On: Google Drive bans distribution of “misleading cont...

[nobody_at_all]

What do you lose by not being able to post or upload files on a Google-owned server?

People act like being banned is a life threatening event.

[swayvil → nobody_at_all]

Not "like life threatening" - Bad for our society.

In that free public conversation is centrally crucial to the sanity of our society.

And having that public conversation controlled by a profit-seeking entity is definitely detrimental to that conversation. And thus detrimental to the sanity of our society.

And an insane society is obviously all kinds of threatening.

[nobody_at_all → swayvil]

Again, Google is not stopping you from using your speech.

If they ban you, they are telling you that they don't want you on their private property.

They don't take away your internet connection.

When did society need Google, or Twitter, or FB to function? They do not. Those are simply three websites. There are literally millions more.

If this site banned me, I lost literally nothing. If Google Drive banned me(assuming I have an account, which I do not) I lost literally nothing. Same for FB. Same for Twitter.

They are not required for a functional society.

Why is that so hard to understand?

[swayvil → nobody_at_all]

To the degree that Google's service is popular is the degree to which it "stops me from using my speech".

Because the public conversation requires a public. Right?

[nobody_at_all → swayvil]

That is not even close to true.

They stop you from using their services, that is it.

You have no right to access popular private servers.

You have no right to a conversation because everyone else has the right to ignore you if they so choose.

Again, private companies can not be forced to give you server space. That pesky first amendment thing and all.

[nobody_at_all → nobody_at_all]

Show me where you have a right to access a popular server that is not owned by you.

Show me where you have the right to have a conversation. That means that others can be compelled to talk to you.

[swayvil → nobody_at_all]

Oh, but it is true.

If their service is popular, then the public conversation is to that degree affected. Clearly.

[x86_64Ubuntu → nobody_at_all]

The truth of the matter is that the right-wing userbase of HN is deathly scared of being marginalized in wider society. Seeing things like Parler getting kicked off of AWS, Facebook Fact-Checking moderation and now this makes them scared.

[nobody_at_all → x86_64Ubuntu]

That is a problem except that no one gets booted for being conservative, so it is not really a problem.

The top performers on FB are conservative pages for crying out loud!

They are afraid of much, which is the problem. It is irrational fear and based on ignorance and hatred.

Parler earned their ban 1000 times over. When sites get shut down by their hosts because its users were openly inciting violence that is not a problem.

I have yet to see someone get booted for following the platform's rules and merely being conservative. People from all over the political spectrum get banned every day.