Politico gives a platform to Steven Brill, CEO of fact check site Newsguard, one of the main people who failed to take the Hunter Biden laptop story seriously, calling it a “hoax“, hence, refusing to do the job of the news media, which is investigate. They’d rather just suppress information they do not like and can be inconvenient
How to Regulate Social Media Without Hurting Free Speech
You can’t use a mega-sound system to hold a political rally in front of a hospital in the middle of the night. You can’t pack a theater so full of people that no one can reach the fire exits without being trampled. In the physical world, these kinds of noise control and fire safety regulations uneventfully coexist with our First Amendment free speech and free assembly rights. They’re accepted as common-sense ways to keep us safe and preserve our sanity.
The same ideas can be applied to social media. By reverse engineering the noise and lack of crowd control that has overrun social media platforms, we can make the internet a more peaceful, reliable, less polarizing place.
And we can do it without the government policing speech. In fact, Congress does not have to do anything. It doesn’t even need to touch Section 230, the now infamous 1996 law that gives social media platforms immunity for the harmful content — from healthcare hoaxes to election misinformation to Russian and Chinese state-sponsored propaganda — that has created a world of chaos and division, where so many people don’t believe even the most basic truths. Instead, the Federal Trade Commission and other consumer protection regulators around the world could enforce the contracts the platforms already have with their users.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, already promises users that it will enforce “community standards” that prohibit, among other abuses: inciting violence, “inauthentic” behavior such as setting up fake accounts, promoting suicide, bullying, hate speech, graphic or sexually explicit content, human exploitation and misinformation “that will cause imminent physical harm, health-care misinformation and misinformation about elections and voting.”
Except, the FTC was created by an act of Congress and is funded by the federal government, hence, under the mandate of the 1st Amendment. It’s not up to them to determine what is considered Free Speech. If they tried, any on-line company can simply update their terms of service to avoid any FTC crackdown
The FTC’s website explains that “the Commission may use rulemaking to address unfair or deceptive practices or unfair methods of competition that occur commonly, in lieu of relying solely on actions against individual respondents.” Accordingly, the commission could enforce the content promises in these terms of service by promulgating a rule that any digital platform must prominently and clearly spell out in its terms of service what content it will allow and not allow — and then, as with their privacy assurances, make sure they keep those promises.
What Brill and the other lefties want is a return to censoring anyone who criticizes government and isn’t following exactly what Democrats want.
The FTC has the regulatory authority to proceed on its own without Congress to enforce the platforms’ own contractual promises. And you can encourage the commissioners to do just that. The FTC website invites consumers to report fraud. Although this is clearly meant for specific complaints about some online scam or unwelcome robo-call, if you think your social media company is not keeping its promises about preventing harmful content, you can report them.
Harmful in Liberal World means “information that upsets my world-views.” Information that is Wrongthink. Because there are easy answers: block the people you do not like. Stop using the service, which is usually free. Stop being so sensitive, you’re an adult. Democrats very much want to institute censorship wherever and whenever they can, because they do not want to have to compete on ideas.
EXCLUSIVE: Katherine Maher says the "the number one challenge" in her fight against disinformation is "the First Amendment in the United States," which makes it "a little bit tricky" to censor "bad information" and "the influence peddlers" who spread it.
NPR's censor-in-chief. pic.twitter.com/0vY6hIpbmO
— Christopher F. Rufo ?? (@realchrisrufo) April 17, 2024
Funny how the same people call Trump a Fascist while they look for ways to suppress Speech and other 1st Amendment provisions they do not like.
Over 3000 books are now banned from libraries/schools. 99.9% kids over 10 have access to porn or other on their own phone or that of a classmate. When/if kids want porn they don’t go to the library for it
William Teach deliberately misinterprets the intent of the article.
A platform can choose whether to tell the truth or to lie. A platform that chooses to lie should proclaim that they allow all kinds of crap. They can allow rapes, murders, beheadings, nude pre-teens, abuse etc and advertise that. If a platform claims it is a ‘Good Samaritan’ it is held to standards. Let the market decide. If facebook (meta) wants to continue platforming videos of foreign underage girls dancing as advertising for their onlyfans sites, let facebook defend it.
The Constitution is not a suicide pact.
Rimjob: William Teach deliberately misinterprets the intent of the article.
Fortunately, we have Karen (aka Rimjob) to queef the real meaning for us.
So now not only is Rimjob an expert on every subject from abortion to climate change, from electric vehicles to nuclear warfare, but he also can read the mind of Teach and determine what he is deliberately misinterpreting or not. It’s a miracle.
CarolAnn (aka Deepthroat),
William Teach is transparent. Deepthroat, are you suggesting he accidently misinterpreted the article? Interesting take.
And why are you taking your cues from Blowjob1?
Over 3000 books are now banned from libraries/schools. 99.9% kids over 10 have access to porn or other on their own phone or that of a classmate. When/if kids want porn they don’t go to the library for it
We are once again humbled by the ever-vigilant LilLapdoggy’s insights. His/her constant defense of their Master’s positions exemplifies their loyalty.
Our apologies to Mr Teach and the commenters. Based on their advice we pledge to do better.
Is Karen (aka Rimjob) upset with the comments of others?
Queef off, lil’ pussy.
Oh, my-“that’s called editing, which is protected by the First Amendment….” Amazing how the Hunter Biden laptop incident is filed under “editing”, yet if done by the right would have been election interference (Russian collusion!). The problem is that there’s evidence that the FBI and DOJ were in on the “editing”. The amount of hypocrisy is astounding…
Chicken Lette Man
“‘I don’t know what you mean by “glory,”‘ Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. ‘Of course you don’t– till I tell you. I meant “there’s a nice knock-down argument for you!”‘
‘But “glory” doesn’t mean “a nice knock-down argument,”‘ Alice objected.
‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean–neither more nor less.’
‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you CAN make words mean so many different things.’
‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master– that’s all.’ Thru the Looking Glass
Lewis Carrol
And the question is…. Who shall watch the watchers?
James Loser,
We are impressed that you are aware of Lewis Carroll’s writings!
What is true now is that one can hardly trust anything they see on internet. Russia is using AI and chatbots to generate stories (e.g., Ukraine sold US weapons to Hamas). China too (e.g., US is using Kazahkstan biolabs to generate bioweapons). Whether left or right there are hundreds of misinformation stories linked to legitimate-sounding sources.
“When/if kids want porn they don’t go to the library for it”
So your solution is since kids can get access to porn and other places it doesn’t matter if you have it in schools and libraries? So basically you’re throwing up your hands and saying since they can get something bad for them at another location we don’t need and cut back at giving them that thing bad at school?
Why is it that leftist always use the default position of the most preposterous side of the spectrum they can get to. Every argument has to degenerate to the absurd.
CarolAnn,
You don’t believe in an absolute First Amendment?
Do you really believe a library book about gay kids is more damaging to the nation than the bombardment from Russian disinformation?
Once again putting words in people’s mouths I see. All I pointed out is just because it’s allowed elsewhere doesn’t mean it has to be allowed in schools. Are you so absolute in the way you believe nothing can be negotiated? By the way I used to be a strict constitutionalist but after the last five years of watching the left slowly know away at the constitution and pervert its meeting on just about every subject I am convinced at least partly that the constitution is not as perfect as I once thought it was. Teach just put up an interesting article on the administrative state you might wanna read that. People like you who are constantly trying to mangle the meaning of words to fit your goals are what caused problems people who say it depends upon what the meaning of “is” is. People will go back to old doors change them around stroke them until they were wrecked should have they can hook him up to a new law and make them into a felony just to get their political rivals that’s bastardizing America. Fake kangaroo courts, compromise legislators and judges with daughters making money off the adjudications their fathers make. Corruption it’s what the Democrats are known for. Everything you guys touch you corrupt from the church to schools from Congress to the courts everything you touch you fuck up.
CarolAnn,
We’re amazed that so many MAGAts have completely given up on America, the Constitution and democracy.
Commenter L.G.Brandon said he no longer loves America. That we can no longer rely on voting.
Is this because Big Don Trump lost the election, bigly? You have allowed yourselves to be misled by the Big Lug – conservatives prefer charismatic, strongman leaders – a Great Father, as it were.
Corruption is what the Democrats are known for? Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Trump… those corrupt Dems? LOL. Nixon and Trump tried to overturn electoral losses.
What you call Democratic corruption others call Republican losses.
We understand the psychological imperative for MAGAts to point at the American majority as the problem, while their minority hacks away at the heart of the American republic.
We DO have institutional problems: inequitable sharing of our economic resources, partisan hatred, national debt, global warming, trade, immigration, Russia/Iran/China, reproductive rights… Mr Trump made none of these issues better.
The Republicans have made the calculation that a “take no prisoners” approach is achievable – that they can rule as an “all or none” minority. We’ll see.
TimCastIRL just got a massive strike against it, and YouTube took down its two most popular and viewed videos. TimCast is the largest LIVE show on YouTube. The problem for the left and YouTube is that TimCastIRL is a right-leaning, pro-Trump, pro-2A, pro-Free Speech, etc., live platform.
The first video featured live interviews with Joe Rogan, and the second featured live interviews with Alex Jones.
These videos were over a year old. YouTube is now going back three years and taking down videos they don’t like.
Crowder has been banned. 100’s of conservative influencers have been banned on YouTube.
Where is Google coming from?
Google fires 28 workers for protesting $1.2 billion Israel contract
Workers staged sit-in protests this week at the company’s offices in Seattle, New York and Sunnyvale, California over Project Nimbus, a joint contract to provide the Israeli government and military with cloud and artificial intelligence services.
Why is this important? Because the WORLD HATES HAMAS. Especially the Muslims of the Middle East, which hates IRAN and support Hamas and Hezbollah. Hell Iraq and Jordan gave Israel and the USA permission to use their airspace to shoot down Iranian Drones.
Not to mention the Houthi are supported also by IRAN. In short, this kind of subterfuge by Googles own employees would cost the company billions of dollars while the same people support IRAN, RUSSIA, CHINA and other bad actors around the world.
The dynamics of what is going on, even within the Democratic party is mindblowing.
The Young Turks have now turned on the DEI or woke culture of the left and are demanding arrests, no bail etc…etc…etc. They are even calling Biden a Criminal Thug.
Two to three years ago, the Young Turks were leading the Woke Charge, and now they have seen the light. It is too bad that Biden and the left can lie and their posts are not fact-checked and taken down but if the right does the same thing, people are banned and their companies taken away from them.
The die is cast. Civil war is upon us. A verbal civil war will soon become even worse. What that entails is up to the left who is backing the right into a tighter and tighter corner.
YouTube, Google, facebook, TikTok etc are not government entities.
Mr D&G sees no option but civil war, blaming the elected left for the problems.
Google fired 28 or their over-180,000 employees for protesting. In the US most states are at-will or right to work so employers don’t need a reason to fire someone as long as the employee is fired for being a protected class… race, religion, origin, gender etc.
YouTube, Google, facebook, TikTok etc are not government entities………NOR DID I SAY IT WAS.
Twenty-eight states have right-to-work policies (either by statutes or by constitutional provision). Which means 22 states are not.
California is not a “right to work” state. Right to work states have laws that make it unlawful to require employees to join a union or pay union dues. Attempts to implement such legislation in California have failed. The upshot is that private California employers may require you to join a union in order to get hired or keep your job.
The firings came after nine employees were arrested Tuesday while participating in sit-in protests at Google offices in Sunnyvale, Calif., and New York City.
Is New York a Right to Work State? Decidedly more Unionized than California and certainly NOT a right to work state.
Dowd wrote: Mr D&G sees no option but civil war, blaming the elected left for the problems.
In short I never said elected Democrats are causing civil war. The term left is decidedly a much different entity than the Democratic party, though they do work for the same goals. The left consists of almost all the social media outlets with the exception of X. Almost all of the Mainstream media, with a few holdouts. The entirety of written press, of course, with some holdouts, and the most influential cities across the land, including in deep red states, such as Texas fighting Dallas and Houston
Now you know the rest of the story.
It would behoove most casual readers to fact-check everything Elwood P. Dowd says in this blog’s comments section.
The censorship in preparation for the next election has begun full swing. The lying cheating will now go into OverDrive. The Democrats are preparing for their final election when they take over the United States and create a one party state and the Republic goes to the crap heap of history.
Either we eliminate them now or they will eliminate us later. They’re not taking any chances they won’t even give Secret Service protection to RFK junior and he’s a left wing Democrat but he’s not their left wing Democrat. I imagine trump will be dead before November they’ve already started hearing up there protesters and rioters with all this nonsense they’re pulling now with Muslims running up and down the streets setting American flags on fire.
Get used to it fellow Americans it’s the way Democrats run elections crooked corrupt and dangerous.
Elwood, why do you work so hard to lie? Nobody believes you, not even yourself. What do you get for selling your soul piecemeal like this?
Flexo, it is amazing how Elwood gaslights and lies so much even though he knows we don’t believe a word he says. He’s one of those pontificators on the left that takes a grain of truth and then surrounds it in the cocoon of bull in an attempt to make it sound logical.
One would figure by the time they arrive at Elwood’s age they would have gained some wisdom. They would be wrong if they were Elwood. Elwood seems to have traveled through life and a communist red cocoon thinking everybody else is out to get him because that’s what he is. Constantly charging other people with the thoughts, feelings and prejudices that he feels so deeply towards them.
Frankly I’m not interested.