{"id":176446,"date":"2024-11-08T18:30:26","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T18:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/?p=176446"},"modified":"2024-11-08T18:31:45","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T18:31:45","slug":"the-eu-tightens-censorship-on-virtual-communication-networks-with-new-binding-rules-against-disinformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogaesoteric.net\/en\/the-eu-tightens-censorship-on-virtual-communication-networks-with-new-binding-rules-against-disinformation\/","title":{"rendered":"The EU tightens censorship on virtual communication networks with new binding rules against \u201cdisinformation\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

What began as a \u201cvoluntary code of conduct<\/em>\u201d by the EU on disinformation, affecting tech and virtual communication companies, is now set to become a binding code of conduct for the most influential and widely used platforms.<\/p>\n

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This was announced by the Irish media regulator Paul Gordon, who spoke to journalists in Brussels. The EU Commission has not yet confirmed officially that the current code will be \u201cformalised<\/em>\u201d in this way in January 2025.<\/p>\n

The legislation that would enable the \u201ctransition<\/em>\u201d is the controversial Digital Services Act<\/em> (DSA), often referred to by critics as the \u201cEU online censorship law<\/em>,\u201d the enforcement of which started in February this year.<\/p>\n

The so-called \u201cvoluntary<\/em>\u201d code is currently signed by 44 tech companies. When it becomes mandatory in January 2025, it will apply to those defined by the EU as very large online platforms (VLOPs) (with at least 45 million monthly active users in the 27-nation bloc) and Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs).<\/p>\n

The number of these platforms is currently estimated at 25, plus at least two giant search engines.<\/p>\n

In its current form, the DSA requires online platforms to conduct risk assessments regarding \u201cdisinformation<\/em>\u201d and to disclose the measures they take to mitigate the risks identified in those assessments.<\/p>\n

But when the code switches from \u201cvoluntary<\/em>\u201d to mandatory, these obligations will also include other requirements: demonetizing the dissemination of \u201cdisinformation<\/em>\u201d; platforms, civil society groups, and fact-checkers \u201ceffectively cooperating<\/em>\u201d during elections, once again to address \u201cdisinformation<\/em>\u201d; and \u201cempowering<\/em>\u201d fact-checkers.<\/p>\n

This refers not only to the spread of \u201cfact-checking<\/em>\u201d in the EU member states, but also to the funding of these groups by the VLOPs. And this despite the fact that many of the best-known \u201cfact-checkers<\/em>\u201d are repeatedly accused of promoting censorship instead of checking content impartially for its accuracy.<\/p>\n

The code was first introduced (in its \u201cvoluntary<\/em>\u201d form) in 2022, with Google, Meta and TikTok among the prominent signatories \u2013 while these rules come from a \u201cstrengthened<\/em>\u201d EU Code of Conduct on Disinformation<\/em>, based on Commission guidelines published in May 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is for the signatories to decide what commitments they undertake and it is their responsibility to ensure the effectiveness of the implementation of their commitments<\/em>,\u201d the EU said at the time \u2013 that would have been the \u201cvoluntary<\/em>\u201d element, while the Commission said at the time that it had not \u201cendorsed<\/em>\u201d the code.<\/p>\n

It looks like the European Commission will now \u201cendorse<\/em>\u201d the code, and there are active preparations to make it binding.<\/p>\n

Von der Leyen wants to \u201cvaccinate\u201d the EU population against \u201cwrong thinking\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the Democracy Summit in Copenhagen, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen perversely proclaimed that EU citizens must be \u201cvaccinated against disinformation<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Von der Leyen Promises to 'Vaccinate' EU Population Against 'Wrong Thinking'<\/p>\n

According to Ursula, who is currently facing a criminal case over the EU government's strange contracts with pharmaceutical companies , people in society who hold views that contradict the globalist\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/fK0wKV6tUQ<\/a><\/p>\n

— \u201cSudden And Unexpected\u201d (@toobaffled) October 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n