
Twitter suspends 'alt-right' accounts - anigbrowl
http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/11/twitter-suspends-alt-right-accounts-231479
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nirav72
This pretty much sums it up:
[https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/free_speech.png](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/free_speech.png)

~~~
caylus
And a more nuanced counterargument:
[http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/07/22/freedom-on-the-
centrali...](http://slatestarcodex.com/2015/07/22/freedom-on-the-centralized-
web/)

TLDR:

> We don’t trust the free market to necessarily preserve racial equality –
> that’s what anti-discrimination laws are for. We don’t trust the free market
> to necessarily preserve worker safety – that’s what OSHA and related
> regulations are for. [...] Whenever we think something is important, we
> regulate the hell out of it, rights-of-private-companies to-set-their-own-
> policies be damned. But free speech? If you don’t trust the free market to
> sort it out, the only possible explanation is that you just don’t understand
> the literal text of the First Amendment.

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tawpKek
I think its worth asking here:

Why do we value free speech?

Is it because we would like a variety of ideas to be heard, even if some of
them are unsavory in the current social landscape? That we do better when we
are open to a more diverse range of influences? If this is the case, I think
we can't simply think of free speech in an active sense. I think the case
could be made that the language of these accounts is designed to devalue the
voices of particular people, thereby limiting their speech.

I don't really have a solution here. I'm made extremely uncomfortable by this,
but my current line of thought is that if an actor initiates the limitation on
another's right to expression, then they are the one whose speech should be
limited. Think of it sort of like free speech self-defense.

Kind of tangential, but this Mark Ames piece on censorship is really good:
[https://pando.com/2015/02/04/the-geometry-of-censorship-
and-...](https://pando.com/2015/02/04/the-geometry-of-censorship-and-satire/)

[edit] just took a closer look and I'm not really familiar with those accts
aside from RV, so I can't really speak on harassment here

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erichocean
> _Why do we value free speech?_

Because free (i.e. unrestricted) speech is anti-fragile.

When speech is restricted to just the conventional wisdom (or really: what
those in power are okay with), arguments no longer win the day and our ideas
and beliefs about the world become fragile, vulnerable to catastrophic
disruption by those who see reality more clearly.

History has shown that _any_ restriction on speech ("book burning") is a
slippery slope, so if we want the anti-fragile properties—and we really,
really do—that means accepting some speech that is plainly wrong or offensive.

~~~
tawpKek
I think the idea that speech is anti-fragile works to a point, but is
ultimately a bit naive about the way that power structures and language works.
Its entirely possible to limit someone else's ability to communicate simply by
communicating. Speaking isn't the same thing as being heard. I'm not talking
about speech that is merely offensive here. I'm talking about speech that is
specifically designed to dehumanize and devalue others. Obviously the line is
murky here, and I'm not saying I have a perfect system worked out by any
means, but I think the investigation is worthwhile.

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ryanx435
the only reason twitter is still around is because of momentum and because
their failure to find a good business model prevents others from coming on to
the scene.

they have a false monopoly and I will be glad when they finally go broke
and/or are replaced by a better service.

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andygates
Geniunely curious, what competitors exist? (Caveat: really exist, not could-
be-awesome-if-everybody-compiled-their-own-blockchain theoretical exist)

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undersuit
Is Twitter much more than a MMS discovery service?

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rokosbasilisk
Yes because selective enforcement of rules really worked for them before.

The new right doesnt even seem worried, they seem keen to build their own
platforms and shut out badthink too.

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joshmarinacci
It seems like they are a couple of weeks late.

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Somasis
Why do we keep being encouraged to believe that the hate speech of neo-nazis
is worth preserving?

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yAnonymous
Anything can be labelled as hate speech from the perspective of someone who
doesn't agree. Today it's them getting suspended, tomorrow it might be you.

The social justice movement in the U.S. for example is so successful, because
they exploit this. They're failures at life that label everything that makes
others more successful than them hateful to get it changed.

~~~
anigbrowl
Impressive amount of cognitive bias you managed to pack into such a small
space there.

