European content removal laws are scrubbing the internet of legal content

Post by friend_and_foe » Fri, Jun 14, 2024, 7:55 PM UTC

jameshart wrote: post #6

The obligation on content platforms is not to allow any legally permissible message to be posted . It is to prevent any legally impermissible message from being posted . Moreover, as a business, just because something’s theoretically legal, if it exposes you to a nonzero risk of being prosecuted - even if you are pretty sure you will prevail - you’re well within your rights to elect not to be the vehicle through whic…

Post by friend_and_foe » Fri, Jun 14, 2024, 9:26 PM UTC

jameshart wrote: post #32

friend_and_foe wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've just described a mechanism for the chilling effect, and why laws like this are to be avoided in free societies. The article is basically saying the same thing, the problem isn't the behaviors of the companies, it is the "unintended" yet totally forseeable consequence of these laws. The incentives set up by these laws lead to injustice for people.

I think reasonable people can disagree about whether having your message fail to be amplified by a corporate algorithmic megaphone is an ‘injustice’.