hate speech
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Anatomy of a Commission press campaign. Case study: Terrorist Content Regulation
On 12 September, the European Commission will propose a new legislative tool: the Regulation on preventing dissemination of “terrorist content”
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Parliamentarians encourage online platforms to censor legal content
On 18 May 2017, the European Parliament Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) adopted a report on the Online Platforms and the Digital Single Market.
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EU action needed: German NetzDG draft threatens freedom of expression
On 22 May 2017 six civil society and industry associations sent an open letter to eight EU Commissioners asking to take action against the German bill on “Enforcement on Social Networks”, the “NetzDG”.
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ENDitorial: Commissioners’ oath – a broken promise on fundamental rights
On 3 May, 2010, the entire European Commission travelled to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Strasbourg to, for the first time in the history of the Union, take an oath that included a solemn declaration to “respect the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in […]
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Audiovisual Media Services Directive reform: Document pool
On 25 May 2016, the European Commission proposed to reform the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (the “AVMS Directive” or “AVMSD”). The current AVMS Directive (2010) is the European Union (EU) legal framework that regulates traditional TV broadcasters and on-demand services in the EU Member States. The AVMSD contains rules on audiovisual advertising; jurisdiction over providers; […]
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Reckless social media law threatens freedom of expression in Germany
At the end of March 2017, with Federal elections on the horizon, the German Justice Minister Heiko Maas proposed a law on ill-defined “social networks”. Minister Maas has proposed the law which places a variety of obligations on the companies, in the apparent hope that this will lead profit-motivated companies to take over private censorship […]
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Audiovisual Media Services Directive – is it good enough to be a law?
The worst examples of bigotry, ignorance, and hatred have appeared more visible in our public discourse in recent months and years. All reasonable people are appalled at willful ignorance and almost visceral hate. We need to take the necessary steps to fight ignorance and hatred. But we need to do so in a way that […]
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The tale of the fight for transparency in the EU Internet Forum
Chapter One: The dark knights at a secret meeting It was the beginning of the year 2014 when the European Commission first announced the creation of an “EU Internet Forum”. But it would take almost two years and several meetings before its official launch on 3 December 2015. The Forum’s mission: to “counter terrorist content […]
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FAQ: EU Code of Conduct on illegal hate speech
On 31 May 2016, the European Commission signed a “Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online” with four US online companies. This initiative came as a response to what is generally seen as a significant increase in extreme hate speech and a growth in violence against minorities.
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ENDitorial: “Hate speech”: Who’s the German for hypocrisy
German interior minister Thomas De Maizière has a simple solution for “hate speech”. He believes that other people should stop it. He believes that someone (else) should do something. In particular, he is very keen that American internet companies should become much more involved in policing, suppressing and punishing what they consider to be “hate […]
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New documents reveal the truth behind the Hate Speech Code
EDRi obtained documents revealing different drafts of the Code of Conduct against Hate Speech and the correspondence exchanged between the European Commission and the four big companies that concluded the agreement on 31 May 2016: Facebook, Google, Twitter and Microsoft. These documents complement an interesting response sent by Commissioner Jourová to a letter from the […]
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Guide to the Code of Conduct on Hate Speech
On 31 May, the European Commission, together with Facebook, YouTube (Google), Twitter and Microsoft, agreed a “code of conduct” (pdf) on fighting hate speech. We believe that the code of conduct will damage enforcement of laws on hate speech, and undermine citizens’ fundamental rights. In a joint press release, EDRi and Access Now have therefore […]
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