Rights
groups are outraged at the European Commission-brokered deal.
Some of the biggest U.S. tech firms have signed up to a code of conduct
formulated by the European Commission, in which they agree to help fight
against the spread of hate speech in Europe.
Online rights groups have reacted with outrage, saying they have no
confidence in the agreement because they were left out of the discussions
leading up to it (a point now being investigated by an EU watchdog) and they
think the deal fails to protect free speech rights.
Facebook FB -0.46% , YouTube GOOG 0.42% , Twitter TWTR 0.79% and
Microsoft MSFT 0.36% promised to review most reports of illegal hate speech on
their platforms within 24 hours and act on them by removing or disabling access
to the content, as long as the complaints are precise and substantiated. Their
terms of service and community guidelines will have to be clear that they
prohibit hateful conduct and incitements to violence.
Based on a 2008 piece of legislation, the code of conduct describes the
illegal material as “all conduct publicly inciting to violence or hatred
directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by
reference to race, color, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.”
According to a statement, the companies recognize that illegal hate
speech has a negative impact not only on individuals, but also on “those who
speak out for freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination in our open societies
and has a chilling effect on the democratic discourse on online platforms.”
Rights groups are outraged at the European Commission-brokered deal.
Some of the biggest U.S. tech firms have signed up to a code of conduct
formulated by the European Commission, in which they agree to help fight
against the spread of hate speech in Europe.
Online rights groups have reacted with outrage, saying they have no
confidence in the agreement because they were left out of the discussions
leading up to it (a point now being investigated by an EU watchdog) and they
think the deal fails to protect free speech rights.
Facebook FB -0.46% , YouTube GOOG 0.42% , Twitter TWTR 0.79% and
Microsoft MSFT 0.36% promised to review most reports of illegal hate speech on
their platforms within 24 hours and act on them by removing or disabling access
to the content, as long as the complaints are precise and substantiated. Their terms
of service and community guidelines will have to be clear that they prohibit
hateful conduct and incitements to violence.
Based on a 2008 piece of legislation, the code of conduct describes the
illegal material as “all conduct publicly inciting to violence or hatred
directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by
reference to race, color, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.”
According to a statement, the companies recognize that illegal hate
speech has a negative impact not only on individuals, but also on “those who
speak out for freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination in our open societies
and has a chilling effect on the democratic discourse on online platforms.”
“Hateful conduct has no place on Twitter and we will continue to tackle
this issue head on alongside our partners in industry and civil society,” said
Twitter’s European public policy chief, Karen White. “We remain committed to
letting the tweets flow. However, there is a clear distinction between freedom
of expression and conduct that incites violence and hate.”
Google public policy director Lie Junius said in the statement that
Google, which owns YouTube, has always prohibited illegal hate speech on its
platforms and already has efficient systems in place for reviewing complaints.
Facebook, too, said its “teams around the world review these reports around the
clock and take swift action.”
European Digital Rights (EDRi) and Access Now, two of the EU’s most
prominent lobbyists for online rights, reacted to the agreement by saying civil
society groups had been “systematically excluded” from the negotiations leading
up to it. As a result, they said they would not take part in future discussions
taking place under the banner of the Commission’s “EU Internet Forum.”
“The ‘code of conduct’ downgrades the law to a second-class status,
behind the ‘leading role’ of private companies that are being asked to
arbitrarily implement their terms of service,” the groups said in a statement.
“This process, established outside an accountable democratic framework,
exploits unclear liability rules for companies. It also creates serious risks
for freedom of expression as legal but controversial content may well be deleted
as a result of this voluntary and unaccountable take down mechanism.”
“It will, in practical terms, overturn case law of the European Court of
Human Rights on the defense of legal speech,” they added.
For more on Facebook and
hate speech, watch our video.
Facebook in particular has faced severe criticism in Germany over its
handling of far-right hate speech, a big issue in that country given its
history. German prosecutors at one point launched an investigation into the
firm’s top managers in the country, though that’s been dropped now. The company
has agreed to work with the government on tackling the issue.
Anti-racism organizations in France, too, have gone after Facebook,
Twitter and YouTube over the “hateful” content posted to their platforms.
According to the Commission’s Tuesday statement, the companies will need
to provide information about their notice procedures, in order to help EU
countries and their law enforcement agencies to understand how the systems work
and make best use of them.
The firms will also need to “provide regular training to their staff on
current societal developments and to exchange views on the potential for
further improvement.”
This article was updated to include the reactions of EDRi and Access Now.
Source: fortune.com