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'No longer acceptable' for platforms to take key decisions alone, EU Commission says
It is "no longer acceptable" for social media giants to take key decisions on online content removals alone, following the high profile takedowns of US President Trump's accounts on Facebook and Twitter, the European Commission has said.
Trump's accounts have been suspended by the two platforms for inciting calls to violence ahead of the violent riots that hit Washington's Capitol Hill last week.
Speaking to lawmakers on Monday (11 January), Prabhat Agarwal, an official who heads up the eCommerce unit at the European Commission's DG Connect, noted how the EU executive's Digital Services Act attempts to realign the balance between effective content removal and preserving freedom of expression online.
"It is no longer acceptable in our view that platforms take some key decisions by themselves alone without any supervision, without any accountability, and without any sort of dialogue or transparency for the kind of decisions that they're taking," Agarwal said.
"Freedom of expression is really a key value in this," he told the European Parliament's internal market committee.
The comments came following concerns raised by some lawmakers in the European Parliament following the suspension of Trump's social media accounts. In doing so, platforms giants had demonstrated that they yield a disproportionate degree of power over the freedom of speech online.
"The fact that platforms like Twitter and Facebook decide who can speak freely is dangerous," Green MEP Kim van Sparrentak said.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by leon_the_cat on Friday January 15 2021, @03:46PM (19 children)
Yes and stating it was not stolen with equal fire does not make it so either so lets be honest neither of us know for sure if it was or not. From the statistical data we can infer that something was more than just a little off added to the numerous testimonies of polling chicanery, bending of election law and refusal to be transparent should lead to at least an investigation into irregularities but that was prevented from happening. As such a large number of people will no longer believe in the elected oligarchy system (some people call it democracy), this is a huge blow as belief in this system is a major component of control as it gives people the (mostly false) feeling they have a say. Now they feel they have none and that their voice is silenced online for political reasons. This only leads to totalitarianism and it will come down on you some day.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Barenflimski on Friday January 15 2021, @04:26PM (3 children)
That is only true if its two dudes yelling at each other on a corner with information that is equal and the same. Proving a negative is almost impossible, and not a great way to go about life.
I watched hours and hours of the "testimony" of people that wanted to say it was rigged. I heard it was too warm for anyone to accurately count ballots. I heard it was too cold to count ballots. I heard the power went out one time. I heard we should have done it like the Iraqi's. There were endless people describing how people were mean to them. I never once heard anything that even in the slightest would tip the scales. Doubt does not equal fraud.
No transparency? I continue to hear this, and I have yet to find anything to back this up. I continue to hear that peoples feelings were hurt, but no evidence of actual malpractice. Do we really need 10 people looking over the shoulders of the 5 people from varying parties that already count and verify each others ballots? Sounds great when yelling this in a crowd, but if you did this and everyone got to have an objection because of a scuff mark on a ballot, the ballots would never be counted in time and you'd have the same people saying this was the conspiracy.
All of the laws of these states were on the books and challengable before the election. Why didn't that happen? Because these politicians and lawyers know that the public memory is about as long as the next headline. It is super easy to stir the pot. It is extremely difficult to do anything in government in a manner that doesn't upset someone.
I'd suggest for every one of these people that want to whine and complain, that they themselves go down and sign up to help out in the next election. Go run for office. Go sign up to count ballots and learn how the process work. If the process doesn't work, then you're lucky, we vote in 2 years, so lobby your government to fix it. Go work in the local government and learn for themselves that in the end, most of the grandma's counting ballots are actually well meaning and nice people.
Standing on the side claiming the world should stop because one has doubts is nonsense. Offering only complaints and no solutions isn't helpful.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Friday January 15 2021, @05:55PM (2 children)
The irony being that these are all the "she lost, get over it" folks that are now rioting because they lost and can't get over it.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @08:06PM (1 child)
No, it's hardly all. It is a very small subset, and mind you none of them are remotely conservative. They just latch onto whatever is happening at the tome. Real conservatives are waiting for other shoe to drop.
This is about as ironic as this site claiming it is nothing like the green site, within few years becoming even more rife with Leftist drivel than the Green site. What a fucking accomplishment.
Now mod this post a flamebait, so everyone can clap...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @12:24AM
OK, done. Did you have some point?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @04:29PM (6 children)
Does it even seem plausible that Democrats could somehow manage to steal the election in one Republican leaning precinct / county? Let alone ALL of them.
It boggles the mind to conceive of the level of organization it would take to have such a vast number of people, in key positions, at every voting precinct. And to somehow keep this all a secret. It isn't even believable to think that Democrats, yes Democrats could manage a medium size organization, nevermind something this vast -- and in secret.
About as credible as 400,000 NASA people, and contractors, managing to keep the faked moon landings a secret for 50+ years. Without real proof of the fakery ever getting out!
Every election has had irregularities. It is common for recounts to differ by hundreds of votes. Sometimes as high as a thousand. But never enough to affect the actual outcome in the precinct being recounted.
If there is some kind of vast conspiracy to steal the election, it is upon those saying so to PROVE IT. They filed dozens of baseless lawsuits without any proof. They didn't even take their own lawsuits seriously -- they just expected a Republican judge to rubber stamp it. They didn't even produce proof of service upon defendants. Clearly bad faith in a lawsuit not even meant to be taken seriously.
If there really were a vast conspiracy to steal the election:
1. I would just LOVE to see the PROOF of it
2. I would be just as enraged as you are
So far all I've seen is claims the election was stolen. Passionate claims. Loud. Repeated. Said with a straight face. But that doesn't convince me. How was it done? Specifics? Who did it? What physical evidence is there? (This was the most camera recorded vote and recount ever!) I'm not talking about ordinary irregularities of dozens or hundreds of votes. I'm asking about what could change the outcome.
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 3, Funny) by DeathMonkey on Friday January 15 2021, @04:56PM (1 child)
And of course, that entire massive conspiracy was coordinated by a sleepy guy suffering from dementia...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @07:33PM
Noone thinks the kid sniffer orchestrated anything. He's a reanimated corpse the puppet masters stuck on a string.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @07:45PM (3 children)
Let's just think a bit more about this massive conspiracy.
Much of America is small towns. Where everyone knows one another. Strangers are very obvious.
How would a vast conspiracy manage to infiltrate every single small town voting precinct? And keep it quiet -- 100% of the time, without fail.
How would the learn how the various checks and balances and security mechanisms work at each local voting and counting place? How would you engineer a way to flip votes or miscount votes at every one of these locations? With so many eyes (and cameras) watching?
How is it that all of these precincts certified their elections. Presumably all the local people knew who the vote counters were. Probably go to church / school / work with them. Other people (both parties) carefully watching. The local people would know who is ultimately in charge of presiding over the election, and declaring the certified outcome. And that person would know all the people he/she is communicating with about the entire process. Strangers would stick out.
How would you do this at scale in so many different small towns in so many different regions? In the mountains? The desert? The plains? Farming communities?
It boggles the mind that such a vast conspiracy could even exist, let alone be kept secret.
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @09:24PM
"My gut feeling is that most conspiracy theorists have never been project managers. Their optimism is adorable..."
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday January 16 2021, @02:24AM (1 child)
You don't need small towns, You only need about a dozen key high-population counties.
And when +1200 people are willing to sign an affidavit attesting to witnessing what they believed was fraud (remember, lying on an affidavit is a felony) seems to me those affidavits should at least be examined, whether you believe anything nefarious happened or not.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @12:00AM
Seems like it would be easier to bribe 1200 people to simply lie or stretch the truth than run a conspiracy across hundreds of different counties. As usual rightwing nuttery is projection, as evident from how Trump's accusations and lawsuits always targeted communities with larger numbers of minorities and democrats. Can't believe you nutters are still in the Qult.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @04:53PM (1 child)
I would add this:
Trump's own people said things like: this was the most secure election in history
An AC elsewhere on SN posted:
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Friday January 15 2021, @05:58PM
Lawyers fear perjury because it has the actual consequence of losing jour job on top of the slap on the wrist the legal system hands out.
Hmm....wonder why Trump's legal team refuses to claim vote fraud under oath?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @05:02PM (1 child)
No, but the lack of any actual evidence supporting it being stolen, pretty much ought to end it. To suggest that the two positions have equal validity is rather ridiculous. This is a bit like arguing with a flat earth creationist, yes, they have a point of view, no it is not as valid as that of those that acknowledge that the world isn't flat.
At any rate, the folks complaining about it being "rigged" didn't seem to have any issue with the gerrymandering and the fact that smaller swing states get an outsized role in deciding the outcome of the election.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @07:16PM
It is all they have left, trying to use the general dissatisfaction with politics to make their horror show sound less repulsive. "TeH DeMoNrAtS aRe jUsT aS BaD!@!"
Was all fun and games till they want actual fascist.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Friday January 15 2021, @05:42PM (3 children)
The statistically "off" things you refer to are a mixture of lies, irrelevancies, and utter lack of understanding of stats - usually a combination of all three. In particular that Shiva dude, he's a complete idiot, and all of his analyses are pure garbage.
The people who feel they they have no say are just whiny little shits that don't understand the paradox of democracy. Only one side wins. Get over it.
And they, by interrupting the functioning of your terribley broken democracy, are the ones who are bringing on the totalitarianism.
It would be hard for you to be more wrong in just one paragraph even if you'd *tried*. Start your next post with "up is down. black is white. odd numbers are even. hot is cold. I've got something intelligent to say." to make sure you get off to a better start on that front.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @12:35AM (2 children)
Shiva, you say?
The Dance is over.
Statistical Geniuses over here. My Gawd are they stupid! [americanlibertyreport.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @03:58AM
That one has to be trolling. The lack of knowledge about how election statistics work or Virginia's historical voting record makes that sad. I almost think that had to be on purpose. The last paragraph, however, makes it hilarious in hindsight.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday January 17 2021, @10:03AM
Classic Trumpaloon behaviour, concentrated Dunning-Kruger.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves