# Are social media's recent bannings a freedom of expression issue? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 12, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330 "2021-01-12T14:56:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/522 "2021-02-09T08:59:56Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I have to disagree with this. I don’t really think that anyone in govt should have this power, but it has not been the dems who have been spreading and responding to vast amounts of disinformation, leading up to an insurrection. I think you misunderstood me. The people spreading misinformation have mostly been Reps, and Reps are also more commonly victims of censorship (these things are connected, obv). As a consequence, the Dems are more interested in stopping misinformation from spreading, and also less concerned about censorship since it’s less likely to affect them (they have the majority of the media on their side). So when the Reps were in power there was more reason to worry about misinformation, and now the Dems are in power there is more reason to worry about censorship. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/523 "2021-02-09T09:17:15Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I think that that is a complex question with an even more complex answer that is well outside the scope of this thread. I will only state here that I think that the less the govt does as pertains to controlling the rights of people and their associations, the better, and that it should require very compelling interests to get it involved. Do you support these laws that allow employees to be fired for no reason and with no notice, then? Employment conditions in the US seem pretty barbaric from a European perspective. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > Let me ask you, if you were an agent of Jobs and Family Services, and you got an unemployment claim that stated that an employee quit because one of their co-workers has a biggotted bumper sticker, would you approve the claim? I have no idea what the laws are about this so I don’t even know where to start. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/524 "2021-02-09T11:03:20Z")
Cite that Republicans are more commonly the victims of censorship? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/525 "2021-02-09T11:14:36Z")
That seems hard to prove. Will you at least agree that they believe they are more commonly victims of censorship and act accordingly? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/526 "2021-02-09T11:27:33Z")
Yes. In the present, Republicans appear much more likely to be delusional and/or misunderstand the facts of politics. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/527 "2021-02-09T12:10:57Z")
Sorry @iiandyiiii, but you all look crazy to me. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/528 "2021-02-09T12:26:47Z")
Your “both sides” nonsense remains utter bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/529 "2021-02-09T13:03:32Z")
Meh. Crazy in different ways, but crazy nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/530 "2021-02-09T13:10:37Z")
One side promotes bigotry, cruelty, and misinformation, and the other side maybe is occasionally a bit too harsh with its criticism. These are not equivalent. You’re “both sides are crazy” nonsense is the worst kind of lazy argument. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/531 "2021-02-09T13:14:07Z")
They’re “censored” for abusing their free speech rights - that doesn’t make them “victims.” ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/532 "2021-02-09T13:15:00Z")
Yeah I basically check out when I read that sort of nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/533 "2021-02-09T13:31:58Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > One side promotes bigotry, cruelty, and misinformation, and the other side maybe is occasionally a bit too harsh with its criticism. These are not equivalent. You’re “both sides are crazy” nonsense is the worst kind of lazy argument. That’s not what I see at all. One side spreads fake news and conspiracy theories, the other is determined to enforce ideological conformity at any cost. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/534 "2021-02-09T13:32:53Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > That’s not what I see at all. One side spreads fake news and conspiracy theories, the other is determined to enforce ideological conformity at any cost. That’s bullshit. That might be the right wing talking point du jour, but it’s bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/535 "2021-02-09T13:40:57Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > That’s bullshit. That might be the right wing talking point du jour, but it’s bullshit. Just look around you. The firings and apologies for disagreeing with the latest dogma are getting downright Maoist. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/536 "2021-02-09T13:41:53Z")
What a joke. Criticism and social consequences are not remotely “Maoist”. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/537 "2021-02-09T13:44:32Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Can Social Media Platform X simply take down the post with no/poor justification? I think that social media companies are capable of developing their own framework and their own standards for content that is offensive, obscene, patently false, and whatever else – the question is, once they’ve developed that framework, how consistently do they apply that standard? In the past, social media companies have clearly had the ability to flag misinformation; they just chose not to act on it until fairly recently, once their practices came under closer scrutiny. In the past, social media companies have clearly had the ability to flag and ban users for misinformation; they just chose not to act on it consistently until fairly recently, (again) once their practices came under closer scrutiny. Social media would probably have the justification to take down a post if they had some standards (TOS), which they apparently do have, and evidence that a post violated those standards. And developing standards, though admittedly imperfect and always evolving, isn’t impossible. It’s very possible for social media to develop standards of acceptable content. They have the ability to conclude that calling the survivors of a school shooting ‘crisis actors’ is completely over the boundary of what is acceptable. They have the ability to conclude that any claim that the election was stolen is, at minimum, disputable. It’s a question of whether they have the will to take action. In the end, maybe government regulation isn’t absolutely necessary to compel companies to act - maybe the threat of action alone is enough to spring them into action, which is fine by me. I’d prefer that to actual regulation if that can be achieved. But sitting around and hiding behind phony first amendment defenses is not an option, in my view. I get the fact that it’s the users who are the ones responsible for generating the harmful content, whatever it may be, but it’s the platforms themselves that essentially give them disproportionate capabilities in terms of being able to spread these socially and politically corrosive ideas, and few objective people can deny that the fact that they’re corrosive enough to undermine liberal democracy if given enough time. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/538 "2021-02-09T13:58:51Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > What a joke. Criticism and social consequences are not remotely “Maoist”. Trying to ruin people’s lives and reputations because of doctrinal differences is definitely cruel, though. But we’ve gone off topic for this thread. Do you want me to unearth the cancel culture one so we can continue this? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/539 "2021-02-09T14:16:43Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Trying to ruin people’s lives and reputations because of doctrinal differences is definitely cruel, though. That’s not happening, except in instances in which someone’s used their powers to promote bigotry (i.e. Trump and his enablers in office). They should have their reputations ruined, and they should be hounded from public office. But criticism and even getting fired isn’t close to “trying to ruin people’s lives”. So many conservative snowflakes just can’t take criticism, and equate it with this because they’ve never faced serious criticism before. And you’re helping them in this delusion. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/540 "2021-02-09T14:29:03Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > They should have their reputations ruined, and they should be hounded from public office. And you say it’s the other side who are promoting cruelty! > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > That’s not happening, except in instances in which someone’s used their powers to promote bigotry (i.e. Trump and his enablers in office). I’m not going to post examples in this thread because it’s off topic. Let me know if you want to take it to different one. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330/541 "2021-02-09T14:30:21Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > And you say it’s the other side who are promoting cruelty! Are you fucking kidding me? You don’t think Trump should have his reputation ruined and be prevented from holding public office? And you think attempts to do this are “cruelty”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-social-medias-recent-bannings-a-freedom-of-expression-issue/930330.md?page=28)