**In the Times @hugorifkind asks the ultimate pearl-clutcher’s question: “…how does a free society cope when the unspeakable are free to speak?”**
This has been at the front of my mind since I first encountered USENET c1986: murder aside, there is no way to stop humans communicating, there can *only* be *consequences for communication.* In a world where power rests with intermediaries that arbitrate who may/may-not speak, what happens when the power of arbitration is removed? How does a free society cope?
It adapts. It teaches itself to **“deal with it.”**
This worked for the printing press, postal service, telegraph, radio, tv, fax, etc.
Quote:
> This, I think, is the free speech debate worth having. Yes, online misinformation is a cancer, particularly when pumped into our discourse from abroad. It’s also often indistinguishable from simply being stupid or wrong. I worry that there’s a comforting delusion in believing that posts like this are the root cause of violence — similar to Musk’s own delusion that his platform is the centre of the world. Often, over these past ten days, I’ve found myself thinking of the pogroms that targeted English Jews in the 12th century. The mobs who did those ones didn’t even have WhatsApp.
> The easiest way to tackle misinformation online is with the co-operation of responsible tech companies, as Edward Lucas wrote on Monday. Musk, through his flat and irresponsible refusal, upsets that dynamic completely. In doing so, he forces us to confront the biggest, scariest conundrum of the internet age, which liberal governments worldwide, despite tentative legislation here and there, have thus far swerved. Which is, bluntly, how does a free society cope when the unspeakable are free to speak?
Via:
https://twitter.com/mortenmorland/status/1823104389281919248
https://alecmuffett.com/article/110235
#censorship #socialMedia
alecm /
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2024-08-13 08:17:42
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"content": "**In the Times @hugorifkind asks the ultimate pearl-clutcher’s question: “…how does a free society cope when the unspeakable are free to speak?”**\n\nThis has been at the front of my mind since I first encountered USENET c1986: murder aside, there is no way to stop humans communicating, there can *only* be *consequences for communication.* In a world where power rests with intermediaries that arbitrate who may/may-not speak, what happens when the power of arbitration is removed? How does a free society cope? \n\nIt adapts. It teaches itself to **“deal with it.”**\n\nThis worked for the printing press, postal service, telegraph, radio, tv, fax, etc.\n\nQuote:\n\n\u003e This, I think, is the free speech debate worth having. Yes, online misinformation is a cancer, particularly when pumped into our discourse from abroad. It’s also often indistinguishable from simply being stupid or wrong. I worry that there’s a comforting delusion in believing that posts like this are the root cause of violence — similar to Musk’s own delusion that his platform is the centre of the world. Often, over these past ten days, I’ve found myself thinking of the pogroms that targeted English Jews in the 12th century. The mobs who did those ones didn’t even have WhatsApp.\n\n\u003e The easiest way to tackle misinformation online is with the co-operation of responsible tech companies, as Edward Lucas wrote on Monday. Musk, through his flat and irresponsible refusal, upsets that dynamic completely. In doing so, he forces us to confront the biggest, scariest conundrum of the internet age, which liberal governments worldwide, despite tentative legislation here and there, have thus far swerved. Which is, bluntly, how does a free society cope when the unspeakable are free to speak?\n\nVia:\n\nhttps://twitter.com/mortenmorland/status/1823104389281919248\n\nhttps://alecmuffett.com/article/110235\n\n#censorship #socialMedia",
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