German Politician Threatens X, Telegram With Bans
Two weeks ago, we suggested that the stunning arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France was a trial balloon for how Europe will go after Elon Musk...
Durov's arrest is a trial balloon for how Europe will go after Musk https://t.co/bsAbD2WL29
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 25, 2024
... and sure enough, the wheels are now in motion: according to a senior member of parliament from the country’s Green Party - a mutant combination of socialists, frothing environmentalists and rabid progressives - just said that Germany must act to stop the dissemination of "extremist content" online and block major social media platforms if necessary.
MP Anton Hofreiter, the chairman of the Bundestag’s European policy committee, called for tighter control over social media, up to the outright blocking of certain platforms. He made the remarks on Saturday while speaking to reporters from Funke Media Group. The politician
“One of the biggest problems of extremism is online radicalization,” Hofreiter stated, adding that the dissemination of “anti-constitutional content on the Internet” must be stopped.
Of course, "online radicalization" is one of those intentionally vague terms which dictators and authoritarians leave purposefully ambiguous so they can have a green light to censor and throw in jail anyone they want, and sure enough...
“We need to tackle the root of the problem and push back radicalization in digital space as well as in society,” he stressed.
Germany, of course, is one of the places in Europe where the crackdown on any form of free speech has been unprecedented, and would shock most Americans who still, by and large, have the protections of the 1st amendment. Those social media platforms that refuse to abide by German laws and remove “extremist content” must be blocked altogether, Hofreiter argued, specifically singling out X, formerly Twitter, among the potential targets.
Perhaps in an attempt to appear less like a deranged, dictatorial lunatic, the MP added that blocking platforms "must only be a last resort measure", urging the government not to distance itself from modern technology. Instead, the government should use them for its own benefits, namely deploying “digital agents” to infiltrate private groups on Telegram to identify potential criminals, Hofreiter suggested.
The call to toughen Germany’s stance on social media comes after a new series of incidents, including a shooting outside the Israeli consulate in Munich, as well as a knifing rampage in Solingen that left three dead.
In recent days, several countries have taken steps to rein in social media platforms. Earlier this week, Brazil slapped a blanket ban on X after the platform failed to comply with local political misinformation and hate speech laws by refusing to delete certain offending messages.
In late August, the Russian tech entrepreneur and founder of Telegram Pavel Durov was arrested in Paris. The businessman now faces a multitude of charges related to complicity in drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, and various forms of child abuse, stemming from the actions of Telegram users. While Durov was ultimately released on bail, he has been ordered to stay in France while the investigation is ongoing.