Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms

(techcrunch.com)

707 points patd | 1 comments | 27 May 20 12:21 UTC | HN request time: 0.342s | source

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jameskilton ◴[27 May 20 13:04 UTC] No.23322518[source]▶

Is no-one going to talk about how this is explicitly what "freedom of speech" means? That Trump is one of the few people that "freedom of speech" doesn't apply, because it's protection FROM HIM doing exactly this kind of thing.

Twitter has every protected right to criticize the president (which they should have been doing a whole lot more of but that's a different discussion). That's the whole point of "freedom of speech" in our Bill of Rights. Our government literally cannot do what Trump wants to do, and to try to say that he can is to explicitly say that the Constitution is meaningless and void.

replies(2): >>23322579 #>>23322907 #

commandlinefan ◴[27 May 20 13:34 UTC] No.23322907[source]▶

>>23322518 #

> Trump is one of the few people that "freedom of speech" doesn't apply

No, Trump is one of the few people that the first amendment of the constitution of the United States doesn't apply. Free speech is broader than any specific law, whether you think people deserve it or not.

replies(2): >>23322958 #>>23322966 #

1. shadowgovt ◴[27 May 20 13:38 UTC] No.23322966[source]▶

>>23322907 #

There's an extremist viewpoint on free speech that it is a categorical good, divorced from any societal utility or harm, which elevates it almost to a point of religion.

It's always interesting to me when I observe it in action, because not even the US legal system---a system that, among the systems of the world, enshrines free speech as more untouchable than most nations---agrees with this absolutist premise.

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