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To: Varda

But these aren’t just private entities. They use public airwaves. They used public research, etc. The courts in the past have ruled that a mall (ie private property) could not exclude people who wanted to hold political protests on their property because they were effectively the town square.

It was the same in company towns - they too could not exclude people from protesting, signing petitions, etc on their property even though they were private companies because they owned the whole town and thus could not exclude people from the town square.

In the modern era, social media is the digital town square.


26 posted on 03/10/2026 5:28:04 PM PDT by FLT-bird
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To: FLT-bird
Using public airwaves has never required any entity using them to allow any kind of speech (TV stations). I don't agree with the courts allowing abuse of property for protests either. A mall is not a town.
Just because a court allowed this doesn't make it good. Public takings of private property is something I consider an abuse of power by the government.
This cure is worse than the disease.
27 posted on 03/10/2026 6:29:41 PM PDT by Varda
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