{"id":226295,"date":"2017-08-27T15:04:16","date_gmt":"2017-08-27T13:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=226295"},"modified":"2017-08-27T15:04:50","modified_gmt":"2017-08-27T13:04:50","slug":"when-tech-companies-censor-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/internet\/226295-when-tech-companies-censor-the-internet.html","title":{"rendered":"When tech companies censor the Internet"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cindy Cohn for EFF.<\/em><\/p>\n

Recent decisions by technology companies, especially \u201cupstream\u201d infrastructure technology companies, to drop neo-Nazis as customers have captured public attention\u2014and for good reason. The content being blocked is vile and horrific, there is growing concern about hate groups across the country, and the nation is focused on issues of racism and protest.<\/p>\n

But this is a dangerous moment for Internet expression and the power of\u00a0private platforms<\/a>\u00a0that host much of the speech on the Internet. People cheering for companies who have censored content in recent weeks may soon find the same tactic used against causes they love. We must be careful about what we are asking these companies to do and carefully review the processes they use to do it. A look at previous examples that EFF has handled in the past 10+ years can help demonstrate\u00a0why we are so concerned<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Complaints to \u201cUpstream\u201d Speech Intermediaries<\/h3>\n

This isn\u2019t just a \u201cslippery slope\u201d fear about potential future harm. Complaints to various kinds of intermediaries have been occurring for over a decade. It\u2019s clear that Internet technology companies\u2014especially those further \u201cupstream\u201d like domain name registrars \u2014are simply not equipped or competent to distinguish between good complaints and bad in the U.S. much less around the world. They also have no strong mechanisms for allowing due process or correcting mistakes. Instead they merely react to where the pressure is greatest or where their business interests lie.<\/b><\/p>\n

Here are just a few cases EFF has handled or helped from the last decade where complaints went \u201cupstream\u201d to website hosts and DNS providers, impacting activist groups specifically. And this is not to mention\u00a0the many times direct user platforms like Facebook and Twitter<\/a>\u00a0have censored content from artists, activists, and others.<\/p>\n