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This is a good article, and I like how he quotes Tom Eastman, a technologists out of NZ (who is interestingly is not strongly in favor of free speech, preferring the slightly more restrictive NZ policies).
There seems to be an appeal to both legislation and technological solutions: laws to break up and stop monopolies as well as people embracing and creating newer technologies to improve our ability to speak.
The rioters didn't listen to Donald Trump or Alex Jones. Have you read what's come out recently?
Jones specifically told people not to riot and condemned violence. The people who broke in where already at the capitol steps while he was speaking. They literally couldn't have been incited by what Trump said.
The web UI use to ask you for your encryption password, but that seems to have disappeared recently.
I connected Singal the other day to my Matrix server via a bridge:
https://battlepenguin.com/tech/matrix-one-chat-protocol-to-r...
I currently have Hangouts/Messenger/Telegram and Signal all connected via bridges to Matrix. I pump all my Facebook/Messenger/Hangouts traffic in my browser through a VPN to the server where the bridges are hosted so Google/Messenger won't flag them for security.
This took a couple of tries of logging in outside of the proxy to FB, getting the security warning and then switching back to the proxy with the same cookies so FB/Google algos learn the IP is safe. Hopefully when I move, if I keep all those same rules in place (using FoxyProxy for Firefox or Chrome-based browsers) and turning off location on my Android device permanently (will also move to a PinePhone soon), I can make it difficult for Google/FB to know my location after I move from my current city.
Singal and Telegram are great because they have standard APIs that make it easy for a Matrix Bridge. For FB and Google I have to trick them, which makes them hostile to developers and tech people. We've had to do this for years with libpurple plugins as well:
https://battlepenguin.com/tech/there-is-an-ios-device-attach...
No, I mean those individual things. There may be some intersection between Alex Jones fans, Daily Stormer Fans and Reddit users ... but they're certainly not the same audiences at all.
You can replace them with anyone you want that's heterodox that's been banned honestly.
I believe that companies are largely on their own team, neither right nor left
Wat? Dude, Twitter, Reddit and Facebook's moderation policies are clearly left to far-left. They've done no blanket banning for calls to violence from the left. None of these people have had their pages, accounts or posts censored:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eQzLcO5qhY
and they clearly called for the types of violence we saw in 2017 and every year since up to and including now:
edit: but yes, your point about labour is spot on. I can see that happening next for sure.
Exactly, and weeks after the story broke, it was revealed the FBI was actively investigating Hunter Biden.
You can also download all the uncensored photos on many leak websites. The photos are clearly Hunter Biden in many sexually explicit positions (although none of them appear to be underage as was suggested by some).
I think there is a prima fascia case against Hunter for his ties to Burisma and his appointment being purely for political clout and a power move; a move that should be investigated for possible direct security risks to the American government and the American people.
So because we already have big corrurpt megacorps in other industries, it's okay to have the same in Big Tech?
Big Tech and Media is not where we make our stand because all the other evil mega-corps are doing it too?
It's not the usual way of things. They're not removing a few individually flagged post. FB is erasing massive numbers of communities, many just because they lean right. Reddit deleting over 2,000+ subreddits in the past year is just business as usual?
No, that's fucking targeted attacks against opinions they do not like. This is absolutely not business as usual. Everything about this is massive and it's morally reprehensible. It may not be illegal, but it's fucking wrong and insane.
It also shows that Big Tech is afraid. They're afraid and they're cowards. Regulating speech and language and blanket censorship are tools of authoritarians, not of people who believe in democracy and liberty.
Show me a single nation where censorship lead to a more free and open State.
It was a ride range to indicate how large it is and meant to illustrate a point. You're asking for a fact is really just a way to say "I don't like your opinion so I'm going to challenge something that's obviously intended as a hyperbole" to discredit your statement in some arbitrary way.
Alright, AWS may not own 80% of the market, but let's be fair; it's fucking massive. On top of that Cloudflair has taken down websites before. DigitalOcean and DreamHost have removed people's hosting with less than 24 hours notice[0]. NameCheap and GoDaddy have both revoked peoples domains with less than 24 hours notice[1].
Initial searches seem to show AWS owns 50% of the market by themselves. You add in DO, Azure and GCE and that number quickly climbs[2].
[0] https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/
[1] https://twitter.com/GoDaddy/status/896935462622957573
[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2019/08/02/amazon-...
Edit: Also the lawsuit itself also claims AWS has 1/3 of the hosting market.
Big Tech will at least pay lip service to the idea of moderation
You are not really watching if you think that is what is happening. They are controlling the narrative. They are promoting some topics and pushing down other. Facebook deleted WalkAway, a group that had full moderation, did not allow any posts which called for violence, and which was pure political speech. Reddit is deleting each and every sub that goes against what their management believes; over 2000 have been banned last year only.
They are not paying lip service. They are directing narrative. They are banning things they don't like. They are deciding which scientific exports are orthodox and which are banned. They are controlling language. They are controlling thought. If you don't think that's happening, then they are controlling your thoughts as well.
This is the most dangerous time for us to be in and this will not end well. Censorship is the tool of cowards. Censorship is the tool of authoritarians. We are literally watching Big Tech and Big Media openly rewrite history. We are in 1984 + Fahrenheit 451 and half of us have bought so far into this narrative of protectionism we do not see it at all.
Do you remember the court testimony where Zuckerburge avoided the entire question about if they collude with other companies to make these decisions on the backend?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXuk-WSDDRw
Apple may have banned Parler and then Google just decided to go with it, followed by AWS. However, it may also be equally valid they colluded via private channels to make this happen. BOTH ARE EQUALLY POSSIBLE.
Discovery in this kind of lawsuit may lead to the answers. If they did collude, that is a strong argument for anti-trust. Just because they're 4 different companies doesn't negate the fact they control over 80% to 90% of the American market for hosting, non-SMS text communication and mobile access.
It honestly doesn't matter what you believe about Parler's user contributions. That's the entire point of Section 230. From what I've seen they do make a good faith attempt to delete all illegal posts with direct calls to violence. Section 230 doesn't prevent Google/Apple/Amazon from being forced to have them as customers.
You are protected if you're a minority and a business refuses to give you service based on that status. Opinions and viewpoints aren't protected, and maybe they should be.
If you in any way praise this legal yet blatant corporate censorship because it fits your views, you will be next. We are not on a slippery slope. We are in a god damn free fall. If you don't see it, they will come for you next and no one will be there to speak for you.
The United States is the only country where you are still required to take off your shoes before going through the TSA line. They can still put their hands all over you and molest you (they do to me every time I fly). No one complains anymore. No one finds the body scanners invasive anymore, even though the millimeter wave ones have massive false positive rates and are basically million dollar machines just for show.
The patriot act is still in place. We have FISA courts. We have unlimited domestic spying.
What fantasy world are you living in?
This is good, but we need a way to pick who does this for us,
No, no no. I'm not too stupid to think for myself. I don't want anyone 'thinking' for anyone else. It is the mark of a truth authoritarian when you embrace other people thinking for you.
The biggest problem with social media is that they ARE editorializing every single person's post by choosing where it appears in the list or by placing a little blue disputed badge on it or locking out an account if someone has conflicting opinions.
I don't want you, or anyone else, picking what the truth is. What you are describe is literally enforcing Thoughtcrime.
The US has used sanctions on Iran, Cuba and countless others. You can argue their effectiveness, and how they may just hurt the country's citizens..
but this has been a long standing problem. It's something Trump can do that might slow China growing their military presence. We are talking about a country with very restrictive freedom of speech laws and who reeducate certain ethnic minorities.
I wonder if this will affect civilian supply chains as well? Will some governments and their corporate counterparts be forced to decide if they want to supply consumer goods or build their military instead?
I'm sure China could eventually create shell companies to move some resources, but it would slow down military growth. It would also be something Biden would be foolish to try and undo, because it would give the impression of special interests in China. After the Swalwell allegations, it would provide a good check.
It's a very important thing to do. It's been a long standing problem. The CCP is a harsh and restrictive government and we don't want to be funding advancements in their military.
This may affect supply chains for civilian supply chains, and then China's corops and government will have to make a choice: Keep contracts to make tons of consumer goods or continue to supply the military side.
So with Coca-cola, the ingredients are fully known, it's just the process that's secret?
So are companies in New Zealand not bound by H264 licensing fees? They banned software patents years ago.
or comparing ~70 million Americans to Nazis
large proportion of Americans are radicalized in uncensored
You do realize, both sides of America think the other side is radicalized. This was literally the reaction on Trump's first day of office:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXR3d22BhHs
Have you forgotten about that? Does that look anything like the 6th? No, of course it doesn't. Had those people been let into the State House, it may have burned to the ground in 2017!
insufficiently moderated community
Section 230 was put in place because it's difficult to moderate effectively when you're trying to launch a startup. Are you saying no one can launch a social network unless they have the money and staff to moderate each an every single post that comes in?
How do you do notifications from a CRUD app on a mobile device if you can't have a native app on the device?
Let's not kid ourselves. People rarely use the browser for something they really like on mobile if there is a native app. The experience is very different.
pearl-clutching
Pearl clutching? Odd. I've heard people say that all summer long about those afraid of the "peaceful protests" turned violent riots that burned down cities and devastated business. This violence was encouraged by all types of politicians on the left and all the big media networks as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eQzLcO5qhY
A small number of people at an almost entirely non-violent rally, a rally where the president encouraged people to "walk down to the capitol house" .. walk, not riot or loot or burn, a small number of people did something horrifically stupid. Most just walked around, a smaller percentage destroyed stuff. Everyone one of them should be charged if they did.
But you know what I also saw? "Pearl Clutching." Every senator and congressman afraid out of their mind because the villages had come into the castle. The peasants were in the kings court, and the village idiot with a racoon on his head was sitting at the seat of The King's Hand playing with her royal gavel.
You cannot possibly talk about the violence on the 6th, without addressing the fact that the media went on and on and on about praising all the violent "peaceful protestors" all summer long.
It did not matter at all when it was the business owners, the minimum wages workers who lost the jobs at stores now condemned, or those losing everything in lockdowns while Pelosi showed America her ice cream collection in her $14k kitchen setup.
But now that they were causing some minor damage, 1/1000 of the damage the democratic left supporters did on inauguration day 2014:
It's suddenly the worst thing on the planet! Unprecedented even!
America has a long history of its citizens taking federal buildings. The Black Panthers, with an armed militia, took the California Capitol in the 1970s and no one died.
It's cheap to start a social network. I run a Pleroma and a Mastodon server and you can find the links in my profile.
But don't fool yourself into thinking my little instances have any sort of effect compared to the big mega-corps of Google/Facebook and Twitter.
Actual threats of violence:
Yep, I'm sure those rights will be restored once the "crisis" is over. That's what governments always do.
The President was just caught red handed asking Georgia to make up votes for him
Did you listen to the entire phone conversation and not the 4 minute clip? That's quite not what happened. Trump laid out all his claims and was asking them to accept investigating anything that cloud make up his very narrow margin.
Another fun fact about that call, it was a Settlement Call. That was literally protected by attorney/client privileged. Barnes, a civil rights attorney who does federal cases, and who is currently contracted by the Trump team, talks about it here(starting at 54:49):
But it's different. There was a time when anyone could start a newspaper. There was a time when people had FM transmitters in their backyard. It became more expensive and the FCC started slicing up FM spectrum so everyone wouldn't trample over each other.
Media was once free and then collapse to be owned by ABC, NBC, CBS and a few dozen newspapers.
This was originally about network neutrality, but it applies to what we're seeing right now:
I hope everyone else walks away before then.
You have Wal-Mart, Target, Wal-greens, CVS, BestBuy, MicroCenter, tons of mom-and-pop stores (until all the world leaders drove all of them to bankruptcy due to COVID)
Say you had two stores: Walmarket and Toget. That's it. That's all you got. Toget stops telling a brand of ice cream and you literally cannot sell it anywhere else other than Toget and Walmarket because someone would have to drive 2 hours out of their way each time to buy your Ice Cream.
You have Android, iOS and PinePhones.