To think that Twitter contravenes free speech?

[Amarette]

I was temporarily banned from Twitter today for posting a link to statistics from the Ministry of Justice. The statistics show the percentage of transwomen who are in prison for sexual offences.

Conversely, I reported someone to Twitter for threatening to choke JKR and they said that there was no violation of their rules.

How can they possibly justify this infringement of free speech?

The issue here is that Twitter has rules. Whether people think they are the right rules is a separate issue. The OP is rightly pissed off that the published rules are not being applied and there is an obvious bias against certain groups and enabling certain other groups to break the rules with impunity. Some countries have succeeded in getting Twitter to use stricter moderation for certain issues. I can't remember the details but Germany is one.

Give over and get over yourself. Seriously.

There does seem to be a lack of consistency over what Twitter deems to be breaking their rules. I was put in Twitter jail for saying something like "will someone please kill Putin" I was inciting violence apparently. Yet the hundreds of tweets wanting to kill TERFs, or messages sent threatening to rape and murder women? No, clearly not inciting violence at all 🤔

The problem with Twitter and other big tech companies is not that they have rules, but that those rules are not applied fairly. There’s plenty of past examples of harassment and threatened violence against Jewish people that aren’t taken seriously, never mind all the deleted GC accounts sanctioned for stating scientific truth.
Organisations like Etsy are as bad, plenty of ‘punch a terf’ stuff still on there, but they’re very precious about women’s rights issues and campaigning.
Unfortunately we seem to have give away so
much control over self-expression to these behemoth companies.

Twitter is a private company, they can do whatever they want.

Can you post the link here though, I'd be interested.

@PAFMO your quoted me but I can't see your response, would you mind repeating?
Thanks

Twitter promotes freedom of speech solely for the groups it politically agrees with. Which is why paedophilic messaging and threatening to murder and rape non compliant females is everywhere, but females sharing inconvenient facts and stating reality is heavily suppressed.

It is in fact a heavily political platform trying to force particular perceptions as being 'the norm' as opposed to heavily controlled and edited for a specific effect.

Wasn't there a Scots MP who challenged on this and got a bit of unwilling acceptance of the unfairness? However those running and funding Twitter are highly wealthy and male.

I find Twitter very toxic and avoid it unless there’s an interesting link on Mumsnet.

Bizarre thread yesterday in which the Sttorney General pointed out to the police that deadnaming is not a hate crime. Loads of replies telling her that it is, in the most abusive vile language that was clearly the crime of harassment. The posters seemed to have a complete lack of self-consciousness re the irony of this. 🤷‍♀️

have not RTFT. In the hope that I'm not the 94th person to say this:

Freedom of speech is the freedom not to be persecuted for speaking out against the government. It is not carte blanche to say what you like.

But

Twitter has terms and conditions that you sign up to, and although it does seem they are batshit about how they apply them, free speech isn't something they have to allow. So yes, their decision was mad (i think probably more than one person reported your post, OP, the number of complaints plays a role here I think) it is nothing to do with free speech. They can have whatever rules they like. Although some UK police forces do seem to take a different view and the usual laws about defamation, libel and slander apply as do laws of decency and what can be broadcast on a platform.

"Free speech" doesn't exist other than purely in theory. Being able to say something doesn't mean you're free to do it, to be truly free to do something you need to be free of any consequences (e.g. I'm able to murder someone but not free to do so because I will probably be jailed).

Freedom is by definition restricted by other peoples' freedom.

Some countries have succeeded in getting Twitter to use stricter moderation for certain issues. I can't remember the details but Germany is one.
Add mess

it's a nightmare for reporting a post though, you have to quote which law it breaks! Have managed to get some posts removed though. They also have to tell you if someone has reported your post and which one it is, which would be helpful in the UK i think

I once got a ban for replying this to John Redwood: you and your mates wouldn't know integrity if it slapped you in the face with a wet kipper.

It was never clear to me what twitter rule i had transgressed and I couldn't be bothered finding out why.

Parts of twitter are a cesspit (see also the rest of the internet) but parts are great which is why i stay.

But it does seem that if someone in a group thinks your tweet must go, and they get their friends/acquaintences/rest of the group to report, the quantity of reports has weight. So anti-Putin will have the russ-bots going into overdrive and BAM! you're off. Reporting someone saying that they want to cut off a TERF's head and fuck the hole? well unless you can mobilise a terf army, it is likely to stand. because "not credible threat" or something. the whole thing is rather interesting and probably worthy of a doctoral thesis.

This was the link questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-01-06/98878

Twitter may be a privately owned site BUT it’s officially used to communicate & transmit information by governments, embassies, our royal family, the police, the NHS etc.

Whatever its legal status, Twitter is treated by all these important institutions as though it IS an official public platform.

Maybe it SHOULD be publicly regulated 🤷‍♀️

Twitter hates women.

There is no right to 'free speech' on a private platform.

So unless you are prepared to fully accept that the male of the species is superior and should get what they want in all circumstances no matter the harm it will cause to vulnerable women and children, be prepared to be banned or issued rape or death threats with no consequence.

Whatever its legal status, Twitter is treated by all these important institutions as though it IS an official public platform.

well, that is on them, isn't it? Because they need to communicate as broadly and widely as they can.
a SM platform that is publicly owned (like the BBC* might be good)

*yes. They have one. Not sure what it's like now but when i used it, it was so heavily moderated, no discussion of politics in the run up to elections etc, it was useless.

It actually isnt.
It is a legally protected right in SOME countries. It is not a global right.

Twitter is a private company. Their terms of use are up to them. They dont have to allow protected speech, especially when that right to free speech is only protected in some countries.

Thank you, that's really interesting.

14 January 2022

As of our latest data collection on 31 March 2021, there were 146 transgender women (that is, prisoners who were legally male and identified as female) in all prisons across England and Wales.

Of these, fewer than five transgender prisoners were housed in the women’s estate. These figures do not include transgender prisoners with gender recognition certificates, although information on these individuals will be published early this year.

On current offences, in the men’s estate, there were 87 transgender women with a conviction for at least one sexual offence.

So what's that, about 60% are sex offenders?

Do you know what percentage of of male prisoners are sex offenders?

Anyone trying to engage in arguments or even discussions on Twitter has already shot themselves in the foot.

It's a cesspit of screaming into the void. 100% a waste of time.

From a very quick Google, I'm seeing headline figures of between 18 and 40% of male prisoners are sex offenders. If true, that would mean transwoman are twice as likely to be sex offenders than men (???)

Around 60% transwomen, 16% men and 3% women in prison are sex offenders according to Ministry of Justice figures.

It's the facts they don't want you to know.

Twitter is a privately owned platform? They can police it how they like tbh.

so YABU. You haven’t been arrested or censored by the state - you can still air your views in other forums, just not Twitter.

The 3% women figure is also likely to include transwomen with a GRC.

Though not the words ‘free speech’ it does fall within ‘freedom of expression …. impart information’, in which ‘impart’ is to tell.
(and the OP has clearly tried to ‘impart information’ with the link they provided)

But that has nothing to do with Twitter, it’s not a public authority, so Twitter are within their powers under the terms and services in their agreement to disallow context / remove accounts etc.

Human rights act:
1Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.
www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/schedule/1/part/I/chapter/9

And what category would transwoman with GRC be placed? Would they be included in the 3% of women.

Yes they would as they are "legally" women.