Should Social Media Giant's Keep Their Immunity To US Libel Laws?

[colourwheel]

 

If they want to editorialize and censor content, then they MUST be held responsible for ANY AND ALL content on their platforms, without exception. If they wish to not be responsible and claim they are providing a "public square" environment, the they MUST NOT be allowed to censor content in any way whatsoever, period! There is no "middle ground" or grey area.

 

The Problem here is then there wouldn't be any platforms anymore where the average user can just randomly post their free thoughts, at least not on any large scale where millions of posts are uploaded every minute. Without protections that don't hold them liable for things that end up on their platforms, they would cease to exist. No one would ever want to host such a thing anymore because it would become too costly to review everything and anything that would be posted.

 

 

Censorship of ideas is the most evil thing any group - be it an individual, company, organization or government - can do. Ideas MUST me allowed to be heard, regardless of their source or content. Without the freedom to express ideas - even "harmful" or "scary" ones - society cannot survive or progress.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am all for the freedom of speech and I don't like censorship anymore then the next person. But where does one draw the line then? Should the world just become desensitized to seeing violent imagery and pornography? Do we just accept users posting death threats to each other? There has always been limitations of freedom of speech even before the internet existed and society has survived and progressed just fine.

[thumbincubation]

If they want to editorialize and censor content, then they MUST be held responsible for ANY AND ALL content on their platforms, without exception. If they wish to not be responsible and claim they are providing a "public square" environment, the they MUST NOT be allowed to censor content in any way whatsoever, period! There is no "middle ground" or grey area.

 

This is, in my mind, the only correct answer, and it surprises me that left, right, and center don't all wholeheartedly agree on it.

[HeyYou]

By that reasoning, since Nexus does indeed censor content on this site, they should be held accountable for anything uploaded here???? Hhhmmm.... So, when Schaken, (or, however it's spelled) uploaded his 'teen dolls' mod, Nexus should have immediately been shut down, and sued for hosting child porn??

[Striker879]

In my opinion the way out of the morass is to hold each individual who makes a post accountable for the content of that post.

 

Like most all of my ideas, pretty well impossible to accomplish.

[HeyYou]

In my opinion the way out of the morass is to hold each individual who makes a post accountable for the content of that post.

 

Like most all of my ideas, pretty well impossible to accomplish.

I agree. The folks posting are the ones that should be responsible for what they post, not the folks hosting it. (and it can be removed if it is found to be violating some rule or other.) Trouble is, folks can post from literally anywhere, and laws are not uniform across the globe. So, what may be illegal in one country, is perfectly fine in another. (child marriage, for instance, or even age of consent.....) So, the solution to that is holding the hoster responsible for what gets posted to their site? Only in America could such an idiotic notion take root...... :D

[colourwheel]

The irony about this debate is it all stems from Trump recently being permanently suspended from Twitter and Facebook. Supporters who blindly follow Trump's lead have suddenly become experts at internet laws over night without actually understanding that these laws they are railing against that protect platforms from being held liable for decades wouldn't even exist anymore for them to post their complaints or even let them freely debate if they were taken away. I said this before that Trump floated the idea of creating his own social media platform, since he no longer has anywhere to go to post his brain farts. If Trump did one day create his own social media platform, I doubt he would want to be held liable for everything uploaded to his platform either. Knowing how Trump is, I doubt he would just let users spam his platform with embarrassing and personal data about him either.

Edited January 14, 2021 by colourwheel

[HeyYou]

The irony about this debate is it all stems from Trump recently being permanently suspended from Twitter and Facebook. Supporters who blindly follow Trump's lead have suddenly become experts at internet laws over night without actually understanding that these laws they are railing against that protect platforms from being held liable for decades wouldn't even exist anymore for them to post their complaints or even let them freely debate if they were taken away. I said this before that Trump floated the idea of creating his own social media platform, since he no longer has anywhere to go to post his brain farts. If Trump did one day create his own social media platform, I doubt he would want to be held liable for everything uploaded to his platform either. Knowing how Trump is, I doubt he would just let users spam his platform with embarrassing and personal data about him either.

He approached Elon Musk about just such a project. Here's hoping that Elon told him "Not just no, but FRAK no." :D

 

Trump needs to fade from the scene like a bad smell. Go back to doing what he was before he entered the political scene, and stay off TV as well. Hopefully, that will actually happen. After some of the crap he has pulled lately, you would think that no one would want to be even remotely associated with him..... 6 more days to inauguration.. Wouldn't it be nice if that were the end of it? (no, I am not holding my breath on that.)

[Perraine]

By that reasoning, since Nexus does indeed censor content on this site, they should be held accountable for anything uploaded here???? Hhhmmm.... So, when Schaken, (or, however it's spelled) uploaded his 'teen dolls' mod, Nexus should have immediately been shut down, and sued for hosting child porn??

Nope, that's a false analogy. Nexus IS a private site, and therefore has the option to censor content they deem inappropriate. But AFAIK Robyn has never tried to claim that The Nexus, despite it's size, popularity, dare I say even ubiquitousness within the modding community, be exempt from any laws or rules pertaining to content shared here.

 

An no I do not believe anything should be censored from a "public" forum. (forum in the olde sense of being a free community discussion zone) Even if that content might be considered by some to be unacceptable or even evil, that too is necessary!

 

And NO! There is no "line" Who decides what the "line" is?

 

Society itself decides if they "choose" to view such things. A perfect example is "American" culture. Violence, particularly human against human is perfectly acceptable in media. Watch many "American" TV shows, and innocent people are butchered and murdered by the dozen. From innocent bystanders, to security guards, to "street cops". And no one raises an eyebrow. But show even a single butt cheek or ...<shock> boob, and people run screaming into the streets.

 

Or take the "C" word (denoting a part of female anatomy) It's virtually NEVER heard in American media, it's one of "those" words that simply isn't even thought. Yet here in Australia, it's generally considered nothing more than a polite form of address or it's used as an "emphasis" word.

 

The point is that no matter how ... horrific ... some image or word/s seem today, there is no guarantee that it will remain so for ever, and the ONLY way to progress is for those things to BE SEEN or BE HEARD in order for "society" to decide for themselves. Without that you create "echo chambers" with "approved" words and thoughts, and that IS EVIL in it's purest form.

 

It also leaves a space for unscrupulous people to pick away at peoples uncertainties and exploit the "what if's" that have always haunted our species.

[colourwheel]

 

By that reasoning, since Nexus does indeed censor content on this site, they should be held accountable for anything uploaded here???? Hhhmmm.... So, when Schaken, (or, however it's spelled) uploaded his 'teen dolls' mod, Nexus should have immediately been shut down, and sued for hosting child porn??

 

Nope, that's a false analogy. Nexus IS a private site, and therefore has the option to censor content they deem inappropriate. But AFAIK Robyn has never tried to claim that The Nexus, despite it's size, popularity, dare I say even ubiquitousness within the modding community, be exempt from any laws or rules pertaining to content shared here.

 

Nexus is a Private site, but regardless of being a private site they would still be exempt from being held liable even if it was just a public forum. Just like every other Social media giant is owned by private corporations, Nexus is also privately owned. Even so to my understanding, Nexus doesn't have to claim anything to have their own protections, that's just not how these laws work.

 

 

 

An no I do not believe anything should be censored from a "public" forum. (forum in the olde sense of being a free community discussion zone) Even if that content might be considered by some to be unacceptable or even evil, that too is necessary!

 

And NO! There is no "line" Who decides what the "line" is?

 

So I am assuming you would be perfectly fine with someone spamming personal data about you on a "public" forum, from your personal address to your home phone number or even if someone got a hold of your financial account info? You would feel perfectly comfortable with someone spamming a public forum with your credit card numbers everyday, since you are so against censorship?

[HeyYou]

 

By that reasoning, since Nexus does indeed censor content on this site, they should be held accountable for anything uploaded here???? Hhhmmm.... So, when Schaken, (or, however it's spelled) uploaded his 'teen dolls' mod, Nexus should have immediately been shut down, and sued for hosting child porn??

Nope, that's a false analogy. Nexus IS a private site, and therefore has the option to censor content they deem inappropriate. But AFAIK Robyn has never tried to claim that The Nexus, despite it's size, popularity, dare I say even ubiquitousness within the modding community, be exempt from any laws or rules pertaining to content shared here.

 

An no I do not believe anything should be censored from a "public" forum. (forum in the olde sense of being a free community discussion zone) Even if that content might be considered by some to be unacceptable or even evil, that too is necessary!

 

And NO! There is no "line" Who decides what the "line" is?

 

Society itself decides if they "choose" to view such things. A perfect example is "American" culture. Violence, particularly human against human is perfectly acceptable in media. Watch many "American" TV shows, and innocent people are butchered and murdered by the dozen. From innocent bystanders, to security guards, to "street cops". And no one raises an eyebrow. But show even a single butt cheek or ...<shock> boob, and people run screaming into the streets.

 

Or take the "C" word (denoting a part of female anatomy) It's virtually NEVER heard in American media, it's one of "those" words that simply isn't even thought. Yet here in Australia, it's generally considered nothing more than a polite form of address or it's used as an "emphasis" word.

 

The point is that no matter how ... horrific ... some image or word/s seem today, there is no guarantee that it will remain so for ever, and the ONLY way to progress is for those things to BE SEEN or BE HEARD in order for "society" to decide for themselves. Without that you create "echo chambers" with "approved" words and thoughts, and that IS EVIL in it's purest form.

 

It also leaves a space for unscrupulous people to pick away at peoples uncertainties and exploit the "what if's" that have always haunted our species.

 

Facebook is a private site, Twitter is a private site. Both require registration, both have TOS you have to agree to to use their service. Nexus is no different.