Facebook, Apple and YouTube remove pages and podcasts from Alex Jones for hate speech, policy violations

By artappraiser on Mon, 08/06/2018 - 2:34pm |

By Ryan Browne @ CNBC.com, Aug. 6

Apple confirmed on Monday that it had removed five out of six podcasts, which includes Jones' infamous The Alex Jones Show.
Facebook has also removed four pages that belong to Jones.
YouTube followed suit later, removing his channel from its platform.
Apple and Facebook said Jones violated hate speech policies on their respective platforms.
YouTube removed Jones' official channel because he continued to livestream on other channels even though he was banned for 90 days due to previous violations.

URL:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/06/apple-pulls-alex-jones-infowars-podcasts-for-hate-speech.html

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Ran across that Gary Cohn sent out a history lesson message to markets by speaking to Bloomberg about big social media: better regulate yourselves as responsible citizens pronto or it might end up that the government does it for you.

by artappraiser on Mon, 08/06/2018 - 2:42pm

Tim Cook has been vocally critical of Facebook in general, and especially since Cambridge Analytical; he's trying to put space between them and establish an ethical difference among tech companies. That Apple was the first to make a major move against Jones is not surprising, nor is it that Facebook, YouTube and others have followed suit.

by barefooted on Mon, 08/06/2018 - 2:52pm

Alex Jones Returns To Humble Roots Of Screaming Conspiracy Theories Through Megaphone At People In Park https://t.co/LpphB5NYi7 pic.twitter.com/Td5MpSCf1V
— The Onion (@TheOnion) August 6, 2018

by artappraiser on Mon, 08/06/2018 - 6:32pm

A Better Way to Ban Alex Jones

“Hate speech” is extraordinarily vague and subjective. Libel and slander are not.

By David French. Mr. French is a First Amendment litigator and senior writer for National Review.

Guest op-ed @ NYTimes.com, Aug. 7, 2018

Let me start by making a few things abundantly clear. First, Alex Jones is a loathsome conspiracy theorist who generates loathsome content. Second, there is no First Amendment violation when a private company chooses to boot anyone off a private platform. Third, it seems reasonably clear that Mr. Jones’s content isn’t just morally repugnant, it’s also legally problematic. He makes wild, false claims that may well cross the line into libel and slander.

Right now, Mr. Jones is defending lawsuits filed by multiple Sandy Hook Elementary families accusing him of making intentionally false factual statements. Most appallingly, he has insisted that these grieving families were faking their pain [....]

by artappraiser on Wed, 08/08/2018 - 12:49am

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Explains Why Alex Jones Isn't Banned, In Big Tech Exception

By Merrit Kennedy @ NPR.org, August 8

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has explained in a series of tweets why his platform has not suspended conspiracy theorist Alex Jones or his website Infowars. Earlier this week, tech companies YouTube, Apple, Facebook and Spotify banned main content outlets in what Jones described as a "purge."

"He hasn't violated our rules. We'll enforce if he does," Dorsey tweeted. In an apparent reference to other tech companies, he added that Twitter would not "succumb and simply react to outside pressure."

"We're going to hold Jones to the same standard we hold to every account, not taking one-off actions to make us feel good in the short term, and adding fuel to new conspiracy theories," Dorsey said Tuesday evening [....]

by artappraiser on Thu, 08/09/2018 - 1:39am

‘This Is Incredibly Complex’: Inside Twitter’s Debate About What Stays on Its Site

"In Friday’s meeting at Twitter, the 18 attendees, all standing around a wooden conference room table, debated topics including whether tweets that disparaged immigrants could be considered dehumanizing." https://t.co/qQ32uptJ1z
— NYT Styles (@NYTStyles) August 11, 2018

by artappraiser on Fri, 08/10/2018 - 9:45pm

Twitter suspends Proud Boys on eve of deadly Unite the Right rally anniversary

Platform bars rightwing ‘western chauvinist’ group for violating its policy against violent extremists

By Julia Carrie Wong in San Francisco for TheGuardian.com, Fri 10 Aug 2018 23.07 EDT

by artappraiser on Fri, 08/10/2018 - 11:54pm

CNET sez Twitter's joining the club in cracking down on him.

by artappraiser on Wed, 08/15/2018 - 2:26am

Facebook, Apple and YouTube remove pages and podcasts from Alex Jones for hate speech, policy violations

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