EDRi on hate speech, social media, EU and the rule of law

On 31 May, the European Commission, together with Facebook, YouTube (Google), Twitter and Microsoft, agreed a “code of conduct” on fighting hate speech.

In a society based on the rule of law, private companies should not take the lead in law enforcement, theirs should always have only a supporting role – otherwise this leads to arbitrary censorship of our communications. (…)

In practice, as illegal activity will be banned by terms of service, it will never be “necessary” to check a report against the law. (…)

In the code of conduct, there is not a single mention about the essential role of judges in our democratic societies. There is no mention about the enforcement of the law by public authorities. At each crucial point where law should be mentioned, it is not.

EDRi: Guide to the Code of Conduct on Hate Speech »