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Saturday, June 14, 2025

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https://nordictimes.com/tech/swedish-police-urge-parents-to-delete-chat-apps-from-childrens-phones/

Tech

Swedish police urge parents to delete chat apps from children’s phones

organized crime

Published yesterday 17:33
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Ahead of the summer holidays, the Swedish police are warning that criminal gangs are using social media to recruit young people into crime. On Facebook, the authorities have published a list of apps that parents should keep a close eye on – or delete immediately.

Critics argue, however, that the list is arbitrary and that it is strange for the police to urge parents to delete apps that are used by Swedish authorities.

During the summer holidays, adults are often less present in young people’s everyday lives, while screen time increases. According to the police, this creates increased vulnerability. Criminal networks then try to recruit young people to handle weapons, sell drugs, or participate in serious violent crimes such as shootings and explosions.

To prevent this, a national information campaign has been launched in collaboration with the County Administrative Board. The police, together with the County Administrative Board, have compiled a list of mobile apps that they believe pose a significant risk:

  • Delete immediately: Signal, Telegram, Wickr Me
  • Keep control over: Snapchat, WhatsApp, Discord, Messenger
  • Monitor closely: TikTok, Instagram

Digital parental presence

Maja Karlsson, municipal police officer in Jönköping, also emphasizes the importance of digital parental presence:

– We need to increase digital control and knowledge about which apps my child is using, who they are in contact with, and why they have downloaded different types of communication apps.

The police recommend that parents talk openly with their children about what they do online and use technical aids such as parental controls.

– There are tools available for parents who find it difficult. It’s not impossible, help is available, Karlsson continues.

Parents are also encouraged to establish fixed routines for their children and ensure they have access to meaningful summer activities.

“Complete madness”

However, the list has been met with harsh criticism from several quarters. Users point out that the Signal app is also used by the Swedish Armed Forces and question why the police list it as dangerous.

“If general apps like Signal are considered dangerous, the phone app and text messaging should be first on the list”, writes another user.

Critics argue that it is not the apps themselves but how they are used that is crucial, and find it remarkable that the police are arbitrarily and without deeper justification telling parents which messaging apps are okay to use and which are not.

“Complete madness to recommend uninstalling chat apps so broadly. You should know better”, comments another upset reader.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/tech/macron-seeks-to-ban-children-from-social-media/

Tech

Macron seeks to ban children from social media

Internet censorship

Published 12 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
While most people agree that children need to be protected online, many worry about arbitrary censorship and lack of legal certainty.
3 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

French President Emmanuel Macron wants to ban social media for children under the age of 15. At the same time, the European Commission has stated that such decisions are a national matter.

Macron advocates an EU-wide age verification system, but the Commission believes that responsibility lies with individual member states.

The president’s statement came late on Tuesday in response to a tragic knife attack in a Paris suburb where a teacher’s assistant was stabbed to death by a 14-year-old student.

Macron, who has previously advocated a ban on social media for younger users, now raised the tone further and called on the EU and its member states to act quickly.

– I’m giving us a few months to achieve European mobilization. Otherwise, I will negotiate with the Europeans so that we can do it ourselves in France, said the president.

However, the EU Commission’s response was clear: it is up to the French authorities to decide on the issue.

– Let’s be clear… wide social media ban is not what the European Commission is doing. It’s not where we are heading to. Why? Because this is the prerogative of our member states, Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier told reporters yesterday.

Big problem in Denmark

According to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), member states have the right to set their own minimum age for when social media platforms can process personal data, as long as it is above 13 years.

The GDPR is an EU law that regulates the handling of personal data and allows for national adaptations – for example, data may be processed for younger users if their parents give their consent.

– Of course, member states can go for that option, Regnier continued.

But introducing such a ban is easier said than done. Technical challenges make it difficult to verify users’ ages. In Denmark, for example, almost half of all children under the age of ten already have social media accounts. By the age of 13, almost everyone is registered, according to the country’s Minister for Digitalization, Caroline Stage Olsen.

Digital Services Act

In addition to the GDPR, the DSA (Digital Services Act) also plays an important role. The DSA is an EU law that regulates digital services and platforms and gives the Commission responsibility and powers to supervise large social media platforms. The law also requires that minors be protected online.

– We want to make the digital space safe but also need to tackle risks coming from it. This is where the DSA comes into place, Regnier claimed.

The Commission is currently working on EU-wide guidelines on how platforms should comply with the DSA on issues relating to the protection of minors. These guidelines are expected to be finalised before the summer break. At the same time, an age verification app is being developed and will be tested in five countries, including France.

Risk of censorship

Despite ongoing initiatives, France and several other EU countries have expressed frustration with the Commission’s pace of work. Denmark, which takes over the presidency of the EU Council of Ministers from July to December, plans to push for better protection for minors online in the coming months.

Although the Digital Services Act is praised by its proponents, the law has also been criticized for threatening the rule of law and freedom of expression. Critics warn that the DSA, which requires the rapid removal of illegal content, risks leading to arbitrary censorship and overblocking, where platforms delete even legal material for fear of sanctions.

There are also concerns that the rules could be abused to silence opposition and political dissent and that protecting children is not really the issue at stake. Since legal review often takes place after the fact, the protection of fundamental rights is also being called into question.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Why does France want to ban social media for children?

French officials raised several reasons for a ban for children under 15:

  • Mental health: Concerns about increasing mental health problems among young people, linked to the impact of social media on self-esteem, sleep and concentration.
  • Bullying and harassment: Social media is often used as a platform for cyberbullying, which hits children particularly hard.
  • Exposure to harmful content: Children are at risk of being exposed to violent, sexual or extreme content without being able to handle it.
  • Data protection and privacy: Children's personal data is handled by commercial platforms without sufficient control or understanding.
  • School-related violence: The recent knife attack at a school was used as an example of how digital environments can contribute to radicalization or aggressive behaviour.
  • Parental responsibility and control: Macron says the current system makes it difficult for parents to know what their children are doing online.

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https://nordictimes.com/world/us-shuts-down-bidens-censorship-agency/

World

US shuts down Biden’s censorship agency

Donald Trump's USA

Published 18 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Members of the Trump administration have long expressed concerns about how freedom of expression is being restricted and curtailed in various ways.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The United States has now officially shut down an agency that, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was used by the Biden administration to systematically censor US citizens with uncomfortable views.

The Global Engagement Center (GEC) was established in 2016 within the US Department of State, with a mission to “recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation”.

In December, the center was renamed Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), but on Wednesday, Marco Rubio announced that it had been permanently shut down.

– Under the previous administration, this office, which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year, spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving, Rubio said.

– This is antithetical to the very principles we should be upholding and inconceivable it was taking place in America.

In an interview published Wednesday with conservative activist Mike Benz, Rubio explained that the GEC was initially intended as a tool to combat extremist propaganda from groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS, but that the operation later began “going after individual American voices”.

– We ended government-sponsored censorship in the United States through the State Department, he declared.

“Worst offender in US government censorship”

Rubio added that the Biden administration had supported groups that “literally tagging and labeling voices in American politics – Ben Shapiro, The Federalist, others – tagging them as foreign agents”.

The GEC had an annual budget of $61 million and employed about 120 people. In December, Republican members of Congress refused to provide continued funding for the unit.

President Donald Trump and his supporters have long accused Democrats of using government institutions to silence conservative views online. In 2023, tech billionaire Elon Musk also criticized the GEC, calling it “worst offender in US government censorship & media manipulation” and “a threat to our democracy”.

Journalist Matt Taibbi also accused the center of trying to suppress discussions on COVID-19 under the pretext of fighting “Russian personas and proxies”.

Already last year, a group of Republican members of Congress harshly criticized the GEC in a letter to then Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The letter accused the Center of bias in favor of “American progressives” and of trying to silence opinions that were “deemed politically inconvenient or disagreeable”.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/tech/us-tech-giants-cave-to-eu-censorship-demands/

Tech

US tech giants cave to EU censorship demands

Internet censorship

Published 29 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Most major tech giants have chosen to adopt the EU Code of Conduct - which is supposedly voluntary.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

US tech companies Facebook, X and YouTube have agreed to step up their efforts to combat alleged online hate.

The agreement comes under the updated EU Code of Conduct, which is now integrated into the Union’s regulatory framework, the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Meta, Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), Google’s YouTube and several other tech companies have agreed to strengthen their efforts against so-called hate content on their platforms. This includes enhanced efforts to detect and address unauthorized online speech and posts under the updated EU Code of Conduct.

– In Europe there is no place for illegal hate, either offline or online. I welcome the stakeholders’ commitment to a strengthened Code of conduct under the Digital Services Act (DSA), commented EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen.

The revised code, which is said to be voluntary for companies to sign up to, requires, among other things, faster handling of reports of suspected “cyber hate”. Companies commit to working with non-profit organizations and public bodies to review at least two-thirds of incoming reports within 24 hours. In addition, automated tools will be used to reduce the spread of so-called hate content, and companies will also provide detailed information on the role of algorithms and content recommendations.

In addition to the major platforms, other affiliates include TikTok, LinkedIn and Twitch. The EU stresses that compliance with this code of conduct could influence how Union regulators apply the rules of the DSA, which entered into force in 2022 and aims, among other things, to combat illegal content and protect users’ safety online.

Threatened annulment of elections

The EU’s new measures are part of its broader strategy to regulate the tech sector and ensure that companies act in line with what the EU itself claims are “democratic values”. In the past, the EU has also introduced the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to limit the dominance of tech giants and promote competition.

Another example of the EU’s regulatory zeal is recently reported statements by Thierry Breton, former European Commissioner, that the Union can use the DSA to annul elections if there is suspicion of foreign influence. Breton mentioned, among others, Elon Musk’s platform X as a potential risk of influence during the upcoming German elections.

In addition, Google has been criticized for its introduction of “digital fingerprinting”, a technology that critics say undermines users’ privacy. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has expressed concerns about the technology and warned that it could be used for widespread surveillance.

Although the EU claims that the aim of the DSA and the updated code of conduct is to combat hate speech and protect democracy, critics have warned that the Union’s rules could severely restrict citizens’ freedom of expression.

By imposing strict requirements on platforms to monitor and filter content, there is a risk of creating a digital landscape where controversial views are censored and the climate of debate is negatively affected.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/tech/zuckerberg-biden-administration-forced-us-to-censor-vaccine-criticism/

Tech

Zuckerberg: Biden administration forced us to censor vaccine criticism

The criticized covid vaccinations

Published 11 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Mark Zuckerberg says it was Biden's team that forced Facebook to censor vaccine criticism.
3 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

In an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says it was the Biden administration that forced the company’s platforms to censor posts criticizing the experimental COVID-19 vaccines.

The conversation covered several topics, but one that stood out was when Zuckerberg talked about government censorship and how the outgoing administration forced the tech company to weed out uncomfortable opinions – even if they were completely true.

– This hit the most extreme. I’d say it was during the Biden Administration when they were trying to roll out the vaccine programme. Now I’m generally pretty pro rolling out vaccines, I think on balance the vaccines are more positive than negative but I think that while they’re trying to push that program they also tried to censor anyone who was arguing against it.

– They pushed us super hard to take down things that were honestly true. I mean, they basically pushed us and said, ‘You know anything that says that vaccines might have side effects, you need to take down’ , the billionaire explained in the interview, claiming he opposed this demand.

According to Zuckerberg, representatives of the Biden administration contacted him personally and demanded that posts highlighting the side effects of the mRNA vaccine be deleted.

“That’s ridiculous“

Referring to the investigation, and the committee set up to look into the Biden administration’s censorship, Mark Zuckerberg went on to say that government representatives called and yelled at Meta’s team, demanding that various posts, even of a humorous nature, be deleted immediately.

– It just got to this point where we were like, no, we’re not gonna take down true things. That’s ridiculous… We’re not going to take down humor and satire.

According to Zuckerberg, his alleged refusal to comply with the Biden administration’s censorship demands also led the government to begin attacking his company through various pronouncements and government investigations.

– It was brutal, he claims.

With the departure of the Biden administration and the arrival of the Trump administration, the Facebook founder says it is high time to “restore freedom of expression” on platforms that were previously subject to widespread and arbitrary censorship, and where dissent was often effectively banned.

– We will go back to our roots, they say.

“Criminal censorship”

Not everyone finds Zuckerberg’s claims particularly credible, however. For example, author David Icke, an early critic of mass vaccination programs, points out that he was censored and suspended from Facebook back in 2020 when Donald Trump was president.

“They are all at it – letting Zuckerberg’s criminal censorship be whitewashed to bring him into the MAGA fold while Biden takes the blame”, he writes.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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