Why do politics posts get taken down

[Wizeman]

Hi Guys, just wondering why political threads may be taken down? Surely this can prevent freedom of speech. I understand bullying or racism shouldn't be tolerated. Any reasons other than these? Thanks

"Politics threads" are not all taken down. Just the ones that break MN talk guidelines. If you read the guidelines you should be able to work out why certain threads are taken down.
If you post your question on site stuff MN will post a link.

Freedom of speech does not apply to social media. It's a government thing.

So have you started a thread that got taken down?

1. People don’t have absolute freedom of speech in the UK. People are not allowed to hurl racist abuse at black people in the street in the UK like in the USA, for example. There are also longstanding laws about publicly shouting obscenities and about incitement to riot.
2. This is a UK based site and subject to UK law.
3. You are literally posting in the Politics section of the site. If you click the forum title you will see hundreds of threads in it.
4. So this is likely a you issue.

This is a misunderstanding of freedom of speech. With rights come responsibilities.

If we had freedom of speech without responsibility I could go around saying RedTagAlan is a paedophile who should be in prison. Can you see why that can't be permitted?

You could go around saying I am a pedophile if you want. There is nothing the law could do about it. It would be up to me to take civil action. But at the same time, in countries that have a mandatory duty to report child abuse, it could be you in trouble for not reporting your suspicions. UK does not have a mandatory duty. I think it should, and if it did, then you could not accuse people of being pedophiles without reporting them. It would be against the law to accuse me and not to report me.

I think you are talking abouts limits on freedom of speech. The yelling FIRE in a crowded cinema thing. The yelling FIRE is not against the law. But if a disaster were to happen because of it, then you might be charged with other stuff.

Same with hate crime, incitement to racial hatred etc. Individual laws, not about free speech.

But if a Government banned mumsnet from discussions on Greenland, or reform etc, then that would be a direct attack on free speech. If Mumsnet decided not to allow Reform discussions, that is not. Private company, not Government. Mumsnet can't jail you for it.

I think there is a fine line here subject to opinion. I would say the UK proscription on Palestinian Action is against free speech. others do not. But what we see in Hong Kong these days is pretty much universally seen as an attack on free speech.

I am posting this from a country that does now have free speech, even though the constitution here guarantees it. And there is a big difference between here and the UK on this.

I don't have any reason to believe you're a paedophile. If I went around saying it I would be abusing free speech and would deserve to be held to account. As you said you could take civil action. Do you really not see that there needs to be some restriction on what people say? You clearly do actually because you mention civil action.

Is there a typo in your last paragraph?

I don't think there is a typo, I am not posting from the UK.

I ain't a lawyer or nowt, but the pedophile thing is interesting. I used to watch flat earth debates online. And a flat earther had called his opponent a pedo. Thing is, the opponent he accused was a designated responsible adult ( he helps in kids groups) and he was legally obliged under his state law to report the flat earther to the cops. Because if he knew of accusations of abuse, he had to report it.

And that is another thing really. If it was against the law to call someone a pedo, then the actual pedophiles could use it to protect themselves. If I was a pedo, and I was sure I had covered my tracks, I could report you ( if in same country). I could use that law to silence people.

Same as false accusations of rape. If the mere act of accusing someone was a crime, then victims won't come forward. Yes, I know false accusations happen, but there is a delicate line.

So yes, I think there is a very fine line, and it's not easy to put into binary terms.

Of course I know you are not accusing me, but it is an interesting accusation to consider. Especially with the Church abuse stuff. I do not think it should be against the law for you to call me a pedo. But, if I was a Clergy or aware of abuse, and did not report it , then yeah, that is a crime IMO.

Free speech. In the UK I can write here that I think Starmer is a danger to the UK, or variations. Where I am, I cannot say that about our beloved wise leader.

Yes, I think civil law is good, but at the same time it can be used to silence, So there is that too.

It's complex when you really think about it. My head is spinning now.

Haven’t you had enough attention for one day, OP?

You said you're posting from a country that does now have free speech, even though the constitution here guarantees it. And there is a big difference between here and the UK on this.

The first two phrases sounded like there might be a typo.

The constitution here, in the country I am posting from. The UK has no written constitution.

Bad wording perhaps :-)

"Does now" or "does not", I think is the suspected typo.

Ahh right thanks. Self-administered slap on wrist done :-)

OP has vanished anyway. Pity, because free speech is an interesting subject. Especially regarding how it has been weaponized by the far right.

We do have libel laws which would probably apply in those circumstances.

Because you’re not capable of respectful discourse.

Like what? Give us some example of political threads that were taken down.

As far as I know, the U.K. does not have something directly comparable to the American First Amendment guarantee of free speech - and even that has to do with governments, not private business.

All sites have the right to police their forums, even though this is something that Trump failed to grasp - possibly due to his lack of familiarity with the internet.