Coinbase joins the war against free speech for unpopular opinions in the USA
Posted Aug 18, 2017, 3:39 PM UTC
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Freedom of association. Coinbase is free to not do business with whomever they choose.
It's not like it's not trivial to set up your own donation address.
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Not sure why this comment is down voted.
Bitching about a centralized exchange shutting down accounts that participate in the crypto space from said centralized exchange is asinine.
Move your coins off exchange before donating. Control your own value and control your ability to freely speak.
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Not sure why this comment is down voted.
Because it's not true.
No business in the US is free to not do business with whoever they choose.
They should be, but until certain laws are repealed they most certainly are not.
The only way to get those laws repealed is to insist they are enforced equally, so they become equally intolerable to everyone.
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You're wrong. Any private business can refuse service to anyone else, within limits:
So, no matter where you live, you cannot deny service to someone because of his or her race, color, religion, national origin or disability. In some states and cities, you also cannot discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation. If there is no state, federal or local law prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations against a particular group of people, then you can legally refuse to serve that group of people.
Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences of that speech from private parties.
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Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences of that speech from private parties.
It does mean freedom from conspiracies to interfere with civil rights.
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Coinbase is free to not do business with whoever they choose.
No, they are not in the USA.
Perhaps that should be the case, but until those laws are repealed then they must be enforced neutrally.
In fact anyone who truly believes in freedom of association should demand laws which infringe on them should be enforced in all cases, to increase public support for repealing them and restoring true freedom of association.
Otherwise they might be mistaken for a coward who hides behind freedom of association when these laws are being blatantly violated because they don't want to stand up for freedom of speech for unpopular speech.
It's not like it's not trivial to set up your own donation address.
There are also reports that Coinbase will close your account if you send your bitcoins to a donation address they do not approve of.
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As someone who has given coinbase thousands of dollars worth of business, recommended them to new crypto users, and defended them when hysteria about transfer times breaks out, I'll be transferring what little I have with them and taking my business else where.
While I don't support hateful or bigoted ideologies, and acknowledge coinbase is well within their right to refuse service, I also believe in free speech. If catholics who support an organization that has protected child rapists for decades can use the service, why can't people who support equally fucked up organizations?
I don't want companies I do crypto related business with taking sides on issues in the cryptosphere, and sure as hell don't want them injecting themselves into social and political issues. You've been great coinbase, but I simply can't place my trust in an organization that puts their political/social beliefs before their customers.
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I am disappointed in coinbase participating in political biased that is attacking free speech.
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I 100% agree that it is exactly the speech of those with unpopular opinions that need protection. However, you don't have to let them use your service to raise money. You guys are completely confusing two separate issues.
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Do you support denial of service based on political orientation or views?
Just to name an example: what about a restaurant refusing to provide you with their service because you just went to a march in support of LGTB rights?
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Political orientation is not legally a protected class. So, if that restaurant was a biker bar, i think it would be understandable, and in most states perfectly legal, for the owner to refuse service to those who don't match the vibe and may alienate other customers.
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I'm not asking whether political orientation is a criteria for defining a legally protected class.
I'm asking for an opinion.
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My opinion is that it is understandable for business owners to choose to serve whoever they wish, as long as they arent actively discriminating against a protected class.
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Coinbase isn't morally obligated to help Nazis fundraise, fuck off out of here with that alt-right shit.
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Perhaps.
They are legally obligated under federal civil rights law, however, to avoid participating in a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights.
In any case, Bitcoin users should know if you're only allowed to use Coinbase if they agree with your political views.
7
Again, it's not a civil right to have an account on coinbase, so they're not interfering with any civil rights.
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I thought the bitcoin community were proponents of libertarian/minarchist principles?
Here's a company choosing who they do business with. As this breaks no laws in the US (since political ideologies is not a protected class), why do you want to impose new laws? Why should white supremacists get special rights?
And no u/ABlockInTheChain, having a Coinbase account is not a civil right.
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Coinbase can do whatever they want. That's you don't store all your cash on a fucking exchange! Don't you understand this? Why are you even into bitcoin? It was to get around the banks not to keep your money in a new bank called an exchange. I support certain exchanges but I know they can do whatever the fuck they want which I why I keep a majority of my coins cold and off exchanges.
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Good. People should stand up to those who seek to subjugate others.
Companies have a right to decline business for any reason not considered to be a protected class.
1†
I'd like some transparency from Coinbase on why they closed this account.
I've also heard (unconfirmed) reports they've closed accounts of people who donated to Andrew Anglin.
In other words - Coinbase is actively policing the political speech of their users.
If I understand correct, Andrew Anglin has been seeking donations for a lawsuit over Internet free speech.
I think the fools willing to throw him under the bus for his views are hastening the collapse of free speech on the Internet. This is an issue that techies have been claiming to care about for decades.
Now the rubber meets the road.
This is an easy question, right?
We're all cryptoanarchists here, aren't we?
Apparently not so much anymore.
On r/bitcoin there is a huge of pro-censorship crowd. And pro-centralization. And pro-government.
Censorship is a terrible thing.
Not letting Nazis raise funds using your platform - I am ok with that. If someone were to suggest its "Nazis today and you tomorrow" - that's a slippery slope argument. Freedom of speech means that the government cannot jail you for your speech and views - it does not mean that everyone must cater to your view. Businesses should be free to not serve hate groups.
"Freedom of speech" is just a property right. Freedom of association is also a property right. I should be permitted to deny service to anybody for any reason - that's freedom.
If we're going to live in a society with unlimited property rights and freedom of association, great!
We do not live in that society, however.
While we have these civil rights laws they must be enforced neutrally. Anything else is intolerable.
Freedom of speech as defined in the US constitution means that the government cannot jail you. However I'd prefer to do business with companies that stand for freedom of speech in general.
No group of two or more persons in the USA is legally permitted to interfere with the civil rights of any other person.
Uhhh, being able to use Coinbase isn't a guaranteed civil right?
I don't think that's an actual law. So interference is permitted as long as its only one person doing the interfering? makes no sense....if you have a name of the law I can google, that would be appreciated. I honestly believe the freedom of speech is about the government jailing / fining people. If its not just that, I would honestly like to learn about that.
If you disagree with someone extremely then you will have no problem deconstructing his arguments and convince the majority to share your opinion, if you really claim the moral high ground then you have no need to use authoritarian tactics.
I'm personally tired of the thought police and the politization of everything by the left, this culture war is exhausting.
There is no discussing or convincing those that base their political ideology on subjugating others. They need to be shut down and shut out.
Businesses should be free to not serve anyone they want.
It's fairly obvious that they closed it because they don't want to help Nazis raise funds.
Because they are a crypto unicorn trying to stay squeaky clean and scandal free until they go public and cash out. Also its very likely that not taking action would lead to them and maybe the larger crypto community being slandered in the mainstream press as nazi sympathizers, which would give democratic lawmakers good reason to shove excessive regulations down their throat and put a stranglehold on their profits. Just a guess though.