Who Will Censure the Censors?
Podcast - Bob Zadek Show
English - June 20, 2019 17:32 - 69.8 MB - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsNews Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Read the Medium article here.
5 Things to Know About Regulating Internet Speech
The Powder Keg – YouTube recently “demonetized” hundreds of controversial channels, after an on-going spat between conservative comedian Steven Crowder and liberal Vox writer Carlos Maza. The host of Louder with Crowder repeatedly mocked Maza’s flambuoyant personae (aka the “gay wonk”) and ethnicity, and Maza roused a Twitter mob to get YouTube to remove him altogether. YouTube’s kept the videos up, but took Crowder’s ad dollars — pleasing virtually nobody, as Reason’s Robby Soave pointed out.
The Legal Issue - Some kinds of speech, such as incitements to violence, are clearly not protected by the 1st amendment, while “hate speech,” or offensive speech, is not clearly defined. Under Section 230 of the Decency in Communications Act (1996), online platforms like YouTube can set their own guidelines for acceptable speech but are continuing to come under scrutiny for alleged bias against conservatives.
The Proposed Remedy – Trump is talking about antitrust to break up Big Tech monopolies, but most scholars think this is impractical. Republican Senator Josh Hawley just introduced a law to essentially revive the “Fairness Doctrine,” and stop biased censorship of conservatives. This Sunday, I’ll speak to Frank Buckley about his middle-ground idea for a governmental check on “woke” social media censorship.
The Unintended Consequences – Elizabeth Nolan Brown points out that Hawley’s bill would likely make censorship against conservatives worse. The bill would require companies to reapply with the Federal Trade Commission every two years to prove that they are operating in a politically neutral manner. Ultimately, this would mean censoring vastly more political content, Brown notes.
A Quote to Ponder :
“There’s always someone we’re laughing at, and that person is going to take offense. If it’s a conservative laughing at a liberal, even a liberal who seems to be asking for it, even someone who dishes it out but can’t take it, like the butt of Crowder’s laughter, that’s when the progressive social media censors step in.” - Frank Buckley, How to stop the 'woke' social media censors, NY Post, June 10, 2019
Listen live
Tune in Sunday, 8-9am PACIFIC and call in with your questions: (424) BOB-SHOW
As for me, you can will always be able to find my videos at Minds.com. I say let YouTube censor.
Learn more, and listen to Frank try to “Change my Mind”.
Other Shows with Frank Buckley:The One Book You Must Read to Understand American Politics in 2018, with Frank Buckley
F.H. Buckley on *The Way Back: Restoring the Promise of America* — July 03, 2016
Has America Become an “Elective Monarchy”? — October 26, 2014
F.H. Buckley on *The Republic of Virtue*
Other Shows on Social Media CensorshipSocial Media Censorship with Bill Ottman, April 25, 2019
Free Your Minds From Social Media Censorship Bill Ottmann, Oct 21, 2018
Making Peace with the Speech Police — Dispatch from Mizzou, Ian Paris, December 11, 2015
Whose Free Speech? Our Free Speech! , Marieke Tuthill-Beck Coon, April 16, 2017
Freedom *From* Speech? The New Face of Censorship, Oct. 2014, with Greg Lukianoff
Free Speech — There is No America Without It, Greg Lukianoff, December 9, 2012
LinksThe Absolutely Epic Guide For Learning To Use Minds | Minds
Minds.com/ottman
How to stop the ‘woke’ social media censors NY POST
Trump’s fight for campus justice is only beginning
The Bubble: How Higher Education Abandoned its Mission and Became America’s Most Over-Rated Product — $3 Kindle edition on Amazon