Policing Against Free Speech.

[swarfendor437]

Donald Trump is intending to appoint the man who tried to break the Internet, Ajit Pai to Police free speech. Please sign the petition to add your voice to this not being a good idea. 

 

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/censor-the-internet?source=direct_link&

[XXTickerXX]

Ordinarily I would be against any kind of interference.  But as Twitter, Facebook, Google, Reddit etc now decide what is allowable or not on their platforms they should cease to have safe harbour laws and become a publisher like any newspaper and can be sued like any newspaper. If they decide what is allowable or not they are not a content provider or just merely a platform they are a publisher.

 

The Safe Harbour laws were designed for Internet platforms to moderate “offensive” speech. Not to pick and choose content they do not like because it does not fit their narrative. Do you think anything would have to be brought against them if they did their job as they are supposed to?

 

In 1995, a judge found "Prodigy" an early online service, liable for content on its message boards because the company had advertised that it removed obscene posts. That made it a publisher more than a platform or library as it was back then.

 

Congress then enacted Section 230. This stated platforms could not be held liable as publishers of user-generated content. However this provision does not allow platforms to remove whatever they wish as they do now.  They need to choose what they are and quick. Either a platform who can ONLY remove offensive or hate speech or a publisher who can remove whatever they like. They have been protected by law and I think that law should be taken away from them unless they change their ways sharpish.

 

They one thing they can’t claim is that Section 230 immunity is necessary to protect free speech, whilst they shape, control, and censor the speech on their platforms. 

 

If as some people claim they are a private company and can publish and remove what they want then that's fine. Remove all protections they have that have benefited them becoming multi billionaires and treat them as the publishers they are.

 

By the way the bill has nothing whatsoever to do with blocking free speech. It's about enforcing it.