Shopify no-platforms Nazis (but not Breitbart)

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/11/08/n-commerce.html

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Does “wink-nudging” mean? Not kicking them out? Or not not kicking them out?

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Breitbart walks a careful line with avoiding the obvious rhetoric that would tip off everyone as to their game (trafficking in codes and double speak). They let the commenters say loud and proud what they are getting at.

They very recently started black-holing comments with racial slurs, or other highly charged terms (including negative names for Democrats like “libtard”). I am not sure what it means yet.

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But I thought Shopify would never do that because deep breath freeeeeeee speeeeeech

Well, Shopify is Canadian, and in Canada we have free speech but also laws against hate speech. It’s a tricky line to walk, but so far it seems to be working.

All that said, Shopify is not suppressing anyone by refusing to publish them. They are a private company that has a right to refuse to publish anyone they choose. They are also likely subject to Canadian laws about hate speech, though I’m not sure how that applies to a ‘platform’ as opposed to a publisher.

Breitbart is awful, but they make some pretense at legitimacy and manage not to cross the line. Suppressing them would be more hazardous, in my opinion. I’d prefer they wither and die all on their own.

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