This is no different from what companies are already doing in the US for social media posts as well as live-streaming. The only difference is it is being ordered by the government in China in the name of keeping positive rather than executed by companies themselves. Even the large social media companies admitted to coordinating moderation recently, which we already knew was happening when suddenly one person gets banned across all major platforms at once. It’s not all the fault of these companies, their algorithms are also manipulated with mass bot flagging, and also online groups of people. It is not just outside state actors but by internal citizens as well. They participate in something called brigading, again with people as well as bots, where users of a certain online website or group all decide to go flag or report whatever media they don’t like, causing a censorship or ban as a reaction. Most recently there have been news articles on Facebook that you are completely unable to be linked because they have been flagged as pornographic or “adult sexual exploitation.” Or worse. Those are only the most obvious cases but also legitimate news or videos will not be allowed to be posted and instead give a mention that the link doesn’t pass their “spam” filter. Again these post are deemed spam automatically by mass searching and flagging in order to take over the algorithms. China is mandating this but the US is already most of the way there when all of the largest companies can just as easily be manipulated by outside parties and also work together with each other to coordinate bans. In other industries it would be highly illegal to blacklist a certain person from working across an industry by cooperation of several billion and trillion dollar companies, and posting on social media is often a job or outlet that enables their job. Don’t point the finger at China when the US own self regulation is so similar already.
Anyone can stop using a service but lack of access to major social media is like locking someone out of the conversation. It’s like if we had a singing conversation in a giant auditorium and you were stopped from getting a microphone. It becomes literally impossible to perform at the same level. If these trillion dollar conglomerates are able to work together to block you from posting to 99% of the audience available in the internet as well as even block advertising your product or service, then how i
The argument is frequently made that free speech keeps the crazies out where you can see 'em. I've made that argument before myself, in fact. This idea is utterly incompatible with the idea that social networking should never have existed. It's also fundamentally ridiculous because all networks which permit socializing are social networks. USENET was essentially a social network, for example, when coupled with other commonly provided services like mail, finger, and talk. Your client would let you follow peo
I'm not telling anyone they can't do those things. But I do feel free to criticize their beliefs, more in the hopes of helping others who have not succumbed to their idiocy yet. And I feel free to attack their establishments of stupidity, which have a tendency to do harm if left unchecked. I attack them with words, but if they are actively promoting harm then it is fully reasonable to actively destroy them.
The difference is in China you merely have to say something disparaging of the gov't to have your social score reduced, in the western world you have to tell dangerous lies or harmfully troll etc.
You have a right to free speech but if your speech is endangering or hurting people then don't expect everyone to cooperate with you. You don't get to shout fire in a theatre that is not on fire, but the scumbags on the internet with their anti-vax messages and all of the rest of it are effectively doing this. It i
"I have just one word for you, my boy...plastics."
- from "The Graduate"
Don’t blame China (Score:2)
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The argument is frequently made that free speech keeps the crazies out where you can see 'em. I've made that argument before myself, in fact. This idea is utterly incompatible with the idea that social networking should never have existed. It's also fundamentally ridiculous because all networks which permit socializing are social networks. USENET was essentially a social network, for example, when coupled with other commonly provided services like mail, finger, and talk. Your client would let you follow peo
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Re: Don’t blame China (Score:4, Insightful)
"That's not your place, right, nor area of concern."
Yes, it is all of those things. People who are dumb as shit threaten my quality of life, and even my very existence. I have a right to defend myself.
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Re: Don’t blame China (Score:2)
I'm not telling anyone they can't do those things. But I do feel free to criticize their beliefs, more in the hopes of helping others who have not succumbed to their idiocy yet. And I feel free to attack their establishments of stupidity, which have a tendency to do harm if left unchecked. I attack them with words, but if they are actively promoting harm then it is fully reasonable to actively destroy them.
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The difference is in China you merely have to say something disparaging of the gov't to have your social score reduced, in the western world you have to tell dangerous lies or harmfully troll etc.
You have a right to free speech but if your speech is endangering or hurting people then don't expect everyone to cooperate with you. You don't get to shout fire in a theatre that is not on fire, but the scumbags on the internet with their anti-vax messages and all of the rest of it are effectively doing this. It i