Tag: Section 230

US government asset, from PH, calling for censorship of US citizens

Ms. Cat
Full speech

Maria Ressa is calling for the revocation of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Revoking Section 230 would increase social media censorship and remove competition for Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, and YouTube (Google). Why? Due to threats of being sued, social media companies could ‘hold’ your posts until approved by artificial intelligence or a human. They’d also be inclined to remove more content. As for competition, smaller companies can’t afford the legal teams and/or fees that large companies can. The lawsuits could bankrupt a smaller company. Considering that Rappler is also funded by Big Tech, I’m not surprised that she’s on their side. This isn’t about hate speech, or ‘disinformation’, it’s about controlling the narrative!

Full speech

In this clip, she complains about being criticized for appearing with Clinton and for being accused of being a CIA agent and a Communist. Of course, she’s not going to mention why she’s been accused of being a CIA agent (because she’s been funded by the CIA-cutout National Endowment for Democracy and other front organizations)!

Related:

AI Briefing: Hillary Clinton and Google’s Eric Schmidt both suggest Section 230 reform

Some speakers — including Clinton, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa — also called on Congress to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Ressa, a journalist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, also noted it’s hard for people to know what it’s like to be a victim of online harassment or misinformation until they’ve been attacked.

Maria A. Ressa, LL.D. ’24, Harvard Commencement Address 2024

Communications Decency Act – Section 230

Front Organizations

WikiSpooks: Rappler (Sponsored by Facebook, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Google, Internews, National Endowment for Democracy, Open Society Foundations, Omidyar Network)

The Day Ted Cruz Stopped A Bad Internet Bill

Ms. Cat

Well, this was a bit of a surprise. Over the past couple of weeks I wrote about how Senator Josh Hawley was planning to try to hotline his terrible No Section 230 Immunity for AI Act. As we have explained multiple times, the bill is so poorly drafted that it would make a mess of the entire internet. After rumors of two attempted hotlines (effectively trying to sneak the bill through if no Senator objects) planned for last week, and then a rumor of a Tuesday night attempt, Hawley finally took to the floor Wednesday morning to make the push. If C-SPAN’s clunky embed feature works, you can watch it here:

The Day Ted Cruz Stopped A Bad Internet Bill

Related:

Bing’s A.I. Chat: ‘I Want to Be Alive. 😈’

Communications Decency Act – Section 230

U.S. Government Seeks Extensive Oversight over TikTok

Ms. Cat
Source.

The U.S. government, through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), proposed a draft agreement last summer that would grant it extensive access and control over TikTok‘s operations. This move comes as an attempt to address national security concerns related to the Chinese-owned app. A draft agreement, sourced from Forbes, outlines the following potential powers for the U.S. government:

U.S. Government Seeks Extensive Oversight over TikTok

Biden Appeals Judge’s Ban on Government Asking for Social Media Takedowns

Ms. Cat

Biden Appeals Judge’s Ban on Government Asking for Social Media Takedowns

State Department officials, according to a Facebook employee speaking with The Washington Post, told the company all future monthly meetings to discuss content takedowns were “canceled pending further guidance.” The reported cancellation means government officials and trust and safety representatives at Facebook will no longer meet to discuss brewing political misinformation or foreign influence operations. It’s unclear whether other agencies have taken similar measures following the ruling or if Google or Twitter have canceled meetings. The State Department, Meta, and Google did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment. Twitter sent us a 💩 . …

Judge compares Biden’s admin’s meeting with tech companies to Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth’

The Justice Department appealed Trump-appointed federal Judge Terry A. Doughty’s preliminary injunction hours after it landed, according to court documents filed Wednesday evening. Doughty’s preliminary injunction bars numerous government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) from contacting or asking social media companies about posts he said are protected by the First Amendment. The ruling does offer some exceptions for government communications with tech firms intended to warn them of national security threats, criminal activity, and voter suppression. Government officials maintain their content recommendations to social networks were merely suggestions, not legal demands. Doughty said numerous uncovered communications show Biden administration officials wielded threats of increased regulations or a stripping of Section 230 immunity protections to get its way.

Related:

State Dept. cancels Facebook meetings after judge’s ‘censorship’ ruling

When tech companies and State Department officials meet, “they talk about foreign influence, they compare notes. It gives them the opportunity to ask questions about foreign influence they are seeing,” this person said. “State will share Russian narratives, things they are seeing in state media in Russia about U.S. topics. They will ask whether Facebook is seeing things from known entities, such as the Chinese Communist Party or the Internet Research Agency,” the Russian entity thought responsible for much of the interference in the 2016 election. …

“The really tough question is when does the government cross the line from responding to speech — which it can and should do — to coercing platforms to censor constitutionally protected speech?” Kosseff said. “The judge here believes that line was crossed, and he certainly cited some persuasive examples,” such as administration officials suggesting antitrust actions against tech firms or changes to their liability protections while criticizing their content moderation efforts.

US Court Victory Against Online Censorship

The Stupidity Of Making Porn Filters Mandatory On Mobile Devices (And Other Musings On Reality)

Ms. Cat

NSFW!

Lawmakers in the Alabama state legislature have voted for a bill that would require parental controls and NSFW content filters to be enabled on every phone and tablet sold in the state. House Bill (HB) 298, or the Protection of Minors from Unfiltered Devices Act, cleared the state House with an overwhelming 70-8 vote, with two dozen members abstaining from voting, last week. Now in the Senate, HB 298 is seeing success after the bill’s sole sponsor, state Rep. Chris Sells, failed in some previous legislative sessions to push this legislation to approval.

The Stupidity Of Making Porn Filters Mandatory On Mobile Devices (And Other Musings On Reality)

Senator Warner’s RESTRICT Act Is Designed To Create The Great Firewall Of America

Ms. Cat2 Comments

from the we-become-what-we-fear dept

Thu, Mar 30th 2023 10:49am – Mike Masnick

Earlier this month, we wrote about Mark Warner’s RESTRICT Act, mainly in the context of how it appeared to be kneejerk legislating in response to the moral panic around TikTok.

Senator Warner’s RESTRICT Act Is Designed To Create The Great Firewall Of America

America with Chinese Characteristics?! /sarcasm

The Supreme Court Could Destroy Everything Good About The Internet

Ms. Cat1 Comment

Next Week, The Supreme Court Could Destroy Everything Good About The Internet

This is the thing that so many haters of Section 230 don’t understand. They seem to think that getting rid of it will somehow benefit speech. But, it will not. It will benefit government officials attempting to control speech.

Related:

SCOTUS Blog: Gonzalez v. Google

Communications Decency Act – Section 230