Twitter Censorship Now Country-Specific

The Wooster

King Snap
Jul 15, 2008
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Twitter Censorship Now Country-Specific


The "tweets still must flow," provided your local government agrees.

Today, a new policy [http://blog.twitter.com/2012/01/tweets-still-must-flow.html] went into effect that allows Twitter, to "reactively withhold content from users in a specific country," apparently in order to ensure the popular, micro-blogging service can flourish in countries with "different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression."

The blog post announcing the policy change used France and Germany's ban on pro-Nazi content as one example of content that may be withheld. However, critics claim the policy could be used to enforce less acceptable forms of censorship.

Previously, the only way Twitter dealt with content illegal in certain nations was to remove the offending content from the service altogether. Should a tweet be removed under the new policy, Twitter will "attempt" to let the user know and will apparently make it clear when and why the content was pulled.

"One of our core values as a company is to defend and respect each user's voice. We try to keep content up wherever and whenever we can, and we will be transparent with users when we can't," read the blog post.

This announcement comes almost exactly one year after Twitter was made inaccessible in Egypt during the 2011 protests, a movement many claim the service was partially responsible for starting. Last year, British Prime Minister, David Cameron, threatened to ban the service in the UK, after reports that rioters were using Twitter to organize riots. Twitter is currently banned outright in China, alongside several other social networking services.

All removed tweets and tweet removal requests are tracked by Chilling Effects [http://chillingeffects.org/twitter], a collaborative archive maintained by several law school clinics and the Eletronic Frontier Foundation.


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Yureina

Who are you?
May 6, 2010
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Woohoo for censorship!

Seriously though... I don't like this at all. While I understand that some nations, and Germany in particular, would have some problems with pro-nazi content, you just know that this is going to be abused. Twitter did some good things during the Arab Spring, so allowing governments to ban or censor it... well it's basically giving dictators another way to fight the cause of freedom. And that just isn't right. :(
 
Feb 13, 2008
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Ah, Egypt would love Twitter. If they're allowed to receive it.

It's a good thing that there's no Governments actively abusing social media networks at the moment, or there'd be a chance that something naughty might happen.

Especially if, say, a violent protest group were descending on a major English City on, say, the 4th of Feburary...and Twitter was blocked at the protest...so innocent people couldn't get information on how to outrun the hordes of thugs waiting to beat them up.

Or, say, innocent people in New York getting tear-gassed.

Or countries undergoing revoloutions being blocked because of the human atrocities being committed there.

But thank god that never happens. Because that would make it seem like Twitter was somehow involved with blocking communications from people in those areas.

There's obviously a very good reason why a service used to pass information should be blocked in a country specific way. And I'm sure they'll tell us as soon as they're allowed to.

Seventy years, isn't it?
 
Jun 11, 2008
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As much as I hate social networking for my own personal reasons I understand its need to exist and it seems that more and more everyday there are new measures to try and regulate the internet. Now I don't want to be doom and gloom over every little thing but I am not amused by the potential this can have.

You do not have the right to stop everyone in the world from offending you. You do have the option of growing a thicker bullet/offensive proof skin. While certain issues need a bit more finesse than this solve all sledgehammer to the general issue it would probably solve so many problems if people actually adopted that.
 

Robert Ewing

New member
Mar 2, 2011
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So, they are censoring this shit so that nobody will get offended or estranged by other peoples views?

On the internet?

Really?

The internet?

That sort of stuff happens billions of times a second! WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
 

Zen Toombs

New member
Nov 7, 2011
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I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this step by Twitter is a mite distressing. I approve of Chilling Effects [http://chillingeffects.org/twitter] though.
 

Scrustle

New member
Apr 30, 2011
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That is completely horrendous! This should not be allowed! No matter what someone says no-one should be censored on Twitter. And censoring Nazi comments is a bad thing! It won't stop these people from having the views they do, and ignoring them will not make them go away. These things should be in public view, so that they have to face the huge opposition that they will inevitably get. And it is a way to spot warning signs of someone who might potentially be dangerous. I'm not saying that Twitter should be monitored, but having those statements out in the open should do a lot of good towards raising alarms before something bad happens.
 

kurupt87

Fuhuhzucking hellcocks I'm good
Mar 17, 2010
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That chilling effects and the one I've run into in the past are thankfully very different.

Otherwise, yeah not cool. Dave, what you chattin' son?
 

Snotnarok

New member
Nov 17, 2008
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Because censoring things will make them go away. That's how it works just shut your eyes and nothing bad will happen kiddies!

One problem, just replace Nazi with Herp and Zekile with Derp!

"So the Herp meeting is at 12pm on a monday, don't be late guys! DERP!" Well I guess they should censor that now huh?
 

Braedan

New member
Sep 14, 2010
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If your people are rioting then you fix your country, not censor your Twitter.
 

KeyMaster45

Gone Gonzo
Jun 16, 2008
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You know what, fuck it. I'm done.

I'm done being pissed off about all these people in power trying to censor the internet. I just don't have the energy for it and to be perfectly honest it looks like it's going to happen whether we fight it or not. We're not getting through to them, and we never will. They may back down but they're convinced they're in the right.

They have the money and the resources to do whatever the hell they want, regardless of how much we protest. I mean ffs, they've already proven the democratic process can be circumvented by simply taking their agenda to the UN, where the voice of the people does not exist. How are we supposed to fight that? We can't, it's as simple as that.
 

Lunar Templar

New member
Sep 20, 2009
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I'd be pissed or even annoyed >.> but its twitter -.- who the hell cares, its a blight on the internet uncensored, this hardly changes anything to me
 
Feb 13, 2008
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DVS BSTrD said:
The_root_of_all_evil said:
Seventy years, isn't it?
If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, I wonder where the Wall will be this time.
Made of fire, and surrounding all the dictator led countries.

Maybe yours will be one of them? Australia already bends to the tune of their political 1%.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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KeyMaster45 said:
I just don't have the energy for it and to be perfectly honest it looks like it's going to happen whether we fight it or not.
That's what they want. The public has quite a short term memory, and need to pay their bills, and get a proper job, and watch their recommended weight and follow instructions and buy from authorised companies and shop for things it does not need...

It's a war of attrition.
 

deth2munkies

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Jan 28, 2009
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"Freeflow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality. But a free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

The systems behind Twitter aren't particularly complicated, knockoffs will arise. This does set a disturbing precedent though, putting business over free speech. If you know where the quote is from, I love you.
 

Sixties Spidey

Elite Member
Jan 24, 2008
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No, I'm sorry, but fuck you Twitter. Remove your censorship as a whole. You did the right thing by allowing the freedom of communication in an area as tumultuous as the Middle East. Don't back down for dictators that openly kill their own people and make Twitter open to all so that everyone can see that Twitter, social networking, and the internet as a whole is a much larger entity than these dictators or shitheads at House and Congress can fathom and can bring about change for the better.

Sincerely,

A fellow Egyptian.
 

Arakasi

New member
Jun 14, 2011
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Grey Carter said:
The blog post announcing the policy change used France and Germany's ban on pro-Nazi content as one example of content that may be withheld. However, critics claim the policy could be used to enforce less acceptable forms of censorship.
There is no acceptable form of censorship.
Even Nazi morons shouldn't be censored, they should be arrested if they commit a crime, but not censored.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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deth2munkies said:
"Freeflow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality. But a free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."
Commissioner Pravin Lal, "U.N. Declaration of Rights"

Now there's a game that needs an update.

Once a man has changed the relationship between himself and his environment, he cannot return to the blissful ignorance he left. Motion, of necessity, involves a change in perspective.