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Germany Plans To Fine Social Media Sites Over Hate Speech (reuters.com)
Germany plans a new law calling for social networks like Facebook to remove slanderous or threatening online postings quickly or face fines of up to 50 million euros ($53 mln). From a report: "This (draft law) sets out binding standards for the way operators of social networks deal with complaints and obliges them to delete criminal content," Justice Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement announcing the planned legislation on Tuesday. Failure to comply could see a social media company fined up to 50 million euros, and the company's chief representative in Germany fined up to 5 million euros. Germany already has some of the world's toughest hate speech laws covering defamation, slander, public incitement to commit crimes and threats of violence, backed up by prison sentences for Holocaust denial or inciting hatred against minorities. It now aims to update these rules for the social media age.
"Openness" and "tolerance" is only for people who think like they do. Look at the way progressives treat conservative blacks in the US- they're called "Uncle Toms" when they don't think and behave the way progressives think they should. They have little interest in open and fair discussion on certain topics because their message is driven by virtue-signalling and feelz, not logic. Remember, inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to be let out.
Disgusting. Just f**king disgusting.
Free speech comes before anything else.
What? Are you in favor of blasphemy laws?
Can't defame the government?
Are you f**ked up stupid? There should be no laws against political speech; no laws regarding expressing your thoughts (even if they are vile).
Why? Because who decides what is, and what is not vile? We certainly can't use a majority vote for this? Who then? Which f**king gov't officials would you give that power to?
Laws against advocating violence against a particular person or organization or property is the only thing that *maybe* acceptable.
I hate Obama / Trump. Is OK.
Obama / Trump should be killed. Is morally horrible but should not be illegal.
Kill Obama / Trump now. Is morally horrible and I can compromise on making that statement illegal.
But political statements should always be illegal. Government tyranny and oppression is far worse than the vile statements.
If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond
Don't be silly. Hate speech in Germany is real simple. Here are some examples:
HATE SPEECH: Angela Merkel's immigration policy is stupid
NOT HATE SPEECH: Angela Merkel's opponents are Nazi, baby-killing, racist, misogynist scum!
HATE SPEECH: I disagree with the principals of Islam and feel it's a real threat to our country and its identity.
NOT HATE SPEECH: Christian priests are nothing but a bunch of molestors who should be hanged!
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
My point was that I agree with GP but would have used different wording. I fully agree that all speech should be legal, and thankfully in the US we have a Constitutional protection (for now) on free speech. I just saw from SXSW that a group of Germans was lecturing people about how speech needs to be prevented, and they could not answer some basic questions. Like: Who determines what is and is not "hate" speech?
Germans should know better. Prior to starting off two major world wars their leadership did exactly what they are doing. Stifle free speech, push propaganda, control the populace.
Hey Germans, what ever happened to "nie wieder"?
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
it's alarming to me how left-wing countries are rapidly approaching and embracing authoritarianism / fascism
It isn't "left-wing countries," it's lefties in general over the last few decades. There is no greater group of speech-muzzling little tyrants to be found. Try saying something out of alignment with the dictatorial left on a college campus like Berkeley - and get literally beaten bloody and unconscious. And then watch the lefty columnists in the school paper cheer it on! It's astonishing. Or would be, if we hadn't been seeing the liberals/progressives patting their brown shirts on the back for some years now. Today's left is all about power and silencing others, violently when they're in the mood to be that way, in order to get and secure it. And the left-leaning press cuts them all the slack they need in order to carry on that way.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
I don't like hate speech laws. They tend to be twisted to suppress legitimate political criticism.
Hate speech laws are almost always applied in a disproportionate way. They tend to pick and choose what racist behavior to censor, and what racist behavior is tolerated, compared to what racist behavior isn't tolerated. They pick winners and losers in the game of racism. Rather than condemn all racism, and promote secular egalitarianism.
Are Neo-Nazis, and the KKK Terrorists? Yes.
Are they a Protestant Christian Terrorist group that would not only attack Blacks, and Jews, Muslims but also Catholics, calling them Worshippers of Ba'al and Asherah? Yes.
Is Evangelical Protestant Christianity a dangerous cult that is a clear and present danger to Democracy, Secularism, and the rule of law, and civil rights? Yes.
Is it considered racist against white people or all Christians to say that? No. Because there are many sects of Christianity. With varying interpretations, and this points the finger of one particular violent cult.
Are ISIS and Al-Queada Terrorists? Yes.
Are they a Sunni Wahabi Islamic that would not only attack Blacks, and Jews, and Christians, but also Shites/The Shia for being Heretics for believing the wrong Successor to Muhammad was Ali? Yes.
Do the Sunni Wahabi Muslims represent all of Islam? No. There are several variants of Islam. From Shia, to Amadi, Alloyaite, etc.
Is Sunni Wahabi Islam a dangerous cult that is a clear and present danger to Democracy, Secularism, and the rule of law, and civil rights? Yes.
Is it considered racist against all Sunni Arabs or Arabians in general? Yes, but thats only because the Saudis have successfully lobbied governments to conflate critics of this ideology with critics of brown people.
As long as hate speech laws work this way, real racism, real hate, and real bigotry will go unchallenged.
Left wing? What are you smoking? Merkel belongs to the CDU party (christian democratic union) and it is a center - right party.
And speaking of lynch mobs. Your very idol Trump is how they happen, not hate speech laws.
If you call yourself a moderate with a straight face then people around you must be so far right that German neo-Nazi groups would feel underachieving in comparison.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
The Germans, given their history, are a bit wiser than that. One man's freedom of speech can infringe on a million other people's freedom to survive. Speech can be dangerous.
I encourage everyone who believes this nonsense to form their own country and live in harmony with other fellow like minded cowards forever. Censorship of ideas was a core enabler of Nazi Germany and go-to means of control of every dictatorship in human history.
It wasn't Adolf Hitler that killed millions of people it was a whole country going along with his insanity. Censoring speech has a proven track record of actually being dangerous.
It's what cowards always do when they can't compete and fear losing.
Your arguments remind me of the arguments that were used to censor pornography. "I know it when I see it."
Face it, once you start banning speech, the kind of speech that will be banned is the kind that is disliked by the ruling class. Thus it has always been.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
I have dozens of relatives in Germany and guess what? They are all scared right now because of what is happening. I have an Aunt who recently passed away who was a child during WW II and told us how a majority of German citizens had no idea that Jews were being put to Genocide by the German Government. The US Soldiers marched German families through the concentration camps because Germans thought that the Allied Soldiers were lying. Their ignorance is a direct result of free speech dying and pure Government control of Newspapers, Radio, public speaking, and the education system.
That last part should bother the hell out of Germans who if they bothered to read a history book would find that the education system is one of the first places Hitler attacked with his ideology. He controlled all messages in education, just like you have today.
You took the wrong message, and shame on you for making such an asinine claim. Remember that the Jews were intolerant, the Pols were intolerant, the Hungarians were intolerant, the French were intolerant, the Russians were intolerant, the Brits were intolerant, the Schwarzs were intolerant, and I can repeat that for any group who spoke out against the State.
Everyone was was the enemy of the State. Just like today... You just refuse to admit as much
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.