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Evan Greer

@evan_greer

9 Jan

i can already tell this is going to be exhausting.

no, tech platforms banning accounts does not violate the 1st Amendment. In fact, it's protected by the 1st Amendment.

yes, Big Tech monopoly power and content moderation decisions have profound implications for free expression

The fact that Apple and Google have so much control over what software you can load onto your phones is in itself a problem. I honestly don't know what the right thing to do is now that they have the power they have but I do know the world would be better if they didn't have it.

And I know that if our conversations about content moderation remained focused on individual moderation decisions concerning high profile accounts, rather than systemic / structural problems and the broader impact on marginalized voices, things are just gonna keep getting worse

Read 5 tweets

Evan Greer

@evan_greer

6 Jan

IMPORTANT: In the coming weeks expect Democrats to push respond to this moment by pushing for:

-more surveillance
-more policing
-more Internet censorship

This is the exact opposite of what we need to do. We need to address this problem at its root: systemic racism & injustice

The mainstream pundit narrative will focus almost exclusively on the tactics used by those who stormed the capitol. The tactics are not the point. There is nothing inherently wrong with militant protest, the problem is weaponized white supremacy sparking violence.

You'll hear self-avowed progressives call for things like more funding for the FBI to "monitor domestic extremist groups." In their imagination this will be used to target Proud Boys etc. In reality it will just deepen the surveillance state that harms Black & brown communities

Read 10 tweets

Evan Greer

@evan_greer

29 Dec 20

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1344010739019902976

For the last fucking time Section 230 is not a "special legal protection afforded to technology companies"

It applies to literally every website. Including the comments section of The Hill, for example. It also protects you from getting sued for retweeting or forwarding an email

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1344010739019902976

If Section 230 were repealed entirely, it would throw the Internet into chaos. It would also ironically solidify the monopoly power of the companies everyone is mad at: Facebook and Google. They have the armies of lawyers to figure out how to navigate a world without 230

Repealing Section 230 would lead to MORE censorship on the Internet, not less. If you don't like the way Twitter and Facebook do content moderation now, wait til they're making those decisions based on whether they think your post might catch them an expensive lawsuit

Read 11 tweets

Evan Greer

@evan_greer

3 Dec 20

CNET interviewed me for this piece and asked me about this exact thing but didn't print my response, so I'll just say it here "the Internet is working just fine since the repeal of net neutrality...is kind of like saying 'it's snowing outside therefore climate change isn't real."

@fightfortheftr

I could go back and find statements from organizations like @fightfortheftr @freepress @mediajustice @NHMC etc that carefully explained what was likely to happen in the immediate wake of Ajit Pai's repeal of #netneutrality. The "doomsday" msg was always a telecom talking point

It's frustrating to see reporters repeat these talking points and messages that are concocted by AT&T lobbyists as if they are facts, when an even cursory glance at the actual substance of #netneutrality advocates messaging would make it clear why this is an absurd thing to write

Read 6 tweets

Evan Greer

@evan_greer

17 Nov 20

Okay readers please send help because in this THREAD I will be semi-live tweeting today's hearing the Senate Judiciary Committee where lawmakers like Lindsey Graham will pretend to care about things like free speech and Big Tech abuses while showboating about the election

Live video for the hearing hasn't started yet, so quickly here's what to expect. Republicans will yell about specific moderation decisions, spread baseless claims of bias, and talk a lot about Hunter Biden's laptop. Democrats will mostly argue platforms don't moderate enough.

@BadSec230Takes

And we're off. Graham is working on a world record for the most @BadSec230Takes in one sentence. He just incorrectly stated the way Section 230 liability protections work. In fact, Section 230 *does* protect individuals from liability for, for example, retweeting Lindsey Graham

Read 71 tweets

Evan Greer

@evan_greer

16 Nov 20

really really miss throwing queer dance parties and i'm going through old videos for a project so just gonna tweet a thread of good times from the beforetimes