The brutal censorship system that the EU has been planning for months is set to take effect on August 25, a date that will be remembered forever.
Dissidents are silenced. Hate speech is to be suppressed. The right to free expression will be stifled.
Praise Democracy!
Long Live Our Values!
You might think that corporate state media, which has been in existence for decades, would be upset by a new censorship system. But they aren’t. They know they will not be targeted and they don’t do any journalism. They are the state. They are the censors and therefore the beneficiaries of the suppression of their opposition.
Via Reuters:
The Digital Services Act of the European Union (DSA), which imposes strict new rules for content moderation* and user privacy, is putting the biggest tech companies in the world under unprecedented scrutiny.
From Friday, a host of internet giants – including Meta’s (META.O) Facebook and Instagram platforms, Apple’s online App Store, and a handful of Google (GOOGL.O) services – will face new obligations in the EU, including preventing harmful content from spreading, banning or limiting certain user-targeting practices, and sharing some internal data with regulators and associated researchers…
The EU is regarded as the global leader when it comes to tech regulation. More comprehensive pieces of legislation, such as the Digital Markets Act or the AI Act, are on their way. Success in the implementation of such laws by the bloc will influence similar rules to be introduced around the globe.
Content moderation is another euphemism for censorship.
This last sentence — “the success of the bloc in implementing similar laws will influence the implementation of similar rules throughout the world” — is a bad sign for Americans who hope to be immune to such regimes here in the Land of the Free.
These social engineering programs are tested in the EU because it has much weaker protections of speech, and lacks the cultural traditions which support them. These initiatives will definitely end up in the United States. If not at the federal level, then first in blue jurisdictions and rippling from there.
Look at corporate state media to see if you can find any criticism. Euronews calls it a “milestone in regulating Internet companies” and says it’s designed to protect users online and prevent the spread of harmful, illegal, or in violation of a platform’s terms of services, and content. Social cancer Huffpost – itself toxic – describes it as “part of the EU’s overhaul of digital regulations aimed at reining the power of social media and online platforms, and cleaning up toxic material.”
The list goes on.
