The number of people from the Greatest Generation who went to war to protect the world from totalitarianism has grown very small. Soon, the last of that generation will no longer be with us. If you are in my generation, you probably remember where you were when the Berlin Wall came down. For the record, I was watching it on TV in the basement of my fraternity house, and missing a class on “Religions in America.”
The fall of the Berlin Wall was an amazing moment that was a part of the collapse of the Soviet Union and promised an era in which people would not be censored or imprisoned for things like expressing a viewpoint contrary to the state-sanctioned opinion. Well, that didn’t last long, did it? Leaving Tucker Carlson aside for a moment, we all know the penalties in the U.S. for saying things that were common sense just three years ago and even if they weren’t were still perfectly legal to say. But at least we aren’t the European Union, which is resurrecting the Ghosts of Dictators Past.
Euroactiv announced on Tuesday that 19 digital platforms will now be subject to a more “rigorous” set of rules. The report said:
The EU has recently adopted the Digital Services Act (DSA), a flagship regulation introducing responsibilities for all actors in the digital sphere. The legislation introduces a specific regime for very large online platforms and search engines with more than 45 million users in the EU.
These digital platforms are deemed to be systematically relevant and have a special responsibility for society to make the internet safe. Thus, the EU put in place stronger safeguards for these online players in terms of risk management, transparency, content moderation and children protection.
That should come as no surprise to anyone. But should you have any doubts, let’s have the EU’s Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton tell you himself.
Via Breitbart:
With great scale comes great responsibility 🇪🇺
Extra #DSA obligations as of 25 August for:
AliExpress
Amazon Store
AppStore
Bing
Booking
Google Maps
Google Play
Google Search
Google Shopping
Snapchat
TikTok
Wikipedia
YouTube
Zalando pic.twitter.com/CVmDuzkKe9— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) April 25, 2023
Of course, the usual suspects are on the list. But I was a little surprised that Google Maps and Google Play made the hit parade. Especially since Alphabet and, for that matter, Zuckerberg will be all too eager to comply. What do you want to bet that they have been eyeball-deep in this plan from the word “go?” Other platforms will be added in the future, but Breton would not name names when he was queried by Euroactiv. I guess he is saving it for a surprise. After all, Christmas is just eight short months away!
According to the EU, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Market Act have two goals:
- to create a safer digital space in which the fundamental rights of all users of digital services are protected;
- to establish a level playing field to foster innovation, growth, and competitiveness, both in the European Single Market and globally.
Concepts such as “safe digital spaces” and “level playing fields” and phrases like “stronger safeguards for these online players in terms of risk management, transparency, content moderation, and children protection,” all sound noble and even righteous. And no one would argue against protecting children. Well, a few people would, and I think we all know who I am talking about. However, dictators throughout history have usually been savvy enough to know that in order to implement oppressive, evil laws, those laws needed to be presented as being noble and righteous. That way, the masses will accept things from which they would normally run screaming.
Of course, in the U.S. only a flimsy and razor-thin line separates us from similar strictures. At least officially. But don’t worry, Biden only needs four more years to finish what he started. If that.
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