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Tag: social media

social
July 10, 2023
Jake Welch
News
World

EU: Sanctions for Social Firms That Aid Public Revolts.

Social media companies will be hit with sanctions next month if they fail to remove ‘problematic content’ during riots under the European Union (EU)’s new content law, according to the French EU Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton.

A total of 19 online platforms, including TikTok, Twitter, and Snapchat, must comply with government regulations aiming that claim to reduce illegal or harmful content spreading online. If they fail to do so, they risk being fined up to six percent of their annual income.

“When there is hateful content, content that calls – for example – for revolt, that also calls for killing and burning of cars, they will be required to delete [the content] immediately,” Breton argued during an interview on Monday.

“If they fail to do so, they will be immediately sanctioned. We have teams who can intervene immediately… “If they don’t act immediately, then yes, at that point we’ll be able not only to impose a fine but also to ban the operation [of the platforms] on our territory,” he added.

These measures follow a week of mass rioting and destruction – “unparalleled” since the French Revolution in 1789 – across France following the death of Nahel M. As a result, French President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that he considered removing French people’s access to social media platforms to pacify the riots.

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Social media companies will be hit with sanctions next month if they fail to remove 'problematic content' during riots under the European Union (EU)'s new content law, according to the French EU Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton. show more
July 6, 2023
Jack Montgomery
News

Judge: Biden WH Must STOP Pressuring Social Media Firms to Censor Opponents.

Federal Judge Terry A. Doughty has ordered several arms of President Joe Biden’s government, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS), to immediately cease communications with social media platforms for “the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”

The Louisiana-based judge issued the ruling after Republican attorneys-general for the state, alongside Missouri, complained the federal government was using its influence to censor dissidents.

“If the allegations made by plaintiffs are true, the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history,” said Judge Doughty, adding that they were “likely to succeed on the merits in establishing that the government has used its power to silence the opposition.”

Public records requests recently revealed that the federal government collaborated with foreign-born ‘Never Trump’ billionaire Pierre Omidyar to establish a so-called Misinformation Reporting Portal (MiRP) for social media. This was used by a “coalition of liberal-leaning research groups” including the Democratic National Committee to to flag predominantly conservative accounts, with 61 percent of reports being actioned.

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Federal Judge Terry A. Doughty has ordered several arms of President Joe Biden's government, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS), to immediately cease communications with social media platforms for "the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech." show more
france
July 6, 2023
Jake Welch
News

France Mulls National Social Media Censorship to Stop Riots.

French President Emmanuel Macron is considering the removal of French people’s access to social media platforms, including TikTok and Snapchat, in an effort to pacify out-of-control riots through suppressing the free flow of information.

Macron, who has already blamed social media and video games for intensifying the ongoing French riots, told a gathering of 250 mayors from across the country: “We need to think about the use of these networks by the youth … and about the bans that need to be put in place. And I say this very clearly, because they change the way young people relate to reality.”

“And [we need to think about] the decisions we make, including administrative decisions, when things get out of hand, so that at some point we can say we’re in a position to regulate or cut them off,” the French President added.

The announcement was met with outrage from across the political spectrum, with his own party members irate over the matter. Eric Bothorel, a member of Macron’s Renaissance party, tweeted: “This would mean abandoning the idea that democracy is stronger than the tools used against it. That would be a mistake.”

The riots in France began after Nahel M, a 17-year-old with a migrant background, was shot by the police in the Paris suburb of Nanterre last Tuesday. A fundraiser for the policeman raised $1.75M dollars before being shut down.

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French President Emmanuel Macron is considering the removal of French people's access to social media platforms, including TikTok and Snapchat, in an effort to pacify out-of-control riots through suppressing the free flow of information. show more