Zuckerberg's change of course: an outcry for freedom of expression in Europe!

Zuckerberg's change of course: an outcry for freedom of expression in Europe!

The discursive storm blows over Europe after Mark Zuckerberg's decision to set up the use of "fact checks" on its platforms Facebook and Instagram has caused a stir. This is considered a step backwards in the direction of freedom of expression. Political representatives of the MFG - people freedom of fundamental rights, such as LAbg. Manuel Krautgartner and Joachim Aigner, welcome this turn. Krautgartner emphasizes that the Corona measures were a blatant example of censorship, while Aigner describes freedom of expression as an indispensable foundation of democracy. They warn that Europe moves with new regulations such as the Digital Services Act to a dead end of censorship that threatens the diversity of opinions, as taz.de

The shadows of censorship and its consequences

The past few years have been shaped by a massive throttling of critical voices, especially in the time of pandemic. Critics were defamed as a "conspiracy theorist" and silenced. The pressure on social media to regulate content has undermined the actual intention of freedom of expression. Regardless of this, the American example is now a reminder for Europe to rethink censorship. According to ots.at , politicians ask for the EU to refrain from censorship and instead actively promote freedom of expression. The adoption of the DSA could lead to platforms such as Facebook forced to check content in real time - a step that could significantly endanger freedom of expression.

In another context, a recently published report on the global position of social media shows that during the attempt to combat extremist content, legal and legitimate opinions are also endangered. The fear of the European governments of hate speech and disinformation could have the paradoxical effect that the regulations that are supposed to serve the protection of freedom of expression ultimately undermine them, as shown in the taz . The challenge for European countries is to find the right balance between regulation and the guarantee of a free discourse.