Do you think the ban on infowars is really violating "freedom of speech"?

Freedom of speech doesn't mean what people think it means. FB, Google, Apple, etc. are not the government and thus they can't violate the first amendment.

Infowars is horrific and highly damaging.

However, I don't think its very cool that our spaces for communication are being controlled by powerful private interests that are not accountable to us. The reason this isn't freedom of speech is because the government isn't stopping anyone.

But if we communicate so much online - what's the difference?

Happy to see Jones marginalized though.

I think if they really cared about banning hate speech Trump wouldn't be on Twitter

It gets kind of sticky. It's easy to say, well they're just businesses they can do what they want, but when a business becomes so big that it has a monopoly over something, are they still just a business? Are they allowed to discriminate? I am in no way a supporter of infowars I watch Alex Jones for a joke once in a while but the idea of someone getting banned from a
major communication platform for an unpopular opinion doesn't sit well with me regardless on what side of the fence they are on. It just seems the same people that are in favour of net neutrality so that the internet is a free bastion of ideas and greedy corporations can't limit or control the information that people are exposed to are completely fine with other greedy corporations limiting the speech of other people they don't agree with. Infowars is one thing I wouldn't exactly call it news but I just think it's a slippery slope.

I guess I will have to read up on it in order to give some type of informed answer.
I mean, since corporations are people, they have the same rights as people...
And...I lost the rest of my thought.

It's up to the site owners to determine what content they will allow.. it has nothing to do with freedom of speech.

The company sets it's terms of service. If you want to use their service then you need to abide e by those rules. They have every right to decide what they consider hate speech just as the mods here decide the difference between simple nudity and porn.

Nope. Its really basic, private companies are the not the government. Only the government can censor free speech.

So Alex Jones can say whatever he wants and whatever private companies are allowed to allow or deny him as they wish.

Whether the first amendment applies to the platforms that banned him or not, there is one important detail:


So the ban on infowars was justified one way or another.

it was for hate speech but that doesn't exist

It's not violating "freedom of speech."

Ban from what?

I'm all for free speech, but I feel like Infowars has created some kind of alternate universe. The Sandy Hook stuff was too far for me.

No. It is not a violation if free speech rights, however it is a sign that such platforms are not for or in the business of allowing free speech. There is a huge distinction.