Europe gives Facebook, Twitter final warning on hate speech

[Fitheach]

Go ahead and watch what the EU consumer will do. The EU will buckle.

The EU is the future.

[rosebull]

Of course they should, but Facebook and Twitter aren't opening offices in Europe and then ignoring the European laws, they are on the internet. "Hate Speech" isn't banned in the US to the extent it is in Europe and neither site has any way of forcing people to not post hate speech. Both websites have rules against hate speech but they can't stop all of it.

Hate speech isn't banned at all in the US, it's called free speech. Something other countries lack these days from the reports i see (Looking at you germany, you guys seem to not learn).

Just keep in mind, free speech does not = free of consequence. You won't be arrested, but pending what you say you can be fired and shunned and made a fool of.

We live in a new world where people cannot take responsibility for their own actions and it sucks, but it sucks even more to see places like the EU's government totally trying to intrude on peoples lives.

[Mistame]

This not only isn't an argument, it's resorting to a childish insult because you know you can't attack it based on its merits.

On the contrary, I can because...

Not what's going on, but you haven't been interested in what's actually going on at any point so far.

It literally states that in the very document you linked.

That said, sure, any country can make up whatever laws/rules it wants. That doesn't make them any less stupid. I get that in this particular case it's primarily about threatening language and support of terrorist drivel. Fine. The issue is that when a word that actually means more than what's specified is used in a law, that leaves it open for that law to be expanded to cover more than was initially intended without having to go through the same channels. IE, It's easier to pass a law that says, "Hate speech is illegal and by hate speech we mean threats" and then later expand the definition to include irrelevant shit like insults, etc, than it is to pass a law that says, "Hate speech is illegal and by hate speech, we mean threats and insults". Any rational person would balk at the notion of it being illegal to say something "offensive".

The EU is the future.

[Fitheach]

It literally states that in the very document you linked.

That said, sure, any country can make up whatever laws/rules it wants. That doesn't make them any less stupid. I get that in this particular case it's primarily about threatening language and support of terrorist drivel. Fine. The issue is that when a word that actually means more than what's specified is used in a law, that leaves it open for that law to be expanded to cover more than was initially intended without having to go through the same channels. IE, It's easier to pass a law that says, "Hate speech is illegal and by hate speech we mean threats" and then later expand the definition to include irrelevant shit like insults, etc, than it is to pass a law that says, "Hate speech is illegal and by hate speech, we mean threats and insults". Any rational person would balk at the notion of it being illegal to say something "offensive".

All hate speech should be illegal anyway, after all the UN has tried to ask the US to do something about its abysmally racist culture, but the First Amendment gets in the way since it lets racists speak.

In order for us to progress, we must end racism, and that means silencing them.

[Mistame]

All hate speech should be illegal anyway, after all the UN has tried to ask the US to do something about its abysmally racist culture, but the First Amendment gets in the way since it lets racists speak.

In order for us to progress, we must end racism, and that means silencing them.

Not sure if you're trolling or genuinely that ignorant.

[Lahis]

I am fascinated by the people actually suggesting that FB and Twitter ignores EU and/or leaves it's business here. Yeah... no. Which business would lose hundred of millions of users?

Any business where keeping that stock of merchandise costs them more than they generate.

High enough fines, and our data is not enough to cover the costs, so time to purge the inventory.

[Rennadrel]

Looks like the real authoritarian is the EU government. I pity the people who have to live under such a totalitarian regime that they don't have a right to disagree with bad EU policies like immigration without their words being labeled as hate speech.

[Lahis]

Looks like the real authoritarian is the EU government. I pity the people who have to live under such a totalitarian regime that they don't have a right to disagree with bad EU policies like immigration without their words being labeled as hate speech.

World is a shitty place to live. Stopped caring about majority of the bullshit a while back.

[Acidbaron]

Something tells me not only ISIS will be targeted by that, pretty much everybody whos to the right of Stalin and Trotsky

Oh look another american who does not know majority of the EU is right wing. Also slippery slope arguments are weak.

[Easo]

Any business where keeping that stock of merchandise costs them more than they generate.

High enough fines, and our data is not enough to cover the costs, so time to purge the inventory.

Not with hundreds of millions of users. Simply no.

[Lahis]

Not with hundreds of millions of users. Simply no.

Well I suppose 50 million is small enough expense for them to not care.

[Realitytrembles]

Oh look another american who does not know majority of the EU is right wing. Also slippery slope arguments are weak.

oh look another European who wants to suppress unpopular speech.

#notshockedatall

[ranzino]

Well I suppose 50 million is small enough expense for them to not care.

50 million per case. the win-ratio is tilting so fast into oblivion, FB will pull the plug themselves.

[Deleted]

I bypassed facebook and twitter even though I'm a veteran in IRC.

I think education systems are behind even further and that's the biggest problem. If all friends are on facebook something went very wrong.

[zoomgpally]

oh look another European who wants to suppress unpopular speech.

#notshockedatall

Oh look, another American who defends ISIS recruitment as "unpopular speech"

[Acidbaron]

oh look another European who wants to suppress unpopular speech.

#notshockedatall

Unpopular meaning in this context, ISIS recruitment videos, magazines, articles, podcasts, i guess instead of openly going after extremists groups we should have created something called the patriot act and signed away all your personal privacy laws.

I'll prefer our method, seems far less invasive.

[LMuhlen]

Just keep in mind, free speech does not = free of consequence. You won't be arrested, but pending what you say you can be fired and shunned and made a fool of.

So a government is bad, but corporations are ok. The government gets elected and creates laws that apply to all and they are supposedly transparent, and those guys are bad people to define consequences, but the corporations which exist only to create profit, who act in complete secrecy and don't own anything to the people, these guys are who we are supposed to trust to exert consequence.

Perfect plan! We can rest assured that justice will be made.

[Dmitro]

Oh look another american who does not know majority of the EU is right wing. Also slippery slope arguments are weak.

I mean, considering your taxing rates and social programs spending...

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Oh look, another American who defends ISIS recruitment as "unpopular speech"

nobody is for ISIS recruitment lmao, your anti-free speech laws target right wingers which is not cool.
I mean there were DOZENS of examples of EU governments shutting down nationalists. Disgusting.

[Stormcall]

To quote a line from a movie, "I see you've made your decision...now let's see you enforce it."

Facebook/Twitter are US based, and subject to US laws. The EU can be like China and restrict people in their companies from accessing those sites, but other than that, there's fuck all they can do to those companies. If Zuckerburg and...whoever is responsible for Twitter wants to tell the EU to eat a dick, the EU's two options are either eat said dick, or block their own countrie's access to those websites like other authoritarian regimes.

[Holofernes]

That moment when Facebook realizes it's probably cheaper/easier to just ban Europe from their site.

that would be a big win for Europe. Average iq in europe would increase by 3-5, after my personal estimations.

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About hate speech / racism debate: I have only once encountered a formular that requires a person to specify his / her race. It was in the US, at travel / customs.

I have never ever in my whole life encountered this before, and i thought that this is absolute racist bullshit. The only place that openly asks you about your race is the US. I learned that the "race" is written in lots of US Documents.

Categorizing people into races would fall under the "hatespeech laws" in Europe.