The EU adopted a law making tech companies delete ‘terrorist content’ within one hour
"The EU has adopted a new, controversial law that requires tech companies to delete what authorities deem “terrorist content” within an hour, or risk a fine.
The European Parliament formally adopted the law on Wednesday even as lawmakers and experts warned that it would not be practical to implement and could harm people’s privacy and free-speech rights.
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The law requires companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter to immediately remove content that authorities believe incites terrorism, tries to recruit terrorists, “glorifies terrorist activities,” or gives advice on how to make dangerous items like explosives and firearms.
The law calls on the tech firms to remove the content within an hour of being told to do so by authorities, or the countries could punish them with a fine.
The law is to come into force 12 months after it is published in the EU’s official journal, then adopted by each member state, The Verge reported.
Some parliament members who voted against it said the law could amount to censorship.
Reuters reported that Marcel Kolaja, the vice president of the European Parliament, said: “We really are risking censorship across Europe. Hungarian and Polish governments already demonstrated they have no issues removing content that they disagree with.”
Other parliament members said they worried that the legislation could leave governments free to define what they think terrorism is, and police online content as a result."
Groups like Brigade 77 have intimated they are instigating hostilities against online opposition. They and the CCDH have already designated some perfectly respectably online opposition figures (like groups perceived as anti-vaccination) as likely to inspire violence. This move could see control of online reporting one step from completion, enabling a legally binding order to censor based on any old BullSh*t that someone might cause someone else to commit violence.