If you took the above motif and applied it to a site that hosted child pornography, most people would be horrified.
"It is not possible for the content of a website to be responsible for child pornography filmed IRL. That autonomy can only be utilized by human beings."
"It doesn't really matter either way though because websites don't make kiddie porn, people make kiddie porn."
Etc.
Whether Mr. Moon knows it or not, this is a different case then his "free speech" arguments. The case against Kiwi Farms is thus: A) a website hosts illegal material or activity of some kind, and B) the moderation is not particularly pro-active about getting rid of said illegal material. Not all of KF is illegal -- Kiwi Farms is in safe territory simply making shitposts about LOLCows, there is no problem about that. But once members of the community crossed the line into coordinated harassment, they were engaging in illegal activity, plain and simple.
Due to Section 230 etc., there is, at present, no real legal obligation for Mr. Moon to take action and moderate against harassment campaigns. However, it is my opinion that Mr. Moon's casual gaslighting of the illegal activity stemming from his board (in fact, as I see it, his statements on transsexuals have amounted to coy support) make it ''more'' likely that the current protections offered by Section 230 will come to an end. The reaction in much "common media" really is "why is a site like Kiwi Farms legal?". It just fuels energy on certain sides of American politics that Section 230 allows too much lawless activity (and with the other side of American politics complaining that Section 230 "censors", it'll probably be gone before you know it.)
Mr. Moon can cry "free speech on the Internet" all he wants, in other words, but his site is doing its damn best to end it.
"It is not possible for the content of a website to be responsible for child pornography filmed IRL. That autonomy can only be utilized by human beings." "It doesn't really matter either way though because websites don't make kiddie porn, people make kiddie porn." Etc.
Whether Mr. Moon knows it or not, this is a different case then his "free speech" arguments. The case against Kiwi Farms is thus: A) a website hosts illegal material or activity of some kind, and B) the moderation is not particularly pro-active about getting rid of said illegal material. Not all of KF is illegal -- Kiwi Farms is in safe territory simply making shitposts about LOLCows, there is no problem about that. But once members of the community crossed the line into coordinated harassment, they were engaging in illegal activity, plain and simple.
Due to Section 230 etc., there is, at present, no real legal obligation for Mr. Moon to take action and moderate against harassment campaigns. However, it is my opinion that Mr. Moon's casual gaslighting of the illegal activity stemming from his board (in fact, as I see it, his statements on transsexuals have amounted to coy support) make it ''more'' likely that the current protections offered by Section 230 will come to an end. The reaction in much "common media" really is "why is a site like Kiwi Farms legal?". It just fuels energy on certain sides of American politics that Section 230 allows too much lawless activity (and with the other side of American politics complaining that Section 230 "censors", it'll probably be gone before you know it.)
Mr. Moon can cry "free speech on the Internet" all he wants, in other words, but his site is doing its damn best to end it.