Olives @olives@qoto.org

I'm avoiding commenting on this one an awful lot one, otherwise you fall into the trap of "free expression is a matter of taking about which celebrity has been hit, rather than far more systemic forms of censorship".

But, it's another example of "going by the seat of your pants" moderation, where YouTube jumps in inexplicably.

It's also arbitrary and inconsistent. Is YouTube going to start policing every random celebrity who has ever had a sex scandal?

I don't think that's going to work.

YouTube taking on a role of an unappointed judge of morals.

"According to plaintiffs, Wayne County seizes vehicles simply because of the vehicle’s location in an area generally associated with crime. Regardless of the owner’s innocence, Wayne County impounds the vehicles and its contents until the owner pays a redemption fee. This fee is $900 for the first seizure, $1,800 for the second, and $2,700 for the third, not including other fees for towing and storage.

If the owner is unwilling or unable to pay the redemption fee, the only alternatives are either to abandon the vehicle or to wait for county prosecutors to decide whether to initiate civil forfeiture proceedings."

https://ij.org/press-release/sixth-circuit-unanimously-rules-against-detroit-forfeiture-program/

"ARLINGTON, Va.—Today, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Wayne County violated the rights of Detroiters by not offering prompt court hearings within two weeks of their vehicles being seized. Wayne County regularly seizes and retains vehicles for months or longer without providing an opportunity for a hearing to challenge the seizure and get their vehicles back."

"According to the court’s own opinion, it usually takes “at least four months, on top of any previous delays (usually an additional four to six months)” for a car owner to get in front of a judge after their car has been seized. The court further held “that Wayne County violated [the] Constitution when it seized plaintiffs’ personal vehicles—which were vital to their transportation and livelihoods—with no timely process to contest the seizure."

https://reclaimthenet.org/youtube-demonetizes-russell-brand Russell Brand sounds like a piece of garbage, and his excuses are equally pathetic, but I don't think YouTube should be swooping in to punish him.

It was deplorable but it didn't have anything to do with their platform.

https://reason.com/2023/09/19/federal-judge-blocks-california-online-age-checking-law-as-unconstitutional/

"A federal judge has granted an injunction blocking a California law that would force online businesses and social media platforms to estimate the ages of people visiting their sites and protect children from seeing content that might cause harm, stating that the law likely violates the First Amendment and would likely lead to online government-fueled censorship."

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/10/legalising-cannabis-in-australia-how-would-it-work-and-is-there-a-catch I support Australia legalizing cannabis.

I don't particularly like Biden, ideally, the Democrats would have a better candidate, but "the other guy has a lot of problems".

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/09/unity-apologises-for-the-new-runtime-fee-say-they-will-make-changes/ Apparently, Unity will make "changes", although it's unclear what they mean by this.

I'd caution of leaning too much on the one bad apple theory (i.e. Ursula having a strong authoritarian leaning) and not examining the sheer amount of power being granted more broadly to the State, particularly when it comes to the Internet.