• Faust@feddit.org
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    2 months ago

    How about the last scrap of pretense at democratic rule of law? Just because someone you do not like is on the receiving end, you should not applaud the authoritarian government.

    • Korne127@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      The Supreme Court is upholding the rule of law. If Musk refuses to take action on the massive propaganda and disinformation campaigns that are rampant on his platform and lead to a fascist (like a literal fascist who praised the military dictatorship and openly said it’s only mistake was not to torture enough) getting elected, banning it shows that the democracy is still defensive and able to protect itself.

      We can’t let tech monopolies just ignore any democratic rule and do whatever they want.

    • Josey_Wales@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Care to expand on this?

      Genuinely asking how Elon Musk unilaterally defying a unanimous court order is losing the “last scrap of pretense at democratic rule of law.” Seems like more of the same old oligarchy games like it always has been.

      • testfactor@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I can see both sides on this one I think?

        Out of curiosity, would you feel differently about this if it had been a print newsletter or physical book publisher that was printing Nazi propaganda that got shutdown because they refused to stop printing Nazi propaganda?

        If so, what’s the substantive difference? If not, are you affirming banning people from publishing books based on ideological grounds?

        Obviously banning books is bad, but obviously Nazis are bad, and that’s a hard square to circle.

        • nyan@lemmy.cafe
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          2 months ago

          Except the-service-formerly-known-as-Twitter isn’t being “shut down”, it’s being stopped at the Brazilian border. This actually happens all the time with print publications in many countries that don’t take Free Speech to toxic extremes—they get confiscated at the border by Customs officials. It’s less common these days than it used to be, but I’d bet that there are still instances of fringe porn and unapologetic Nazi propaganda being seized.

          X-Twitter is free to go about its business in the country in which it’s based and in any other country where it hasn’t been banned, just not in Brazil, until and unless it decides to comply with the courts there. Which it is free to do at any time.

        • Zos_Kia@lemmynsfw.com
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          2 months ago

          That’s a nice hypothetical but the facts of this case are much simpler. Would you agree that a country is sovereign, and entitled to write its own laws? Would you agree that a company has to abide by a country’s laws if it wants to operate there? Even an American company? Even if it is owned by a billionaire celebrity?

          • testfactor@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            I think the issue is that, while a country is certainly allowed to write it’s own laws, the idea that it is deeply fundamentally immoral for the government to prevent someone from saying something (or compel them to say something) is very deeply baked into the American zeitgeist (of which I am a part.)

            So in the same way that a country is perfectly within its sovereign rights to pass a law that women are property or minorities don’t have the right to vote, I can still say that it feels wrong of them to do so.

            And I would also decry a country that kicks out a company that chooses to employ women or minorities in violation of such a law, even if that is technically their sovereign right to do so.

      • Faust@feddit.org
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        2 months ago
        1. It is a court order for censorship. You may not like what is said on that platform, but it is still straight up suppression of anything the government defines as dangerous. If you do not consider that a problematic move just because you agree with that government for now, you are in for a nasty surprise.
        2. If Brazil wants to shut down the service because of that: That is their right. Welcome to the same club as North Korea, China, and Iran. But what is that move with Starlink? When and where has it become acceptable to seize assets of a company because you have beef with one of its shareholders? What does this signal to other international activities in Brazil?
        • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          There are standards whereby you can determine something is harmful and not covered by free speech. Like calling for violence against a demographic minority. That’s not either censorship or in bad faith, but upholding standards for a civilized society.
          It’s basically no different than the fact that you are not allowed to kill people in the street.

        • funtrek@discuss.tchncs.de
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          2 months ago

          It is not the government defining something as dangerous. It‘s the democratically elected parliament, the democratically elected government and the then appointed judges which rule based on democratically created laws. And if the society comes to the conclusion that hate speech, defamation and lies are not covered by free speech they can of course shut down X and co. And the law applies also to billionaires.

        • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Its a shutdown for non-compliance with a law.

          The law in non-compliance is an attempt to shut down misinformation related to an election where x refused to appoint a court representative. Rather than fight the battle in court they chose to just shut down brazil changing x from a brazil represented company to basically a purely foreign company similar to RT in the US.

          Like there’s a difference between showing up to court to fight for free speech and shutting down your offices so you can’t argue your case.

          • merde alors@sh.itjust.works
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            2 months ago

            when people volunteer their confessions, it probably makes jailing, torturing or execution easier. Xitter is a helpful service for the mullahs

        • xthexder@l.sw0.com
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          2 months ago

          suppression of anything the government defines as dangerous

          That’s kind of one of the points of having a government… When it’s applied to banning toxic chemicals or violence, that’s the same thing happening but you just wouldn’t call it censorship.

        • obbeel@lemmy.eco.br
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          2 months ago

          When I first learned about it, it kind of seems like school bullying or something criminal. “Give me 50000 if you want to keep operating”. It’s kind of funny, but it is also kind of sad. Anyway, the decision has it geopolitical importance.

    • ASDraptor@lemmy.autism.place
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      2 months ago

      It’s pretty simple: did Elon design a legal representative as asked by the judge?

      He could have avoided this, but he thought he was above the law, and guess what? He’s not.

    • Virkkunen@fedia.io
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      2 months ago

      Man you right wingers are a very annoying bunch, always claiming censorship and loss of democracy while applauding the actual wannabe dictators doing gold medal deserving mental gymnastics to justify antidemocratic actions

      • Faust@feddit.org
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        2 months ago

        Yes, of course. The guy advocating against censorship and pro freedom of business must be a right winger. You do know, what the real right wingers will do, when they get these instruments into their hands? If not, you will probably find out soon in Brazil.

        • Cornelius_Wangenheim@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          The same thing that is already happening in Turkey, India and Saudi Arabia? Musk’s Twitter has no problem censoring people when it’s to help right-wing authoritarians.

    • solsangraal@lemmy.zip
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      2 months ago

      america has her own supreme court problems to figure out before anyone starts weeping about brazil being mean to elon fucking musk

      • Faust@feddit.org
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        2 months ago

        Because some 300 million people somewhere have problems with their courts, the rest of the world does not matter?

      • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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        2 months ago

        They are paraphrasing Thomas Paine:

        He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.

          • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Also a conservative MO: act with hostility (or neglect) towards a target and then scream very loudly about any pushback and try to frame yourself as a victim to gain support.

    • realcaseyrollins@thelemmy.club
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      2 months ago

      Phew, I thought I was the only one here lol. This whole situation has me wondering what Brazil is trying to do that they’re so afraid will be talked about on X.