FreeImages
Brussels to grill web giants about Internet
Last year the European Union set up an EU Internet Forum to get internet companies, interior ministers and the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator to find ways of removing content they do not like.
Published: December 6, 2016, 11:49 am
The Forum will meet again on Thursday this week, when ministers are expected to grill the companies about their efforts to police the Net.
The meetings follow in the wake of a warning on Sunday, issued by the European Commission to Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube and Microsoft that if the companies do not address “hate speech”, the EU will enact legislation that will force them to do so.
In May, the same five companies voluntarily signed a code of conduct to remove unwanted content on their platforms within 24 hours. The EU not only demanded of companies to disable or remove content from their platforms but also to promote “‘counter-narratives’ to hate speech,” Reuters reported.
“In practice the companies take longer and do not yet achieve this goal. They only reviewed 40 per cent of the recorded cases in less than 24 hours,” a Commission official told Reuters. The Commission’s report found that YouTube responded quickly, while Twitter lagged behind in removal requests.
“If Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Microsoft want to convince me and the ministers that the non-legislative approach can work, they will have to act quickly and make a strong effort in the coming months,” a Brussels official told the Financial Times on Sunday.
At the European level the prospect of air passenger data (Passenger Name Records, PNR) collection and long-term storage is a reality, while in France the legislative mills are turning even faster to control social media.
Only a few days ago, the French government enacted a decree that enables the de-listing of websites from search engines without any judicial oversight. The decree ostensibly targets websites that distribute child abuse content as well as sites that incite or endorse terrorism, but in reality the measures could also include political unwanted material.
This comes only a month after another decree that enabled the administrative blocking of websites.
Meanwhile web giants YouTube , Facebook , Twitter and Microsoft will step up efforts to remove unwanted content from their websites by creating a common database, as tech companies have come under considerable pressure from Western governments to police content.
The companies will share the unique digital fingerprints they automatically assign to videos or photos – called “hashes” – they have removed from their websites to enable others to remove similar content from their platforms. YouTube and Facebook have already employed hashes to automatically remove unwanted content.
“We hope this collaboration will lead to greater efficiency as we continue to enforce our policies to help curb the pressing global issue of terrorist content online,” the companies said in a statement released on Tuesday.
These two invasive French decrees implement the anti-terrorism act of 2014 and the LOPPSI act of 2011 and allow for de-listing and blocking of online content using a solely administrative procedure.
In the case of website blocking, users trying to access these sites are redirected to a government-sponsored page informing them that content is being blocked. When de-listing, however, the requirement for search engine operators to treat confidentially the requests by the oversight body means that it is very difficult to know which websites are affected.
There is therefore absolutely no possibility of judicial or public oversight.
Essentially, it is now possible to censor the internet in France using a procedure that completely ignores the separation of powers, using terms that do not have clearly defined meanings, and with consequences that cannot be scrutinised by a judicial authority or the public.
However, the decrees are being challenged. Both the Association of Community-based Internet Services (ASIC) and La Quadrature du Net, a French organisation defending digital rights, have stated their intention to appeal to the Council of State in order to obtain an annulment of these decrees.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
Europe
New App Helps Locate Sweden’s Historic Runestones
A new app called Swedish Runestones will help locate historical gems.
Swedish military wants to remilitarize the Åland Islands
The demilitarized autonomy has previously been known as 'the islands of peace.
NOAA Predicts Zero Sunspots for Almost the Whole 2030s
CLIMATEThe United States' government scientific organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts zero sunspots from 2031 to 2040. This is an extreme situation that has not occurred in as long as humanity has been counting sunspots, and it leads us into uncharted territory in terms of our solar system. However, this prediction aligns with the warnings of the world-renowned solar researcher Valentina Zharkova for many years, who indicated in 2019 various signs of this catastrophic phenomenon, including the extreme hailstorms we have seen in Europe and the world this summer. The forecast and various observations this year give cause for very significant concern. In this unique analysis, Free West Media explains why.
European Nationalist Parties Forge Cooperation Ahead of EU Elections
EUROPEAN ELECTIONSOn Saturday, August 26, representatives of six European nationalist parties gathered in Budapest. The meeting was initiated by the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk and took place in the national parliament. Representatives of the parties signed a joint declaration that not only reaffirms the parties' friendship but also their unity on a range of complex political issues. A surprisingly clear and radical manifesto was established. The hope is that this cooperation will lead to success in the EU elections and eventually result in the formation of a group in the European Parliament. For Swedish nationalism, this meeting marks a success as Sweden, for the first time, has a party represented in a leading nationalist cooperation in Europe. Free West Media was present at this historic event.
Turkey Believes Sweden Hasn’t Done Enough
Sweden will have to wait a bit longer for NATO membership, according to Turkey's Justice Minister Jilmaz Tunc. First, Sweden must extradite the "terrorists" Turkey wants and stop the desecration of the Quran.
Swedish Weapon Takes Down Russia’s Best Attack Helicopter
The Russian attack helicopter Ka-52 is considered one of the world's best and has struck fear in Ukraine, where it has hunted down tanks and other armored vehicles, often beyond the range of many light anti-aircraft systems. However, it has met its match in the Swedish air defense missile system RBS 70, which has quickly led to significant losses for the Russian helicopter forces.
The Sun Drives Earth’s Climate, Not Carbon Dioxide
Top Researchers Push Back Against Climate Lies."The correlation is as clear as day," explained the Israeli astrophysicist Nir Shaviv, who was hailed by the establishment, before his interview with Forbes was hastily deleted. What he says contradicts the climate narrative, which points to humans as responsible for Earth's climate. Shaviv firmly asserts that it is the sun that controls the climate, something that can be scientifically proven in many ways. Contrary to the popular belief, the sun's influence on Earth has, in recent years, caused unusually cold and rainy weather, a trend that solar researchers warn will worsen significantly in the coming decades. The sun has exhibited an unusually low activity since 2016, during Solar Cycle 24, which was the weakest in a century.
Strong Confidence in German AfD
Alternative for Germany (AfD) held a party conference on July 29-30 to select candidates for the upcoming EU election next year. EU Parliament member Maximilian Krah, belonging to the party's more radical, ethnonationalist faction, was appointed as the top candidate. The party's two spokespersons delivered powerful speeches criticizing the EU's failed migration policy and trade sanctions that isolate Europe and Germany from the rest of the world. They argued that it's time for the EU to return a significant portion of its power to national parliaments. However, they have dropped the demand for Germany to exit the EU.
The Establishment Wants to Ban Germany’s Second Largest Party – for the Sake of Democracy
The rising popularity of AfD has raised strong concerns within the establishment. Despite lies and demonization in the media and isolation from the overall political establishment, the party continues to grow. Certain representatives of the party are accused of becoming increasingly "extreme," and in an unusual move, the influential weekly newspaper Der Spiegel demanded that AfD be "banned."
Dutch FvD break through the media blockade
What is happening in the Netherlands? It is often difficult to follow events in other countries, especially when distorted by system media. We give Forum for Democracy (FvD) the opportunity to speak out on the political situation in the Netherlands and the staunch resistance they face in trying to save the country.
No comments.
By submitting a comment you grant Free West Media a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared.