Facebook, Twitter CEOs to be pressed on election handling

Loveline

Not only does it infringe on our right to free speech

Actually, it doesn't at all.

On the one hand, the Republicans want the social media platforms to be more hands-off

On the other hand, the Democrats want the social media platforms to be put under regulation

While the social media platforms just don't want to be liable, sued, or prosecuted for what happens on their platforms

It's all about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act law

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/section-230-hangs-in-the-balance-after-attacks-from-biden-and-trump/

At its core, Section 230(c)(1) provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an "interactive computer service" who publish information provided by third-party users:

"No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."

The statute in Section 230(c)(2) further provides "Good Samaritan" protection from civil liability for operators of interactive computer services in the removal or moderation of third-party material they deem obscene or offensive, even of constitutionally protected speech, as long as it is done in good faith.

Passed at a time when Internet use was just starting to expand in both breadth of services and range of consumers in the United States, Section 230 has frequently been referred as a key law that has allowed the Internet to flourish, and has been called "the twenty-six words that created the Internet".

Disinformation is dangerous, but I think that censorship is equally worrisome. Not only does it infringe on our right to free speech, it also has the potential to causes more problems than it would solve. Questionable censorship policies and inconsistent enforcement for example could be weaponized by the government in ways that would silence dissenting opinion. Also, since FB and Twitter started censoring posts, it has only seemed to have fueled even more disinformation and distrust of government. Evidence that addressing disinformation in an open forum is more effective than simply trying to erase tweets.

I don't see any good reason for social media to delete or censor anything. Post it all, every lie, every rumor, and their rebuttals. This whole idea that media has to tell only the truth is ridiculous. It goes utterly against the right of a free press. Partisan media promoting a particular point of view is older than the US and its right to be partisan is protected in the US by the 1st Amendment. I wish these media tycoons would stop censoring what is posted and tell Congress to take a hike. Then challenge Congress in the courts if they dare censor them on their own. Government has no right to tell anyone in the press or the media what they can or cannot say. If you don't like what someone says, come up with a rational counter argument. Censorship is what childish insecure dictators and their equally childish supporters do.

Waste of time, the American people have spoken.

EvilBuddha - your comment reminds me of the Wayfair (Amazon like US online company) employee walk out to protest beds being sent to immigration detention centers. All the while most of the products the sell are from China.

I guess ideological differences stop at the US border.

P.S. I am rooting for you to be a GoodBuddha one day ;)

Interesting to see that Americans believe that Facebook and Twitter censor conservative viewpoints. In my country, it is the exact opposite. Facebook and Twitter have long been platforms for the ruling right wing bigot and his army of trolls and bots to spread his ideology of hate against minorities. But my country is an important market for these social media giants so they will not offend the guy in power lest they be banned or restricted.

Hey Trump people just use Parler and stop complaining about Twitter. I was checking Parler and there is a lot of information about Trump's plan to inject Mr Clean for COVID 19 treatment. CNN and even FOX news won't cover this. Go with Parler and stop complaining

It's almost unbelievable how these tech platforms are blatantly undermining the preferred candidate of half their US users. As a result hordes of them are now abandoning Facebook and Twitter for MeWe and Parler.

Good for them. I'm sure that will all turn out well for America.

It's almost unbelievable how these tech platforms are blatantly undermining the preferred candidate of half their US users. As a result hordes of them are now abandoning Facebook and Twitter for MeWe and Parler.

Bad judgement, bad businesses and disrespectful behaviour towards their own clients.

Time for Congress to bust up these information monopolies and strip them from legal liability protections.

Everyone knows that Silicon Valley and the mainstream media are totally biased against conservatives and Trump.

Without their disinformation campaign for Joe Biden wouldn’t have stood a chance

wake up America!