Aral BalkanDec 16, 2022

Every private space is owned by someone. That someone makes and enforces the rules according to their own interests.

You have no right to free speech in private spaces. If the owner of a shopping mall doesn’t like what your t-shirt says, they can have security escort you out.

“Social media” (Silicon Valley and venture capitalists) sold you the lie that shopping malls are parks.

They are not.

If you care about human rights and democracy, build and support parks not shopping malls.

#SmallWeb

Show threadStéphane DeschampsDec 16, 2022

@aral This exactly:
> You have no right to free speech in private spaces.
… is what fascinates me with the current turmoil.

This is not a public plazza, this is a privately-owned service where the owner is free to refuse that one talks about this or that subject.

It must have to do with how people have felt at home on T. for so long (me included a few years ago).

When billionnaires and alt-right leaders say 'free speech', they mean theirs, not the public's free speech at large.

Show threadluxcemDec 16, 2022
@accessiblestef @aral When we talk about the world's largest social media, we can't just hide behind the argument of being a private company. It's a political issue, but in my opinion, when something becomes as ubiquitous it cannot escape the question of the common good. The fact that billionaires and private companies can appropriate so much power and influence over tools, places, and services that we use is more a sign of a failing society than a healthy one.
Show threadStéphane Deschamps

@lxcm Yes, that too.
It has to do, also, with a systematic/systemic lack of public agoras that would be financed, owned and moderated by public instances.

@aral

Dec 16, 2022 at 10:36amWeb