"Reddit Declares Itself a ‘Government’"

"In response to the rapid growth of the /r/TheFappening subreddit, (where celebrity nudes were posted) Reddit CEO Yishan Wong took to the official Reddit blog to explain why they would not be shutting it down. In the post, called “Every Man Is Responsible For His Own Soul,” he said:

The reason is because we consider ourselves not just a company running a website where one can post links and discuss them, but the government of a new type of community. The role and responsibility of a government differs from that of a private corporation, in that it exercises restraint in the usage of its powers.

If that sounds like grandiose language for a social network, consider that if Facebook were a country, it would nearly be tied with China for the highest population. Consider that everything from political organization to the way we move money is tying itself to social media... (read more)

Shortly after Mr. Wong’s post went up, r/TheFappening was, in fact, shut down, and probably for the best. One minute it stays, the next it’s gone. It could happen on any community, at any time, without explanation. After all, even if Reddit can be called a government, what we can’t call it is a democracy.

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