Censorship
Analysis of 500 million Reddit comments shows how the alt-right made the alt-left a thing
At the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in August, a man suspected of being a neo-Nazi sympathizer drove a car into a crowd of counter-protestors, killing one person and injuring 19 others. In the aftermath of right-wing violence, US president Donald Trump chose not to condemn the white …
Big IdeasSESTA is flawed, but the debate over it welcome
ONCE the giants of the internet could do no wrong. Now they are a favourite target of politicians everywhere. Europe’s finance ministers are …
EconomicsChina bans anti-Islam words on social media
"Islamophobic" terms used by Chinese internet users to stigmatise Muslims have been blocked by authorities to prevent bias against Islam, official …
Rights & FreedomsEuropean leaders want online terrorism posts taken down within two hours
British Prime Minister Theresa May says internet companies need to go “further and faster” to keep violent extremist material from spreading …
Emmanuel MacronPizza shop workers' fresh take on anti-SSM billboard
The owners of a Tasmanian pizza shop have altered the meaning of an anti-same-sex-marriage billboard next to their business, a day after a Hobart …
Same-sex MarriageCan Jigsaw’s Designers Make the Internet Safer?
At Jigsaw—an incubator in New York City that’s part of Google parent Alphabet Inc.—a team of designers and engineers has a sweeping mission: to …
BusinessMet police chat forum was used to post insults aimed at Gypsies
Three police officers and a civilian staff member criticised by Independent Police Complaints Commission for failing to act<p>Three Metropolitan police officers and a police staff member should face misconduct meetings for participating in an online chat site that carried derogatory comments about …
PolicingCould This $22 Billion Chinese Startup Wound Weibo and SINA? -- The Motley Fool
A growing news aggregator has cut ties with Weibo.<p>Chinese news aggregator Toutiao recently severed all content-sharing ties with Chinese social …
Stocks'Snowflake Students' Need Reason And Debate, Not Wristbands
<b>'You are not special. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.'</b><p>This line from the 1996 novel 'Fight Club', first introduced the concept of the 'snowflake generation'. The line embodies the millennial sentiment of having less resilience than previous generations, being more prone to taking …
EducationNetizen Report: Germany’s New Social Media Law Puts a Price on Hate Speech
The Problem with Censorship is XXXXXXXXX, Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Cory Doctorow via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)<p>Global Voices Advocacy's Netizen Report …
Rights & FreedomsACC admits staff also uses pseudonyms
ACC has confirmed it also uses fake names for staff, after it emerged the Ministry of Social Development uses pseudonyms to protect employees from …
New Zealand NewsGoogle is linking secret, court-protected names to online coverage
Google’s powerful search engine is defeating some court-ordered publication bans in Canada and undermining efforts to protect young offenders and …
Canadian NewsTrump keeps retweeting accounts that promote fake news, conspiracy theories, and message boards beloved by white nationalists
President Donald Trump has repeatedly quoted or retweeted Twitter accounts that have promoted far-right media trolls, fake news purveyors, conspiracy …
Liberal ViewThe Alt-Right’s Favorite Social Network Has a Point About Google
On Thursday, the “free speech” social network Gab.ai filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging it had violated federal antitrust laws when it kicked …
GoogleWhat government wants from tech in the fight against terror
<b>The prime minister wants technology companies to do more to tackle extremist content on the web. They say it's not as straightforward as it might sound.</b><p>As so-called Islamic State faces defeat in the battlefield of the Middle East, British security officials know the online battle will increasingly …
Rights & FreedomsFacebook bans Rohingya group's posts as minority faces 'ethnic cleansing'
As hundreds of thousands flee a brutal campaign by the Myanmar military, the social media company labels an insurgent group a ‘dangerous organization’<p>Amid international accusations that Myanmar’s military is engaging in “ethnic cleansing” of the Rohingya Muslim minority, Facebook designated a …
NewsThere is meddling in Germany's election — not by Russia, but by U.S. right wing
Less than a week before Sunday's vote that is likely to hand German Chancellor Angela Merkel a fourth term, evidence of anticipated Russian meddling has yet to materialize, but U.S. right-wing groups have interfered, according to German researchers.<p>"So far we have not been able to track down any …
News (U.S.)Released from PA jail, Issa Amro warns online censorship law threatens last line of defense against Israel
Released from prison a week ago, Issa Amro has jumped right back into work. At a small house atop a hill in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron …
Israeli Palestinian ConflictMICHAELIA CASH: The teen sacked for voting 'No' on same-sex marriage had her rights violated
Screenshot/ The Bolt Report<p>The minister for employment, Michaelia Cash, has weighed in on the dismissal of a teen, who was fired after posting on …
EqualityWoman fires employee for ‘hate speech’ because she disagrees with same-sex marriage
A woman has received death threats after she fired one of her employees for what she called ‘homophobic hate speech’.<p>Madlin Sims posted a Facebook …
Same-sex MarriageTheresa May's speech is just the latest in politicians wilfully misunderstanding the internet
How the threat of terrorism is used to justify censorship and surveillance.<p>As is so often the case, <i>The Daily Mail</i> started it. After the Parsons Green …
Theresa MayEurope's leaders demand that US internet giants remove extremist content within 2 hours
The leaders of Britain, France and Italy will push social media companies on Wednesday to remove "terrorist content" from the internet quicker and more efficiently than ever before.<p>They want the material to be taken down within one to two hours of it appearing because they say that is the period …
Theresa MayMilo Yiannopoulos’ “censored” Berkeley event smells like a massive troll
Milo claims he was planning a “Free Speech Week” and Berkeley shut it down. Evidence for this is strangely lacking<p>0 Comments<p>Milo Yiannopoulos(Credit: Getty/Drew Angerer)<p>Amanda Marcotte<p>Amanda Marcotte is a politics writer for Salon. She's on Twitter @AmandaMarcotte<p>•
Liberal ViewFacebook Under Fire for Removing Reports of Ethnic Cleansing
Facebook is caught in a new political crossfire, this time over Myanmar, where the government is allegedly conducting a campaign to ethically cleanse …
Rights & FreedomsPoll: Most College Students Don't Think the First Amendment Protects 'Hate Speech' (It Does)
Christine flagged this survey yesterday, but I wanted to circle back to it because it's so worrisome. The biggest splash from the data was that …
Conservative ViewThe libertarian case for open borders
If you’re a libertarian, you should endorse open borders. Here’s why.<p>Libertarians prize individual liberty. According to libertarians, we have rights to associate with others as we see fit and engage in economic transactions with them. These rights are constraints on state action. Libertarians …
News (U.S.)College Student Poll: Is It OK To Use Violence To Shut Down Speakers You Don't Like? The Results Are Alarming.
With the explosion of anti-free speech disruption and violence by social justice and Antifa activists on campuses across the country over the last …
Conservative ViewSurvey: Only 39 Percent of College Students Know That Hate Speech Is Protected Speech
That’s not an encouraging result.<p>In a recent survey of college students, only 39 percent responded that they that believe that the Constitution …
Conservative ViewUK Prime Minister calls on internet firms to develop ‘automated takedowns’ for terrorist content
The UK’s prime minister has once again raised the tech stakes in the fight against online terror, with her latest, er, bright idea being for internet …
Students Aren't The Only Ones Who Don't Understand Free Speech
The Brookings Institution has released yet another poll showing that college students have a severely deficient understanding of the First Amendment. The findings are indeed “chilling,” as the <i>Washington Post</i> put it. 40% of students said the First Amendment doesn’t protect hate speech. 50% said that …
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