If the first amendment doesn't apply to on-line communities, what good is it?

Question

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080706/ap_on_hi_te/tec_disappearing_freedoms

Answer 1

Problem is...

on the network, EVERYTHING

is PRIVATE PROPERTY.

so if you are a guest in somebody's house and you rant on about how "W" is for War Criminal, and the house belongs to a Republican ... expect to be thrown out.

If on the net, we had the equal of the PUBLIC side walk, then we could invoke the First Amendment.

Answer 2

It does, and as soon as you buy some bandwidth, you can say whatever you want on it.

Answer 3

There are standards one must live by to remain decent...there are many minors who use on-line services and

these deserve the courtesy of decency from anyone who is on-line.  However the first amendment  is revelent in the US

because it is part of the US Consititution......www. whatever is world wide and not covered by the US Constitution, but by the owners of the search engines and other web pages, these guys own it and they set the rules...abide by them or

be deleted...that's what they told me!

Five Stars for Patrick G!   Right on!

Answer 4

'on-line communities' are an illusion created by they service providers;  if you want to start your own website, you're perfectly free to speak your piece.  but when you're on yahoo, aol, or any other commercial site, you're subject to their rules, much like actors on tv are not free to make up their own dialogue, and writers can only publish what their publisher agrees to have printed.

Answer 5

Am I to understand that if you can't have the freedom to say or post whatever you want on someone else's server, that they have opened up for public use, then you see no purpose in keeping your 1st amendment rights?

Answer 6

Go back and read the 1st amendment again.  Go ahead, I have time.  Note that it restricts Congress.  Yahoo isn't Congress.

Answer 7

It amazes me how little people know about the Bill of Rights.

You waived your first amendment rights and agree to play by Yahoo's rules when you signed onto this forum.  Just like you would for any other "public" forum on the internet.

The protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights protects citizens from the government.  Not from privately owned or publicly traded corporations.  For that matter your first amendment rights barely offer any protection at all.

For example, you could walk into my house, declare your first amendment rights and call my wife a foul name....  do you honestly think that your first amendment rights would protect you from getting your butt kicked?

If you are going to claim the protections of the Bill of Rights, at least enjoy a basic understanding of what is being protected.

Answer 8

The internet should have no regulations besides the ones set by the companies themselves. If yahoo wants to block that picture that's their choice, but it if were a government official blocking that picture I'd be disturbed.

Answer 9

Would you like some cheese with that whine ?

Answer 10

You're on private property here.

You do what you're told or you leave.

That's THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT.

Don't like it?  Leave!

Answer 11

Use your own server, make your own rules.