Tuesday, February 11, 2025
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Polaris of Enlightenment

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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https://nordictimes.com/tech/tech-giants-must-comply-with-eu-censorship-rules-or-risk-hefty-fines/

Tech

Tech giants must comply with EU censorship rules or risk hefty fines

Internet censorship

Published 2 April 2024
– By Editorial Staff
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Commission's headquarters in Brussels.
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The European Commission has introduced new guidelines to force X, TikTok, Facebook and other major online platforms to fight disinformation, misleading political advertising, AI “deepfakes” and other alleged threats to European democracy. If platforms do not take sufficient action, they can be heavily fined.

On Tuesday, leaders in Brussels adopted a set of new guidelines for online platforms with more than 45 million active users in the EU, which are classified as “very large online platforms and search engines” under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). Among other things, it calls on platforms to combat and counter alleged threats to European elections, “malicious” AI content, and misleading political advertising.

It includes specific rules for the June EU elections, where commission officials believe there is a high risk of “increased malign interference and a deluge of misinformation online”, according to Euronews.

The guidelines are not legally binding – but the Commission can still launch its own proceedings against those platforms it deems to be in breach of the DSA rules – and punish them with fines of up to 6% of global turnover.

“The move is part of a coordinated effort by Brussels to clamp down on the industry’s penchant for self-regulation, which has often been decried as complacent and insufficient, and force Big Tech to do more to uphold democratic values”, according to Euronews.

Tech giants comply

Deepfakes are of particular concern, according to a senior EU official. Last fall, a deepfake circulated impersonating a candidate in the Slovakian election, claiming he had rigged the vote – but the clip was fake.

Under the new framework, platforms will be required to quickly flag such clips and cooperate with EU and national authorities on such incidents. Platforms will also have to remove “divisive, harmful or misleading content with viral potential” and design their systems to give users “meaningful choices and controls over their feeds”.

Several major companies, including Google, Meta and TikTok, say they have already implemented the recommended “choice protections” and have set up dedicated “choice centers” with the express purpose of providing users with what they describe as “trusted and authoritative information” in a variety of ways.

In June, some 370 million Europeans will go to the polls, and the European Commission promises to check that platforms are implementing the new guidelines.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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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.
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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

Internet censorship

Published 11 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Mark Zuckerberg says it was Biden's team that forced Facebook to censor vaccine criticism.
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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

https://nordictimes.com/tech/facebook-stops-fact-checking-too-much-censorship/

Tech

Facebook stops fact-checking: “Too much censorship”

Internet censorship

Published 8 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Mark Zuckerberg himself has been a driving force in censoring dissidents and other dissenters on Meta's platforms.
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Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta, announces that it will stop fact-checking posts on both platforms and move to a user-driven system.

Zuckerberg also blames politicians and the media for forcing such widespread censorship, saying it is now time to “restore freedom of expression“.

– We’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms. More specifically, here’s what we’re going to do. First, we’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community notes similar to X, starting in the US, the billionaire states in a video clip.

He also admits that Trump’s election win played a big role in the decision, while criticizing “governments and legacy media” for pressuring the company to “censor more and more”.

– The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards, once again, prioritizing speech.

The Facebook CEO also acknowledges that the sophisticated systems created to moderate the platforms do not work well and lead to an unreasonable censorship of content that does not violate any rules at all.

– The problem with complex systems is they make mistakes. Even if they accidentally censor just 1% of posts, that’s millions of people, and we’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship.

“A trade-off”

Some content guidelines will also be removed, for example on immigration and LGBT issues. This is interpreted as meaning that in future it will be possible to discuss these topics more freely and to hold dissenting views – without risking being suspended or censored as easily as before.

The content filter will also be modified, it says, and set so that posts are not deleted as easily and arbitrarily as before.

– The reality is that this is a trade-off. It means we’re going to catch less bad stuff, but we’ll also reduce the number of innocent people’s posts and accounts that we accidentally take down, Zuckerberg continues.

In recent years, censorship on Facebook has been extremely widespread and it has often been difficult to discuss political or other topics without risking censorship. According to analysts, the reason for Meta’s reversal is that Mark Zuckerberg wants to improve relations with President-elect Donald Trump and his administration.

Trump himself has been banned from both Facebook and Instagram for years – but was welcomed back this summer when it became clear that he would again be the Republican presidential candidate.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/tech/russian-media-blocked-on-telegram-in-sweden/

Tech

Russian media blocked on Telegram in Sweden

Internet censorship

Published 30 December 2024
– By Editorial Staff
It is unclear whether the media channels have been blocked in all EU countries.
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The messaging service Telegram has previously been presented as a more privacy- and free speech-friendly alternative to the services provided by major American tech companies.

However, censorship has now started to increase there as well, and several Russian media outlets have recently been blocked in Sweden and several other EU countries.

These include the state news agency Ria, the TV channels Rossiya 1, Pervyj Kanal and NTV, and the newspapers Izvestiya and Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Users in Sweden who try to access the media’s Telegram channels are prevented from doing so and are instead met with an error message stating that the channels cannot be shown because they violate local legislation.

It is unclear whether the Russian media are blocked on Telegram across the European Union – but it is clear that they cannot be accessed in Poland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy and the Czech Republic either.

“An informational iron curtain”

It should also be noted that several of the media outlets now blocked by Telegram have previously been banned, blocked or sanctioned by EU powers for allegedly being under the “permanent direct or indirect control” of the Kremlin and playing a “essential and instrumental” role in the war in Ukraine.

Senator Alexei Pushkov, who heads the Russian media policy committee in the Federation Council, is highly critical of the censorship, drawing parallels with the Cold War.

– I believe that the blocking of the RIA Novosti Telegram channel and other Russian mass media, including Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta in a number of EU countries, is a continuation of the effort to create an informational iron curtain between Europe and Russia, he says, according to Russian state channel RT.

CEO arrested in France

RT also had all its Telegram accounts blocked across the EU shortly after the Ukraine war started in 2022.

This summer, Telegram founder Pavel Durov was also arrested and detained by French police, accused of not doing enough to prevent criminals from using his platform and told that he risks being held personally liable for the crimes others commit on Telegram.

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov. Photo: facsimile/Tucker Carlson/YT

Shortly thereafter, Durov also promised that Telegram would become a “safer place,” while the service quietly updated its FAQ. Promises that chats were private and that data would not be shared with outsiders were replaced with instructions on how users can report “suspicious” messages.

Critics were quick to point out that it is not only criminal actors who risk being removed from the platform but also accounts belonging to political dissenters or other voices that Western leaders may want to silence.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com