Meta Forced to Reveal Anonymous Facebook User's Identity

Re:Meta Forced to Reveal Anonymous Facebook User's Identity by keiferski on Monday July 31, 2023 @06:17AM (#36940639)

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of rights. The right of free speech is not intended to allow you to move your lips in a certain way and make specific sounds come out. After all, it's not as if the ability to speak were somehow prevented by government-mandated masks. Humans have always been physiologically able to say unpopular things, long before the concept of free speech became important.

The purpose of the right of speech speech is to remove certain, but not all, consequences of expressing opinions in public, i.e., outside of your head.

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Re:Meta Forced to Reveal Anonymous Facebook User's Identity by defrost on Monday July 31, 2023 @06:25AM (#36940686)

FWiW the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)

    1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.

    2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.

    3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:

    ( a ) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
    ( b ) For the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or morals.

makes no mention of anonymity but does specifically mention respecting the rights and reputations of others.

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Re:Meta Forced to Reveal Anonymous Facebook User's Identity by keiferski on Monday July 31, 2023 @06:52AM (#36940867)

Sure, there are nuances. But the original comment implied that free speech is about the act of speaking itself, which is not true.

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Re:Meta Forced to Reveal Anonymous Facebook User's Identity by shadowgovt on Monday July 31, 2023 @09:16AM (#36942040)

Yes. Furthermore, libel and slander are basically not protected as free speech.

In the US system at least, you can say whatever you want about someone... But if they haul you into court for damaging their reputation, you'd better bring receipts that you were speaking truth, to the best of your ability and knowledge. Not even the US right to free speech extends to spreading damaging falsehood.

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