Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Germany Acts to Tame Facebook, Learning from Its Own History of Hate

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 229 posts

Re: Germany Acts to Tame Facebook, Learning from Its Own History of Hate

#51

Post by labster »

doesnt_know wrote: post #50
Eridrus wrote: post #9

I find it interesting that platforms are liable for hosting hate speech, but individual users are not liable for creating it. It's also interesting that Human Rights Watch has come out against the German law: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/14/germany-flawed-social-me...

Hate speech laws aren't completely uncommon, so individual users would be liable for creating it. In NZ law, it's part of our Human Rights Act: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0082/latest/D... "It shall be unlawful for any person to publish or distribute written matter which is threatening, abusive, or insulting, or to broadcast by means of radio or television or other electronic communication words wh…

I wish the United States had that law, instant impeachable offense for our president. Especially the insulting part, he seems to need to insult others in order to breathe.

Re: Germany Acts to Tame Facebook, Learning from Its Own History of Hate

#52

Post by kodablah »

MereKatMoves wrote: post #40
kodablah wrote: post #11

What even is this article? There is nothing substantive here. Like many other mainstream tech articles these days, this reeks of mass-media narrative control. I just wonder if it's the clicks that drive these or if there are other actors behind the scenes encouraging the deluge of anti-FB, anti-Goog, anti-Twitter, etc articles. Maybe I'm viewing this too broadly, but I get an icky feeling of intentional furor constru…

> the deluge of anti-FB, anti-Goog, anti-Twitter, etc articles. Maybe I'm viewing this too broadly, but I get an icky feeling of intentional furor construction. Those companies are enabling the criminals. German law defines the users as criminals and it is this pre-internet law that is being upgraded and enforced, because profiting from enabling illegal activity is clearly wrong. FB employs 1200 people to deal with t…

Ok...I mean you see it that way and I don't really agree, but that is unrelated to my comment. Mine is a general comment about the flow of "news" concerning large web companies. It feels like this article was just the next one on the weekend assembly line. I'm not really a fan of manipulation even if I agree w/ the manipulators. Granted, my observations are my own based on the news cycles and my limited empirical evidence leaves my suspicions in the realm of conspiracy theory. Just a comment on the patterns I see.

Re: Germany Acts to Tame Facebook, Learning from Its Own History of Hate

#54

Post by Andre_Wanglin »

foepys wrote: post #49
im3w1l wrote: post #35

Germany acts to clamp down on free speach, learning from its own history of clamping down on free speech under both the communists and the nazis. They are even hiring former stasi people to do it. http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/09/17/german-govt-hires...

But Germany and other countries without the concept of free speech are regularly ranking a lot higher than the US on the Press Freedom Index. How do you explain that? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index

Because their methodology does not take into account the most important right of all.

Re: Germany Acts to Tame Facebook, Learning from Its Own History of Hate

#55

Post by Andre_Wanglin »

lopmotr wrote: post #42
ihsw2 wrote: post #34

And yet the hammer and sickle are regarded as symbols of freedom and Marxism is regarded as a movement to empower the oppressed. How revolting. Adherents to Communist ideology have killed many millions more than Nazis ever dreamed of and caused untold amounts of devastation over the past century.

Not only that, but communism is still an ongoing danger, unlike Nazism. Venezuela just experienced it. Zimbabwe a decade before, and now South Africa is slipping closer towards it. It's a real danger to human life but somehow people celebrate it.

[flagged]

Re: Germany Acts to Tame Facebook, Learning from Its Own History of Hate

#56

Post by lopmotr »

labster wrote: post #51
doesnt_know wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hate speech laws aren't completely uncommon, so individual users would be liable for creating it. In NZ law, it's part of our Human Rights Act: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0082/latest/D... "It shall be unlawful for any person to publish or distribute written matter which is threatening, abusive, or insulting, or to broadcast by means of radio or television or other electronic communication words wh…

I wish the United States had that law, instant impeachable offense for our president. Especially the insulting part, he seems to need to insult others in order to breathe.

[flagged]

Re: Germany Acts to Tame Facebook, Learning from Its Own History of Hate

#57

Post by ggg9990 »

labster wrote: post #51
doesnt_know wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hate speech laws aren't completely uncommon, so individual users would be liable for creating it. In NZ law, it's part of our Human Rights Act: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0082/latest/D... "It shall be unlawful for any person to publish or distribute written matter which is threatening, abusive, or insulting, or to broadcast by means of radio or television or other electronic communication words wh…

I wish the United States had that law, instant impeachable offense for our president. Especially the insulting part, he seems to need to insult others in order to breathe.

you do realize that the president is in charge of enforcing laws?

Re: Germany Acts to Tame Facebook, Learning from Its Own History of Hate

#58

Post by wpdev_63 »

Andre_Wanglin wrote: post #54
foepys wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But Germany and other countries without the concept of free speech are regularly ranking a lot higher than the US on the Press Freedom Index. How do you explain that? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index

Because their methodology does not take into account the most important right of all.

the 4th amendment? or the 1st?

Re: Germany Acts to Tame Facebook, Learning from Its Own History of Hate

#59

Post by jk2323 »

This bullshit is not a "hate crime law", it is a law to silence opponents of the ruling junta. Worse, it enables blocking of US citizens (like me), that don't live in Germany, through dubious, semi-private entities, based in Germany. Both things are a scandal.

And why does have Facebook problems in China? Why not grant the Chinese government the same rights as the German government?

Re: Germany Acts to Tame Facebook, Learning from Its Own History of Hate

#60

Post by lopmotr »

cat199 wrote: post #39
joering2 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats true. One of my ex classmates went first time abroad, and upon leaving zoll (german border) he told officer “heil hitler” out of pure excitement and probably too many historical movies watched (is there anything else to watch that is german made?). No amount of explanations was sufficient. He got 3 months behind bars and 10 years ban to visit germany. That was in 2007. I assume now its even worse.

excitement? that's just dumbness. Nazi whatever aside, these are border officers.. You don't mess with them, period, unless you're into body cavity searches and the like..

You really shouldn't blame the victim just because you've been reading more news stories than him. It's the sort of thing I might have done when I was younger. I grew up trusting authorities and them always being reasonable and I would never have imagined Germany was such a bizarrely brutal place. People often joke with the workers they have to interact with. I've done that before. It's human nature.

I used to have a nazi symbol on my car just to rile people up. Once a neighbor called the police who were completely reasonable and asked me to please not park so close to his house because it's making him angry.

Post reply on HN