NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] An Internet Monster, Reddit, and Free Speech
An Internet Monster, Reddit, and Free Speech
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000996.html
There are some topics that I just can't wait to write about. This
isn't one of them. In fact, I've been putting this off for days,
basically because I find the underlying theme so personally repugnant
and disgusting. But the topic is important, and proceed we will.
I don't use the term "monster" lightly. But in the case of Michael
Brutsch, the recently exposed uber-troll of Reddit, the label seems to
rightly apply.
I will not here delve into the details of his activities. A new CNN
article gives a pretty good summary ( http://j.mp/RFSRPm ). Research
him further at your own risk, and be prepared to possibly be picking
pieces of vomit out from your keyboard for days to come.
Regular readers know that I write a lot about free speech -- and also
about responsibility. The unholy alliance of Brutsch-Reddit provides
us with some immensely painful, but extraordinarily valuable, insights
into the meanings of both terms, especially in the Internet age.
Some observers are spending considerable verbiage arguing about who is
most responsible for Brutsch's long rampage -- the man himself or
Reddit.
For me, the answer seems clear enough -- it was a team effort, with
Reddit acting as the enabling agent for Brutsch's nauseating fury.
But in fairness to both, let's dig a bit deeper.
Is it possible to reasonably argue that without Reddit in its current
form, Brutsch would not have engaged in similar activities elsewhere?
The answer is unknowable, but it does seem apparent that Reddit
provided a large audience and the kind of feedback reinforcement on
which minds like Brutsch's thrive.
And what of Reddit itself? Let's leave aside their business model and
possible ways that their income stream may have been enhanced by
encouraging, or at least tolerating, most of Brutsch's activities.
Should we accept the protests of Reddit moderators and others that
Reddit couldn't reign in Brutsch significantly without violating free
speech?
The short answer is no.
The longer answer takes us to the heart of what free speech really
means.
We all know that "yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater" is not an
accepted form of free speech. And we also know -- as I've discussed
many times -- that various governments around the world are now
attempting to vastly expand their notions of unacceptable free speech,
mostly for their own political control purposes, in a wide variety of
ways that we should most strongly resist.
We've also much discussed the important roles of anonymity and
pseudonyms in various contexts, both of which can help assure that
people are not attacked or otherwise persecuted for honest
whistle-blowing, health questions, alternative lifestyle discussions,
sexual status, and so on.
But free speech does not include the right to speak anywhere and
anytime you might desire. And it is not a requirement for every
possible venue to accept and distribute any and all speech that may be
submitted to it.
Newspapers normally don't publish every received letter or op-ed.
Book publishers don't accept every manuscript.
I have a very active Google+ presence. I choose to make a concerted
effort to assure that the comments users append to my postings there
are civil and on topic. This means that I delete what I consider to
be inappropriate comments, I block those persons I consider to be
trolls, and I enforce my own view of what I consider to be acceptable
overall.
Am I violating anybody's free speech rights? Of course not. I'm
simply acting as the editor and moderator of my own space, and anyone
is free to comment on other threads on Google+, or Facebook, or ...
wherever. It's a big Internet.
Similarly, the powers-that-be at Reddit, irrespective of the autonomy
they've traditionally chosen to provide their users, were not required
by law to shut down Brutsch (unless he crossed the line into illegal
activities), but they were also not required to permit his monstrous
hate spew to continue unabated.
Not everything that is merely legal is necessarily reasonable. And
while we certainly don't want laws infringing unnecessarily on free
speech, we also must accept the fact that we need to take
responsibility for our speech and actions. If we don't do so, we are
playing directly into the hands of those politicians who would very
much like to make examples -- such as the one under discussion here --
the basis and excuse for draconian legislative crackdowns on free
speech that would be disastrous.
Ultimately, it appears to me that both Brutsch and Reddit made the
same kind of fundamental error. They behaved as if they were
operating in a parallel universe, a place where normal concepts of
ethics and responsibility simply didn't apply, didn't matter, didn't
have any actual impact on the real world.
They're wrong.
Protests of some "Internet philosophers" notwithstanding, the Net is
very much a part of the real world of cause and effect, of national
governments, of laws and penalties.
To pretend otherwise is not to protect or enhance free speech, but
rather to put free speech at enormous risk from the enemies of
liberty, who are always ready to pounce with their own oppressive and
nightmarish agendas.
If the saga of Reddit and Brutsch teaches us nothing else, it should
remind us that free speech is not a natural law flowing without
effort. Free speech is about more than simply having something to
say. The endurance of free speech relies on our taking responsibility
to use such a powerful idea both wisely and well.
Otherwise, we and our children may come to painfully rue our selfishly
allowing such crucial freedoms to slip away through our fingers.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
- Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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