Breaking: Facebook is violating your free speech rights!

Discussion in 'Political Opinions & Beliefs' started by Bow To The Robots, Oct 11, 2021.

  1. Bow To The Robots

    Bow To The Robots Banned at Members Request

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    It has recently come to light that Facebook (and Twitter, YouTube, Google et al) has been routinely deleting posts it objects to and going as far as banning some users for their viewpoints.

    A depressingly common argument being proffered on this board and in some media outlets is that this constitutes a violation of your free speech rights. This is possibly the dumbest argument of this decade: Private companies are neither vested with the duty to protect your free speech rights, nor do they even possess the capacity to do so.

    While this may violate the concept of free speech, it does not violate anyone's free speech rights.

    I should not have to explain why, so I won't.
    If you can't figure this out, I can't help you. For those of you statist authoritarians demanding some measure of government intervention to "stop the censoring," I would like to remind you what a man far smarter than me once said: Be careful what you wish for.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2021
  2. Joe knows

    Joe knows Well-Known Member

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    I personally don’t care much. I’m not on FB and don’t ever plan to be there. It’s not because of FB it’s because of the people on that site. They’re completely rude and constantly say things they would never say to someone’s face. The people make that place bad not the business itself.
     
  3. Bow To The Robots

    Bow To The Robots Banned at Members Request

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    Well, the people are the business.
     
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  4. Joe knows

    Joe knows Well-Known Member

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    Reflects a poor state of mind either way. Person to person conversations tend to be much more civil. The disconnect of human emotion online is very disturbing. That goes for almost everyone. I can catch myself being more callus at times online as well. So I try and limit myself so I don’t become that way in real life conversation as well.
     
  5. Bow To The Robots

    Bow To The Robots Banned at Members Request

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    Not really the topic here, but I agree.
     
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  6. btthegreat

    btthegreat Well-Known Member

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    What we used to do with these sorts of issues, is instead to threaten to sue over what could be considered a monopolistic anti trust practices by Facebook to undermine competition, and even break up this social media giant into smaller parts. Think AT&T for example. But that would remind many republicans how they gutted the watch-dogs, and the Justice Dept and undermined the anti-trust legislation on which such suits were raised.

    Now they want to micromanage a private entities own policies instead.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2021
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  7. Bow To The Robots

    Bow To The Robots Banned at Members Request

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    Even if FB is a monopoly -- I think it is not -- I fail to see how trust-busting would bring about the desired result.

    However, the topic here is really the mistaken notion that a private entity can violate a person's speech rights.
     
  8. btthegreat

    btthegreat Well-Known Member

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    The idea is to bring about competition. So that all you need to do do, is take your business elsewhere if you don't like Facebook policies, rather than whine about this, as though there is a violation of speech rights which there is not.
     
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  9. Bow To The Robots

    Bow To The Robots Banned at Members Request

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    Anybody is free to start their own social media platform.
     
  10. yardmeat

    yardmeat Well-Known Member

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    There is no such thing as a "right" to force someone to publish your views for you if they don't want to.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2021
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  11. Robert

    Robert Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The free market has struck back in spades. What you mention indeed is taking place.
     
  12. Bow To The Robots

    Bow To The Robots Banned at Members Request

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    Correct.
     
  13. ECA

    ECA Well-Known Member

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    This is being done on this forum as well as every other social media site.
     
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  14. Bow To The Robots

    Bow To The Robots Banned at Members Request

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    And that is exactly how our system is supposed to function. So why are so many people suffering the delusion that the government should force Facebook to give them platform?
     
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  15. Robert

    Robert Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Lets let the great Bow to Robots explain your question.
     
  16. ECA

    ECA Well-Known Member

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    Because sadly, too many people don’t have a fundamental understanding of the 1st Amendment. Hell, too many don’t have a fundamental understanding of ANY of the Amendments.
     
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  17. Darthcervantes

    Darthcervantes Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Hey guys as unfair as it is, it’s still their right to do whatever they want with their company. Yes they are dominated by the left and it does severely silence free speech of republicans but technically they aren’t breaking any laws. I encourage all republicans to just dump Facebook. I personally find it disgusting and if they silenced all lefty views it would be equally disgusting . It just goes to show how sick and twisted and authoritarian the left is, but, they are still right on this point. Hopefully a competitor product comes along but if not, this is just the way it is. I’m betting if all republicans dropped the platform it wouldn’t be good for Facebook. I already have done this, do y’all have to guts to do so as well?
     
  18. WhoDatPhan78

    WhoDatPhan78 Banned

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    No one needs to use social media.

    No one should use social media.

    We should start practicing social media distancing.
     
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  19. Bow To The Robots

    Bow To The Robots Banned at Members Request

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    Ok, why are you here then?
     
  20. Bow To The Robots

    Bow To The Robots Banned at Members Request

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    I agree that their actions violate the concept of free speech -- which is their right. I fail to see how that constitutes unfairness. Their business, they should run it as they see fit.
     
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  21. Bow To The Robots

    Bow To The Robots Banned at Members Request

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    You're using social media now, however. ;)
     
  22. WhoDatPhan78

    WhoDatPhan78 Banned

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    Not in a way that is attached to my real life.
     
  23. PPark66

    PPark66 Well-Known Member

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    Facebook publicly states it is not a publisher but a platform. Though they’ve wobbled on that of late. That is what the debate is about: publisher or platform. Social media would rather be considered a platform.

    We need to clear up the distinction so we can hold the correct party responsible. It’s the wild Wild West right now and we could use some clarity.
     
  24. Badaboom

    Badaboom Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    You think you're really anonymous?
     
  25. WhoDatPhan78

    WhoDatPhan78 Banned

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    No, but I’m not posting my daily activities or pictures of my friends and family here like people do on social media.

    My point wasn’t really about privacy, it was about mental health.

    Facebook and Instagram type apps cause obsessiveness and exasperate mental illness in many people, and the algorithms intended to increase profits only aggravate these effects.
     

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