Life_Nerd Total nutjob.

Jgatorman I think he has the right to be heard like any other citizen!

Heli_Splatter Now, as the web may be almost the only way to publish and reach a massive audience our free speech rights are diminished by someone with no right to silence us.

RM3although I agree with the premise... the issue is actually very complicated... No one took Alexs right to free speech away, not really. they simply banned him from their platform... which is in essence a business, and ALL online businesses have the right to refuse service etc based on their user agreement. You know that annoying user agreement 99.99% of us dont bother reading when setting up an account or installing software also known as a EULA? yeah that one. the one we just click yes to and hit "agree". Well guess what folks, you just signed that your "rights" on that platform are determined by whatever the business say it is and often in that agreement they can make changes on the fly.. all they do is send you an email saying they updated it.

Granted these platforms dominate many facets of how we get information, and therefore they can effectively control content. But the individual right to free speech is not taken away by the government... its disallowed by a company, organization or group that owns the platform. And nowhere does it say they have to allow you in there... paid or otherwise.

This is where the whole issue of NET neutrality came in a few months ago... who will control the internet. Control the internet and you control what people read, write, hear, say and see... and you've effectively circumvented the first amendment without taking it away. the government can simply say, "Alex, you can buy a radio station, and broadcast your crap all you want.. as long as it is FCC compliant" or "you can print and sell your magazine... if you can afford it" and "you can have rallies as long as cities approve your permit."

so it appears that "rights" are becoming more and more contingent on supporting systems built by both private individuals and government agencies...

besides... Alex does have his own website... he can host it himself if he bought the hardware... but as long as hes riding on the back of a private entity (or even a public one)... they say what you can put on it.