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Mike Masnick

What Mike Masnick thinks about censorship

@mike-masnick · 7 positions · 0 changes of mind

Founder and editor of Techdirt, writing since 1997 on internet policy, intermediary liability and free expression online. Co-hosts the content moderation podcast Ctrl-Alt-Speech and coined the term Streisand effect.

Mike Masnick did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

5 dated positions, 2024, in their own words. Our reading of what Mike Masnick has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingA platform's failure to moderate or to cooperate belongs in a civil proceeding against the company before it becomes a criminal case against its founder.

    Their wordsOn top of that, leaping to criminal charges against an exec over civil penalties for a company… seems strange.

    ↗Arrest Of Telegram’s Pavel Durov Raises Questions, But The Answers May Not Be Known For A Whiletechdirt.com 1st of 3 in this piece

  3. Our readingHosting other people's criminal behaviour should not by itself expose a platform's executive to criminal charges.

    Their wordsBut, hosting bad behavior alone shouldn’t lead to criminal charges. Even ignoring law enforcement demands seems like it should lead to civil penalties before reaching criminal charges.

    ↗Arrest Of Telegram’s Pavel Durov Raises Questions, But The Answers May Not Be Known For A Whiletechdirt.com 2nd of 3 in this piece

  5. Our readingMost of what Durov is charged with is conduct almost any large platform could be accused of.

    Their wordsA lot of the things listed in the charge sheet are things that lots of websites and communications providers could be said to have done themselves, though perhaps to a different degree.

    ↗Durov’s Arrest Details Released, Leaving More Questions Than Answerstechdirt.com 2nd of 4 in this piece

  7. Our readingWhether the prosecution of Pavel Durov is an attack on free speech cannot be judged until the actual charges are known.

    Their wordsWithout the details, though, it’s really difficult to know if this is an attack on free speech, or legitimate charges over actual criminal behavior.

    ↗Arrest Of Telegram’s Pavel Durov Raises Questions, But The Answers May Not Be Known For A Whiletechdirt.com 3rd of 3 in this piece

  9. Our readingComplicity is a dangerous legal standard for platforms, because every platform hosts some illegal material and stopping it entirely is impossible.

    Their wordsThe list of “complicity” in various bad things worries me because every platform has some element of that kind of content going on, in part because it’s impossible to stop entirely.

    ↗Durov’s Arrest Details Released, Leaving More Questions Than Answerstechdirt.com 4th of 4 in this piece