News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by beebmam on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @04:37PM (#28385243)
It is not legal (and should not be legal) for people to force privately owned companies to publish speech that those companies don't want to publish.

Hacker News itself does this all the time; there's plenty of topics and conversations that aren't allowed to be posted here. And people get banned/silenced all the time. And that's good! That's what healthy moderation looks like.

Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by petermcneeley on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @05:12PM (#28385578)
I dont think this article questions if this is legal. Many companies do things that are Legal but are perhaps unethical or just not aligned with consumer interests.

Your focus on legality to me is completely irrelevant at this stage. People want to discuss if this decision was a good idea or bad idea.

Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by beebmam on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @09:05PM (#28387541)
I don't care for moralizing. If you're not going to make a legal argument, I really couldn't care less. Companies aren't ethical; they obey laws. That's all they will do.

Often, ethics become law. If you care about this at all, figure out what laws you want and organize to pass them.

Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by chrismcb on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @11:20PM (#28388325)
Companies do more to than just obey laws. Or rather, what is legal or illegal isn't the issue. Places like Reddit have banned legal speech, just because. There was no law saying they had to. They did it because they wanted to. Making this a legal issue, it only discussing legal issues is weird
Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by petermcneeley on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @09:45PM (#28387785)
Since you replied so will I. Take example this https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9072424

It actually doesnt matter if its legal or not for them to be doing this. Whats important is for customers be fully aware of whats going on and to make a choice (purchase or not). The opinion of customers will undoubtably shape that companies future decisions.

So companies do much more than obey laws and follow contract or EULA. The respond to their customers and users based on their perceptions and feedback.

Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by mycodesucks on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @04:38PM (#28385251)
Reddit is the opposite of what good moderation looks like.
Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by seattle_spring on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @06:02PM (#28386074)
What are some examples of communities that employ good moderation, in your opinion?
Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by glonq on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @05:06PM (#28385519)
Wish I could gift you a platinum award for this plus 3 months of ycombinator gold /s
Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by dredmorbius on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @05:47PM (#28385908)
Though I support Reddit in its (very belated) actions here, I disagree with your statement.

Restrictions on free speech and dissent ... or the overwhelming of channels, forums, and archives with propaganda and disinformation ... are both characteristics of abusive, power, regardless of its foundation. The origins of free speech princples emerged in response to religious and monarchical governmental abuses, for the most part (with some role played by lesser nobles and interests).

With numerous commercial firms existing at scales which rival entire countries, the "private property" defence against any and all limitations on censorship simply isn't supportable. That said, a reasonable and principled policy with review, oversight, and appeals processes would be useful. Ultimately I see government regulation as a very likely necessity for communications platforms operating at significant scale.

Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by incadenza on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @05:16PM (#28385612)
I agree, but it comes across as unprincipled and reactionary when this stuff is always done as a consequence of bad PR or high profile subs throwing a fit.
Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by guilhas on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @05:35PM (#28385780)
But they are not forcing, they are "working together"

https://fullfact.org/blog/2020/nov/framework-combat-misinfor...

Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by effingwewt on Thursday September 02, 2021 @12:38AM (#28388701)
No, it's not. When people can downvote correct information without a reason, it makes HN objectively worse. And it happens all the time.

Eventually you may find yourself on the receiving end, will you think censorship is good then?

Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by CheezeIt on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @09:39PM (#28387752)
But Hacker News doesn’t have healthy moderation. The mods let flagging run rampant.
Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by mandeepj on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @04:41PM (#28385283)
> It is not legal (and should not be legal) for people to force privately owned companies to publish speech that those companies don't want to publish.

The platforms are public and used by millions.

Re:Reddit bans anti-vaccine subreddit r/NoNewNormal after si... by beebmam on Wednesday September 01, 2021 @04:46PM (#28385337)
Irrelevant legally, and the legal right to choose which speech a private entity publishes has been upheld in US courts since forever