Siwi

Re:Facebook and Twitter pledge to remove hate speech within 24 hours on Wednesday June 01, 2016 @10:00PM (#11819846)

http://www.dw.com/en/mark-zuckerbergs-offensive-on-hate-spee...

http://www.dw.com/en/berlin-police-raid-homes-in-crackdown-o...

And one on a "mainstream dissident" that's quite controversial: http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/15/europe/germany-erdogan-joke-pr...

Also, while we're on the topic of "slippery slope": http://www.politico.eu/article/twitter-suspends-darthputinkg...

Re:Facebook and Twitter pledge to remove hate speech within 24 hours on Tuesday May 31, 2016 @03:41PM (#11809538)

In this case, that's actually not true. It's being defined by the European Commission and imposed on these sites.

Re:Facebook and Twitter pledge to remove hate speech within 24 hours on Tuesday May 31, 2016 @03:38PM (#11809503)

This issue is less about Facebook, Twitter, etc. choosing to a code of conduct than it is about having limitations on speech imposed on them by the EC. For this reason, it's about freedom of expression and not about self driven no-platforming.

Re:Facebook and Twitter pledge to remove hate speech within 24 hours on Tuesday May 31, 2016 @03:33PM (#11809461)

What ever happened to the principle "I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." This is about putting the lid on views of their citizens that European governments don't like. Disappointed that Twitter and Facebook are giving into this in Europe when they wouldn't in China.

Re:Facebook and Twitter pledge to remove hate speech within 24 hours on Tuesday May 31, 2016 @03:29PM (#11809420)

This is not about no-platforming, where the private company sets the terms of conduct for its users. This is about freedom of expression being encroached upon; the government (EC) is telling companies owned privately by shareholders, and used by its citizens, what opinions they can and can't express without fear of ramifications.

Re:Facebook and Twitter pledge to remove hate speech within 24 hours on Tuesday May 31, 2016 @03:18PM (#11809296)

American tech companies shouldn't indulge censorship, even if it seems well intentioned, the scope is promised to be limited, and the pressure from governments is immense. They also shouldn't try to pick political winners by promoting the social campaigns and positions of the EC, as they've promised (citation below).

What is legitimate speech should not be determined by whoever is in power. Europe has tried that on several occasions. It never goes well. Just imagine if Donald Trump could declare what speech was considered legal and illegal. Perhaps we're getting a preview from Erdogan in Turkey right now.

This situation appears to be an attempt to suppress dissenting views (largely on immigration, border control, and refugee/asylum policy) following shifts in public opinion away from European integration and establishment incumbents like the CDU/CSU and SPD and toward nationalism and political parties like AfD in Germany, FPO in Austria, and FN in France. Since November Merkel has been pressuring Facebook to sanitize the platform of negative views toward migrants. It is troubling that leaders can punish their citizens for views that break from their policies. State police have even conducted house raids on those promoting "incorrect opinions" toward migrants on social media (citation below). We are not talking about physical threats, we're talking about opinions. Facebook and Twitter should not enable what has become, in a very literal sense, thought police.

If there are window-licking asshats posting nonsense on social media, let's challenge their views and win the debate. Democracy is about more speech, not less. I hope Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Microsoft haven't drifted so far from their original principles that they've lost sight of that.

http://www.dw.com/en/berlin-police-raid-homes-in-crackdown-o...

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-36416967