info
Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Is This the Beginning of the End of the Internet?
12 views
Skip to first unread message
ltlee1
Sep 28, 2022, 6:16:59 AM9/28/22
to
Or is this the beginning of the end of the US First Amendment rights?
"Earlier this month, the court upheld a preposterous Texas law stating that online platforms with more than 50 million monthly active users in the United States no longer have First Amendment rights regarding their editorial decisions. Put another way, the law tells big social-media companies that they can’t moderate the content on their platforms. YouTube purging terrorist-recruitment videos? Illegal. Twitter removing a violent cell of neo-Nazis harassing people with death threats? Sorry, that’s censorship, according to Andy Oldham, a judge of the United States Court of Appeals and the former general counsel to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
...
But the full editorial control that Section 230 protects isn’t just a boon for giants such as Facebook and YouTube. Take spam: Every online community—from large platforms to niche forums—has the freedom to build the environment that makes sense to them, and part of that freedom is deciding how to deal with bad actors (for example, bot accounts that spam you with offers for natural male enhancement). Keller suggested that the law may have a carve-out for spam—which is often filtered because of the way it’s disseminated, not because of its viewpoint (though this gets complicated with spammy political emails)."
"Earlier this month, the court upheld a preposterous Texas law stating that online platforms with more than 50 million monthly active users in the United States no longer have First Amendment rights regarding their editorial decisions. Put another way, the law tells big social-media companies that they can’t moderate the content on their platforms. YouTube purging terrorist-recruitment videos? Illegal. Twitter removing a violent cell of neo-Nazis harassing people with death threats? Sorry, that’s censorship, according to Andy Oldham, a judge of the United States Court of Appeals and the former general counsel to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
...
But the full editorial control that Section 230 protects isn’t just a boon for giants such as Facebook and YouTube. Take spam: Every online community—from large platforms to niche forums—has the freedom to build the environment that makes sense to them, and part of that freedom is deciding how to deal with bad actors (for example, bot accounts that spam you with offers for natural male enhancement). Keller suggested that the law may have a carve-out for spam—which is often filtered because of the way it’s disseminated, not because of its viewpoint (though this gets complicated with spammy political emails)."
stoney
Sep 28, 2022, 4:25:50 PM9/28/22
to
ltlee1
Sep 29, 2022, 9:18:20 AM9/29/22
to
Unfortunately, the two goals are often in conflict. More people allowed to sell their
snake oil means more freedom. Less people allowed to sell snake oil through the
internet means less freedom but would make internet discussion more edifying.
Not free and/or not edifying mean the end of this idealized internet.
Online platform editors seek to edit discussions to make their platform more edifying.
But then their first amendment rights is exercised at the expanse of platform users'
first amendment rights.
How to determine the balance point between freedom and edification and by whom?
Given America's polarization, politically as well as socially, one person's democracy is
invariable another person's democratism.
0 new messages