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comment by mk
mk  ·  4444 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Twitter: dealing with country-specific content control.
It's not an easy position to be in. What do you do in Twitter's place? For example, if they tell Germany that they won't block pro-Nazi propaganda, and Germany doesn't shut them down, they could still be fined by the German government.




eb  ·  4443 days ago  ·  link  ·  
So, you're saying that Twitter should had withhelded the content posted by the uprisings of Tunis, Egypt, Libya because their governments saw propaganda posted against them? I'm all for transparency... let the community decide what's allowed and what shouldn't.

I'm beginning(?) to believe that the politicians that are making these decisions don't know in detail, didn't ask the experts, of what they are doing.

mk  ·  4443 days ago  ·  link  ·  
So, you're saying that Twitter should had withhelded the content posted by the uprisings of Tunis, Egypt, Libya because their governments saw propaganda posted against them?

No, not at all. I'm just saying that this sucks for Twitter. The problem here is that we have global services and not global free speech. As a result, Twitter has to deal with all these governments, everything from their cultural hang-ups to straight-up oppression. And, given global economic deals, governments like the US won't always have their back.

The US should stand up for Twitter. But, they will only do it when it serves their political interests. That's the problem that Twitter is stuck with.

dublinben  ·  4444 days ago  ·  link  ·  
Twitter could stand up for free speech on the internet. They're an American business, which can avail themselves of the strongest free speech protections in the world. Germany can have fun trying to levy a fine against a foreign company with no presence in their jurisdiction.
mk  ·  4444 days ago  ·  link  ·  
They're an American business, which can avail themselves of the strongest free speech protections in the world.

But that protection doesn't extend to Germany. Germany can regulate Twitter in its borders. If you are doing business in the EU, you play by their rules, maybe the US could go to bat for you. But, I surely don't see that happening in that scenario. If Germany levied a fine, the EU would likely back them up. The US isn't going to have Twitter's back.

dublinben  ·  4443 days ago  ·  link  ·  
How could Twitter be under German jurisdiction though? They're not 'doing business' in the EU, to any degree I can tell. Serving websites does not establish a legal nexus for liability.
mk  ·  4443 days ago  ·  link  ·  
You may be right. If they have no offices there, I suppose the most the German government could do is block Twitter. If that is the case, then yes, they should just ignore the demands.