In a recent article by polygon (link) writer Julia Alexander talks about the recent YouTube purge and how these 'controversial users' are flocking to the censorship free platforms of dtube and steemit. However the article had a recent update, a statement by steemit creator and CEO @ned. Well just look at it for yourself ⬇️⬇️⬇️
So wtf? Is that is for steemit and the censorship free platform. Are we going to see our hard work removed just because someone decided they were offended by it. Flag it and its gone?
Personally when I come across a post I don't agree with, do I get offended and flag it? No! I move one on or go and I offer a counter opinion. Because I value free speech and realize that it goes both ways.
I'm very concerned for the future of the steemit platform after reading that statement.
Leave your thoughts below thanks.
IMHO free speech will be the least of our problems.
If you research the "Social Credit System" which is rolling out in China as we speak and put it into context with the data already available to them
(https://steemit.com/conspiracy/@herrleeb/they-know-more-about-you-than-you-do-yourself) and the coming infrastructure based on 5G it becomes obvious that free speech is going to be a thing of the past.
Currently we have a small window of opportunity to post shit in a little insignificant corner of the internet, as long as steemit is small and not a real threat. But in the near future it will be more about who you are, what you think, who you associate with. There will be no need to censor free speech, they will be able to shut down your life based on algorithms which analyze your personality, even if you say or write nothing.
@maxigan explains it pretty well in his blog.
Wow. Now that was an interesting article. By interesting I mean we could just completely dismiss it and not pay it any attention; except that Ned responded to it? What's that all about?
I thought, and correct me if I'm wrong, that we can make things less visible on Steemit by flagging, but that there's no way to actually remove/delete content from the Blockchain?
I have to interpret what Ned was saying is that even though Steemit can remove information from people's feeds or what it displays, it can't actually alter the blockchain, right?
Otherwise what would be the point of a decentralized blockchain verified by witnesses if everything was hosted centrally and Steemit Inc could just waltz right in and remove content
I didn't even think that they could remove plagiarized/copyrighted material... Isn't the only solution to stolen content posted by someone without the rights was to Cheetahbot / auto-flag it?
Yeah I guess I do find that a little concerning to @venom
Thanks for sharing this information and letting us know down the line if you hear or see anything more about what that statement actually means let alone implies...
Is it possible that Steemit Inc is just trying to deflect bad press and avoid completely tarneshing the reputation of the platform before it has a chance to actually give YouTube a run for its money?
If it's just a strategic, convoluted way to do some damage control while being somewhat of a meaningless and generic statement I would feel a whole lot better than if this is actually a statement by the leadership of Steemit that "Oh no, we fully intend to toe the mainstream/YouTube line, we just want to fill our pockets and be players in the game too"
I think Steemit has definitely been growing in popularity and since the whole model of this platform right now is based on being sexy for people to purchase Steem, maybe this is just a way to not make Steem look like a "alt-right hate-speech platform" in the eyes of the Matrix slaves before it has a chance to take off and give YouTube a run for its money (and audience?)
I don't know; what do you think then? You think it's actually dire, or somewhat meaningless at this point?
Honestly, I'm not sure. I'm just hoping it's like you said a generic and meaningless statement for damage control.
I think everyone who's here on steemit because of the promise of a censorship free platform, need to start asking @ned exactly what he meant by the statement?
Ned talked about Steemit.com, not Steem.io.
Isn't the whole point of Blockchain technology that the content can't be tampered with by a central remote control once timestamped?
To the question in your title, my Magic 8-Ball says:
Hi! I'm a bot, and this answer was posted automatically. Check this post out for more information.
Yes and no, because FIRST, yes, things are removed or hidden or blocked off Steemit.com, as Steemit is an application of Steem.io and Steemit is an American company. By the way, in a website, normally, the ".COM" in the URL address is short for COMpany (COM) in the Steemit.COM address. @Ned Scott said in a video that Steemit.com is an American company that follows copyright laws. Now, is hate speech included in copyrights, patents, etc, for American laws in the United States of America (USA)? These are great questions. We should DEBATE these questions more and more.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, It is better when we try our best to follow the rules and laws and regulations and everything of the states and countries we may live in, even if that includes maybe bad laws, etc. So, I want smaller government. I want better laws. But we kind of have to follow laws maybe, even if the laws are wrong or bad , etc etc....
SECOND:
But STEEMIT.COM is not Steem.io, the blockchain root core foundation platform for the whole blockchain network. Ned Scott said things may be removed from Steemit but not Steem.io or the blockchain itself. So, when you post on Steemit.com, for example, the post is uploaded to the blockchain and is THEN shared to and on and through Steemit.com and Busy.org and other APPLICATIONS of the blockchain. The different application may only show certain posts as they may go through filters. For example, Dsound filters in sound posts, music posts. And Dtube filters in video posts. And Steemit.com is an American company that probably has to abide to American laws maybe, I'm guessing. According to many people on how blockchains work, things are NOT taken off the blockchain, the platform, but may be hidden off certain platforms. So if something is hidden off Steemit.com, then maybe you can see it on Busy.org or other applications of Steem.io or so the theory seems to say. Yes, the USA has too many laws and we got to vote and get more involved politically to get rid of bad laws maybe.
This was exactly the way that I've come to understand it over the last 5-6 months I've been on here. I wouldn't be shocked to find out Steemit Inc has the power to remove or alter the blockchain... Very shocked, and dismayed.
And I totally agree that as a company potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe one day billions of dollars, they have to follow the rules, lest they get slapped around senseless by the government. (Actually, since all of their wealth is in Steem, maybe they could afford to be illegal and just hide their keys really well, the fiscs probably couldn't confiscate their assets... But I understand Ned doesn't want to cross the US government lol...)
I'm not sure if you were saying that us common people though have to follows laws that are wrong or bad... I personally think following laws that are wrong and bad is evil, and I try to limit how evil I am...
I think as common people there's actually a lot of leeway for us to bend the rules when the rules are ridiculous, and to break them when they are darn right unacceptable...
Everybody has to make up their own mind about what they are willing to do.. Anybody breaking a rule has to be willing to deal with the consequences of breaking that law... But are they free and blessed to do it if they feel its the right thing to do?
Absolutely
Anyway, bit of an unrelated tangent... I think you're absolutely right about how Steemit works, and yeah, hopefully we can have laws that do make sense and do work for the majority of people, and for Steemit and free speech in particular, in this case :3
Another informative post my friend, I guess as steemit grows and becomes a more standard business model .. they will (to a degree) have to play the game, I hope this is just a nod as opposed to a stride in that direction.