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Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by lmilcin on Friday February 22, 2019 @07:42PM (#19230672)
Exactly. I don't think that a company that is supposed to be just providing a service to publish your videos should be unilaterally deciding what they like and what they don't even if it majority opinion.

Free speech is there exactly to protect minority opinions because sometimes it happens people in minority are right.

Every major movement started as minority, by definition. Free speech protection is there to make sure we can have smart people notice a problem and then express their concern and be allowed to voice it so that if they can gather enough movement to make a change there can be a good change.

It is sad that this can sometimes lead to aberrations like anti-vac movement but it would be a horrible idea to argue this is a reason to throw free speech protection out. Instead we should demand lawmakers to grow a spine and recognize there is no basis for anti-vac movement and enough is enough. Sadly, vote counting is much more important nowadays than sound medical advice.

Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by zanny on Friday February 22, 2019 @07:44PM (#19230698)
> just allowing you to publish your videos should be unilaterally deciding

Youtube is a not a public institution nor is it public land or space. Google can allow, or deny, whomever or whatever they want on their platform so long as their motivates for denying service are not due to regulated prejudice such as racism or sexism.

Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by lmilcin on Friday February 22, 2019 @07:48PM (#19230727)
Ah, what if your phone company or internet provider decided to filter your ability to voice your opinions?

At some point a private company that allows you to post amateurish videos or 140 character messages becomes public utility used by millions and if they decide not to allow you to express your opinion your opinion becomes effectively unavailable to others.

Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by zanny on Friday February 22, 2019 @09:17PM (#19231163)
Public utility is firmly defined, at least in the US, by the FCC. Even the Internet itself is no longer protected under such definitions, let alone your "right" to speak on a private companies website.

I would absolutely love for the top ~20 sites to all be rendered public utilities. But that would require legislation regulating these private websites as newly minted public institutions and I'm sure the operators of these cash cows would have a word or two to say about the government seizing control of their businesses, even if indirectly through regulation.

Right now, legally, Google can do whatever they want on youtube with impunity - if we want that to change, that will require state involvement, because all these sites are way too big for a crowd of nerds on a forum to influence the business models of in profound ways.

Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by munk-a on Friday February 22, 2019 @08:00PM (#19230803)
There are still some filters on what they will allow over their lines but as a carrier of communication they have been regulated by the government to allow everyone's data across (mostly). There is the option to buy a domain and host your opinions yourself, google and youtube are not preventing that from being an option (and google will even index your site and help people find it)... So theoretically this isn't an issue.

In actuality I think society has reached a point where the ability to post something to facebook or youtube is actually a specific form of expression that should be protected as a public institution. That said, spreading dangerous misinformation is not wholly protected by free speech, if you are a weatherman and advise (with malintent) commuters fleeing an incoming storm to take a highway that is known to be dangerous then your speech is not protected, the government may silence your speech and you will likely face legal repercussions for doing so.

I think freedom of speech is very important and I do acknowledge that this issue is littered with slippery slopes but, not all speech is free and there are some forms of speech that should be controlled. The problem of how to do that as a society while not impeding free speech is extremely hard and unsolved, the best current solution might be to assume all speech is free until a court rules otherwise but that is not an ideal solution.

Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by lmilcin on Friday February 22, 2019 @08:06PM (#19230850)
The key here is "government may silence your speech" (or should it be "judiciary"). It is very different when it is a private company that decides this.

The correct course of action here is for our leaders to grow a spine and publicly acknowledge this is a problem.

Of course speech should be free until court rules otherwise. How otherwise you expect minority opinion to be safe from majority? It is not free speech if anybody with more power than you may shut you up.

Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by munk-a on Friday February 22, 2019 @08:25PM (#19230938)
If you were to tell a police office you were about to go into a crowded square of people rioting against a city government and announce your intention to pay one million dollars to whoever shoots the mayor first, how should that officer respond?

Should he submit a request to have the case reviewed to the DA and ask a judge to allow him to stop you from taking that option?

The courts cannot be expected to individually guide every action (although law enforcement should be cognizant of the types of speech previously ruled to be free or restricted and respect that ruling with penalties for knowingly violating that precedent).

This stuff is complicated and making blanket statements is just silly. _Most_ speech should be protected, but some speech is limited.

Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by lmilcin on Friday February 22, 2019 @08:51PM (#19231059)
Soliciting a crime like that is already directly punishable and not free speech. Very bad example.
Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by kl4m on Friday February 22, 2019 @08:23PM (#19230929)
Youtube is demonetizing here, not censoring.
Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by alacombe on Friday February 22, 2019 @08:53PM (#19231071)
I guess you have no issue with Patreon and Mastercard deciding which business you can give money to either ? Not so diffirent from banks refusing to serve cannabis stores, or pornstars.
Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by paranoidrobot on Friday February 22, 2019 @09:30PM (#19231210)
I think it's quite a jump from not showing ads on videos to blocking money transfers.

Youtube is trying to stem the outflow of advertisers who've clearly stated that they don't want to be associated with certain kinds of content.

There's an argument that perhaps Youtube should provide the ability for content creators to provide their own Ad Network integration, if Youtube is unwilling to provide that monetisation themselves.

However, creators are free to source their own advertising deals and directly incorporate those into their videos - see just about everyone advertising Audible, Squarespace, Dollar Shave Club, Brilliant, etc.

Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by kl4m on Saturday February 23, 2019 @02:47AM (#19232258)
They still allow use of their platform... People can upload and view the videos. They're just disavowing "partnership" through the monetization program.
Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by tomp on Saturday February 23, 2019 @03:16AM (#19232322)
So you’re saying that government control of speech is bad, but government control of behaviour is good?
Re:YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels by bostik on Saturday February 23, 2019 @11:04AM (#19233883)
You're positing a strawman, but in the spirit of your approach: yes - if the behaviour being controlled is comparable to hooliganism, vandalism or worse.