Earlier this week Germany passed a very controversial law that not only breeches net neutrality of many levels, but also censors and puts companies at risk if they allow people on their platform to speak out. The law was made in order to combat hate speech against people on social media, but the problem is the definition of hate speech they use is very open to interpretation. With claims that if places like Facebook, google, ect, don’t crack down on posts that exhibit hate speech within a weeks time, they risk a fine of around 50 million dollars , per case!
Not only is this law ridiculous, but it holds companies accountable for what their users say and how they act. With the amount of Facebook posts being put up every day, it is insane to expect them to remove every single post that might be considered hate speech with a week. There is no algorithm that could possibly remove every single post within that time period, meaning they will have to hire people to literally just read posts all day and remove ones that “might” be considered offensive. The key word is here is “might” because there is a fine line between disagreement and hate speech.
Some people on the internet are very sensitive and label many things that are clearly not hate speech as such. If Facebook puts in a “remove now, review later” policy in regards to posting, it will become very easy to censor people that disagree with you. Facebook is essential in the organization of groups that often might have fringe ideals, but it doesn’t mean they are hate speech. The potential abuse this law gives to other Facebook users is very frightening. Entire groups and organizations risk being shut down because they might just pose too high of a risk for Facebook. This is the same shit we see with banks shutting down bitcoin accounts because the government threatens to fine them if they have even a hint someone is doing something that isn’t completely by the books. Facebook will blacklist users the same exact way.
In many ways it is a breach of freedom of speech rights, not just for Germans, but for many other countries. How is facebook supposed to differentiate from a German speaking American or a German speaking German? They wont, they will just indiscriminately ban posts because they are afraid of the backlash. Germany in general doesn’t have a great freedom of speech past and their laws today reflect that as well. In an effort to stop the rise of Nazism after WWII many things like saying Heil Hitler, showing a swastika, ect are illegal and can give you jail time. This is not how a country that is one of the most developed in the world should act.
There is no doubt that hate speech is a problem online, but this is the wrong way about addressing the problem. It seems like this solution was put up with zero thought to real consequences and increases government control over what is supposed to be a free internet. The internet is and will never be a safe space. That very feature is what makes the internet so powerful in toppling regimes around the world and keeps governments in check.
Thanks to @Elyaque for the badges
It is obvious that law makers need to consult with developers and IT people in the industry to see what is plausible and doable before making laws of this nature.
Making laws about something you don't fully understand is silly. I'm sure they understand hate speech. What they don't understand is the realism of what would be involved in employing human staff to sit and read every comment and ban individual comments or users.
Artificial Intelligence is rudimentary at best. What the law requires is impossible.
Lex Non Cogit Ad Impossibilia
Translation: The law does not compel a man to do that which is impossible
Well in the case of companies, I don't think the law should compel them to do the impossible either.
also a very good point, but most of these politicians have long ago withdrawn from existing sense of reality or rational logic. It's all about maintaining and expanding their own power at the expense of everyone else.
It is a good point, but I think governments need the ilusion of control and power. It is not a question on technology.
Thought you may also appreciate this post by Martin Armstrong a few days back: Freedom of Speech Comes to an End in Germany.
This is complete bullshit man. What were they even thinking... they simply as for the impossible and in the end limiting freedom on the internet for all of us.
Can a law like that be enforced on Steemit?
I mean, is it possible that lots of Germans are now expecting a way around that law and look for something like Steemit to express themselves in freedom?
Would Germany ban Steemit if they realize censorship can not be enforced on Steemit or is it possible ?
I think most people who can figure out how steemit works can figure out sorting out a VPN and bypassing it altogether even if they did block the Dns to steemit.com
VPNs ... one has to pay for that right ? Anyways I guess there are plenty of ways to bypass government control. What I would be worried about is demonization and persecution of ways to express oneself as people do on Steemit.
What a crazy law in what is otherwise a developed and rational nation?
It sounds to me like a knee-jerk reaction to a minority who have been offended by content online. I can't see this law lasting or even being enforceable.
The first time the German government attempt to use this law they will surely be taken to the European court for breaching the rights of EU citizens to express their opinion, and so they should be.
Freedom!!!
What a sad thing to happen to one of my favorite countries.
Considering the extent to which German culture is obsessed with money, I bet this is just a ploy to get some more of that Facebook and Google money. I don't think they really care that much about "hate speech". Germans are just as likely as any other nationality to say hateful shit, so this isn't about protecting delicate German sensitivities.
This is a cash grab, straight-up.
Internet freedom and right to know is really need.But I think hates speech is side effect of socialedial like facebook.Steemit will reduce this I think.Why I say that is every post and action on steemit.com is fully responsibility of post owner or their.
Idiots why do They do this to their citizens! Bastards
I guess this law will be used selectively. Nevertheless it's hard to imagine how social media are supposed to comply with it.
There's a typo in the last paragraph: "The internet is and will never be...".
This is against the basic right of citizen's, highly condemnedable , this is a wrong way to control ..........
Crazy! Is Facebook officially too big to fail?
And another piece falls into place. Buy German VPN stock :)
This what happens when your government is funtioning, The US the gov is too dysfunctional to pass anything, sometimes thats a good thing
I think I'd prefer a dysfunctional government to one so adept at stripping people of their rights.
Thanks for posting @calaber24p. It does sounds like this law is badly though through and its implementation could do a lot of harm. It could be easily twisted for dubious reasons.
Facebook has been notorious for prosecuting sexual content and not moving a finger when it comes to racism, for example. It's very likely that hate speech will be interpreted equally frivolously.
On the other hand, it's also clear that freedom of speech is being used to defend hate speech where it shouldn't be. It's all matter of how we interpret that law and it's a bit of a double bind.
Some people on the internet are very sensitive and label many things that are clearly not hate speech as such.
People often seem over sensitive when you are not in their shoes. Saying someone is over sensitive or overreacting is a common way for those more privileged to silence minorities.
Here in the UK we have a culture where people will never openly call you a nigger for example, but will make a big deal about a Nigerian employee getting a better pay. Instead of talking about bloody foreigners you will hear debate about immigration.
When such racist talk is wrapped in politically correct language, there is no way to challenge it. Calling someone over sensitive, is an easy way to dismiss them without providing a good counter argument. I see people doing this all the time when they are being called out on their racism, especially when their racism is expressed in a nuanced way.
The key word is here is “might” because there is a fine line between disagreement and hate speech.
Perhaps the debate if we shouldn’t allow more Muslims into our country or not, is just a matter of different opinion. However, people actually die as the result of anti immigration rhetoric being taken seriously. It isn't treated as hate speech only because the outcome doesn't immediately hurt British people. We clearly have double standards when it comes to free speech If this new law was introduced here I am sure that it would be interpreted with similar inconsistency.
I totally agree that this is NOT a good solution.
My question is: What IS a good solution?
Thanks
Thanks to sick political corectness.
" If Facebook puts in a “remove now, review later” policy in regards to posting, it will become very easy to censor people that disagree with you."
This is what's been going on on YouTube for awhile now with the copyright claims. There is a distinct air of "guilty until proven innocent", and usually the "target" has far fewer financial and legal resources than the "accuser".
Jim Sterling has done some solid coverage on this, actually, but his irreverent style is purely to taste.
I hope that at least as a beneficial (unintended) side effect, more and more users will turn away from fb and are considering other options like Steemit!
That is an absolutely outlandish penalty. It sounds like these European states are seeing large American companies as being cash cows they can exploit. Of course the suppression of freedom of speech is the real crime in this legislation, but I think they are hoping public outrage will be tempered when the fines come from American companies.
50 million...... Dammmmm !!!
See your post mentioned here
@calaber24p great post, thanks for pointing out whats going on in my homeland.
It´s really very sad whats going on. Regarding the right of free speech, especially in the internet, germany is one of the most censored countries in the so-called liberal west.
It is very funny to hear our representatives criticizing other countries about the lack of freedom of speech. Very hypocritical !
Another bill put in force recently is that owners of a driver's license can face a withdrawal of their license to non-traffic delicts e.g. hate speech.
This has really tremendous effects. Because here in germany a lot depends on having an driving license, especially in the more rural areas.
Even if they don´t apply the law, just the fact that it could be applied will lead to a lot of self-censorship in advance of expressing critizism.
But i'm very hopeful that great projects like steem will help us to overcome the restrictions which are forced by the goverments upon us !
@calaber24p, tell us what you think of our proposal to use Blockchain technology to make the internet free of charge with not data caps, not censorship and no cost >
https://steemit.com/steemit/@blockrush/how-steemit-inspired-free-internet-can-resolve-net-neutrality-blockrush
Big brother is busy watching you every where. Don't be naive. Now they are being more open about it.
Made a video about this you should check out my blog...