Yesterday the German parliament passed a new law called the "Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz" - which translates roughly to "network enforcement law". Social media platforms are now obligated to delete illegal content within 24 hours, or they may be fined up to 50 million Euro. Illegal content can be anything like hatespeech, name-calling of religious groups, insults, defamation etc.
To add to the audacity of the law itself, the way it was passed was typical. At the same day gay marriage was legalized. Needless to say how the coverage of our media looked like, giving little attention to this attack on free speech.
Further material:
English:
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40444354
German:
The German state is deeply invested in "supplementing" its own population with immigrants, the apparent rationale being that declining birth rates necessitate fresh blood to support the socialized medical and pension system. With criminal activity rapidly escalating, old school press has already experienced an EU "advisory" not to report on the ethnicity, national origin or religious belief system of those who commit crimes so as not to fan "xenophobia". Whereas the old school media in Germany (and the EU at large) is largely beholdent unto the state and their complicit corporate powers, new media is not (yet) sufficiently obedient to the political will, thus the new law.
If you aren't watching Black Pigeon Speaks, you should be.
Situation in Germany is escalating. Is Steemit the answer to Merkel's internet censorship?
Yup. Steem definitely has a lot to offer in this sort of situation. Decentralization is becoming more and more important IMO.
The preservation of free speech is going to need not just a decentralized solution, but a completely anonymous one as well. When the state fails to achieve desired levels of censorship by having the platforms enforce censorship for them, it will almost certainly up the ante by targeting those who exercise their right to free speech directly. Unfortunately, this is already happening in Germany, see this, and this, and yet more. What amazes me is that you have to go the English speaking independent/alternative press to find uncensored news on what is happening in terms of demographic shifts and escalating crime in Europe.
I went through minor efforts to keep myself anonymous when joining Steemit exactly for this reason, as can be read in my introductory post. Of course, if the state wants to find out who you are, unless you are a master hacker, it will find out. That is why it is all the more important that a heavily encrypted, decentralized and fully anonymous social media platform be launched asap before the internet becomes strictly regulated and needs an "internet license" to access as is already in the works.
Had to shake my head, this the top of the news feeds today: Gestapo is Back: German Homes Raided Over Facebook Posts.
§19 der Menschenrechte ist nicht viel wert...
§19 of the human rights is not worth much...
Thanks for sharing!
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nice post ♥
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