Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Microsoft have all agreed to new EU rules to tackle hate speech

(BusinessInsider) BRUSSELS - Facebook, Twitter, Google's YouTube, and Microsoft on Tuesday agreed to an EU code of conduct to tackle online hate speech within 24 hours in Europe.

EU governments have been trying in recent months to get social platforms to crack down on rising online racism following the refugee crisis and terror attacks, with some even threatening action against the companies.

As part of the pledge agreed with the European Commission, the web giants will review the majority of valid requests for removal of illegal hate speech in less than 24 hours and remove or disable access to the content if necessary.

They will also strengthen their cooperation with civil society organizations who help flag hateful content when it goes online and promote "counter-narratives" to hate speech.

"The recent terror attacks have reminded us of the urgent need to address illegal online hate speech. Social media is unfortunately one of the tools that terrorist groups use to radicalize young people," EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said.

Germany got Google, Facebook and Twitter to agree to delete hate speech from their websites within 24 hours last year and even launched an investigation into the European head of Facebook over its alleged failure to remove racist hate speech.

"There's no place for hate speech on Facebook," said Monika Bickert, Head of Global Policy Management at Facebook.

"With a global community of 1.6 billion people we work hard to balance giving people the power to express themselves whilst ensuring we provide a respectful environment."

The code of conduct is largely a continuation of efforts that the companies already take to counter hate speech on their websites, such as developing tools for people to report hateful content and training staff to handle such requests.

Twitter has suspended over 125,000 accounts since the middle of 2015 for threatening or promoting terror acts, primarily related to Islamic State.

The United States has undertaken similar efforts to entice the cooperation of tech companies in combating online radicalization, focusing on promoting "counter-narratives" to extremist content.

EU ministers had called for cooperation with tech companies to be stepped up after the Brussels attacks in March.

Jewish lobbyists, frequently the target of hate speech, welcomed the code of conduct.

"This a historic agreement that could not arrive at a better time,” said Dr. Moshe Kantor, President of the European Jewish Congress. (Source)

Killing of gorilla to save boy at Ohio zoo sparks outrage

First World Problems

(Reuters) - The killing of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo after a 4-year-old boy tumbled into the ape's enclosure triggered outrage and questions about safety, but zoo officials called the decision to use lethal force a tough but necessary choice.

More than 2,000 people signed a petition on Change.org that sharply criticized the Cincinnati Police Department and the zoo for putting down the animal and called for the child's parents to be "held accountable for their actions of not supervising their child."

Cincinnati police on Sunday said the parents had not been charged, but that charges could eventually be sought by the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Authorities did not identify the child or his parents. The family could not be reached on Sunday.

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Related: Wingnuttery: Black Outrage Over Gorilla Shot To Protect ‘White Privilege’

How Venezuela Fell Into Crisis, and What Could Happen Next

- Supermarket shelves in Venezuela are chronically bare, and power shortages are so severe that government offices are now open only two days a week. The health care system has collapsed, the crime rate is one of the world’s worst, and inflation is rapidly eroding what remains of the currency’s value.

“The economy has gone from bad to worse to horrific,” said Jason Marczak, director of the Latin America Economic Growth Initiative at the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, part of the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based research organization. “The Venezuelan government is doing a good job of leading itself into chaos.”

Here are some basic questions and answers on how Venezuela got to this point under President Nicolás Maduro and what could happen next.

New privacy rules for Internet service would be illegal, providers say

(WashingtonPost) - As we spend more of our time and money on the Internet, the big companies responsible for connecting you to it are becoming more interested in using your browsing history and online habits in the same way that Google or Facebook does — turning that valuable behavioral information into ad dollars and using the data to power new online services to compete with Web companies.

Now, Internet providers are working to thwart a federal proposal aimed at enhancing your online privacy, in the latest battle between industry and government regulators over the future of the Web.

The proposal from the Federal Communications Commission could put limits on some of that commercial activity, requiring broadband companies, such as AT&T and Comcast, to obey some of the same privacy regulations that govern traditional phone companies. Under the existing rules, carriers have to protect personal information that you provide as a part of receiving the service you pay for — things like your name, address and credit card information, among other types of data. And they can't share that information unless you actively say so.

Internet providers have not historically been required to follow these regulations, although they are legally obligated to carry out any commitments they make to consumers in their privacy policies and certain state laws. So it's no surprise to see broadband industry groups pushing back, arguing the proposed rules would be unconstitutional and illegal, not to mention burdensome. And it's raised a big debate over just how different, if at all, Internet providers are from digital media companies.

You see, if companies like Google basically know everything about you already, then an Internet provider that knows everything about you isn't all that different, and shouldn't have to live by different rules. That's the argument from the industry, which was laid out Friday in a blog post from AT&T. (Full Story)

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Related: China’s scary lesson to the world: Censoring the Internet works

In Hiroshima 71 years after first atomic strike, Obama calls for end of nuclear weapons

HIROSHIMA, Japan — Nearly 71 years after an American bomber passed high above this Japanese city on a clear August morning on a mission that would alter history, President Obama on Friday made a a solemn visit to Hiroshima to offer respects to the victims of the world’s first deployed atomic bomb.

In the Hiroshima Peace Park guest book, Obama wrote:

“We have known the agony of war. Let us now find the courage, together, to spread peace, and pursue a world without nuclear weapons.” In later remarks, he said that scientific strides must be matched by moral progress or mankind was doomed.

Obama’s visit, the first to Hiroshima by a sitting U.S. president, had stirred great anticipation here and across Japan among those who longed for an American leader to acknowledge the suffering of the estimated 140,000 killed during the bombing on Aug. 6, 1945, and its aftermath. That figure includes 20,000 Koreans who had been forced by the Japanese military to work in the city for the imperial war machine.

Three days after the Hiroshima bombing in 1945, a second U.S. atomic bomb hit Nagasaki, killing a total of 80,000, including another 30,000 Koreans. Most of those killed in both cities were civilians. The Japanese emperor announced his nation’s surrender a week later.

Samoan church leader calls for ban on Muslims

- A prominent Christian leader in Samoa has called for a ban on Muslims entering the republic.

Ma'auga Motu, secretary general of the Samoa Council of Churches, urged the government to ban Islam. He said he did not object in the least if people compared him to Donald Trump who last year suggested a ban on Muslims entering the United States.

Of the Samoan islands' population of about 200,000, just 0.03 per cent are currently Muslim. The rest are nearly all Christian.

The prime minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, recently called for review of religious freedom. He wants Samoa's constitutional law changed to be more explicitly Christian.

Motu said he thought this would not be enough.

He said that Malielegaoi should impose a total ban because he claimed Islam represented a threat.

He told RadioNZ: "We are not going too far, no. We are still wanting our own people to be prevented from this kind of influence. There are so many people who are good people but still there are some dangerous people among them who might come and threaten our peace."

Mohammed Bin Yahya, chief Imam of Samoa, said Christians should learn not to discriminate. He also warned that such a ban could severely damage trading relationships.

Samoa, in the South Pacific, has been independent since 1962 and was ruled by New Zealand from 1914. The islands were governed by Germany for 14 years before that. (Source)

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Related: Academic says Islam stance in Samoa 'reasonable'

Zimbabwe: Thousands march for Mugabe

WashingtonPost

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Thousands gathered in Zimbabwe on Wednesday to support President Robert Mugabe, with speakers calling for him to rule for life.

On buses, trains, trucks and by foot, Mugabe’s supporters traveled to the capital, Harare, for the rally.

Speakers said 92-year-old Mugabe should rule until he dies. His wife, Grace, went a step further and described how she would like to see him rule from the grave, prompting wild cheers from the crowd.

“He is irreplaceable,” Grace Mugabe said before the president took to the podium, where he accused some party officials of leaking information that slandered his wife and criticized people who say he should quit.

“They say I must go. Why do they want me to retire?” Mugabe said in a speech lasting more than one hour. “They are afraid of me.”