It’s as if the lights are going out one by one. The internet is increasingly becoming over-regulated as more countries are making “hate speech” a criminal offense and cracking down on online activity. I know many of these news stories are old or have already been posted, but I want to post them all here, and ask, is there much hope left?
In the dark wilderness one torch burns bright, as the United States Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that “hate speech” is protected speech.
>Justice Samuel Alito wrote (for four justices) in Matal v. Tam, the “Slants” case: [The idea that the government may restrict] speech expressing ideas that offend … strikes at the heart of the First Amendment. Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express “the thought that we hate.”
>Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote separately, also for four justices: A law found to discriminate based on viewpoint is an “egregious form of content discrimination,” which is “presumptively unconstitutional.” … A law that can be directed against speech found offensive to some portion of the public can be turned against minority and dissenting views to the detriment of all. The First Amendment does not entrust that power to the government’s benevolence. Instead, our reliance must be on the substantial safeguards of free and open discussion in a democratic society.
But America seems to be alone. And it’s not enough.
Canada’s Court forced a worldwide injunction on Google to comply with Canadianism Intellectual Property law. That means they could force websites operating in Canada to comply worldwide with their hate-speech laws in the future
>In the Canadian opinion, Google v. Equustek, a British Columbia technology company was trying to block another company from reselling its stolen intellectual property via websites on servers in unknown locations. To protect the company, a trial court ordered Google to deindex the predator’s website worldwide.
>Canada might balk at a worldwide injunction that blocks what other countries would count as free speech.
>what could happen is something more like a partial jog to the middle -- where platforms comply with reasonable countries’ reasonable speech limitations worldwide. That could mean adopting limits on hate speech
http://archive.is/3DaxI
Canada passed it’s bill making it illegal to misgender trans people
>“Great news,” announced Justin Trudeau. “Bill C-16 has passed the Senate – making it illegal to discriminate based on gender identity or expression. #LoveisLove.”
http://archive.is/HuCvK
Austria has done something similar to Canada, ordering Facebook to delete posts violating its speech laws globally, not just in Austria
>An Austrian court has ordered Facebook to remove hate speech posts from the social network, adding to pressure on the social network to combat online trolls.
>The case has global ramifications, since the court ruled that Facebook must delete the posts globally, not simply in Austria itself.
http://archive.is/Rob0E
Germany passed its law placing extreme fines on social media companies that don’t remove “hate speech” on their own.
>The measure approved is designed to enforce the country's existing limits on speech, including the long-standing ban on Holocaust denial. Among other things, it would fine social networking sites up to 50 million euros ($56 million) if they persistently fail to remove illegal content within a week, including defamatory "fake news."
>"Freedom of speech ends where the criminal law begins," said Justice Minister Heiko Maas
>Chancellor Angela Merkel's Union bloc agreed to give companies more time to check whether posts that are flagged to them are illegal, delegate the vetting process to a third party and ensure that users whose comments are removed can appeal the decision.
>the law also provides for fines of up to 5 million euros for the person each company designates to deal with the complaints procedure if it doesn't meet requirements
>"This law as it stands now will not improve efforts to tackle this important societal problem," Facebook said in a statement
>"Jews are exposed to anti-Semitic hatred in social networks on a daily basis," the Central Council of Jews said. "Since all voluntary agreements with platform operators produced almost no result, this law is the logical consequence to effectively limit hate speech."
>Alternative for Germany party said it is considering challenging the law in Germany's highest court.
http://archive.is/6wXhx
Germany is even raiding the homes of people found to post “hate speech” online
>Germany has raided the homes of 36 people accused of posting hate speech or other illegal content
>German law prohibits hate speech; citizens can be imprisoned for inciting racial hatred for up to five years. This campaign was primarily targeted at right-wing hate speech, but also included those who had posted hateful left-wing content and harassment based on sexual orientation.
http://archive.is/durwT
Britain seems to be going the way of Germany
>After deadly terrorist attacks and a nationwide election, Britain is once again focusing on a controversial plan: to regulate the internet. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum are promoting some of the widest-ranging plans anywhere in the western world to rein in the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter
>British politicians have another target in policing the internet: extremist messages that are circulated on Facebook, YouTube and other social media
>Britain has gone further than almost any western country, often putting the onus on companies to determine when to take down content that while offensive, does not represent illegal — or violent — messaging
http://archive.is/uwp6a
And private enterprises are willingly doing the suppression for the governments
Facebook is setting up automated programs to remove “extremist content”
>Facebook said Thursday that it would begin using artificial intelligence to help remove inappropriate content
>The same system, they wrote, could learn to identify Facebook users who associate with clusters of pages or groups that promote extremist content
>“The problem, as usual, is determining what is extremist, and what isn’t, and it goes further than just jihadists,” he said. “Are they just talking about ISIS and Al Qaeda, or are they going to go further to deal with white nationalism and neo-Nazi movements?”
>Facebook was hopeful that the new artificial intelligence technology could be used to counter any form of extremism that violated the company’s terms of use, although for the time being it will be narrowly focused.
https://archive.is/lo7s8
And in case you were wondering what “hate speech” is for Facebook
>Facebook’s Vice President took the time to explain the definition Facebook holds for hate speech. He said, “Our current definition of hate speech is anything that directly attacks people based on what are known as their ‘protected characteristics’ — race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender, gender identity, or serious disability, or disease.”
>there is no clear cut way to identify and remove hate speech. However, the Facebook team admitted they rely heavily on users to find content that has hateful rhetoric and flag it. Facebook can then delete the material and prevent it from offending anyone else
http://archive.is/ZM02o
And Harvard is revoking acceptance letters for mocking Mexicans online
>Harvard has revoked acceptance letters from 10 incoming freshmen after discovering they used offensive speech online.
>After finding the offensive posts on Facebook, Harvard said they will not tolerate racist remarks from their students. The university rescinded their acceptance offers in April, after discovering the students traded messages in a private Facebook group for incoming freshmen. The posts were often sexually explicit, and mocked Mexicans, the Holocaust, and child abuse.
http://archive.is/wRske
Happy Independence Day
/mlpol/ - My Little Politics
Archived thread
>>44456
You like Hate Speech laws?
You like Hate Speech laws?
>>44456
???
???
>>44456
Wtf are you going on about?
Wtf are you going on about?
>>44467
Remember Freedomland, the words "From my cold dead hands" must always ring true. Never give up that right. Never!
Remember Freedomland, the words "From my cold dead hands" must always ring true. Never give up that right. Never!
When I was younger people used to call close friends negro and no one complained. They also used to make racist and rape jokes and no one cared, now it's becoming this shit.
Atleast there's no hate speech law on my country and people still do rape jokes and stuff like that. But I fear for the future of the society and the internet.
Atleast there's no hate speech law on my country and people still do rape jokes and stuff like that. But I fear for the future of the society and the internet.
Freedom is a buzzword invented by jews to subjugate americans into thinking their live choices matter, when they never had a choice to begin with.
>>44509
Are you in favor of the German government raiding the homes and improsonning prople for up to five years for "rightwing hate speech," or for posting online "harassment on the basis of sexual orientation"?
Are you in favor of the German government raiding the homes and improsonning prople for up to five years for "rightwing hate speech," or for posting online "harassment on the basis of sexual orientation"?
>>44517
probably because their gov made freedom illegal and they're trying to not get arrested. we shouldn't worry though, all they have to do is declare independence too!
probably because their gov made freedom illegal and they're trying to not get arrested. we shouldn't worry though, all they have to do is declare independence too!
>>44515
>>44517
Freedom of Speech is but a vague concept. I do of course NOT support the attempts of censorship the current German government is enforcing onto my population. But at the end of the day Facebook is an openly marxist private business and those can not be held morally accountable for laws the state has given to its subjects.
That said, true free Speech does not exist. Someone Somewhere is always (trying) to censor You, may you know who it is or not. Thanks to uncontrolled media Speech has become a dangerous weapon, which is the reason why so many people are actively trying to get rid of it.
>>44517
Freedom of Speech is but a vague concept. I do of course NOT support the attempts of censorship the current German government is enforcing onto my population. But at the end of the day Facebook is an openly marxist private business and those can not be held morally accountable for laws the state has given to its subjects.
That said, true free Speech does not exist. Someone Somewhere is always (trying) to censor You, may you know who it is or not. Thanks to uncontrolled media Speech has become a dangerous weapon, which is the reason why so many people are actively trying to get rid of it.
>>44455
If you remove the ability of people to post silly shit, people will find an alternative. If there isn't any, people will invent an alternative.
Putting such restrictions in Facebook and any other social media will be their downfall, as people will get tired of thinking twice before posting. That consumes energy and people don't like to waste their energy.
I see this more as a chance. Centralized platforms will stop being relevant, and as people gets more upset and government restricts more, platforms will become more and more atomized, and thus, hard to regulate.
Big Brother can get away with it only in a micro scale, but I doubt they can in a bigger scale. That work with Chinese because of their cultural background, but not with Europeans. They will rue the day they force the hand of the Silent Majority.
If you remove the ability of people to post silly shit, people will find an alternative. If there isn't any, people will invent an alternative.
Putting such restrictions in Facebook and any other social media will be their downfall, as people will get tired of thinking twice before posting. That consumes energy and people don't like to waste their energy.
I see this more as a chance. Centralized platforms will stop being relevant, and as people gets more upset and government restricts more, platforms will become more and more atomized, and thus, hard to regulate.
Big Brother can get away with it only in a micro scale, but I doubt they can in a bigger scale. That work with Chinese because of their cultural background, but not with Europeans. They will rue the day they force the hand of the Silent Majority.
>>44455
These are among the final, desperate acts of a tyrannical order losing control over its population. The tighter their grasp gets, the faster people will rally against them. What you see here is the left-wing establishment in a blind panic over their ever decreasing control of the narrative, and in that panic they're wielding political power like a cudgel. Things were always going to get worse before they got better.
Think of it like a dam with cracks people are trying to plug with their hands. Laws can be unwritten, and these blatantly totalitarian ones will be in due time.
These are among the final, desperate acts of a tyrannical order losing control over its population. The tighter their grasp gets, the faster people will rally against them. What you see here is the left-wing establishment in a blind panic over their ever decreasing control of the narrative, and in that panic they're wielding political power like a cudgel. Things were always going to get worse before they got better.
Think of it like a dam with cracks people are trying to plug with their hands. Laws can be unwritten, and these blatantly totalitarian ones will be in due time.
>>44455
You do realize that private groups are becoming a lot more powerful thanks to this over-regulation right? The internet is splitting into smaller circles thanks to the deterrent of excessive regulation in the larger more general circles. If anything, taking away power had the opposite effect expected considering it gave the people considerable more powerful on a more minuscule scale.
You do realize that private groups are becoming a lot more powerful thanks to this over-regulation right? The internet is splitting into smaller circles thanks to the deterrent of excessive regulation in the larger more general circles. If anything, taking away power had the opposite effect expected considering it gave the people considerable more powerful on a more minuscule scale.
>>49343
eh, I just got off work and I haven't eaten yet so it's roughly dinner time for me, it's just that I'm trying to eat less crap and now all I can think about is how much I want a pizza
eh, I just got off work and I haven't eaten yet so it's roughly dinner time for me, it's just that I'm trying to eat less crap and now all I can think about is how much I want a pizza
>>44538
> can not be held morally accountable
are you retarded? we the people can hold them to account. Y'know I doubt general Washington ever expected them to change the tax code way back when but that never stopped him from getting shit done maybe you should stop looking for an easy route to freedom?
> can not be held morally accountable
are you retarded? we the people can hold them to account. Y'know I doubt general Washington ever expected them to change the tax code way back when but that never stopped him from getting shit done maybe you should stop looking for an easy route to freedom?
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