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Re:YouTube is banning anti-vaccine activists and blocking al... by prohobo on Wednesday September 29, 2021 @10:38AM (#28694242)
This fallacy of "private entity" when talking about a corporation that's more powerful than most governments is truly ridiculous.

It's okay if the East India Company enslaves and exploits the savages and mongrels, murders opponents, rigs elections, installs corrupt politicians and destroys communities; it's a private company and it only hurts stupid people! Just stop buying their tea if you don't like it, amirite? Start your own company!

Re:YouTube is banning anti-vaccine activists and blocking al... by valeness on Wednesday September 29, 2021 @11:11AM (#28694747)
I don't see this same energy when peope want to nationalize internet or electric companies. Why is it that only when media companies moderate the content available on their platform do we suddenly not care about property rights?

If we're talking about regulating large corporations because they're monopolizing resources I'd much rather start in the energy sector to set some precedent before we just force youtube and facebook to allow nazis and anti-vaxxers to spout off whatever they want during a global crisis.

Re:YouTube is banning anti-vaccine activists and blocking al... by humanrebar on Wednesday September 29, 2021 @05:35PM (#28700291)
> Why is it that only when media companies moderate the content available on their platform do we suddenly not care about property rights?

I can't speak for what you're paying attention to, but plenty of people are wary of big cats in corporations and big cats in government. You can be against both.

The real false narrative is that choosing team red or team blue is the only interesting question and then you can turn your skepticism off.

Re:YouTube is banning anti-vaccine activists and blocking al... by prohobo on Wednesday September 29, 2021 @11:25AM (#28694957)
Internet and electric companies don't have international political influence, nor major monopolies.

I'd rather have an honest discussion about dealing with a global crisis instead of having some asshole decide he's right and shut everyone else out - surely you can imagine the damage caused by a dictator who's wrong?

Re:YouTube is banning anti-vaccine activists and blocking al... by oblio on Wednesday September 29, 2021 @04:13PM (#28699281)
> electric companies

You do know that those in many places are called "utilities" and they <<are>> nationalized, right?

Re:YouTube is banning anti-vaccine activists and blocking al... by lp0_on_fire on Wednesday September 29, 2021 @04:22PM (#28699402)
Even when they aren't nationalized they are more often than not subject to _very_ stringent regulations.
Re:YouTube is banning anti-vaccine activists and blocking al... by NaturalPhallacy on Wednesday September 29, 2021 @03:51PM (#28698992)
>moderate the content

Censor. The word you're looking for is censor.

Re:YouTube is banning anti-vaccine activists and blocking al... by zepto on Wednesday September 29, 2021 @11:03AM (#28694618)
Except not. Google isn’t more powerful than most governments. They can’t kill or imprison people, or seize land or property. This is simply a false analogy.
Re:YouTube is banning anti-vaccine activists and blocking al... by ostenning on Wednesday September 29, 2021 @11:33AM (#28695081)
What is your definition of "power"? Because I think your perspective is incredibly naive.

Google has immense power, far more than most governments. Governments all around the world are often manipulated by corporations like Google, laws are written based off these influences of power, shaping democracy, all the time.

If they really wanted to they could do almost anything to you. They could easily steal your identity, they could frame you, they could put you in prison, they could do basically anything. Is this legal? Obviously not, but power extends further than what is legal.

Re:YouTube is banning anti-vaccine activists and blocking al... by prohobo on Wednesday September 29, 2021 @11:19AM (#28694874)
I recommend reading this article for a quick overview of the current political landscape: https://theconversation.com/who-is-more-powerful-states-or-c...

The fact is that states and corporations collude and compete with each other for political control internationally, and corporate power outranks the vast majority of state powers. Weirdly though, I can't find Alphabet Inc. in the power rankings.

Re:YouTube is banning anti-vaccine activists and blocking al... by evv555 on Wednesday September 29, 2021 @11:15AM (#28694824)
Google isn't a "private entity" in the sense of a small business either. More like a utility company. False analogy