy and the private police guy got fed up with being made fun of and left.

      • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:47AM

        by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:47AM (#1099273)

        Was gonna say, my website has been hosted in Canada for 23 years now... not for any particular reason, just that the Canadians are nice polite people who happened to be the first web hosting company to not completely inexcusably screw up somehow.

        --
        🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 2) by Arik on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:04AM

      by Arik (4543) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:04AM (#1099185) Journal
      Amazon is the elephant in the room. They've just recently been the beneficiary of the largest wealth transfer in the history of mankind.

      Are they going to give a single penny back? I have an official answer. It's just three letters, what do you think it means?

      "GFY"
      --
      If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by epitaxial on Wednesday January 13 2021, @03:39PM (1 child)

      by epitaxial (3165) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @03:39PM (#1099424)

      It turns out Amazon had warned Parler back in November about extremist behavior. https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-responds-to-parler-lawsuit-cites-violent-content-section-230-2021-1?utm_source=reddit.com [businessinsider.com]

      • (Score: 2) by helel on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:02PM

        by helel (2949) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:02PM (#1099464)

        Well, two months is a heck of a lot more time to migrate your business than two days.

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by SomeGuy on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:53PM (2 children)

    by SomeGuy (5632) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:53PM (#1099177)

    I've been blocking the Facebook domain for ages, I'm way ahead of everyone else! Yes! Stop using Twitter! Stop using Facebook! Who cares what the reason is?!

    Sigh.

    Still, a webscale sized facepalm to every last idiot out there who thinks either of these PRIVATE WEB SITES must provide "freedom of speech". Almost everyone completely and totally fails to understand these web sites are not in any way government run, publicly run, any kind of common carrier, or magically doing what they do for the benefit of humanity.

    Twitter(R)(TM) and Facebook(R)(TM) are private entities that reserve the right to refuse service to assholes like you.

    Their business models primarily revolve around letting users babble anything they want, while mining that babble for anything that can be sold to advertisers. Unfortunately for them, both Twitter(R)(TM) and Facebook(R)(TM) can be held liable for actions that might result from the use/misuse of their service.

    It is, in fact, Twitter's(R)(TM) and Facebook's(R)(TM) freedom of speech that lets them block the Big Orange Blabbermouth.

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:03AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:03AM (#1099184) Journal

      Their business models primarily revolve around letting users babble anything they want, while mining that babble for anything that can be sold to advertisers.

      That's a mean to the end of ad-placing.
      This becomes relevant when the advertisers refuse to display their ads along fringe content that is damaging to their sales.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @03:52AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @03:52AM (#1099291)

      Facebook also has shadow profiles of people who don't even use their disservice. So they probably have information about you that others have given them, as well as possible facial recognition data obtained from pictures of you that people have uploaded.

      Instead of focusing on Facebook banning people, we should be focusing on creating privacy laws so strict that companies like Facebook simply become unprofitable and go out of business.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Arik on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:58PM

    by Arik (4543) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:58PM (#1099181) Journal
    Most home users aren't good at firewalls. They're just doing the work for them. Customer service for once!
    --
    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:58PM (9 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Tuesday January 12 2021, @11:58PM (#1099182) Journal

    What happens when all four ISPs do it?

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 4, Informative) by FatPhil on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:15AM (8 children)

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:15AM (#1099192) Homepage
      They might lose their common carrier status?

      ISPs are supposed to be a pipe to the internet, nothing else. Egress packet filtering (e.g. spoofing, smurfing) is acceptable, as your malformed packets were never their intended payload anyway. Optional filtering for malware/spam is optional.

      However, facebook and twitter have ever been common carriers, they've always been interactive services where they store your data. There's no comparison with an ISP that merely forwards packates obliviously at all. This is just whiney little manchildren having a stupid playground fight because they don't understand the field they work in. Let them go bust. The free market demands it.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
      • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:34AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:34AM (#1099203)

        Title II does not work the way you think it does.

      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Arik on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:34AM (5 children)

        by Arik (4543) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:34AM (#1099204) Journal
        "However, facebook and twitter have ever been common carriers, they've always been interactive services where they store your data. There's no comparison with an ISP that merely forwards packates obliviously at all."

        Which is why they should have never had any shield under 230.
        --
        If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
        • (Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:56AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:56AM (#1099213)

          Cuz u dumb

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:01AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:01AM (#1099314)

          Common carriers don't need 230 protection. Beyond that, they couldn't even get it if they tried.

        • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday January 13 2021, @09:03AM

          by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday January 13 2021, @09:03AM (#1099345) Homepage
          Damn, my kbd keeps dropping characters (normally 2 at a time, I think it enters some kind of sleep mode), and my "ever" should have been "never". Then again, my spelling was terrible, I suspect I was half asleep. It seems like my message got through, though, thanks for error correcting internally.

          However, 230 seems to be unconditional, there would be no way to exclude services like FB/T from 230, as there are no boxes that they tick that single them out. Also, I'm not sure 230 makes the difference you're implying here. Lack of 230 would make them more censorious, not less.
          --
          Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
        • (Score: 2) by meustrus on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:58PM (1 child)

          by meustrus (4961) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:58PM (#1099508)

          The principle of 230 is that doing some content moderation does not make you liable for doing 100% content moderation.

          If you do away with 230, you're not going to get less moderation, you're going to get more. No web site will be able to operate with no moderation at all, because it would be incompatible with DMCA requests. It would make it impossible to curate your community. Everywhere would be 4chan, and I don't want to hang out at /b.

          With no 230, Facebook wouldn't die. Facebook and other established networks would become the only content networks capable of hosting anything, because they will be the only networks capable of 100% content moderation.

          --
          If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @09:35PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @09:35PM (#1099607)

            People have been pointing this out for months but the "mah ritez" crowd just wants to be mad about the consequences of their actions and punish big tech with irony overload.

      • (Score: 3, Touché) by fustakrakich on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:34AM

        by fustakrakich (6150) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:34AM (#1099243) Journal

        ISPs are supposed to be a pipe to the internet, nothing else.

        :-) I wish that were so, but in reality, they are the state/corp's firewall. Who enforces the orders to block piratebay?

        Facebook and Twitter are just two channels on the TV, their users remind me of people who buy their house in a flood basin and then complain about the insurance rates.

        --
        La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:12AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:12AM (#1099189)

    Figures.

    • (Score: 1, Troll) by FatPhil on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:16AM

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:16AM (#1099193) Homepage
      Yeah, their face is looking somewhat bloodied at the moment. Not sure if that's because some leftie punched them, or whether they just like headbutting a wall repeatedly.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
  • (Score: 2) by istartedi on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:16AM

    by istartedi (123) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:16AM (#1099194) Journal

    Reference implemenation: summary and links therein.

    --
    Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Username on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:04AM

    by Username (4557) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:04AM (#1099217)

    Should have just said twitter broke its terms of service by inciting violence and hatred.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:19AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:19AM (#1099229)

    Uganda just cut off all Social Media before their elections. The internet barons need to be contained. Some people in the EU are starting to also have this opinion, that Big Tech is the actual anti-democracy problem. So let's not judge a local ISP for their actions - very brave, swimming against the raging torrent of sheeple...

    • (Score: 2) by tizan on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:24AM (4 children)

      by tizan (3245) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @01:24AM (#1099233)

      Where likes and dislikes determines what is spread rather than expert opinions vetted by journalists...
      Yes hopefully this is the death of cheap social media.
       

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:09AM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:09AM (#1099260)

        Or society can evolve and adapt to social media. Every new tech is massively disruptive. The printing press, telegraph, global phone networks, and now global information.

        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:08AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:08AM (#1099316)

          You mean "global misinformation". What was the recent statistic, that 70% of twits are actually bots? The whole scene has been manipulated for years by forces that wish to destroy all democracies, not just the US. They've literally taken the tools built by free enterprise and weaponized them against the populace. One day we may see a list of all the elections that were 'influenced', one day if we wake up. The brainwashing has gone deep. I find friends members of my own family squabbling about nonsense and politics. It has reached a point where a divorce is seriously featuring in my thoughts. For every year on FB, your IQ goes down by 6 points. I can attest to seeing that in my house first hand. I need some fresh air...

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:34AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:34AM (#1099325)

            The same thing goes for the regular news networks. Misinformation has always been with us, with TV and talk radio radiclizing Republicans for decades before FB and Twitter even became a big deal in society. The problem isn't social media, it is how people approach information sources and as a society we just all need to learn that much of it is bullshit and to be very cautious who you believe. That will take time, news outlets need to build up their reputation, and any legislation we create must be careful to maintain freedom of the press. For starters we should reenact the fairness doctrine, things started turning to shit when we allowed news networks to become echo chambers.

      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @04:48AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 13 2021, @04:48AM (#1099311)

        Not that I support social media mob thinking, but your current alternative isn't too good either - those expert opinions and journalists are paid & bought for.

        We really need to work on a better information dissemination system - I'm still convinced decentralized technology is the likely way forward with some form of weighted crowd sourced moderation that makes it impractical to be subverted even by the biggest group of subversive actors.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by canopic jug on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:48AM

      by canopic jug (3949) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday January 13 2021, @05:48AM (#1099329) Journal

      Some people in the EU are starting to also have this opinion, that Big Tech is the actual anti-democracy problem.

      Social control media is a threat to democracy and several other forms of governance. It is highly effective at preventing the discourse necssary to operate and maintain democracies. It does so by isolating people into their own little alternatives to reality [hollywoodreporter.com]. Although it gives the illusion of allowing or even enabling communications, it controls the context of each message, including the timing and sequencing, as the recipients percieve them. There have been occasional blog posts about people gaming it for fun, by intentionally choosing just the right level of inflamatory remarks to get higher placement in the inbox, yet not so inflamatory as to get flagged or deprioritized. And that's the second part of the problem, that social control media thrives on and feeds discord, strife, and angst.

      However, if that is all too theoretical, there are several strong cases demonstrated. One would be Brexit, the other the Cambridge Analytica scandals, then the early "experiments" Facebook made in adjusting election outcomes.

      --
      Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
  • (Score: 2) by progo on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:57AM

    by progo (6356) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @02:57AM (#1099274) Homepage

    Yes it's ironic, and I can certainly understand the ISP's apparent position ("two can play at this game!"), but...

    Consider a hypothetical auto shop where a major portion of their advertising and customer support starts on Facebook AND Twitter, AND they hate Facebook and Twitter and think Silicon Valley's scorched earth censorship is a terrible idea.

    Is that auto shop going to die on this hill and say "yeah, we need to cut off Facebook and Twitter, cold turkey"? It's a touch question. It must not be the ISP's decision!

  • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Wednesday January 13 2021, @03:36AM

    by tangomargarine (667) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @03:36AM (#1099287)

    I anticipate angry customers who suddenly can't access social media anymore out of the blue.

    I reached out to contact Your T1 WIFI, but their 1-888 number resolved to a woman's voicemail box that didn't even mention the name of the company. However, company owner Brett Fink spoke to a local CBS affiliate and contradicted his own company's email by claiming they weren't blocking anybody:

    "In a phone call with KREM, the owner of the company, Brett Fink, again said the websites would only be blocked for customers who asked.

    LOL. After all the typos in their statement somehow I'm not surprised.

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
  • (Score: 2) by darkfeline on Wednesday January 13 2021, @06:04AM (2 children)

    by darkfeline (1030) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @06:04AM (#1099336) Homepage

    The demonstration is stupid for other reasons (don't bring politics into a dumb service *cough* Amazon), but they're only doing it as a demonstration and would restore access upon request. I doubt Twitter or Facebook would restore deleted/censored content upon request. There's a big difference.

    If anyone wants to try, go ask Twitter to unblock Trump and the rest of the people they purged and tell me how well that goes.

    --
    Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
    • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday January 13 2021, @11:48AM (1 child)

      by bzipitidoo (4388) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @11:48AM (#1099369) Journal

      Yes, lots of other reasons. Sadly, I have not seen one peep about Network Neutrality. This action is a blatant violation of that. Further, it's throwing away their common carrier status.

      By doing this, they demonstrate that they can. What's next? Block all porn sites? Someone sues them to block, I don't know, Huffpo? Fox News? The MAFIAA demands that they block all bittorrent traffic?

      In any case, I do not agree with Twitter's blocking of Trump. It's not that I want Trump's lies to go unchallenged. It's that I doubt silencing him will work. The people who listen to Trump, while stupid, aren't the complete idiots many take them for. They listen to Trump because he tells them things they already believe. Without Trump, they're still going to be bigots who think brown people want to steal their jobs and rape their women. Far more effective to get Trump out of our government. Impeach him already, jeez! The "might makes right" crowd will be far more impressed by that than anything Twitter can do.

      • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:07PM

        by bzipitidoo (4388) on Wednesday January 13 2021, @12:07PM (#1099375) Journal

        Replying to myself. Just read that many people working in the executive branch have given up on trusting Trump with anything serious, and are instead trying to keep him distracted with trivial things so he doesn't do any more really damaging things. To that end, they are finding Twitter and Facebook's blocking of Trump very useful. Let him rant and rave about the supposed liberal bias of these outlets all day, if he wants.

        I don't agree with the censorship, but I do agree with keeping contained a clear and present danger to the nation and the world.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 14 2021, @12:13AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 14 2021, @12:13AM (#1099721)

    is a two way street

  • (Score: 2) by ngarrang on Thursday January 14 2021, @06:36PM

    by ngarrang (896) on Thursday January 14 2021, @06:36PM (#1100155) Journal

    "I'm sure the irony is totally lost on them"

    Tit for tat. There is no irony lost. They are censoring Twitter and FB for being a big bag of dicks.

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