SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the what-you-see-depends-on-where-you-are dept.
Silicon Valley is a uniquely American creation, the product of an entrepreneurial spirit and no-holds-barred capitalism that now drives many aspects of modern life.
But the likes of Facebook, Google and Apple are increasingly facing an uncomfortable truth: it is Europe's culture of tougher oversight of companies, not America's laissez-faire attitude, which could soon rule their industry as governments seek to combat fake news and prevent extremists from using the internet to fan the flames of hatred.
While the U.S. has largely relied on market forces to regulate content in a country where free speech is revered, European officials have shown they are willing to act. Germany recently passed a law imposing fines of up to 50 million euros ($59 million) on websites that don't remove hate speech within 24 hours. British Prime Minister Theresa May wants companies to take down extremist material within two hours. And across the EU, Google has for years been obliged to remove search results if there is a legitimate complaint about the content's veracity or relevance.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 04 2017, @01:02AM (1 child)
Yes.
Monopolies and censorship are two entirely separate kettles of fish, and the US did more to stop Microsoft than Europe ever did. Microsoft only started with things like Windows 10 once the US's oversight had expired.
Good. I tire of Eurotrolling. Frankly if the EU wants to be censored and indoctrinated I don't really care too much (although I do think it is very unfortunate and am sympathetic to those who don't agree but have little practical recourse), but I take exception when it becomes impractical to avoid EU censorship in the US. It isn't now, but with the ever-expanding reach of a few companies it's pretty obvious the building blocks for this and a lot of other nasty things are being put in place or are already there. The EU has made it plain they intend to extend their tentacles as far as they will go. This is not unexpected as most countries do that, but that also means they shouldn't expect a positive response when they try to entangle others. People bitch whenever the US sneezes in the wrong direction, so the EU shouldn't be surprised if it gets a similar reaction.
(Score: 3, Informative) by meustrus on Sunday November 05 2017, @01:33AM
IF you’re really worried about foreign censorship leaking into US operations, you’re paying attention to the wrong game. China is the big fish here, and unlike the EU where hate speech laws are democratic and theoretically exist for the benefit of the people, in China the Party censors anything it wants, with no democratic oversight, for its own benefit. And while the influence of the EU is shrinking, the influence of China is growing.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?