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Anticipating federal elections in September, Germanys Minister of Justice has proposed a new law aimed at limiting the spread of hate speech and fake news on social media sites. But the proposal, called the Social Network Enforcement Bill or NetzDG, goes far beyond a mere encouragement for social media platforms to respond quickly to hoaxes and disinformation campaigns and would create massive incentives for companies to censor a broad range of speech.

The NetzDG scopes very broadly: It would apply not only to social networking sites but to any other service that enables users to exchange or share any kind of content with other users or make such content accessible to other users. That would mean that email providers such as Gmail and ProtonMail, web hosting companies such as Greenhost and 1&1, remote storage services such as Dropbox, and any other interactive website could fall within the bills reach.

Under the proposal, providers would be required to promptly remove illegal speech from their services or face fines of up to 50 million euros. NetzDG would require providers to respond to complaints about Violating Content, defined as material that violates one of 24 provisions of the German Criminal Code. These provisions cover a wide range of topics and reveal prohibitions against speech in German law that may come as a surprise to the international community, including prohibitions against defamation of the President (Sec. 90), the state, and its symbols (Sec. 90a); defamation of religions (Sec. 166); distribution of pornographic performances (Sec. 184d); and dissemination of depictions of violence (Sec. 131).

NetzDG would put online service providers in the position of a judge, requiring that they accept notifications from users about allegedly Violating Content and render a decision about whether that content violates the German Criminal Code. Providers would be required to remove obvious violations of the Code within 24 hours and resolve all other notifications within 7 days. Providers are also instructed to delete or block any copies of the Violating Content, which would require providers not only to remove content at a specified URL but to filter all content on their service.

The approach of this bill is fundamentally inconsistent with maintaining opportunities for freedom of expression and access to information online. Requiring providers to interpret the vagaries of 24 provisions of the German Criminal Code is a massive burden. Determining whether a post violates a given law is a complex question that requires deep legal expertise and analysis of relevant context, something private companies are not equipped to do, particularly at mass scale. Adding similar requirements to apply the law of every country in which these companies operate (or risk potentially bankrupting fines) would be unsustainable.

The likely response from hosts of user-generated content would be to err on the side of caution and take down any flagged content that broaches controversial subjects such as religion, foreign policy, and opinions about world leaders. And individuals inside and outside of Germany would likely have minimal access to a meaningful remedy if a provider censors their lawful speech under NetzDG.

The proposal is also completely out of sync with international standards for promoting free expression online. It has long been recognized that limiting liability for intermediaries is a key component to support a robust online speech environment. As then-Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Frank La Rue, noted in his 2011 report:

Holding intermediaries liable for the content disseminated or created by their users severely undermines the enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, because it leads to self-protective and over-broad private censorship, often without transparency and the due process of the law.

The Council of Europe has likewise cautioned against the consequences of shifting the burden to intermediaries to determine what speech is illegal, in conjunction with the report it commissioned in 2016 on comparative approaches to blocking, filtering, and takedown of content: [T]he decision on what constitutes illegal content is often delegated to private entities, which in order to avoid being held liable for transmission of illegal content may exercise excessive control over information accessible on the Internet.

Shielding intermediaries from liability for third-party content is the first of the Manila Principles on Intermediary Liability, a set of principles supported by more than 100 civil society organizations worldwide. The Manila Principles further caution that Intermediaries must not be required to restrict content unless an order has been issued by an independent and impartial judicial authority that has determined that the material at issue is unlawful. It is a mistake to force private companies to be judge, jury, and executioner for controversial speech.

CDT recommends that the German legislature reject this proposed measure. It clearly impinges on fundamental rights to free expression and due process. The challenges posed to our democracies by fake news, hate speech, and incitement to violence are matters of deep concern. But laws that undermine individuals due process rights and co-opt private companies into the censorship apparatus for the state are not the way to defend democratic societies. Governments must work with industry and civil society to address these problems without undermining fundamental rights and the rule of law.

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German Proposal Threatens Censorship on Wide Array of Online Services - Center for Democracy and Technology (blog)

Trayvon Martin committed no crime, but he has already been on trial twice.

The first trialunfolded in the mind of George Zimmerman, the self-appointedjudge and jury who pursued and confronted the unarmed black teenager as he walked along a dark Florida street in February, 2011.

The second trial, in the ruthless court of public opinion, began the moment Martin died in a struggle over Zimmerman's gun. In that trial, cable news pundits and talk radio hosts presiding, Martin changed from the innocent, Skittle-eating teenager he was into a dangerous thug consumed with violent rage.

Now, Martin is on trial again, this time in a friendlier context: Gary Earl Ross' fine new play "The Trial of Trayvon Martin," running through May 6 in the Manny Fried Playhouse, a shoebox of a theater space on the fourth floor of the Great Arrow Building.

The setting may be friendlier and the playwright sympathetic to the plight of Martin and his family, it should surprise no one familiar with the American justice system that the outcome is devastating.

In his well-designed conceit, which lays bare theracial biases of the Florida courts, Ross has left all the details of that dark February night intact save for one important detail: In the struggle over Zimmerman's gun, Martin walked away and Zimmerman caught a lethal bullet.

Ross wants to know: In this entirely feasible situation, how would a 17-year-old black male come out? Or,to paraphrase Ross, does Florida's "stand-your-ground" law only applied to scared white people?

In his smart script, which plays out like an extended episode of "Law & Order" in a swift production directed by Kurt Schneiderman, Ross reveals an intricate knowledge of the criminal justice system in Florida. (It helps that his son is a Florida police officer, but Ross has obviously done his own research.)

New play flips tragedy of Trayvon Martin on its head

He has funneled his own outrage into the character of Imani Fairchild (Shawnell Tillery), a hard-charging defense lawyerintent on pulling some shredof justice from an already tattered situation.

The play opens with Zimmerman's 911 call and a subsequent reenactment of that February night, staged on Chris Wilson's set of translucent screens flecked with what might bespecks of blood.

Brian Brown plays Martin as he ways: ateenager perched on the awkward border between timidadolescence and confident adulthood. Rick Lattimer's Zimmerman, on the other hand, is a ball of vibrating rage and insecurity clearly seeking an outlet for his violent impulses.

For those interested in legal maneuvering, and especially how the deck is often stacked against young black men, the rest of the playwill unfold with the pace of Scott Turow novel.The not so nerdy among us may have less patience for the legalese Ross employs, but he weaves through plenty of emotion in the form of Fairchild's passionate asides and the musings of an unusually deliberative police detective played by Lawrence Roswell.

The acting in this production is uneven, and there are many moments in the play when Ross too obviously uses his characters -- Fairchild especially -- as an opportunity to speechify. Some of the court-room exchanges, especially Fairchild's extended explanations for her objections to the prosecutor's line of questioning or Roswell's explications of criminal law, are overwritten.

But for each those overdone moments, Ross incluses is a striking vignette that explores the relationship between Martin and his father, or between Zimmerman and hiswife (Brittany Bassett). And Schneiderman, in concert with lighting designer Hasheen DeBerry, gives those vignettes plenty of dramatic impact.

For anyone interested in the genesis of the Black Lives Matter movement, thechallenges of administering justice in America or even just a smart police procedural, Ross' "Trial of Trayvon Martin" is worth a look.

email: cdabkowski@buffnews.com

Theater Review

3 stars (out of four)

"The Trial of Trayvon Martin," a new drama by Gary Earl Ross, runs through May 6 in the Manny Fried Playhouse (255 Great Arrow Ave.). Tickets are $25 to $30. Call 408-0499 or visit subversivetheatre.org.

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'Trial of Trayvon Martin' takes aim at justice system - Buffalo News

Advertisers are fleeing The OReilly Factor following revelations that several women received a collective $13 million in settlements after accusing host Bill OReilly of sexual harassment.

But OReilly, who has worked at Fox News since the network launched in 1996, was a source of controversy long beforeThe New York Times published its bombshell report on the accusations against him. The anchor has a history of making racist, sexist or otherwise inflammatory remarks none of which prompted companies to pull advertisements from his show.

Heres a look back at some of OReillys worst moments in his 20 years at Fox News.

In 2004, Andrea Mackris, who was then a producer at Fox News,sued OReillyfor sexual harassment. Her allegations, which can be found here,include multiple instances of OReilly making lewd remarks during phone conversations.

OReilly denied the charges, butsettled the lawsuit. As HuffPosts Michael Calderone wrote earlier this week, the suit had no lasting effect on OReillys career at Fox News.

In 2015, Gawker reported on court documents that showed OReilly had been accused of physically abusing his former wife, Maureen McPhilmy. According to the report, OReillys daughter allegedly claimed she had seen her father dragging McPhilmy down a staircase by her neck.

OReilly said the report was 100 percent false. An appeals court, however, awarded McPhilmy primarycustody of the estranged couples two children.

Last month, OReilly mocked Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) hair during a segment of Fox & Friends.

I didnt hear a word she said. I was looking at the James Brown wig, he said. Do we have a picture of James Brown? Its the same wig.

OReilly later apologized for his comments, while Waters took him to task during an interview with MSNBCs Chris Hayes.

I am a strong black woman, and I cannot be intimidated. I cannot be undermined, she said.

Last year, The OReilly Factor aired a five-minute segment featuring longtime producer Jesse Watters walking around New York Citys Chinatown and asking residents offensive questions.

The segment drew widespread condemnation for blatantly mocking Asian-Americans and promoting racist stereotypes. OReilly, however, stood by Watters and the decision to air the segment.

Hes not getting fired, OReilly said. We are a program that is not politically correct.

The Black Lives Matter movement is a frequent target of Fox News scorn, and OReilly is no exception. Hes claimed the group is killing Americans, called it a destructive movement and declared that very few white Americans respect it.

Hes also labeled the movement a hate America group and said Martin Luther King Jr. would not participate in the groups protests.

In a 2013 interview with former Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), OReilly blamed the death of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager shot to death by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, on how Martin was dressed at the time.

If Trayvon Martin had been wearing a jacket like you are and a tie like you are, Mr. West, this evening, I dont think George Zimmerman would have any problem, OReilly said. But he was wearing a hoodie and he looked a certain way. And that way is how gangstas look. And, therefore, he got attention.

Last July, OReilly argued that the then-president was incapable of fighting the Islamic State group because of his emotional attachment to the Muslim world, ties the anchor said had hurt the USA.

His argument largely hinged on photos appearing to show Obama attending his Muslim half-brothers wedding in the early 1990s, as well as information that his stepfather and father were Muslim (despite little evidence that Obama Sr. ever practiced Islam).

What we can tell you with certainty is that Barack Obama has deep emotional ties to Islam, OReilly said.

Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images

In 2003, OReilly described undocumented immigrants from Mexico as wetbacks while discussing security at the U.S.-Mexico border.

During the segment, OReilly argued in favor of using military force at the border.

Wed save lives because Mexican wetbacks, whatever you want to call them, the coyotes, theyre not going to do what theyre doing now, so people arent going to die in the desert, he said.

OReilly later said he misspoke.

I was groping for a term to describe the industry that brings people in here. It was not meant to disparage people in any way, he toldThe New York Times.

After first lady Michelle Obama made some emotional observationsin 2016 about what it was like as a black woman to live in a house built by slaves, OReilly seized the opportunity to mansplain that, actually, those slaves had it pretty good.

Slaves that worked there were well-fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government which stopped hiring slave labor in 1802, he said. However, the feds did not forbid subcontractors from using slave labor. So, Michelle Obama is essentially correct in citing slaves as builders of the White House, but there were others working as well.

After former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson sued Fox News chief Roger Ailes for sexual harassment (leading to his ouster), Fox News personality Megyn Kelly also came forward with allegations against the executive.

OReilly addressed the allegations on his show andcriticized Kelly for her decision to speak out.

If somebody is paying you a wage, you owe that person or company allegiance. You dont like whats happening in the workplace, go to human resources or leave, he said. And then take the action you need to take afterward if you feel aggrieved. There are labor laws in this country. But dont run down the concern that supports you by trying to undermine it.

Kelly left the network for NBC less than two months later.

While OReillys stance on same-sex marriage appears to have shifted over the years, hes previously claimed that legalizing gay weddings would be a slippery slope toward allowing humans to marry animals, including ducks, goats, dolphins and turtles.

Laws that you think are in stone theyre gonna evaporate, man, he said in 2005. Youll be able to marry a goat you mark my words!

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Advertisers Boycotting Bill O'Reilly Ignored Years Of Offensive Comments - Huffington Post

April 7, 2017 The researchers conclude that there is significant potential for social media monitoring to be included in mainstream disease surveillance and response systems. Credit: DENYS Rudyi / 123rf

That social networking sites are a pervasive force won't come as a surprise to the billions of users worldwide. But how effective are they when it comes to informing the public health response to disease outbreaks? To answer this question and provide clear, quantitative data on how social media supports disease monitoring and response, a joint study between the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Institute of High Performance Computing and Singapore's Ministry of Health examined the 2013 avian flu outbreak in China.

Avian influenza A (H7N9) is a severe viral infection characterized by pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. China announced its first three human cases in March 2013. International concern about the impact of this infection on global health and security grew quickly. Obtaining documented information on cases is key to limiting disease spread. To assess the efficacy and accuracy of social media in reporting incidents, researchers compared the timing of reporting new cases by means of conventional news agencies, public health agency reports (like the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China and the World Health Organization), and posts from Sina Weibo, a popular social networking site with more than 500 million registered users at the time of the outbreak.

Their results illustrate that Weibo was significantly faster in reporting new cases of infection than conventional reporting sites and public health agency reports. Weibo also provided access to additional crowdsourced information, such as updates on patients' health conditions, exposure history and family contacts, which were not readily available through official sources. This rapid disclosure of information helped accelerate official responses and recording by Chinese health authorities. In addition, the authorities were able to leverage Weibo as an interactive platform for risk communication to the general public, by holding, for example, real time question and answer sessions.

The researchers conclude that there is significant potential for social media monitoring to be included in mainstream disease surveillance and response systems. Their research also indicates that it could provide an early warning system for unusual public health events abroad.

Explore further: Bird-flu deaths rise in China, shutting poultry markets

More information: Zhang, E. X., Yang, Y., Shang, R. D., Simons, J. J. P., Quek, B. K. et al. "Leveraging social networking sites for disease surveillance and public sensing: the case of the 2013 avian influenza A (H7N9) outbreak in China." Western Pacific Surveillance and Response Journal. (2015).

China is experiencing its deadliest outbreak of the H7N9 bird-flu strain since it first appeared in humans in 2013, killing 79 people in January alone and spurring several cities to suspend live poultry trade.

The World Health Organization says an increase in bird flu cases in China this year has not shown sustained human-to-human transmission, but it vows to remain "vigilant" over the puzzling outbreak in which affected fowl don't ...

When epidemiological data are scarce, social media and Internet reports can be reliable tools for forecasting infectious disease outbreaks, according to a study led by an expert in the School of Public Health at Georgia State ...

Nine people have died of bird flu in China this year, state media reported Wednesday, after the World Health Organization (WHO) urged all countries to promptly report human infections.

Weibo Corp.'s shares are rising in the Chinese social media company's debut in the U.S.

A popular social networking service used by Chinese people to vent their anger over a deadly July train crash now has more than 200 million users, owner Sina.com said Thursday.

Uber is scoffing at claims that its expansion into self-driving cars hinges on trade secrets stolen from a Google spinoff, arguing that its ride-hailing service has been working on potentially superior technology.

A sci-fi staple for decades, laser weapons are finally becoming reality in the US military, albeit with capabilities a little less dramatic than at the movies.

Facebook on Thursday launched its digital assistant named "M" for US users of its Messenger application, ramping up the social network's efforts in artificial intelligence.

YouTube TV, Google's new streaming package of about 40 television channels, is the tech industry's latest bid to get cable-shunning millennials to pay for live TV over the internet. It offers intriguing advantages over rivals, ...

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have found an innovative new use for a simple piece of glass tubing: weighing things. Their glass tube sensor will help speed up chemical toxicity tests, shed light on ...

Proteins are the most abundant substance in living cells aside from water, and their interactions with cellular functions are crucial to healthy life. When proteins fall short of their intended function or interact in an ...

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Social networking sites could be used to monitor and respond to global disease outbreaks - Phys.Org

Dominic Tarr is a developer who lives on a self-steering sailboat in New Zealand; he created Scuttlebutt, a secure messaging system that can run without servers, even without ISPs.

Scuttlebutt users host append-only, cryptographically signed logs of all the public messages they've seen in their journeys, and when they meet, they sync up these messages, using their local network, or even by exchanging USB sticks of cryptographically signed files.

Thought Scuttlebutt doesn't require an ISP or servers, it can supercharge its throughput and synchrony by connecting to public servers (called "pubs") that act as clearinghouses: but taking down all the pubs will not destroy the network, only slow it down as it falls back on slower, higher-latency, lower-reliability P2P meshes.

It reminds me a lot of Fidonet, Tom Jennings' classic BBS networking infrastructure that linked millions of people around the world by programming local dial-up BBSes to call one another during off-peak/low-tariff hours and swap messages destined for one another, or more distant nodes. Fidonet eventually got a bridge into Usenet (thanks to The Little Garden, John Gilmore's trailblazing San Francisco ISP) that supercharged it in much the way of Scuttlebutt's pubs.

In Scuttlebutt, the mesh suffices. With simply two computers, a local router, and electricity, you can exchange messages between the computers with minimal effort and no technical skills. Each account in Scuttlebutt is a diary (or log) of what a person has publicly and digitally said. As those people move around between different WiFi / LAN networks, their log gets copy-pasted to different computers, and so digital information spreads.

What word of mouth is for humans, Scuttlebutt is for social news feeds. It is unstoppable and spreads fast. Once the word is out (just an arbitrary example) that Apple is releasing a new iPhone model, there is no way to restrict that information from spreading. A person may tell that piece of information to any of their friends, and those friends may in turn spread that information onwards.

With typical gossip, however, information deteriorates as it spreads and eventually becomes harmful rumor. Scuttlebutt on the other hand makes word of mouth secure with cryptography. Each Scuttlebutt account is comprised of simply two things: an append-only diary and private/public asymmetric crypto keys. An accounts identity is its public key. There are no unique usernames, because you cant guarantee two people in separate places from choosing the same username, much like you cannot forbid the name John Smith to be given to a newborn in Canada if it is already taken by another person in Australia.

All information a person has published is registered in their diary. Public messages (like in Twitter) are the most common type of message in a diary, but youll also see I am friends with that person type of messages. To send a private message to someone, I simply record a message in my diary, but encrypt it first, so the message isnt plainly readable by anyone who gets their hands on a copy of the diary. Authenticity of diaries is preserved in that all diary entries reference the message that was written before, and then is signed. This prevents tampering and makes replication easier.

Scuttlebutt

AN OFF-GRID SOCIAL NETWORK [Andre Saltz]

(via 4 Short Links)

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The latest crayon-scrawled, unconstitutional, sure-to-be-challenged plan from the Trump White House for Americas borders would require visitors to the US to reveal their social media passwords so CBP officers could read their private messages and look at their friends lists; they will also have to answer questions about their political beliefs the plan would []

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Scuttlebutt: an "off-grid" P2P social network that runs without servers and can fall back to sneakernet - Boing Boing