Today European Union Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen issued a statement urging member states to accelerate the implementation and enforcement of their Digital Services Act (DSA), an overreaching act that forces big tech companies and internet services to comply with government statutes, in a bid to crackdown on “disinformation” and “illegal content.”
The EU says “the intention is to adopt the Recommendation before” Friday, October 20th.
What Is The DSA?
For context, nearly a month ago The WinePress published an article titled, “Death Of Free Speech: EU Signs Law To ‘Police’ The Entire Internet And Takes Down Websites With Unapproved Speech.” The article details what the DSA is and how it vastly affects the internet as we know it moving forward. While the bill was signed and enacted by the EU, it still very much affects Americans and billions of others around the world.
For full disclosure and how the DSA affects us all, which has already been signed and in place, that WinePress articles as been republished below:
Unbeknownst to most people of the world, the internet has officially changed forever and what people are allowed to say and publish is in great jeopardy. One month ago to this point the European Union’s invasive law called the Digital Services Act (DSA) took effect, that essentially allows bureaucrats in the EU to become the arbiters of speech and free thought online, legally restricting what platforms can and cannot say.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU, posted in a tweet:
We’re bringing our European values into the digital world. With strict rules on transparency and accountability, our Digital Services Act aims to protect our children, societies and democracies. As of today, very large online platforms must apply the new law.
The EU Commission provides their fluffy definition and purpose of the goal:
The Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act aim to create a safer digital space where the fundamental rights of users are protected and to establish a level playing field for businesses.
The two main goals according to the EU are:
- 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
More specifically, this bill targets “online marketplaces, social networks, content-sharing platforms, app stores, and online travel and accommodation platforms;” and “includes rules that govern gatekeeper online platforms.”
The EU explains why such a bill is needed, they assert:
While there are many benefits of the digital transformation, there are also problems. A core concern is the trade and exchange of illegal goods, services and content online. Online services are also being misused by manipulative algorithmic systems to amplify the spread of disinformation, and for other harmful purposes. These challenges and the way platforms address them have a significant impact on fundamental rights online.
The bill was passed in October, 2022, and took effect that November. The next leg of the bill took effect this past month that allows some of the teeth on the bill to be sunken in.
According to the bill’s dedicated website, “17 Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and 2 Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) that reach at least 45 million monthly active users” are the first that are legally forced to comply. They are:
Very Large Online Platforms:
- Alibaba AliExpress
- Amazon Store
- Apple AppStore
- Booking.com
- Google Play
- Google Maps
- Google Shopping
- Snapchat
- TikTok
- Wikipedia
- YouTube
- Zalando
Very Large Online Search Engines:
- Bing
- Google Search
Since taking effect a slew of specific criteria has been enforced and put on “offer” for users of these platforms, some of which includes:
- Users will get clear information on why they are recommended certain information and will have the right to opt-out from recommendation systems based on profiling;
- Platforms and search engines need to take measures to address risks linked to the dissemination of illegal content online and to negative effects on freedom of expression and information;
- Platforms need to have clear terms and conditions and enforce them diligently and non-arbitrarily;
- Platforms need to have a mechanism for users to flag illegal content and act upon notifications expeditiously;
- Platforms need to analyse their specific risks, and put in place mitigation measures – for instance, to address the spread of disinformation and inauthentic use of their service.
The EU defines what they mean by “disinformation:” it includes “false or misleading content that is spread with an intention to deceive or secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm;” and such code has proven effective “during electoral periods and to quickly respond to crises, such as the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine.”
In order to determine if something is disinformation, “trusted flaggers” will be contracted to aid in the fact-checking and censorship. The EU says these flaggers are “entities which have demonstrated particular expertise and competence – to report illegal content to which platforms will have to react with priority.”
Euractiv further notes who these flaggers will be: ‘Yet, these entities, many of which are likely to be NGOs, will have to acquire digital skills on top of their fundamental rights expertise in order to effectively flag illicit content to platforms – and will need financial backing to deliver their services.’
But this bill, starting February 24th, 2024, will then cover the whole spectrum of the internet by targeting platforms with 45 million monthly views or less.
EU Member States will have to appoint Digital Services Coordinators by 17 February 2024, when also platforms with less than 45 million active users have to comply with all the DSA rules.The EU Commission added
Moreover, the new law enforces sharp penalties and fines for not abiding by it, resulting possible suspension “fines of up to 6 percent of their global turnover.”
The new enforcement mechanism, consisting of national and EU-level cooperation, will supervise how online intermediaries adapt their systems to the new requirements. Each Member State will need to appoint a Digital Services Coordinator, an independent authority which will be responsible for supervising the intermediary services established in their Member State and/or for coordinating with specialist sectoral authorities. To do so, it will impose penalties, including financial fines. Each Member State will clearly specify the penalties in their national laws in line with the requirements set out in the Regulation, ensuring they are proportionate to the nature and gravity of the infringement, yet dissuasive to ensure compliance.
For the case of very large online platforms and very large online search engines, the Commission will have direct supervision and enforcement powers and can, in the most serious cases, impose fines of up to 6% of the global turnover of a service provider.
The enforcement mechanism is not only limited to fines: the Digital Services Coordinator and the Commission will have the power to require immediate actions where necessary to address very serious harms, and platforms may offer commitments on how they will remedy them.
For rogue platforms refusing to comply with important obligations and thereby endangering people’s life and safety, it will be possible as a last resort to ask a court for a temporary suspension of their service, after involving all relevant parties.
The EU threatens
But lest anyone think that this law is only contained in the EU, the United States government has quietly given their approval to enforce the law in the states.
According to a letter by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that affirms this effects on U.S. soil.
U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today sent letters to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan and the head of the European Union’s San Francisco office, demanding answers regarding the degree of coordination between the FTC and the EU to enforce the EU’s Digital Services Act (“DSA”) and Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) on U.S. soil. Both foreign laws were written to weaken American tech companies, particularly in Europe. There are no corollary federal laws to the DSA and DMA, making the FTC’s efforts to conspire with foreign regulators against U.S. businesses unprecedented.
The FTC announced in March that it was sending agency officials to Brussels to assist the EU in implementing these laws, while the EU opened a San Francisco office to pressure U.S tech companies to comply with them.Part of the letter wrote
Michael Snyder of The End of the American Dream warned about the severity of this new law that fundamentally changes the internet forever, warning, “So you need to brace yourself for a level of Internet censorship that none of us have ever seen before.” He added:
From this point forward, it is going to become much more difficult to share alternative views on the Internet.
I am going to need to be more careful about what I share from now on, because if I say something publicly on the Internet that offends the bureaucrats in Europe, I could get into really big trouble.
And that is going to apply to every other independent journalist as well.
For a long time, the Internet allowed ordinary people like you and ordinary people like me to share truth with a world that was desperate for it.
But now the gatekeepers are exerting a draconian level of control, and the Internet will never, ever be the same again.
Going back to what the EU referenced as examples related to disinformation, citing comments that go contrary to the narrative such as Covid-19 or Ukraine – Bill Gates had stated on December 24th in an interview with Al Jazeera that in preparation for the “next pandemic,” “we have to moderate some of the insanity [online] that you know prevents people from helping themselves.”
Such a bill as the DSA will serve to accommodate Gates’ ambitions.
The DSA To Now Be Fastracked
Fast forward to now, in the wake of the declared and rapidly expanding war between Israel and Hamas, Ursula von der Leyen is now urging member nations to accelerate their implementation and enforcement of these new protocols ahead of schedule.
In a statement on X, Ursula said, “We must quickly step up the fight against illegal and terrorist content online.” She also noted that they will be working with member states “to coordinate our responses; act faster; protect vulnerable groups from intimidation; ensure full compliance by major platforms with the DSA.”
Moreover, the EU specified their recommendations in a press release and separate documents.
According to the press release, “In the context of an unprecedented period of conflict and instability affecting the European Union, first with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and now with the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel, the Commission counts on Member States to join forces to enable prompt enforcement of the DSA,” the EU contends.
Hamas’ terrorist attack has also led to an online assault of heinous, illegal content promoting hatred and terror.
With our Digital Services Act, Europe now has strong rules to protect users, including vulnerable population groups, from intimidation and to ensure fundamental freedoms online. Major platforms are subject to new obligations to mitigate such risks from their services.
Today’s recommendation will help us to coordinate our responses with Member States and protect our society.
Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, echoed Ursula’s calls to accelerate and beef-up the DSA as soon as possible, stating:
Recent events have triggered an increase in the dissemination of illegal content online on several platforms. With the Digital Services Act, we have a complete toolbox established in law. We have no time to lose.
That is why today we invite Member States to appoint their coordinators for digital services as soon as possible, before their February 2024 deadline. We will also propose the creation of an incident protocol, to enhance our response and channel evidence and information to the Commission. This will enable the necessary measures to be taken quickly and in a coordinated fashion.
Wherefore the EU is now working to additionally “designate already now an independent authority to be part of a network of prospective Digital Services Coordinators, ahead of the legal deadline of 17 February 2024.” However, the EU notes that the DSA will still take full effect as scheduled if these new proposals are not fully adopted.
Furthermore, the EU lays out their other proposed recommendations they wish to tack on and quickly implement:
The Commission is proposing an incident response mechanism that outlines the cooperation between the Commission and that network in response to dissemination of illegal online content, in particular where it poses a clear risk of intimidating groups of population or destabilising political and social structures in the Union. The mechanism would include regular incident response meetings to discuss good practices and methodologies, and regular reporting on and exchange of information collected at national level. The information received from the network may provide the Commission with evidence to exercise its supervisory and investigatory powers pursuant to the DSA.
Where extraordinary circumstances – such as an international armed conflict or terror attacks – justify it, the Commission encourages Very Large Online Platforms and Very Large Online Search Engines to draw up incident protocols relevant to the specific incident.
The Recommendation also recalls powers conferred to Member States by the different instruments under European Union law to tackle illegal content, such as the Regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online, in force since June 2022.The Commission will continue to rely on existing structures, particularly for counterterrorism, such as the EU Crisis Protocol which coordinates responses to online developments stemming from a terrorist or a violent extremist act; and, at international level, the Christchurch Call and the industry-led Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism; to secure joined-up actions.
Digging deeper into the formal letter presented to the members of the Commission, the document says, “Taking swift and coordinated action in crisis situations is key to prevent illegal content, including terrorist content and illegal hate speech, from disseminating online virally.”
Again, the heads of the EU are urging Commission members “to respond in a coordinated and consistent manner to incident, in particular arising from the dissemination of illegal content, posing a clear risk of intimidating groups of population and destabilising political and social structures in the Union or parts thereof, including those which risk leading to a serious threat to public security or public health in the Union or in significant parts of it,” they write.
Once more, according to the official legal text of the proposals, signed by Mr. Breton, says some of the ratifications and clarifications are spelled out:
In the context of the Code of conduct on countering hate speech online, major social media platforms, some of which have been designated very large online platforms under Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, have committed to assess and if necessary remove hate speech content notified to them within the majority of cases 24 hours; their compliance is assessed by a network of trusted flaggers.
Involving law enforcement in the planning of national response to tackle illegal content is important so that taken or planned measures do not interfere with their work, in particular when there is an imminent threat to life.
The coordinators selected from each of the member states would also report and convene on things being said online, and clamp down on things “in particular arising from the dissemination of illegal content, posing a clear risk of intimidating groups of population and destabilising political and social structures in the Union or parts thereof, including those which risk leading to a serious threat to public security or public health in the Union or in significant parts of it,” the text of the recommendations says.
The meetings themselves should also “Exchange of information, good practices, methodologies, technical systems and tools with the purpose of supporting supervisory efforts regarding very large online platforms and very large online search engines in the context of crisis.” Additionally, the collected information will also come from a “national level from competent national authorities as regards the identification of online illegal content related to the situation of crisis and its amplification by very large online platforms and very large online search engines, including, where available, information regarding its effect in the local public opinion.”
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
Having read through the full-text of the proposals, unsurprisingly, not a single specific example of the type of content they plan to takedown is every explained. Not once.
This has nothing to do with the Israel-Hamas conflict. This is purely and plainly a power grab for more control. Rahm Emanuel, the former White House Chief of Staff under President Barack Obama, once said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” And that’s what’s happening now.
As we all know when The Covid War was launched the largest leap in censorship was adopted, to block out most people who dared to call into question the narrative being pushed. (My YouTube channel was a casualty of this.) The noose got tighter last year when the Russia-Ukraine thing broke loose, and search engines like DuckDuckGo, which was supposed to be an engine that did not throttle information, made it clear that they would burry content that spoke badly about Ukraine and gave any sort of credence to Russia. And now we are seeing probably the most radical act to control online speech and thought, with the Israel-Hamas conflict as the latest proxy to severely censor anything that does not meet an ever-wavering list of criteria of acceptable speech.
As I said in my initial report on the DSA, Free speech is truly dead and gone. I had been warning that going into 2023 censorship was going to severely ratchet it up, and it most certainly has.
And this furthers my angst and my opinion that voting, on a broad and national scale, is moot and vain at this point, and is just a ceremonial formality that amounts to very little at this point. I mean, when you have a foreign entity dictating laws that affects us all abroad, then what’s the point?
Truth be told, and I’ve talked about this before as well, but there will come a time when we (me included especially) will simply be unable to say what we want anywhere online; and the time will come when The WinePress will get scrubbed unexpectedly. This type of bill is the perfect way of to quietly and covertly scourge the internet anything ‘they’ don’t want people to read and watch.
Needless to say, our time for us all to go underground is drawing nigh.
[12] When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden. [28] When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase. Proverbs 28:12, 28
Why do you suppose countries like Australia, the UAE, and others, are working to go completely paperless in document storage? It’s all about control: they can’t mitigate, track, and store tangible documents as easily.
Therefore, returning to old-fashioned, tried and true, pen and paper is the way to go moving forward, and letter-writing, and books and journals. I have already indicated that I have plans to get into more book writing moving forward, and with this rapid push to bolster and implement the DSA, my ambitions will have to accelerate and be reassessed as well.
But the sad part, too, is realizing that so many people will comply with this because they are so attached to the digital world, and don’t even know how to live a few minutes without it, and are unable to live a real life without all this digital garbage.
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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There goes the first amendment.
Stupidity needs no comment; heaven forbid we tell the truth, we can’t have that ,now can we?!!
The news media is so co-opted, sold out and gone. It’s sickening how they call good evil & evil good with their pretend offended Palestinians, making of the aggressors & terrorists heroes.
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Even as Samson was used of God to humble the real Philistines (the Palestinians only pragmatically & as Romishly steered, donning the name the antichrist Pontifex Maximus Emperor Hadrian used trying to erase the memory of the Jews & Judea from the earth…calling the colluding, allied enemies of the Jews ‘Palestinians’, the land ‘Palestine’, & re-naming Jerusalem after his own self….which didn’t even stick with the corrupt Islamists who in their troubled hearts show the longing for God’s real peace& knowledge of God sidetracked by pride, self-righteousness & covetousness like Rome) while yet in disobedience & sin, harlotries….the Lord will make the Jews a terror to those terroristic nations & then to their manipulating ‘lords’ & ‘masters’ of craft who hate the Gospel & Lord Jesus Christ according the scriptures while pretending with their whited sepulcher self-righteousness & craft to be Christians & believers. Corrupting & counterfeiting the scriptures, pushing their idolatries.
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After his humbling & true repentance, the Jewish Samson became a type of Christ as he destroyed more of God’s enemies in his death than in his life. Judges KJB.
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There will be a remnant, the Lord will reveal himself to the dry bone Jews through the Spirit & preaching of the prophetic word by the 144,000 and the two witnesses, & he will return bodily to fight for Jerusalem, & ALL the scriptures will be fulfilled, praise God.
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In the meantime it’s by the foolishness of preaching & seeding with the incorruptible seed of the scriptures that men are brought to Christ, teaching the Schoolmaster Law bringing conviction & repentance, that & the call to godly, holy living ….to study to shew oneself approved, a workman able to rightly divide the word of God, and able to stand by the grace of God & light of that same word with hope commensurate to every trial, persecution & trial…even to the death, or guidance to take the word out further & longer until he who letteth is taken out of the way.
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May we be wise & faithful, ready to the task & whichever end the Lord ordains & allows for us with provision of his grace by the word& faith.
Well, well, wellll! Another major victory for the Presstitutes and their pimps! Welcome to the gulag of N. Korea.
Canada has already adopted this “program”; it comes into effect on Nov. 26, 2023. I believe that’s the right day, but not sure. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. When free thought and speech and freedom of movement are gone, so is humanity. All that’s left is a bunch of slaves on a prison planet. Many will opt out via MAiD, and I won’t blame them. This existence is not living. God created us to be blessed, to flourish and to multiply. Nobody want’s to multiply (if they still can) because the world is no place to bring in precious children anymore. I soooo hope we’re raptured out of here soon! “Escapism”? Bring it on! Keep looking up, Saints!