undefined | Better HN

0 pointscodingkoi5y ago0 comments

Does anyone know the US case law on the 1st amendment being applied to corporate actors?

I see the argument often that things like this are a free speech violation but the 1st amendment says “Congress shall pass no law...”. It doesn’t apply to actors other than the state.

I’m not defending Google’s actions here but I also don’t think it’s technically a free speech violation at least as the amendment is written, so I’m wondering if there are any cases addressing this sort of censorship w.r.t. the 1sr amendment.

0 comments

4 comments · 3 top-level

ng125y ago· 1 in thread

There's the first amendment and there's the concept of free speech. This absolutely violates free speech but does not violate the first amendment.

The only current framework to protect freedom of speech from private companies is to designate them as common carriers, e.g. phone companies legally cannot police what is said over their wires.

bccdee5y ago

I don't think it's necessarily anti-free-speech. The idea of free speech is that everyone should be able to express their opinions without being prosecuted for it, not that everyone is entitled to a platform for those opinions. You should be able to write an article about absolutely anything, but you're not entitled to put it in my newspaper.

I of course agree that the mastodon ban is a bad move because it sets a double standard where browsers can access arbitrary web content but other apps can't, and because it grossly limits the things that the average user can do with their device. However, these are consumer rights issues, not free speech issues.

1 more reply

sp3325y ago

It's not a 1st amendment violation, but it's still anti-free-speech. There's more to free speech than just the one sentence.

freehunter5y ago

None, the Constitution only limits the power of the government, not private organizations.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse