Archive for the ‘Censorship’ Category

Theft, censorship and the emperors of the online economy: Tech CEOs go on defense – POLITICO

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos the world's richest man, making his long-awaited first-ever appearance before a congressional hearing faced no questions at all for nearly two hours, before offering an inconclusive answer on whether the company uses data to undermine its third-party merchants. Amazon is still facing allegations that one of its executives misled Congress about that same issue last year.

The virtual testimony comes at a time of rising legal jeopardy for the major tech companies, who are the subject of antitrust and consumer-protection probes in Washington, multiple U.S. states and Europe.

Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-R.I.) set the tone early, with an opening statement vowing to check the power of the "emperors of the online economy." But so did Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the full Judiciary panel, who laid out a long series of alleged slights against conservatives by top social media companies and later got into a shouting match after a Democrat accused him of promoting fringe conspiracy theories.

See live highlights from the hearing below.

Amazon is making more money from sellers fees because more third-party sellers are using its services, CEO Jeff Bezos told lawmakers, countering the idea that his company is unfairly profiting from the merchants.

But the Amazon CEO acknowledged that the marketplace algorithm may indirectly favor those who pay the company to fulfill orders.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) cited a new report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance that found Amazon brought in nearly $60 billion from seller fees last year 21 percent of Amazons total revenue and that the e-commerce giant keeps about 30 percent of each sale. That amount is up from 19 percent of each sale five years ago.

Bezos said the increased amount is because sellers are spending more money with Amazon by using additional services such as Fulfillment by Amazon, where the company stores and ships products on behalf of third-party sellers.

When you see these fees going up, sellers are choosing to use more of our services we make available, he said. Previously they were shipping their own products from their own fulfillment centers so they would have had costs doing that. Now they are doing that through Fulfilment by Amazon.

Bezos also acknowledged that the Buy Box which preselects the seller for when a user clicks on a product indirectly favors sellers who use the Fulfilled by Amazon services.

Indirectly, I think the Buy Box does favor products that can be shipped with Prime, he said. The Buy Box is trying to pick the offer that we predict the customer would most like. That includes price, that includes delivery speed, and if youre a Prime member, it includes whether the item is eligible for Prime."

In response to questions from Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ill.) about stolen and counterfeit goods, Bezos said he believes that Amazon requires sellers to provide a real name and address, but wasnt sure whether a phone number is required. He also said he didnt know how many resources Amazon devotes to seller verification.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took a rare swipe against a core feature of his Silicon Valley competitors late in todays hearing, singling out social media as destructive for free expression.

What I find a little discouraging is that it appears to me that social media is a nuance destruction machine, Bezos said. And I dont think thats helpful for a democracy.

Bezos offered his critique while testifying by videoconference, alongside the head of social media giant Facebook.

He was responding to House Judiciary ranking member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who was invoking the idea of cancel culture and the notion of online mobs that shout down unfashionable opinions. The lawmaker was assessing whether lawmakers were concerned about the polarizing idea, which some question as overblown.

I am concerned in general about that, Bezos told Jordan.

Other tech CEOs also appeared sympathetic to Jordans cancel culture worries.

Apple CEO Tim Cook noted he wasnt all the way up to speed on the idea but expressed concern: If youre about where somebody with a different point of view talks, and theyre canceled, I dont think thats good. I think its good for people to hear from different points of view and decide for themselves.

Im very worried about some of the forces of illiberalism that I see in this country that are pushing against free expression, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Jordan, without identifying specifics.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai simply noted the interest in building platforms to allow freedom of expression. John Hendel

The Chinese government steals U.S. technologies, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said making him the only one of the four tech CEOs willing to say that plainly in response to a question from Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.).

I think its well-documented that the Chinese government steals technology from American companies, Zuckerberg said.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said he had no personal knowledge about Chinese technology theft.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai initially followed Cooks line, but later corrected the record to confirm that in 2009 China stole Google information in a well-publicized cyberattack.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who answered last, acknowledged that he had read many reports about technology theft by Beijing, but had no first-hand experience beyond knock-off products sold on Amazon.

All four CEOs passed on the opportunity to suggest how Congress could better help defend U.S. companies abroad, against either technology theft or excessive regulation. Leah Nylen and Ryan Heath

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who heads the Houses probe into tech giants, accused Facebook of tolerating a fountain of misinformation that benefits the companys engagement-driven business model even on topics as deadly as the coronavirus.

Theres no competition forcing you to police your own platform, the House antitrust subcommittee chairman told CEO Mark Zuckerberg. During the greatest public health crisis of our lifetime, dont you agree that these articles viewed by millions on your platform will cost lives?

The lawmaker cited articles that drew millions of views on sites like Facebook while making claims about Covid-19, including those describing President Donald Trumps musings about placing disinfectants inside the body or allegations that coronavirus hype is a political hoax.

Cicilline said Facebook allows such content to reap advertising dollars. But Zuckerberg countered that this kind of noxious material is not helpful for our business.

It is not what people want to see, and we rank what we show in Feed based on what is going to be most meaningful to people and what is going to create long-term satisfaction, Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg defended Facebooks policy of taking down bogus information that could cause imminent harm and its attempt to highlight authoritative guidance. But Cicilline brought up a Monday video from the conservative website Breitbart, which dismissed the necessity of masks and called hydroxychloroquine a Covid-19 cure and which experienced soaring Facebook traffic over several hours before Facebook removed it.

A lot of people shared that, Zuckerberg said. And we did take it down because it violates our policies.

After 20 million people saw it after a period of five hours? Cicilline countered. Doesnt that suggest, Mr. Zuckerberg, that your platform is so big that even with the right policies in place, you cant contain deadly content? John Hendel

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks via video conference during the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law hearing. | Graeme Jennings/Getty Images

Apple didnt consider the impact on its own parental control app when it removed some of the most popular apps that limit screentime from its App Store, CEO Tim Cook told lawmakers.

Apple introduced its own Screen Time app, which allows parents to limit how much time kids spend on their phones, in September 2018. After that, the company removed a number of competing apps. Qustodio and Kidslox, two of the leading parental control apps, have filed a complaint with the European Commission about their removal.

Cook said Apple removed the apps because of privacy concerns.

We were worried about the safety of kids, Cook said in response to questions by Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.).

Demings asked Cook why the company removed many of the most popular screentime apps but not Absher, an app created by the Saudi Arabian government that uses the same technology.

It sounds like you applied different rules to the same apps, Demings said.

Cook said he wasnt familiar with Absher, but said the App Store has about 30 parental control apps after it changed its policy last year. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), who returned to the issue later in the hearing, noted that Apple eventually allowed the apps back into the App Store after six months without requiring major changes.

We apply the rules to all developers equally, Cook said. I see Screen Time as just an alternative. Theres vibrant competition for parental controls out there. Leah Nylen

Facebook has certainly adapted features from competing services, CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged Wednesday, but he denied it has threatened to copy start-ups if they wouldnt sell to his company.

But Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) expressed skepticism about his answer, reading from text messages between Zuckerberg and Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom and messages between Systrom and a venture capitalist. She asked Zuckerberg whether he threatened Systrom and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel by saying he would clone their products if they didnt sell to Facebook. The company bought Instagram in 2012, but Snap rebuffed offers to sell to the social network.

The House subcommittee also posted those documents to its website Wednesday.

Im not sure what you would mean by threaten, Zuckerberg said, referring to the companys effort to build an app called Facebook Camera. It was public we were building a camera app at the time. That was a well-documented thing.

It was clear this was a space we were going to compete in one way or another, he said. I dont think those are a threat in any way.

Jayapal reminded Zuckerberg he was under oath while testifying.

In closing her questioning, Jayapal said she didnt believe threats should be a normal business practice.

Facebook is a case study in monopoly power, in my opinion, because your company harvests and monetizes our data and then your company uses that data to spy on your competitors and copy, acquire and kill rivals, she said. Youve used Facebooks power to threaten smaller competitors and ensure you always get your way. These tactics reinforce Facebooks dominance. Leah Nylen

House Judiciary Democrats lost a big potential GOP ally if they had any hopes of bipartisan recommendations to update antitrust law as part of their probe into tech giants.

I have reached the conclusion that we do not need to change our antitrust laws, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), the top Republican on the antitrust subcommittee, said hours into the hearing on alleged bad behavior by Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook. Theyve been working just fine. The question here is the question of enforcement of those antitrust laws.

The subcommittees probe has been led by Chairman David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who has been preparing a report to conclude the long investigation. GOP buy-in would strongly bolster its conclusions, including potential recommendations for updates to antitrust law.

Notably, Sensenbrenner seemed to support the probe itself and said hes been working with the chairman for over a year on this bipartisan investigation. His support runs counter to some Republicans who have disparaged Democratic handling of the probe.

But Congress shouldnt toss out a century of precedent, added the retiring House Republican. He said lawmakers should instead pressure antitrust regulators like the Federal Trade Commission, an agency that has faced accusations of going lightly on companies like Facebook and Google. John Hendel

Tempers flared more than two hours into the hearing after Rep. Mary Scanlon (D-Pa.) began her questioning with a dismissal of what she called fringe conspiracy theories of House Judiciary ranking member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

That prompted an outburst from Jordan, who had just pressed Google on whether its biased toward Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden and said he had internal evidence of the search giants interest in encouraging Latino voters in 2016.

The only problem: It was no longer Jordans time to speak, as Democrats immediately reminded him as they shouted him down.

Mr. Jordan, you do not have the time! antitrust subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-R.I.) declared amid gavel slamming.

When someone told him to wear a mask, Jordan sought to bring up the unmasking in the surveillance sense of former Trump White House national security adviser Michael Flynn.

When someone comes after my motives for asking questions, I get a chance to respond, Jordan said before letting the hearing proceed.

For the record, Google CEO Sundar Pichai maintained that his company is apolitical. John Hendel

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the company is still investigating whether employees may have used data it acquires from its third-party sellers to launch competing products an issue that has prompted allegations that the company misled House lawmakers a year ago.

We have a policy against using seller-specific data to aid our private label business. I cant guarantee you that that policy has never been violated, Bezos said in response to questions from Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), whose district includes Amazon headquarters. If we found someone violated the policy, we would take action against them.

The Wall Street Journal reported this year that Amazon employees frequently looked at seller data to help determine what products the company should offer, contrary to what an Amazon executive told the House a year ago. Jayapal also quoted a former Amazon employee as telling the panel that seller data is a candy shop. Everyone can have access to anything they want.

Bezos also acknowledged that while company policy might prevent employees from looking at a specific sellers information, they could look at aggregate data. Jayapal and The Wall Street Journal story noted that Amazon workers took advantage of that by pairing a successful seller with one who had little business to gain insights into particular products.

You have access to data that other sellers do not have, Jayapal said. The whole goal of this committees work is to make sure that there are more Amazons, that there are more Apples, that there are more companies that get to innovate and small businesses get to thrive. ...That is why we need to regulate these marketplaces so that no company has a platform so dominant that it is essentially a monopoly. Leah Nylen

The first batch of questions saw the CEOs collectively struggle to directly answer lawmakers, who came armed with well-researched questions and strong opinions a shift in gear from previous congressional tech hearings.

The one exception was Jeff Bezos, who escaped all questions for the first hour.

As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended his companys management of Instagram, citing the Federal Trade Commissions original decision not to challenge the companys 2012 merger with Instagram, hearing chairman David Cicilline (D-R.I.) dismissed Zuckerberg, saying the failures of the FTC in 2012 do not alleviate Facebooks current antitrust challenges.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai tried to fend off questions by citing examples of individual vendors using Google to grow their business, before Cicilline cut him off for not answering the question.

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) reeled off a list of possible links and alignment between Google and the Chinese Communist Party, leaving Pichai to say only that Google had only a very limited presence in China. He repeated that answer to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who repeated charges by tech investor Peter Thiel that Googles China links are treason, and concerns from Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said in 2018 that Googles artificial intelligence work in China puts the U.S. military at a competitive disadvantage. Ryan Heath

Apple CEO Tim Cook rejected allegations that the companys App Store rules for developers are enforced arbitrarily and argued that the company must compete with rivals to interest developers in building apps for its iPhone and iPad.

We treat every developer the same. We have open and transparent rules, Cook said under questioning from Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.). Those rules apply evenly to everyone.

Cook said the majority of apps sold through the App Store, 84 percent, pay no fees. The remainder pay either a 30 percent or 15 percent commission, he said.

Johnson noted that Amazon has an agreement with Apple to allow users to bypass the iPhones in-app payment service, and its 30 percent fee, and instead use the credit card on file in their Amazon account for the Amazon Prime Video app. Cook said that would be available to anyone meeting the conditions, though he didnt outline what those conditions are.

The Apple CEO also argued that the company must compete to attract developers, who could offer apps for Googles Android, Microsofts Windows or XBox or Nintendos Playstation.

Theres a competition for developers just like theres a competition for customers, Cook said. Its so competitive I would describe it as a street fight for market share in the smartphone business. Leah Nylen

Were starting to see some fruits of the subcommittees year-plus investigation, and its got Zuckerberg on the defensive.

The Facebook CEO and New York Democrat Jerry Nadler went back and forth over internal company emails in which, Nadler said, Zuckerberg told a colleague back in 2012 that it was buying the photo-sharing Instagram because it could meaningfully hurt us without becoming a huge business.

Zuckerbergs thinking at the time could become a critical piece of evidence if it bolsters the idea that Facebook was abusing its dominance and deep coffers to eliminate budding rivals. Facebooks buying up of Instagram has become a key focus for critics of the company, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and others saying the deal should be unwound. Thats a threat for Facebook: Instagram has become wildly popular in its own right, and is central to Zuckerbergs plan to keep a toe hold with younger generations who are otherwise flocking to sites like TikTok.

Did you mean that consumers might switch from Facebook to Instagram? Nadler asked.

Congressman, started Zuckerberg, attempting to make the case that no one at the time saw Instagram has a general social network app, rather than a really good photo-sharing app. Nadler pressed on: Yes or no: Did you mean that?

Then Nadler went for the kill, asking what Zuckerberg meant when he wrote that what were really buying is time, adding, Mr. Zuckerberg: Mergers and acquisitions that buy off potential competitive threats violate the antitrust laws.

Zuckerberg tried again, insisting that the Federal Trade Commission knew how Facebook was thinking about Instagram back when it signed off on the merger almost a decade ago. Thats when antitrust subcommittee David Cicilline (D-R.I.) jumped in: I would remind the witness that the failures of the FTC in 2012 of course do not alleviate the antitrust challenges that the chairman described.

Translation: Dont think this is over just because that agency down the road said it was.Nancy Scola

A top House Republican used his questioning to press Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over a recent content moderation squabble involving Donald Trump Jr., the presidents son, with Twitter.

It was reported that Donald Trump Jr. got taken down for a period of time because he put something up on the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), the top Republican on the Judiciary antitrust subcommittee. Although Sensenbrenner said he wouldnt take the medication, the lawmaker said, I think this is a legitimate matter of discussion.

Why has that happened? Sensenbrenner asked Zuckerberg.

Congressman, first, to be clear, I think what you might be referring to happened on Twitter, so its hard for me to speak to that, the Facebook CEO said. But I can talk to our policies about this.

Zuckerberg said Facebook would take down any claim a proven cure for Covid-19 exists when there is none, given the potential imminent risk for harm, although he said the social platform would allow free discussion about drug trials and what people may think more generally about a treatments prospects.

Our goal is to offer a platform for all ideas, Zuckerberg told Sensebrenner. Frankly I think weve distinguished ourselves as one of the companies that defends free expression the most. John Hendel

Google CEO Sundar Pichai denied that the search giant steals content from other websites and rejected reports alleging that the company steers users to its own products and sites rather than sources elsewhere on the web.

We have always focused on providing users the most relevant information, Pichai said in response to pointed questions from House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee chair David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who said the panel had seen evidence about Google taking content from other websites and placing more ads on its search results. The vast majority of queries on Google, we dont show ads at all.

Cicilline cited an investigation by The Markup that showed Google has devoted more space on the first page of search results to its own products -- which earn the company more revenue that if users go to other webpages. Pichai said that Google only shows ads when consumers are seeking to buy products and argued that they compete with other e-commerce platforms, like Amazon, where consumers often go directly to try to find products.

When I run the company Im really focused on giving users what they want, Pichai said. We see vigorous competition, whether it be travel or real estate, and we are working hard to innovate.

The Federal Trade Commissions investigation into Google in the early 2010s found Google scraped content from other websites, including Yelp and TripAdvisor. The company agreed to allow other companies to opt out of having their content scraped through 2017. Leah Nylen

One surprise so far in the hearing: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who generally likes to stick fairly religiously to a script in his public appearances, went far afield from his written testimony including strongly arguing that his 2-billion-member social network is an underdog when you look at the behemoths hes testifying alongside.

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Theft, censorship and the emperors of the online economy: Tech CEOs go on defense - POLITICO

Censorship and the pandemic – Echonetdaily

Peter Olson,Goonengerry

It is one thing to have social distancing, but it is another thing altogether, to unjustly inflict total media censorship, in the very mistaken belief, that doing so will save lives or prevent rioting: quite the opposite is the actual case.

The elimination of freedom of speech, under the pretext of protecting people from the new virus, is a clear sign of tyranny being imposed.If invaders had come to bring tyranny through a military invasion, thousands would fight for freedom, but when such tyranny comes in the disguise of public health, no one even notices.

The elimination of evidence-based, rational and reasonable dialogue, solely on the grounds it conflicts with the official government narrative, is not in the public interest. At the first sign of infection, democratic power was rapidly transferred from those elected, to unelected health professionals, who have substantial financial conflicts of interest: trillions of dollars are at stake in expensive drug treatments.

At the event 201 rehearsal of this pandemic (on YouTube), they said the government should suppress all conflicting views; that has now happened. We could have this medical tyranny for the next 20 years will we ever have freedom of speech again?

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week or maybe more we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

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Censorship and the pandemic - Echonetdaily

Facebook censors hydroxychloroquine praise, even in countries where its an official treatment – Reclaim The Net

By its own admission, Facebook has nearly 2.5 billion active users, so its clear that it serves the entire world, rather than just the US market.

Yet during a global crisis and turmoil such as the multi-month coronavirus pandemic the way it dishes out coronavirus disinformation censorship, Facebook went with imposing the rules of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on its users.

The CDCs position, for example, is that hydroxychloroquine is not effective in treatment of Covid-19 patients. Facebook and other social media giants dutifully follow this line, regardless of the fact that many countries are already officially using and recommending hydroxychloroquine as efficient medicine.

This could easily be seen as a case of digital imperialism, where these corporations give themselves the right to impose one countrys agencys rules onto the rest of the world. All the more so, since a recent study by Sermo a global social network for physicians shows what the rest of the world is up to, in a bid to cure Covid patients.

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This company, that says it is the largest healthcare data collection, carried out a 3-day poll with participation of 6,200 physicians from 30 countries, to, among other things, find out that hydroxychloroquine is one of the three most commonly prescribed treatments for the disease (33%). Only analgesics (56%) and the drug Azithromycin (41%) are used more frequently overall, the study has shown.

It might seem strange to Americans, where the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine has been relegated to a hoax and even a conspiracy theory by mainstream media and Big Tech, that there are countries in the world like Spain and Italy among the hardest hit initially, but that, according to the study, seem to be doing well in this second coronavirus wave where hydroxychloroquine is by far the most used anti-Covid drug (72% and 49% respectively).

And while in the US giant social media are taking down content promoting this medication as dangerous disinformation the drug is among the most commonly prescribed (in double digits percentage-wise) in Mexico, Canada, Germany, France, and Brazil.

Not only that, but hydroxychloroquine has been overall chosen as the most effective therapy amongst COVID-19 treaters from a list of 15 options (37% of COVID-19 treaters): 75% in Spain, 53% Italy, 44% in China, 43% in Brazil, 29% in France, 23% in the US, and 13% in the UK.

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Facebook censors hydroxychloroquine praise, even in countries where its an official treatment - Reclaim The Net

Letter to the Editor: Waltham resident calls for end to censorship – Wicked Local Waltham

This Letter to the Editor ran in the July 23 issue of the Waltham News Tribune.

TO THE EDITOR:

In the rush to stop hate and misinformation on social media we need to hit pause and allow some public debate, because theres another side to this issue: censorship, a violation of our Bill of Rights.

The New Left demands censorship of any statement that isnt 100% in lockstep with their program. If you dont comply, they will attack you and in some cases, destroy your life.

This isnt what might happen; this is what is happening in America today.

With the media as their soul mates, the New Left has significant power. If you think thats an exaggeration look at the record of recent years. How many lives were destroyed rightly or wrongly by the press? The answer is: all the ones the New Left wanted destroyed.

The important question we need to ask is, who is going to be the policeman in this folly? The president, congress, a committee, Mark Zuckerburg, CNN, FOX, RNC, DNC? Put all of them, and their best intentions, into one bucket and I still wouldnt trust them or anyone else on this earth with control over my speech.

Personally, I dont believe theres such a thing as hate speech. You should be free to say what you want, on any subject. You can speak volumes about the benefits of necrophilia you aint ever gonna convince me its a good thing!

There should be no barriers to the exchange of ideas, so why are people afraid to let people say what they want? Are they afraid that not everything they believe will stand up to scrutiny?

Our forefathers have proven to the world what geniuses they were and one of the most sacred beliefs they understood was a God given right: free speech. They knew anything short of that was a form of compliance, allegiance to someone elses beliefs, a form of mind control. Thats why they didnt put limitations on any speech.

The power the New Left has achieved has created a new silent majority; silent because no one dares speak or write in opposition for fear they will be publicly humiliated, labeled a hate monger.

And now we want Facebook and others to determine what free speech will be free.

One of your most basic rights as an American is at stake here; its time for you to speak out.

John Savarese

Fuller Street

Letter to the Editor: Guidelines for writing

The News Tribune welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns from readers on issues of local interest. Letters are limited to 400 words; columns are limited to 600 words. Submissions exceeding the word limit may not be published and will be returned to the writer for editing. All opinion submissions are due by 9 a.m. the Monday before publication.

Submissions must include the authors street, which will be published with the name of the author. Only submissions from residents will be published. Unsigned letters and form letters will not be published. No two submissions by the same author will run in a 30-day period.

Send submissions to: Waltham News Tribune, 9 Meriam St., Lexington, MA 02420; or email to waltham@wickedlocal.com. Letters must include a phone number for verification purposes only; numbers will not be published.

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Letter to the Editor: Waltham resident calls for end to censorship - Wicked Local Waltham

Netflix Scraps Turkish Original ‘If Only’ Over Censorship of Gay Character – TheWrap

Ozge Ozpirincci via YouTube / Beyaz Show

Netflix has decided to scrap production on a Turkish original series called If Only after Turkish officials refused them a filming license unless they removed a gay supporting character from the script.

Netflix remains deeply committed to our Turkish members and the creative community in Turkey, a Netflix spokesperson told TheWrap Tuesday. We are proud of the incredible talent we work with. We currently have several Turkish originals in production with more to come and look forward to sharing these stories with our members all around the world.

The eight-part relationship drama starring Turkish actress Ozge Ozpirincci was ordered in March and was being made by Turkish production outfit Ay Yapim, with Ece Yren serving as creator and showrunner.

Also Read: Netflix Pulls 'Designated Survivor' Episode From Turkey After Turkish Censors Objected

Here is shows logline, from Netflix:

The series tells the story of Reyhan who is unhappy and disappointed in her marriage with Nadir. On 27th of July 2018 at 8:19pm, during an evening where she was feeling exhausted of her husband whom shes known since his circumcision, of their marriage, their 9 year-old twins that were conceived as a result of a broken condom, the life she leads but mostly of herself, the strongest blood moon eclipse of the past 500 years takes place. And thanks to a miracle, Reyhan travels in time, to the turning point of her life, the night Nadir proposes to her, but this time with the wisdom of her 30 year old self.

According to a person familiar with the situation, Turkish officials are allowed to see scripts before they approve or deny filming permits. Producers would not have been able to continue filming If Only in Turkey unless they removed the gay character from the script, so the decision was made to cease production rather than give up creative control of the project.

Netflix currently has three other Turkish Originals on the platform, including Love 101, The Protector, and The Gift, the latter of which has been renewed for a third season. The streaming service has at least two other series in development.

The actor, who would have turned 69 today, made his acting debut in a little-seen 1977 comedy "Can I Do It 'Till I Need Glasses?"

Williams made his big screen debut in little-seen 1977 comedy "Can I Do It 'Till I Need Glasses?"

Williams made several appearances doing sketches on 1977's "The Richard Pryor Show"

The quirky comedy series "Mork and Mindy," a spinoff from "Happy Days" and an alien character he debuted on that hit, premiered in 1978 and put Williams on the map.

Christopher Reeve presented Williams with a People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer for "Mork and Mindy" in 1979.

"The World According to Garp" (1982) marked one of Williams' first dramatic performances, in the title role of a John Irving novel adaptation.

Williams was received his first Oscar nomination for his role in 1987's "Good Morning, Vietnam."

O Captain! My captain! Williams captivated a young audience by playing an unorthodox professor in 1989's "Dead Poets Society."

"There you are, Peter." Williams played a grown up Peter Pan returning to Neverland in 1991's "Hook."

Williams memorably voiced the Genie in Disney's animated classic "Aladdin," which came out in 1992.

"Mrs Doubtfire" was released in 1993 and remains one of Williams' most iconic roles.

Williams played a wild man returning to civilization as a result of a board game gone very wrong in 1995's "Jumanji."

Williams played one half of a flamboyant gay couple opposite Nathan Lane in 1996's "The Birdcage."

Williams won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1997's "Good Will Hunting" with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Williams celebrating his Oscar win for "Good Will Hunting" in 1998 with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who also won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay.

For a film in which he plays a doctor/clown, 1998's "Patch Adams" was a somber and dramatic turn for Williams.

Williams went dark and twisted for Mark Romanek's 2002 cult favorite thriller "One Hour Photo."

Williams played Teddy Roosevelt in 2006's "Night at the Museum" and reprised the role in the 2009 sequel. The threequel, "Secret of the Tomb," hit theaters in 2014 -- just months after his death.

Williams with his daughter Zelda (with second wife Marsha Garces) in 2009.

Williams with his wife, Susan Schneider, in 2012. The couple was married in 2011.

Williams played President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Lee Daniels' "The Butler" in 2013.

The last Williams film to be released while he was alive was 2014's "The Angriest Man in Brooklyn," which co-starred Mila Kunis.

"Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" was the last studio film Williams had completed prior to his death. He posted this photo with his stand-in and stunt double in May 2014.

The last photo Williams ever posted to social media was this #tbt featuring him with his daughter on July 31: "Happy Birthday to Ms. Zelda Rae Williams! Quarter of a century old today but always my baby girl. Happy Birthday @zeldawilliams Love you!"

The actor, who would have turned 69 today, made his acting debut in a little-seen 1977 comedy Can I Do It Till I Need Glasses?

The actor, who would have turned 69 today, made his acting debut in a little-seen 1977 comedy "Can I Do It 'Till I Need Glasses?"

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Netflix Scraps Turkish Original 'If Only' Over Censorship of Gay Character - TheWrap