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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: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @04:57PM (10 children)
Right, one people are "educated."
30 years ago when I was in preschool, the Commies had me march in their parade, golding happy rainbow flags. I thought I escaped that. 30 years later Commies want my kids to march in their parade, complete with rainbow flags.
(Score: 4, Informative) by maxwell demon on Friday January 15 2021, @05:05PM (9 children)
The communist flag was red, not rainbow.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 5, Funny) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @05:16PM (3 children)
The communists are huge supporters of the gays.
See: Russia, how they treat gays
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday January 15 2021, @05:29PM (2 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Friday January 15 2021, @05:42PM
Apparently there is not a single gay person in North Korea. No, not even one.
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @03:27PM
It's it so interesting how well propaganda works?
I don't mean Russia. I mean us. In Russia there is an average gay population, and it's no secret to anybody including politicians. There are even *gasp* gay clubs. The one and only difference between Russia and America is that in Russia it is illegal to disseminate propaganda of a sexual nature to anybody under the age of 18. So this effectively precludes any sort of gay pride march, tranny reading day at the library, or men walking around in S&M gear with other mean on leashes because these are all apparently things to do.
To be clear though I am speaking of Russia 'proper' here. Chechnya is a part of Russia (in a way analogous to how Puerto Rico is a part of the US) and they have their own set of rules, laws, and culture. And homosexuality in Chechnya is as well tolerated as it is in any Muslim majority nation. Which is to say, it's not.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 15 2021, @08:02PM (4 children)
Belive me, the colors of the flag were not red during the May Day "celebration." This was not a military parade, and they want the kids to have happy thoughts as they indoctrinate them.
I love how these armchair historians want to tell me, a person who was actually there.
I bet you also think you are smarter than average.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @12:20AM
We all know that you are somewhat stupider than normal. What were you doing "golding" flags, anyway? That sounds more Trumpist than communist.
(Score: 2) by helel on Saturday January 16 2021, @12:56AM (2 children)
Perhaps if you gave more information you'd get a more desirable response? Perhaps start by stating where and when you're referring to, describe the events or practices, and then discuss the indoctrination. That way people can lear from your experience instead of just being confused as to why you hate rainbows.
Republican Patriotism [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 16 2021, @08:42AM
You'll just be sitting there, minding your own business, and then they come marching in, crawl up your leg and start to bite your ass, and you'll be like, AY, GET OUTTA MY ASS, YOU STUPID RAINBOWS!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 17 2021, @05:21AM
I gave up trying to warn people about this ten years ago, now I just accept their ignorance, and await for the day their offspring are steralized with puberty blockers. I will be goign back to my Communist hellhole, which is under new management, and surprisingly people who live thee are not keen to fall into the trap again, no matter how many epiteths ending in phobia are thrown at them by the international media.