FB oversight member says free speech ‘is not an absolute human right’ - Is KF going to become the last bastion of free speech on the Internet?

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A Facebook Oversight Board member says free speech is “not an absolute human right,” and must be balanced against “other human rights” when deciding what content to censor.

The board member, former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt, said “free speech is not an absolute human right.”

“It has to be balanced with other human rights,” she said Thursday at a Politico Europe event.

The 20-member Facebook Oversight Board was set up last year to allow corporate executives to claim distance from politically sensitive decisions.

The board in May recommended that the company uphold a continued ban on former President Donald Trump’s account after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The oversight board includes five Americans and 15 members from Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia.


Although US courts have found the right to free speech isn’t absolute, the US has strong legal and cultural support for the free distribution of information. Other countries have starkly different standards, some even mandating digital censorship.

The European Union guarantees a “right to be forgotten,” meaning people can have information removed from websites — going so far as to allow murderers’ names to be removed from online search results for news articles.

The US Constitution’s First Amendment bans the government from “abridging the freedom of speech,” though that provision generally doesn’t apply to private companies.

Trump filed a lawsuit last week against Facebook claiming that it has censored content at the behest of the government, meaning that the First Amendment should apply to content moderation — therefore ensuring wide-open political debate.


Trump lawyer John Coale said the suits would prove that social media companies “are government actors” and that “therefore, the First Amendment does apply” to their actions

White House press secretary Jen Psaki admitted Thursday at her daily press briefing that the Biden administration has been “flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation,” particularly about COVID-19.

US courts have set certain limits on free speech, allowing the government to impose reasonable “time, place and manner” restrictions on speech and to criminalize “fighting words” likely to provoke violence and calls to imminent lawlessness.
 
I wonder what the reaction from the "It's not censorship when you get banned because it's not the government doing it" crowd is now that we know that the government is directing bans, and probably has been for ages now.
 
we know that the government is directing bans

Social media has been a dream of tyrant politicians who want to get around pesky things like human rights.

Why worry about violating free speech or privacy laws when private corporations can censor and track?

The more I hear about Europe, the less I like it.

Europe seems better back in the late 20th century, back when EU countries still used their own currencies.
 
I wonder what the reaction from the "It's not censorship when you get banned because it's not the government doing it" crowd is now that we know that the government is directing bans, and probably has been for ages now.
UM, EXCUSE ME MR. FACIST. THE GOBMENT POLITELY REQUESTING A PRIVATE ORGANIZATION TO DO SOMETHING DOES NOT MEAN THE GOBMENT IS ACTIVELY VIOLATING YOUR RIGHTS. THE GOVERNMENT DIDN'T PASS ANY LAWS FORCING THEM TO BAN YOU SO IT'S STILL JUST THE ACTIONS OF PRIVATE CITIZENS. CHECKMATE.

Something like that I imagine
 
The European Union guarantees a “right to be forgotten,” meaning people can have information removed from websites — going so far as to allow murderers’ names to be removed from online search results for news articles.
So they protect murderers, but having a non-establishment approved view on things like COVID is forbidden and gets you censored.

Yeah, the government sure cares about your safety and well-being.
 
You heard it here folks, journoscum are not a human right.
God, I wish..... *sigh* You know that's not what they're talking about though. It's all about the opinions that they don't approve of. Journoscum repeat the approved opinions. Therefore, they're exempt, and criticizing them is "hate speech".
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