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[Ed. Note: Behind the invective and political slant in this story is a subject that I think could lead to a fruitful discussion. "The price of liberty is constant vigilance." SoylentNews is a little corner of the 'net that tries to provide a venue for open discussion. Are our days numbered or threatened? What can be done? Just keep doing what we are doing?]
France has turned into one of the worldwide threats to free speech
Just over one year ago, French President Emmanuel Macron came to the United States to import two potentially invasive species to Washington. One was a tree and the other was a crackdown on free speech. Ironically, soon after the tree was planted, officials dug it up to send it to quarantine. However, the more dangerous species was his acorn of speech controls, a proposal that resulted in rapturous applause from our clueless politicians.
While our politicians in the United States may applaud Macron like village idiots, most Americans are hardcore believers in free speech. It runs in our blood. Undeterred, however, Macron and others in Europe are moving to unilaterally impose speech controls on the internet with new legislation in France and Germany. If you believe this is a European issue, think again.
Macron and his government are attempting to unilaterally scrub out the internet of hateful thoughts. The French Parliament has moved toward a new law that would give internet companies like Facebook and Google just 24 hours to remove hateful speech from their sites or face fines of $1.4 million per violation. A final vote is expected next week. Germany passed a similar measure last year and imposed fines of $56 million.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by quietus on Wednesday July 10 2019, @09:58PM (5 children)
The nazis didn't come to power because they were some wonderfully reasonable people who'd sensibly discuss why they thought it necessary to murder x million of people. The clue is in their party name: the National Socialist Democratic Workers Party. In short, they came to power through lies, blatant lies, and hateful lies.
It's one lesson the current crop of Europeans hopefully remembers, but somehow doesn't get through the thick skulls of quite the number of FREE SPEECH zealots.
So no big conspiracy theory: just a hard lesson that letting people say anything they like might end in having to watch your mother, father, wife or man, son or daughter, being summarily tortured and slaughtered.
Or as my mother used to say: too much freedom leads to slavery.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Thursday July 11 2019, @12:30AM
they came to power through lies, blatant lies, and hateful lies.
They came to power because people chose to believe the lies. The Nazis' power came from the audience, not the "leaders".
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Thursday July 11 2019, @12:46AM
Fortunately, people always remember history, so this could never happen again...
They don't like it when people shout "FIRE!!" in crowded theatres (the Europeans, not the zealots).
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 11 2019, @12:56AM (1 child)
Wasn’t it “National Socialist German Workers’ Party”?
(Score: 2) by quietus on Thursday July 11 2019, @08:15AM
Yes -- you are correct.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 11 2019, @03:08AM
The lessons that Europeans need to remember are the vicious barbarity of Islam, the conspiring and intolerance of the Vatican, the backstabbing treason and greed of the international Jewish bankers, the evils of Communism, and the threat to the public of a standing army (or police force, intelligence agency, or regulatory body). Right now you are under attack by all five. If you ignore these lessons long enough, either the people find a Hitler to stop it or you get conquered.