China launches platform to stamp out 'online rumours'

http://news.trust.org/item/20180830063018-6rju6

by ytNumbers • 8 years ago

76 40 8 years ago

news.trust.org

And the dream and hope of a free and open internet suffers a death by a thousand cuts.

It seems like the powerful around the world are competing with each other to see who can censor and control the internet the most. And of course they all, to the last man, claim it is for the benefit of the people.

snaky• 8 years ago

That's not exactly "powerful around the world" who are routinely vote for more censorship in democratic countries. There is no strict difference between "hate speech", "fake news" and "online rumours".

Bizarro• 8 years ago

And many in the HN community regularly call for censorship - under the guise of "regulation".

blacksmith_tb• 8 years ago

Clearly that's an overstatement - I take it you mean that they are all cases of people calling for limits to speech, but 'hate speech' has clear legal definitions in many jurisdictions. We shouldn't omit 'libel' and 'slander' which are restrictions on free speech as well, though they rarely seem to cause too much outrage.

protoster2• 8 years ago

Should the internet behind the great firewall be considered a part of the global network, considering how isolated it is? I don't really consider what happens in China to be indicative of global trends. There may be similarities, for sure, but the scale is very different.

e40• 8 years ago

A free and open internet is a great equalizer. Powerful people don't like that because it can cause them to lose power. I think it is actually that simple.

bittcto3• 8 years ago

Tyranny, in all its shapes and sizes, comes wrapped in claims that it is for the common good.

In fact a good way to think critically about things you hear is to ask “how is the politician profiting from this law?” And noting what new powers the law gives government.

If government “needs” more power with the justification of “helping people”, it may be the case that helping people is just the excuse.

Government power is easy to monetize: threaten industry with worse regulations but forget the idea when you get campaign contributions, etc.

OedipusRex• 8 years ago

"The platform operates under the guidance of 27 government departments..."

China loves bureaucracy.

dqpb• 8 years ago

How will this platform handle facts that are inconvenient for the moderating authority?

protoster2• 8 years ago

They'll consider those facts rumors and remove them. The function of this "platform" is so vague that I don't think anyone is under any illusions that this isn't another way for the government to control public discussion.

creaghpatr2• 8 years ago

They will dismiss them as dangerous conspiracy theories, just like Facebook does in America.

chroem-• 8 years ago

This is precisely why it is dangerous to let someone other than yourself decide what meets the criteria for "fake news." It gives the decider an opportunity to manipulate public discourse.

umvi• 8 years ago

Or "hate speech" for that matter.

gcb0• 8 years ago

let's not start stretching things too much now.

LiterallyDoge• 8 years ago

Obligatory: "The purpose of free speech is to protect unpopular speech. If the speech were popular, it would already be free without any guarantee."

shadowtree• 8 years ago

Sure, but the recommendation algos amplify the mob, which is as intelligent as its dumbest member.

So, cool that you have decided what's fake, but if the mob thinks otherwise you're toast.

See anti-vaxxers and their effects on innocent children, both their own and others.

gonmf• 8 years ago

The attack on "fake news", by any other name...

evancox1002• 8 years ago

From the video promoting the platform: "Rumours violate individual rights; rumours create social panic; rumours cause fluctuations in the stock markets; rumours impact normal business operations; rumours blatantly attack revolutionary martyrs"

One of these is not like the others... You'd think that "attacking revolutionary martyrs" would be in the government's list of pros about rumors, not cons. Or at least so I've heard

jakebasile2• 8 years ago

Many communist governments consider themselves "revolutionaries", so that is likely referring to people "martyred for communism".

evancox1002• 8 years ago

Ya, I eventually figured out they were referring to people like Mao. But is Mao a typical rumor topic?? Honest question

echevil• 8 years ago

Just replace that with "national heroes" and you're all good

logfromblammo• 8 years ago

Sinopes.com, the Chinese Snopes.com? Dang, it's already taken.

China launches platform to stamp out 'online rumours'

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