.... If everything you read, saw or heard told you that the sun revolved around the earth you would likely believe it.
Not if I was a reasonably informed person (which, I expect, you are), and say, had a high school education (which, I expect, you have).
That's the point of propaganda and dysinformation: to insure that the information you receive supports their agenda and ideology. It's how radicals of any side or religion are made and the foundation of most wars.
To believe that you are too smart or too educated to fall for it is the height of arrogance and foolishness.
They should just change their name to the "PU" and be done with it. Apple should pull out of the EU markets and let the crafty Germans and French devise the next Minitel. lol.
And this
This is putting freedom on a very steep downward slope. It is just a
way for the EU to try to apply their regressive or even oppressive
policies across the planet. That and it is a clear attempt to steal
money from countries that are not in their jurisdiction.
Until people will think that society has to serve economy and not economy to society we will be in big misery. Until individual profit will be put above society benefit. Until blind glorification of innovation will be proposed over responsibility and global well being.
I would laugh seeing how hysterically would US and Americans reacted when some big foreign company would sell digital content in US without paying hefty taxes. If they would be allowed at all.
Of course I can be wrong...
There is a balance. One that is always uneasy.
The criticisms of pure socialism, that it stifles innovation and productivity, are valid.
Likewise,
The criticisms of pure capitalism, that it favors a few and oppresses many, are equally valid.
And you are right about the U.S. blocking foreign companies who do not contribute to it: That is the heart and soul of U.S. complaints about China in general and Huawei in particular. The threat it poses to the the U.S. is not intelligence or military but economic. But, for the U.S. to admit that would be admitting weakness and defeat. The thing the U.S. has yet to understand, and a few are intentionally ignoring is: China shifted away from a pure socialist model and, like the U.S., is now a blend of capitalism and socialism.
The Digital Service Act was made at a time "when no one could have foreseen the situation we're in today," said the competition chief, "that platforms would not just be channels, but full ecosystems where a lot of what is ongoing and monetized by the platform itself."
Alright, I agree...
Current rules insulate platforms like social media networks from being sued for controversial or deceitful content, but the situation has led to tech firms being slow to moderate user content. There have been suggestions of scaling back protections by lawmakers in both the EU and the United States to curtail misinformation, with the rules thought to be the EU's answer to the problem.
You've got to be kidding. In the era where these platforms that own the internet and own information distribution are rapidly censoring anything they disagree with, to the point where it is about to boil over into legislation in the US to stop it...the E.U.'s concern is that they're not doing enough censoring of information.
Wow. Just, wow.
People do not need their information censored. If it is truly "misinformation" let people figure it out for themselves, and let others counter with facts. Reality has a way of coming to the top when it is is not censored.
Of course we all know the real issue here: The truth is usually what is being censored everywhere, and the misinformation is what is being pushed as the narrative.
.... If everything you read, saw or heard told you that the sun revolved around the earth you would likely believe it.
Not if I was a reasonably informed person (which, I expect, you are), and say, had a high school education (which, I expect, you have).
That's the point of propaganda and dysinformation: to insure that the information you receive supports their agenda and ideology. It's how radicals of any side or religion are made and the foundation of most wars.
To believe that you are too smart or too educated to fall for it is the height of arrogance and foolishness.
For propaganda to be effective, the opposition has to be silenced. The slightest bit of truth or common sense, if allowed to be visible, destroys propaganda. Which is exactly why we see so much censorship on media platforms and outlets.
.... If everything you read, saw or heard told you that the sun revolved around the earth you would likely believe it.
Not if I was a reasonably informed person (which, I expect, you are), and say, had a high school education (which, I expect, you have).
That's the point of propaganda and dysinformation: to insure that the information you receive supports their agenda and ideology. It's how radicals of any side or religion are made and the foundation of most wars.
To believe that you are too smart or too educated to fall for it is the height of arrogance and foolishness.
For propaganda to be effective, the opposition has to be silenced. The slightest bit of truth or common sense, if allowed to be visible, destroys propaganda. Which is exactly why we see so much censorship on media platforms and outlets.
No, that is false on two counts:
1) For truth to destroy propaganda it has to be heard and believed. Professional propagandists such as those working for ISIS or FauxNews know to insure that doesn't happen.
2) Opposition does not have to be silenced, merely discredited. That is why Trump labels any uncomplimentary facts or truth as "FakeNews": if it doesn't support him then it is to be discredited.
But you are correct about one thing: Truth is the mortal enemy of propaganda. It is like sunlight to the troll or water to the evil witch - it destroys them.
And, you are correct that the propagandists call any and all rejection of their lies "censorship". It's how Trump is trying to force Twitter to continue to publish his lies and propaganda -- and trying to keep his cult from realizing that it is all jest lies and propganda....
The Digital Service Act was made at a time "when no one could have foreseen the situation we're in today," said the competition chief, "that platforms would not just be channels, but full ecosystems where a lot of what is ongoing and monetized by the platform itself."
Alright, I agree...
Current rules insulate platforms like social media networks from being sued for controversial or deceitful content, but the situation has led to tech firms being slow to moderate user content. There have been suggestions of scaling back protections by lawmakers in both the EU and the United States to curtail misinformation, with the rules thought to be the EU's answer to the problem.
... People do not need their information censored. If it is truly "misinformation" let people figure it out for themselves, and let others counter with facts. Reality has a way of coming to the top when it is is not censored. ....
That obviously didn't happen 90 years ago as Hitler rose to power and gathered millions to support him and his fascist propaganda.
And, obviously it is not happening here today in the U.S. as Trump rises to power and gathers millions to support him and his fascist propaganda.
Add India to your list of countries where a political party leader came to power with millions of people to support his fascist propaganda. And I am not sure about this - my guess is that UK PM would be part of that list as well.
Let's discuss what we all agree on first. I think everyone agrees that sales taxes, where required by law, should be collected and paid to the local authorities. I also think everyone agrees that income taxes, including for corporations, need to be paid in the jurisdiction that the company is located in. What some of us are concerned about is the idea, being touted by many, including the EU, that a company ALSO has to pay an income tax both in the country where it does its sales and where it is headquartered. As CNBC reports, the EU want to "impose taxes on digital companies abovea certain revenue threshold." It's about revenue. That's an income tax on foreign-based companies. This is unprecedented.
Right now, the EU wants both: (1) sales taxes on transactions plus (2) a tax on a company's income even if that company is located in another country. Imagine if the US sent an income tax bill to European car manufacturers over and above the sales taxes they already pay. If this happened, Volkswagen would have to pay income tax on the $40 billion in revenue it makes in the US in addition to the income tax it already pays in Germany on its profits. That doesn't seem fair. But if double taxation is the way of the future, that is a two-edged sword and America could start taxing on the income of foreign companies if they want to do business in the US. That would actually be a net win for the US because the US has had a trade deficit since 1975. And since this would raise the price of foreign manufactured goods, this would be great news for the US manufacturing businesses and US workers.
I don't care who wins because I'm neither American nor European. Either way, it should be a level playing field. That means income tax laws should tax companies only in one country or at both ends. But the EU can't be the only region to impose dual revenue-based income taxes. That's not fair. And that's why the US administration objects to this tax, but I think their objections would melt away if the tax went in both directions.
.... If everything you read, saw or heard told you that the sun revolved around the earth you would likely believe it.
Not if I was a reasonably informed person (which, I expect, you are), and say, had a high school education (which, I expect, you have).
That's the point of propaganda and dysinformation: to insure that the information you receive supports their agenda and ideology. It's how radicals of any side or religion are made and the foundation of most wars.
To believe that you are too smart or too educated to fall for it is the height of arrogance and foolishness.
For propaganda to be effective, the opposition has to be silenced. The slightest bit of truth or common sense, if allowed to be visible, destroys propaganda. Which is exactly why we see so much censorship on media platforms and outlets.
This is hopelessly naive at the best of times, and when social media creates bubbles of like-minded people spreading their own particular brand of misinformation then you have effective censorship. When so many people get their news exclusively from Facebook groups and their algorithmically generated YouTube recommendations, then truth is on the back foot, or buried.
Comments
You've got to be kidding. In the era where these platforms that own the internet and own information distribution are rapidly censoring anything they disagree with, to the point where it is about to boil over into legislation in the US to stop it...the E.U.'s concern is that they're not doing enough censoring of information.
Wow. Just, wow.
People do not need their information censored. If it is truly "misinformation" let people figure it out for themselves, and let others counter with facts. Reality has a way of coming to the top when it is is not censored.
Of course we all know the real issue here: The truth is usually what is being censored everywhere, and the misinformation is what is being pushed as the narrative.
I quite agree...
Right now, the EU wants both: (1) sales taxes on transactions plus (2) a tax on a company's income even if that company is located in another country. Imagine if the US sent an income tax bill to European car manufacturers over and above the sales taxes they already pay. If this happened, Volkswagen would have to pay income tax on the $40 billion in revenue it makes in the US in addition to the income tax it already pays in Germany on its profits. That doesn't seem fair. But if double taxation is the way of the future, that is a two-edged sword and America could start taxing on the income of foreign companies if they want to do business in the US. That would actually be a net win for the US because the US has had a trade deficit since 1975. And since this would raise the price of foreign manufactured goods, this would be great news for the US manufacturing businesses and US workers.
I don't care who wins because I'm neither American nor European. Either way, it should be a level playing field. That means income tax laws should tax companies only in one country or at both ends. But the EU can't be the only region to impose dual revenue-based income taxes. That's not fair. And that's why the US administration objects to this tax, but I think their objections would melt away if the tax went in both directions.