The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) comes into force today, obliging “very large online platforms” to swiftly take down what unelected European Commission bureaucrats decide to define as ‘disinformation’.
As Laurie Wastell points out in the European Conservative, the DSA obliges online platforms to swiftly take down so-called disinformation. From today, the EC has at its disposal an aggressive enforcement regime, such that if Big Tech companies fail to abide by the EU’s ‘Strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation’, which requires swift censorship of mis- and disinformation, then they can be fined up to 6% of their annual global revenue, investigated by the Commission, and potentially even prevented from operating in the EU altogether.
So, who is to say if something is misinformation? In the case of social media platforms operating within the EU, the EC is the arbiter of that, since it is the Commission that will decide if platforms like X and Facebook are doing enough to combat it. (It is the EU’s executive body, the EC, that is invested by the DSA with the exclusive power to assess compliance with the Code and apply penalties if a platform is found wanting.)
And what kind of speech is the DSA expected to police? The Code defines disinformation as “false or misleading content that is spread with an intention to deceive or secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm”. That sounds innocent and apolitical enough. Yet the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), which was launched by the EC in June 2020 and aims to “identify disinformation, uproot its sources or dilute its impact”, appears to adopt a much broader, deeply politicised understanding of the term “misleading content”.
Consider, for instance, some of the key “disinformation trends” listed in the EDMO’s recent 2023 briefing on disinformation in Ireland. They include “nativist narratives” that “oppose migration”, “gender and sexuality narratives” that touch on drag queens and trans issues as “part of a wider ‘anti-woke’ narrative that mocks social justice campaigns”, and “environment narratives” that criticise climate-change policies and Greta Thunberg.
Clearly, what is common to such narratives is not that they constitute disinformation in the sense outlined in the Code — that is, “false information intended to mislead”. Rather, they represent opposition by members of the public to unpopular policies favoured by European elites — in this case, mass migration, transgender ideology and Net Zero.
In the words of EC President Ursula von der Leyen, it is vital that companies censor disinformation of this kind to “ensure that the online environment remains a safe space”. Safe for whom, one wonders — politicians or citizens?
Well worth reading in full.
Dr. Frederick Attenborough is the Communications Officer of the Free Speech Union.
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Thanks very much. I have been struggling with this. Hopefully, there is enough info for the technically useless such as me. Too many websites assume competence levels at the same standing as the site designers.
I have two regular payments going out to other Sceptic sites so I need to organise alternatives first. It’s a right ball…Perhaps though we can shut PP down.
And then on the other side of the scale we have the Swiss Banks and the Bank of International Settlements…
“How may we help you, Sir?”
“I have a war to finance, and need somewhere to hold the wealth of my victims, and I will not tell you my real name nor anything else about me, and if you try to make enquiries about me I will surely find out and make your last few moments very… difficult.”
“Yes of course, Sir, please step this way. Kaffee und Kuchen?”
Ah, what a strange world we live in…
Having said this, not to be unfair to the Swiss, many BSV-related operations are registered there.
‘A reader reports that when he tried to close his account he got a message saying: “We’re sorry, we’re not able to process your request right now. Please try again later.”
I encountered this, also another message about a pending transaction. What was stopping closure I discovered was there was a Direct Debit Mandate which had been set up when I linked PayPal to my bank account. I was not aware of this.
Once I had cancelled this with my bank – I did it on-line – I was immediately able to close the PayPal account.
Toby, add a Stop Press 2!
I wonder if the ‘banning’ of numerous accounts – and thus holding on to the money for six months – has been a way for PayPal to try to keep money in its coffers. It’s possible PayPal simply no longer has the funds to reimburse all the people closing their accounts or even those moving across money on a normal basis. Woke capital is living up the the ‘Get woke, go broke’ saying!
Just checked their Trustpilot rating. Pretty bad and it’s not all due to recent events
Brilliant! I expect the 8% giving a rating of five work for the company.
My experiences of trying to close my account…first you have to cancel all automated recurring payments via Paypal. I think to do this I just went to ‘Payments’ within Paypal. When you’ve done this, and try to cancel, you may get a message saying that the account can’t be closed because there’s a transaction in progress/pending transaction. Wait a few days then try again. If there’s still a transaction in process wait a few more days then try again. Eventually you will, as I did, find that you will be able to cancel. Oh and before you cancel remember to send a complaint saying why you’re cancelling. And here’s one advantage of cancelling – all those ‘Paypal’ debits on your bank statement – it’s wonderful to see after all these years the retailers’ names! I haven’t found it ‘inconvenient’ to go back to using my Visa card for online purchases (in the circumstances, it’s a pleasure).
👍
PayPal going under would be a nice start.
You also have to delete any payment link apps using Paypal. I had this set up on Quickbooks so my customers could pay their invoices (yes bad luck Paypal your piss-poor-practice just lost a fair few quid each year from my business) and I had to delete the app in Quickbooks before Paypal would allow me to close the account.
I only hope enough ordinary decent folk get their money out before the house of cards collapses.
Netflix, Amazon, Apple and co better watch out as well. General Tobes is on a war footing!
Go analogue! Especially with your assets. Before the choice is removed altogether.
Thanks for the explanatory notes above.
Account now closed.
Now to set up new payments for Off-G and The Light.
Every little act, a million little cuts, it all counts.
I now wish I had a PayPal account, just so I could go and close it!
I have just successfully closed my PayPal account that I have had since 2003 – but not without some apprehension.
It must be clear to PayPal – and whoever they are connected to – that such behaviour would cause people to leave. So would cancelled accounts be a financial corporation’s desired objective? What if people began to predictably cancel other accounts when faced with similar corporate behaviour? Would it hasten the end of fiat money? Would it pave the way for something more unpalatable?
I am just speculating here, of course. But I am always wary about going down easy paths that seem to have been opened up by untrustworthy organisations.
When a misinformation policy goes out in error, it brings irony to a whole new level.
Someone in PayPal admin is quite the butterfingers!
Who do they think they are – PayPolice?
Had an account since 2011 but they’ve slashed on their pomme frites good and proper. . Closed it last week.
I’m quite annoyed because I can’t cancel my PayPal account twice. Having done it in solidarity with The Daily Sceptic, I now can’t cancel it again over their proposed THEFT of my money because they don’t like my opinions.
Also, make sure you delete your bank card from Paypal. Don’t want them having your debit card details.
The $2500 charge on your account if you are naughty is still in the Acceptable Use Policy for USA Paypal users:
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full?locale.x=en_US#s4-restricted-activities.
Some ‘mistake’.