Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

This is a fairly cheap argument. Presumably the reasons why it's bad for the government to ban speech are also largely applicable to platforms that are almost universally used to discover new viewpoints.



Why?

In many perspectives, government is considered special because of the "monopoly on force."

Having a compelling platform is very different from that. Nobody is saying "you can't say that under threat of force" they say "I choose to respond to you saying that by exercising my own rights." Do you think anyone who waves a sign on the side of an intersection should also be entitled to an editorial in the local newspaper, say?

People today have fairly limited imaginations after a couple decades of "algorithmic search and recommendation" platforms. But the internet before Google was quite successful with organic word of mouth and hyperlinks. And nobody in that world was forced to provide links to anyone they didn't like either.


You're free to make that argument and try to get a new law or amendment passed, but the existing laws and Constitution very clearly only apply to government.


You're completely missing the point. I'm making an argument about how companies should behave, not how they are legally obligated to.

Incidentally, YouTube, Twitter, etc. should be subject to far stricter regulation when they enforce speech codes and don't behave as neutral platforms.


> I'm making an argument about how companies should behave, not how they are legally obligated to.

The same can be said of jackasses spouting harmful drivel within the confines of free speech.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: