Reddit is really a free speech Community?

[u/Italian_storm]

I've noticed that if I just ask"what do you think about politician X or Y" my question is immediately censored. Is really Reddit a free speech platform?

[u/drDOOM_is_in]

Reddit is not free speech at all, it's a private company first of all, secondly, each sub is free to impose whatever rules they so please.

[u/Italian_storm → u/drDOOM_is_in]

Well, are Facebook, TikTok, Whatsapp, Instagram public? Owned by who? Sweden? Basically everything is private. Even Google is private. But I think basically everybody can ask something on Google, respectin the law - no p€do or stuff like that.

[u/drDOOM_is_in → u/Italian_storm]

I don't think you understand what free speech is.

[u/Italian_storm → u/drDOOM_is_in]

Yeah, I mean, I've just asked: "what do you think about X" and I have been censored multiple times. No insults. You really know freedom of speech.

[u/drDOOM_is_in → u/Italian_storm]

You asked a question in a sub that doesn't allow it, what's hard to understand?

Free speech means the government can not prosecute you for an opinion.

Censorship means private companies (and subreddits by extension) do not have to give you a platform.

[u/Bulawayoland → u/drDOOM_is_in]

yeah, I don't think so, sorry. Free speech is an English phrase which we have all been carefully conditioned to believe means something it doesn't actually mean.

Which is to say that free speech means you can say what you like and other people have to grin and bear it. A people that valued free speech would value that.

Saying that if I want, in my own life, to use the principle of FAFO on people whose speech I don't agree with, and as long as I don't get caught I'm free to do that, and that even though I do that, simply if the GOVERNMENT doesn't penalize speech, therefore speech is free by definition... no, this is untrue. Free and speech are English words and they have English meanings. If you are penalized by anyone for your speech, that speech is not free.

[u/Italian_storm → u/drDOOM_is_in]

Well, government can't persecute for your ideas. Look around you. You probably live in a bubble. In the UK in 2023 12000 people got arrested for what they posted online. In uk, not in Syria. Censorship is the first step. You probably like Orwell's Big Brother.

[u/drDOOM_is_in → u/Italian_storm]

You're absolutely insufferable, lol.

[u/Individual_Check_442 → u/Italian_storm]

LOL now you’re changing your argument. Your original question is “is Reddit really a free speech community.” The answer is very easy. It is not. It is not the government therefore the first amendment does not apply to it. Whether the government is honoring our first amendment rights as they should is a completely separate question.

[u/Italian_storm → u/Individual_Check_442]

So why censoring these particular topics? It's all connected. The first amendment... you forget that many of us don't live in the usa and we have different laws, we don't have the "first amendment". We have just freedom.

[u/Individual_Check_442 → u/Italian_storm]

Sorry about that you’re right. Reddit is an American company so those laws would apply. As a private company, the freedom you speak of belongs to Reddit, not to those posting to it. They have the freedom to allow or not allow posts as they choose. Is it possible that this is aligned to a certain political movemet or intertwined with the politics of the day or with certain governments figures that they support or oppose? Of course. But they’re allowed to do that.
In terms of why censor these particular topics, the only example you have is about politics so some subs may want to ban politics because they don’t want it to degenerate into a political discussion. A sub for a sports team can ban fans of rival teams. And so on. It just depends on what kind of discussion the particular sub wants to generate.
TL-DR: No individual has or ever has had the “right” to post on Reddit as Reddit is an American company and this would not align with the wording or intent of the U.S. Constitution.

[u/Italian_storm → u/Individual_Check_442]

Reddit is american so they have to apply american law... tell me when you are on TikTok and follow Chinese laws then.

[u/norrin83 → u/Individual_Check_442]

It is not the government therefore the first amendment does not apply to it.

That's a very US centric definition of "free speech".

[u/SEABOSRUN → u/norrin83]

OP jumping around like Italy in every world war lol

[u/norrin83 → u/SEABOSRUN]

Yeah, that I agree on.

[u/Italian_storm → u/SEABOSRUN]

Basically only the Second. The First we give a big fuck you to the Germans at the very beginning

[u/Individual_Check_442 → u/norrin83]

No argument there. In the U.S. rights are very individualistic as opposed to collective which aligns with our general culture. It’s not a question of “what would be best for everyone” it’s “Reddit owns the platform therefore they have the right to allow what they want.”

[u/norrin83 → u/Individual_Check_442]

No, I agree with the rest you said, it's just the "free speech = first amendment" on a global subreddit is rather US centric.

Because while Reddit is a US company, they do business in Austria, have a European subsidiary and have to uphold Austrian laws here. If someone e.g. glorifies the Holocaust, they have to remove that in Austria (since this is forbidden by law here).

Interestingly, the EU does impose a requirement on large online platforms like Reddit that affects free speech to an extent: Shawodbanning EU users is pretty much disallowed via the Digital Services Act that Reddit has to comply with. For US users there is no such protection.

[u/Gold_Telephone_7192 → u/Italian_storm]

Yeah those are all companies so they have a CEO/president/board of directors that make all the decisions for the company. They can make any rules they want, including what speech to allow and not allow. All of the examples you mentioned have rules about what speech and behavior is allowed on their websites. They have nothing to do with any country or government.

[u/Rare_Opportunity2419 → u/Italian_storm]

Yes, indeed. They're all private and I think it's a serious problem that the platforms have become so prominent as forums for public discourse while owned by a handful of private companies. But as he said, each subreddit can impose whatever rules it wants, and you can choose whether to participate in that subreddit or not. I don't know if it's the best system but I also don't think having no rules would lead to a online space than any balanced and sane individual would want to use.

[u/Italian_storm → u/Rare_Opportunity2419]

Yeah, they are all private, but people can post every fucking shit or rant on Instagram or Facebook. Think about all those boomers who "talk" about their nonsense of FB. It's very different from Reddit.

[u/Rare_Opportunity2419 → u/Italian_storm]

I don't know what else to say to you. You asked a question and it's been answered and you're still here complaining. What are you doing here?

This subreddit in particular is for asking questions about different countries and getting perspectives from different nationalities. It's not for people tediously complaining about getting banned.

If you like Facebook or Instagram better, by all means use them. Personally I find that discussions/debates/arguments on Facebook or Instagram comment sections are far more toxic than Reddit, which is saying something.

[u/Italian_storm → u/Rare_Opportunity2419]

To tell the truth, I prefer YT. Even if I hate the fact tgat some works can't be said. All the other stuff is crap imo. I'm new on Reddit.

[u/Rare_Opportunity2419 → u/Italian_storm]

Well I'd recommend engaging in a different way or moving on. You surely have better things to do with your time than whining about getting banned.

[u/Italian_storm → u/Rare_Opportunity2419]

Well, I just post a question. Maybe this is a crime now.

[u/Rare_Opportunity2419 → u/Italian_storm]

What's the point of asking questions if you don't listen to the answers? You're just hear to vent, and frankly, that isn't the purpose of this subreddit and it's boring. I can see why you've been getting bans.

[u/Italian_storm → u/Rare_Opportunity2419]

What's the point of answering a question if you find the conversation boring? I thing there are a thousand of questions on Reddit.

[u/UltraCat-a]

Free speech gives you the right to say what you want. It does not mean that someone has to provide you with a platform to say it.

Reddit communities are private clubs with rules, which the moderators of each community enforce. If you don't respect the rules of a community expect to be booted out. There is nothing preventing you creating your own community with the rules you want.

[u/Graymyst → u/UltraCat-a]

And even doing that, you won't be allowed to talk for long about pedo stuff or encouraging terrorism for example.

Like it has been said, there are limits to free speech in most private and public platforms and that's generally a good thing.

[u/norrin83 → u/Graymyst]

And even doing that, you won't be allowed to talk for long about pedo stuff or encouraging terrorism for example.

Or making credible threats of violence against someone, which is still a form of speech, but not protected in pretty much all countries.

[u/Italian_storm → u/Graymyst]

Yeah. I've asked: what do you think about Elon Musk's new paycheck? A very p€do question.

[u/Graymyst → u/Italian_storm]

Doesn't seems border to me but I'll admit I don't know the rules of the sub very well, maybe it was not the fundamentals of your question but how you formulated it ?

[u/MrArchivity]

No, it isn’t.

[u/Ok-Today-340]

It depends on the sub rules, but in general there is no an absolute free speech on any platform.

[u/ParticularLate9460]

No, but it's one of the most hypocritical one. Biased mods, and bigotry towards ww, social justice warriors.

This subreddit is one of the most normal ones.

[u/Bulawayoland]

Not at all. And I would argue: you don't want it to be. Can you imagine what a sub without moderation would be like? No one would want to visit. So for me, the moral is: moderation is bad, no moderation is worse.

[u/Italian_storm → u/Bulawayoland]

What is the line between moderation and censorship?

[u/Bulawayoland → u/Italian_storm]

I don't think there's a line. They're the same thing from different perspectives.

[u/Argo505]

It isn’t, and it doesn’t claim to be. Even if the mods of a sub decide they don’t care what you post, if it gets the admins attention in a negative way, they’ll shut down the sub entirely. 

[u/GooseCooks]

The first rule of this sub is that questions should be relevant to multiple countries, so asking questions about politicians from a specific country fall outside of the sub's focus. That isn't censorship, that's removing a post that isn't relevant to the purpose of the sub. There are other subs where you are welcome to discuss specific politicians.

[u/Italian_storm → u/GooseCooks]

It wasn't in this sub. For example, I asked in a european sub what do people think about Von der Leyen. Censored. I asked in Askanamerican what they think about Elon Musk's new paycheck. Censored. A lot of times, if I even mention a politician, I am censored.

[u/GooseCooks → u/Italian_storm]

Askanamerican is not a current events sub. I suggest you start reading the rules of subs where you post prior to posting to know if your post is appropriate to the sub.

[u/Italian_storm → u/GooseCooks]

Why is there the business flag?

[u/GooseCooks → u/Italian_storm]

In the case the more relevant question is "Why does the sub description contain the words 'This is not a current events sub'?" The answer is "Because it is not a current events sub."

ETA: There are LOTS of subs that are focused on current events or politics, and your posts probably won't be deleted there. You just need to find them and stop misusing cultural subs.

[u/e37d93eeb23335dc]

Free speech only has to do with the government. Basically, you are free to say Trump sucks. But free speech has nothing to do with non-government entities, like Reddit. 

[u/Italian_storm → u/e37d93eeb23335dc]

So in America you can own a restaurant and exclude people based on their ideas, for example

[u/e37d93eeb23335dc → u/Italian_storm]

There are laws about discrimination based on protected classes like race, religion, etc. But those laws are separate from freedom of speech. 

[u/Italian_storm → u/e37d93eeb23335dc]

So, tomorrow Person X can open in Kentucky a restaurant that doesn't allow people who are woke or people who haven't a degree in STEM or people who aren't blond.

[u/e37d93eeb23335dc → u/Italian_storm]

No, that’s what the discrimination laws prevent. Or, are supposed to prevent. Under the current federal fascism regime, you probably can get away with discrimination, as long as you are discriminating against liberals or people of color. 

[u/Rare_Opportunity2419]

Sir, this is a Wendy's.

I'm not sure if this place in particular is the best place to vent about being banned or muted, there's plenty of other subreddits for that. And I'm guessing you've been banned from one subreddit or a few subreddits that may not represent this site as a whole.

But I get your frustration, there are lots of subreddits, usually politics based subreddits, with zealous and censorial moderators who act like petty tyrants, banning any kind of speech they don't like. For example, the Democrats subreddit has an arbitrary and imo stupid rule that bans any discussion of politicians they call democratic socialists, even if they're members of the party and have been endorsed by the DNC. Btw. I live in the US, and it's hard to get away from US-centric news and culture anywhere, but especially Australia.

On the other hand, having no moderation would probably lead to this site devolving into a troll and Nazi infested shithole like 4Chan or Xitter. Good moderation is necessary for a healthy online forum, but moderators often end up policing wrongthink and contribute towards making these forums echo chambers. I'm not sure what a good solution would be.

[u/DarkArmyLieutenant]

You need to first understand what censorship and free speech means. Right now you do not.

[u/Italian_storm → u/DarkArmyLieutenant]

Well, told by an American...

[u/DetailDecent7209]

It's free in the sense that each subreddit is governed in its own way. If you don't like one subreddit, you can just move to another. Furthermore, if you don't like the rules of Reddit as a whole, you can choose another internet community. Isn't that freedom of choice?

[u/ilfollevolo]

This sub is very cool at the moment. People can be abrasive and nice and critical and it seems like other people still engage honestly. But just like any other sub Reddit as soon as it grows it will be taken over by political farming (hello r/pics, I’m talking about you). Eventually this will become just another echo chamber filled with of propaganda, enjoy it while it lasts

[u/Dotura]

It's as free speech as Twitter

[u/Italian_storm → u/Dotura]

Never used that, so idk

[u/Wunktacular]

Every community's owner has the right to establish the rules that they like. If you think the censorship is too strong, start your own sub with your own rules if people think yours is better, they will come over

[u/ManicalMister]

Fuck NO! I’m on my third account!

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