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posted by martyb on Wednesday January 29 2020, @10:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the speak-up-now dept.

The Growing Threat to Free Speech Online:

There are times when vitally important stories lurk behind the headlines. Yes, impeachment is historic and worth significant coverage, but it's not the only important story. The recent threat of war with Iran merited every second of intense world interest. But what if I told you that as we lurch from crisis to crisis there is a slow-building, bipartisan movement to engage in one of most significant acts of censorship in modern American history? What if I told you that our contemporary hostility against Big Tech may cause our nation to blunder into changing the nature of the internet to enhance the power of the elite at the expense of ordinary Americans?

I'm talking about the poorly-thought-out, poorly-understood idea of attempting to deal with widespread discontent with the effects of social media on political and cultural discourse and with the use of social media in bullying and harassment by revoking or fundamentally rewriting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

[...] In 1996, [Congress] passed Section 230. The law did two things. First, it declared that "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." In plain English, this means that my comments on Twitter or Google or Yelp or the comments section of my favorite website are my comments, and my comments only.

But Section 230 went farther, it also declared that an internet provider can "restrict access to or availability of material that the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable" without being held liable for user content. This is what allows virtually all mainstream social media companies to remove obscene or pornographic content. This allows websites to take down racial slurs – all without suddenly also becoming liable for all the rest of their users' speech.

It's difficult to overstate how important this law is for the free speech of ordinary Americans. For 24 years we've taken for granted our ability to post our thoughts and arguments about movies, music, restaurants, religions, and politicians. While different sites have different rules and boundaries, the overall breadth of free speech has been extraordinary.

[...] Large internet companies that possess billions of dollars in resources would be able to implement and enforce strict controls on user speech. Smaller sites simply lack the resources to implement widespread and comprehensive speech controls. Many of them would have no alternative but to shut down user content beyond minimalist input. Once again, the powerful would prevail.


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @11:14AM (17 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @11:14AM (#950574)

    America will be MADE to be in line with the rest of the world, gaze quietly upon the traitors who tell you it is for your own good.

    In 10 years time, nobody will be allowed to post freely on the internet. Everything you hear will be by word of mouth, the internet will be like cable television. All media would chaff under strict licensing and legal requirements. Any underground media would undoubtedly be controlled opposition to herd all the rebels together. Anything outside the two opposing views would be banned. The best thing of all? You will be made to be supportive of the ban, for the greater good, you wouldn't want to be ostracized by society.

    In such a successful totalitarian society, everyone squashed under it is also the very pillar supporting it.

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  • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @11:25AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @11:25AM (#950577)

    In 10 years time, nobody will be allowed to post freely on the internet.

    Learn to code [soylentnews.org], mofo.
    Then you won't depend on Facebook or TMB to carry your speech. Think a bit, if this isn't the ultimate expression of freedom and empowerment I don' t know what else is.

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @11:41AM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @11:41AM (#950579)

      >Implying nobody has tried to make licensing requirements for programming.

      Unlicensed programmers would antagonized by the entire system, just like any undesirable today.

      Take antivaxers as an example, how they are seen today, did they deserve that?
      Yes? That's how you'll be treating unlicensed programmers.
      No? You'll be thrown into the pit like the lot of them, doesn't even matter if your views are completely unrelated.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @12:56PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @12:56PM (#950597)

        Take antivaxers as an example, how they are seen today, did they deserve that?

        Yes.

        Yes? That's how you'll be treating unlicensed programmers.

        And your point is? The antivaxers can still drain their daily purulent collection of stupidity on the internet just fine, whoever acquired the kink to read such shit knows where to find them.

        Look, the right to free speech comes with no warranty that you will be listened, that a risk any "speaker" should already be aware of.
        If you feel the compulsion to say something, you will find ways to say it on today's internet, Google/NSA or not.

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @01:17PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @01:17PM (#950607)

          And your point is? The antivaxers can still drain their daily purulent collection of stupidity on the internet just fine, whoever acquired the kink to read such shit knows where to find them.

          This is exactly the attitude I want to highlight. "Deviants will be expelled".

          Look, the right to free speech comes with no warranty that you will be listened, that a risk any "speaker" should already be aware of.

          Like atheists, free thinkers, political dissidents and the other undesirable deviants of society at various points in history, you will learn to expel them in defense of the system, you will justify how it is necessary and you will be unrepentant about it.

          That's the brand of Totalitarianism to come, the very people it crushes under its boots are also its most fervent supporters. Big Brother doesn't need a Police State, when people can be taught to go police themselves. The whole system will be autonomous, like some kind of freakish mega-organism, trying to keep itself "healthy".

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @02:21PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @02:21PM (#950628)

            This is exactly the attitude I want to highlight. "Deviants will be expelled".

            Cool, I just started to get bored of hypocritical society dances of the insincere "inclusion" and "CoC" kind.
            Time for those expelled to own their ideas, assume all consequences and have the courage to establish their own place in the global village rather then crave acceptance.
            Maybe it won't have hookers and blackjack, but I guarantee they'll be happier between the like-minded them. That is, unless they are actually drama queen type themselves, everything they do is just posing, fakery or connery. If the latter, I have this violin which I believe is the smallest in the world.

            Like atheists, free thinkers, political dissidents and the other undesirable deviants of society at various points in history, you will learn to expel them in defense of the system, you will justify how it is necessary and you will be unrepentant about it.
            ... That's the brand of Totalitarianism to come, the very people it crushes under its boots are also its most fervent supporters...

            Look, every N-dimensional body with N>0 has a fringe. What that body does with its fringe, include it as a closed set or expels it as an opened set, will not make the fringe modify its nature - it will still be a fringe. The sooner the fringe accepts itself as it is an finds a way to deal with its own nature, the better.
            The sooner the body decides if it wants to embrace its fringe and become closed or adopt a suicidal attitude of expelling the fringe (and thus expose another fringe. Rinse and repeat?), the better too.
            Any situation of undecided status between the main body and its fringe is a compromising compromise, a lose-lose situation.

      • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Wednesday January 29 2020, @08:45PM

        by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Wednesday January 29 2020, @08:45PM (#950833) Journal

        "Unlicensed programmers?" Since when do you need to have a license to write code? If it compiles and runs, ok; if it doesn't, sucks to be you. It should be a meritocracy, but judging by the shit out there, it sure ain't. But no license required.

        Who would even issue such a hypothetical "license"? And how would they enforce it?

        It's not like current licensing bodies for doctors, drugs, teachers, etc. keep the incompetent out. Though it would be nice to have politicians have an indepent IQ test to assure they're at least as intelligent as the average voter, and ongoing dementia testing to make sure they're actually mentally competent.

        --
        SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Arik on Wednesday January 29 2020, @01:07PM (4 children)

    by Arik (4543) on Wednesday January 29 2020, @01:07PM (#950602) Journal
    Our government looks at China with envy.
    --
    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
    • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday January 29 2020, @07:39PM (3 children)

      by DeathMonkey (1380) on Wednesday January 29 2020, @07:39PM (#950796) Journal

      You seem to be advocating for the removal of the very protections that this article about, though. How does making it easier to outlaw a platform help prevent us from becoming China?

      • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Wednesday January 29 2020, @09:25PM (1 child)

        by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Wednesday January 29 2020, @09:25PM (#950852) Journal

        Well, if platforms are outlawed, only outlaws will have platforms .... or something ...

        And there's always mesh networks. Shut down the internet for a couple of weeks and watch a thousand nodes light up.

        --
        SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 30 2020, @12:33AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 30 2020, @12:33AM (#950921)

          Shut down the internet for a couple of weeks and watch a thousand nodes light up.

          God Emperor Trump will smash you and your puny network [soylentnews.org]

      • (Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday January 30 2020, @05:13AM

        by Arik (4543) on Thursday January 30 2020, @05:13AM (#951040) Journal
        Here's what's going on.

        Our government can't regulate the internet like China does, because of the First Amendment. It's still too big a hurdle for them to overcome in the courts, for now at least.

        So what they are doing is regulating it indirectly, through these big corporations. It's given them immunity, predicated on them being common carriers, but when we ask them to act as common carriers, they go 'oh, we're a private platform.'

        I'm just saying they should have to choose. If they want to be a private platform that imposes whatever rules it wants and enforces them at a whim, then they shouldn't be getting any special immunity to the laws everyone else has to live under. If they want to keep the immunity, that's fine, but they need to commit to acting in a manner consistent with it.

        To put it another way, right now the incentives are all lined up in favor of China. US Companies drool at the Chinese market, they're inclined to bow and scrap and do anything the CCP wants as a result. And there's essentially no downside for doing so - because they're effectively above the law in the US we have no influence on them. Again, they should have to make a choice. If they want to act like *American* companies then they can keep the exemption, if they prefer to cater to the CCP then they should have to give that up and register as foreign agents. Clear?
        --
        If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
  • (Score: 2) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Wednesday January 29 2020, @02:44PM (2 children)

    by jmichaelhudsondotnet (8122) on Wednesday January 29 2020, @02:44PM (#950638) Journal

    I wrote this just for people like you:

    jmichaelhudson.net/important-definitions
    jmicahelhudson.net/my-memes

    Especially,

    https://archive.is/ws6XQ [archive.is]

    And yes, we are now clearly dealing with full on totalitarianism, and anyone who doesn't want that better be ready to kick trump out even if it means shutting The Whole Thing down if he won't go. They are preparing for that, likely with death squads, as we speak. There are probably 10k or more agents loyal to that plan in the united states as we speak thanks to

    https://archive.ph/cVZBQ [archive.ph]
    https://archive.is/EoIML [archive.is]

    What if we didn't just have to accept this as fact? What if our police and military protected us rather than epsteined? What if all foreign spies were not allowed rather than exceptions being made for countriers who steal military secrets?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @04:45PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @04:45PM (#950706)

      >Trump
      You do realize there is resistance to Trump right? You think this single man is in control of all the government departments, all the education administrators, all the bureaucrats and all the think tanks? He is not the totalitarian you are looking for, he is merely a tree in the forest.

      Do you think Big Brother has enough resources to have jackbooted police patrolling every corner of the street looking for wrongthink? Do you think it has the power to erase all wrongthink from each and every person's mind? Your idea of totalitarianism is so wrong that you'll never see it when it comes. Instead of a police state, you'll police yourselves for wrongthink, Big Brother needs those resources elsewhere, like distracting you with pointless bread and circus drama so you'll support it voluntarily. Step outside of the bubble and you'll be ostracized by both red and blue ritual worshipers at the same time.

      • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday January 29 2020, @09:48PM

        by Gaaark (41) on Wednesday January 29 2020, @09:48PM (#950863) Journal

        "You do realize there is resistance to Trump right?"

        With all the lies he tells and all his bullying and how big a doof he is on the international scene: I thought he'd have been out already!

        I was agreeable to #NeverHillary, but Trump? Man...why is he NOT GONE?

        --
        --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @03:03PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @03:03PM (#950649)

    Russia did well enough with Samizdat. Mostly.

    Just sayin' the truth will still be out there.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @03:22PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @03:22PM (#950658)

      True dat.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @10:29PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 29 2020, @10:29PM (#950888)

    "Treason doth never prosper, what's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it Treason"

      - John Harrington