A ‘dangerous’ standard

Last August, Facebook and several other tech giants took the precipitous step of banning the odious Alex Jones from their platforms. Jones’ expulsion appeared deserved given his repugnant tactics such as the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory that led to a shooting by a deranged follower and claiming the Sandy Hook slaughter was staged by “crisis actors.”

While the Jones ban was welcome, it was disconcerting that these large public platforms had a vague “hate speech” claim to expel Jones, but nonetheless kept Louis Farrakhan and David Duke. The banning appeared arbitrary and out of step with the spirit of the First Amendment, even accepting that private companies have wide latitude in policing speech.

On Thursday, Facebook crafted a more set-in-stone “dangerous” standard that enabled them to expunge Jones’ Infowars, as

well as toxic figures such as Farrakhan and alt-right figures like Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer. Their personal and page accounts all are now gone from both Facebook and Instagram — though their fans can still post and share stories about them

They have a right of free speech, but they don’t have a right to pollute Facebook’s pages if Facebook doesn’t want them.

Remember, private organizations can set their own standards with respect to decorum and taste. A “dangerous” standard, rather than a vague “anti-hate-speech” one seems on surer footing — even as we are under no illusion that kicking out Jones, Farrakhan and the like will halt the rise of racism, antiSemitism or other bigotry.

Nonetheless, if it makes them harder to spread?

So be it.