The US’s RESTRICT Act, sponsored by Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), threatens 20 years in prison or a $250,000 fine for accessing blacklisted websites through “virtual private networks,” or VPNs, which are ways to create a private connection between a computer or phone and the Internet. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act, large tech companies must share their data with “vetted researchers” from non-profits and academia, which would cede content moderation to NGOs and their state sponsors.

And if it acts, it may change how social media companies operate worldwide, given the EU’s economic power and influence globally. It is seeking sweeping new powers to regulate social media companies. The key area of action is the European Union. And Brazil has introduced severe penalties for platforms that fail to remove “fake news.” UK lawmakers have threatened to imprison social media managers who don’t censor enough content. Governments and allied NGOs intend to force tech companies to comply with their rules.

In Australia, a single government official can compel social media companies to remove posts.

In Canada, a state agency can filter and manipulate what Canadians see online. In Ireland, for example, the government may soon be able to imprison citizens simply for possessing material that officials decide is “hateful.” Under the RESTRICT Act in the US, the government may soon have the authority to monitor the Internet activity of any American deemed a security risk. Politicians, NGOs, and their enablers in the news media claim that their goal is merely to protect the public from “disinformation.” But vague definitions and loopholes in new laws will create avenues for broad application, overreach, and abuse. Under the guise of preventing “harm” and holding large tech companies accountable, several countries are establishing a vast and interlinked censorship apparatus, a new investigation by Public finds. Now, key nations are attempting to enshrine this coordination into law explicitly.Īround the world, politicians have either just passed or are on the cusp of passing sweeping new laws, which would allow governments to censor ordinary citizens on social media and other Internet platforms. The Twitter Files gave us a window into how government agencies, civil society, and tech companies work together to censor social media users. By Michael Shellenberger and Alex Gutentag

Gwenda world without end