EU Public hearing - German Federal Parliament summons Meta, X, and TikTok regarding implementation of Digital Services Act - All of them decline - Suffer, Eurocrats

Bespoke translation by yours truly. Original article [A] at Apollo News

Public hearing​

Bundestag [federal parliament] summons Meta, X, and TikTok regarding DSA implementation - All of them decline​

The digital committee of the Bundestag has scheduled a public hearing tomorrow with Meta, X, and TikTok to clear up their stance regarding EU laws and moderation of hate speech. The tech companies unanimously decline to participate.


Tabea Rößner [(Green)] is upset because Meta, X, and TikTok don't participate in the digital committee's session tomorrow

The digital committee of the Bundestag invited Meta, X, and TikTok to a public hearing tomorrow. The cause is said to be recent statements made by Mark Zuckerberg, in which he explained to terminate the moderation of hate speech and discrimination and, together with other tech corporations, take a stance against EU laws.

The tech corporations simply ignore the summoning of the digital committee. According to corresponding reports from members of the committee, Meta, X, and TikTok unanimously declined to participate in tomorrow's session. "Everybody declined with the same reason given: much to do and too short notice", the Green committee chairwoman Tabea Rößner said via X. And furthermore: "Too bad that we in Germany can't force them to come."

One of the driving forces behind the invitation of the tech platforms was Jens Zimmermann, digital policy speaker of the SPD. According to Tagesspiegel Background, he explained: "The absurd claim that European states commit censorship must be retracted." And furthermore: "We demand that the platforms clearly affirm compliance with the valid European laws", especially also in the context of the coming general election [in a few weeks].

Zimmermann demanded that the social media platforms publicly support the Digital Services Act (DSA). "I expect the representatives of the platforms to make a clear stance in the digital committee and agree to follow the laws", Zimmermann said. "If platforms like Meta, X, and TikTok won't manage to uphold their end of responsibilities and ignore valid law, the European Commission must impose harsh punishments." But the platforms simply don't seem to take the threats from Germany seriously.

 

[XL xQgg?QcQCaTYDMjqoDnYpG]

Some comments from the comments section, translated for you

• "There is no censorship" - says so in the Grundgesetz [Constitution]. Just go and read it, Mrs. Rößler!
  My goodness, the gall you have!
• Trump's gonna show the EU what's what. They're gonna fold as quickly as Colombia did.
• Good, either public or not at all.
  And why should FOREIGN corporations justify themselves to the German parliament???
  If they threaten or impose punishments or bans, then the 7 Big Techs shut off the valve (money+software+hardware) to the economy of EU+D.
• We don't need a DSA and no laws against hate speech. In a democracy, a diversity of opinions and different stances should be the rule and not the exception. We also need a Ministry of Truth (Trusted Flaggers). Everything that is not a prosecutable offense is thus permitted, even if there are people who can't, or only barely can tolerate diverging opinions. Whoever wants to censor everything should take the time to look into the relevant verdicts by the Federal Constitutional Court.
• So, when I hear hate and incitement, the first that comes to my mind is the slogan. "All of Berlin hates the AfD"... just the past weekend. Correct me if I'm wrong. In his speeches, Trump has said a lot of truth. He is also going to influence our German future - maybe even for the best.
  • Can hardly influence it for the worst, can he?
  • Regarding hate and incitement, I'm thinking of an entire book!
    Marcus Klöckner, Jens Wernicke,
    "May the entire Republic point their finger at them. The COVID injustice and its perpetrators".

 

[Marvin]

"The absurd claim that European states commit censorship must be retracted."

German comedy is less subtle than I thought.

 

[XL xQgg?QcQCaTYDMjqoDnYpG]

German comedy is less subtle than I thought.

If you still need evidence of how delusional eurocrats are, you must be even blinder than Stevie Wonder


By the way, one more source [A], at heise.

Bundestag election: Regulators take X, TikTok, Meta & Co. to task​

The Federal Network Agency invited platform operators to a round table with the EU Commission in Berlin. The aim was to protect the integrity of the election.

Jan 25, 2025 at 9:59 pm CET
6 min. read
By Stefan Krempl

In Germany, there is great concern about foreign influence and targeted disinformation via social networks ahead of the general election. This is not only due to further reports of Russian propaganda campaigns such as Operation Doppelgänger, but also due to the new moderation policy at Meta and its platforms Facebook and Instagram, which is aligned with US President Donald Trump. The Federal Network Agency therefore invited major operators to a round table in Berlin on Friday together with the EU Commission. During the discussion, the hosts said they "emphasized the responsibility of the very large online platforms and search engines in the run-up to elections and the corresponding obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA)".

In this country, the regulatory authority acts as the Digital Services Coordinator (DSC), which is responsible for the national enforcement of the DSA. According to the Platform Act, services with over 45 million active European users must, among other things, analyze, evaluate and, if necessary, reduce systemic online risks relating to the integrity of elections. The aim of the meeting was to discuss possible violations of the DSA that could occur in connection with the federal elections in February 2025, as well as risk-minimizing measures among all stakeholders involved. Representatives from Google (YouTube), LinkedIn and its parent company Microsoft, Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and X as well as national authorities and civil society organizations (NGOs) were present.

"We take the very large online platforms at their word that they want to and will implement the requirements of the Digital Services Act with commitment", emphasized Klaus Müller, President of the Federal Network Agency and acting head of the DSC, after the round. "We are working closely with the EU Commission and are monitoring developments very closely in the run-up to the federal elections – together with other national authorities." Any violations of the DSA are forwarded to the responsible executive authority in Brussels. This is the case, for example, if "illegal content is not deleted or accounts are wrongly blocked".

EU Commission has published guidelines​

Last year, the EU Commission issued recommendations for measures that service providers covered by the DSA should take to mitigate systemic online risks to the trustworthiness and reliability of elections. According to the guidelines, operators must also respect fundamental rights – including the right to freedom of expression. One aspect relates to risks associated with generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT. Accordingly, the platforms concerned must clearly label or otherwise conspicuously mark "artificial or manipulated images, audio or video content that markedly resemble existing persons, objects, places, entities or events".

During an ongoing election, operators are required to provide users with access to "reliable, up-to-date and understandable information from official sources about the voting and the voting process". This is intended to help reduce potential damage caused by serious problems such as manipulated images, votes or deepfakes, for example by political actors. Attempts to "use disinformation and information manipulation to suppress voters" must be prevented.

In the USA, the course under Trump is going in the opposite direction. Meta has followed in the footsteps of Elon Musk and his service X and kicked fact-checkers out. In Europe, however, they are to remain in use for the time being. Trump himself compares the fight against disinformation to censorship, and Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has jumped on the bandwagon. However, this week, for example, a search for the hashtag #democrats on Instagram apparently returned no results for a while.

"Stress test" with operators also for the federal election​

At the end of April, the EU Commission also carried out a "stress test" with very large platform operators for the first time in order to assess the instruments and cooperation mechanisms in place with a focus on the upcoming European elections. A repeat is now to focus on the German parliamentary elections. Microsoft, TikTok, LinkedIn, Google, Snap, Meta and X have been asked to take part in this audit on January 31, a Commission spokesperson explained on Friday. As part of this action, potential scenarios "in which the DSA comes into play" would be examined together with German authorities. The focus will be on how the operators react to these specific scenarios. According to Reuters, TikTok was the first service to confirm its intention to take part in the test.

On Wednesday, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) had already met with representatives of large social media platforms and digital companies, the responsible federal ministries and security authorities as well as NGOs. Federal Chief Electoral Officer Ruth Brand also took part in the meeting. The focus here was on measures against targeted disinformation campaigns and hate speech, such as death threats, as well as the labeling of political advertising and deepfakes.

Faeser: X & Co. must comply with law and order​

"Lies and propaganda are instruments that Russia in particular uses to attack our democracy," Faeser reported afterward. It was also important to "protect candidates from criminal acts online, including death threats". Such statements could lead to real violence. The Minister emphasized: "When people are threatened, democratic debates are no longer possible."

According to Faeser, it was important to remind the operators of their duty "in view of the current discussions" that they must "abide by the law, which was democratically decided in Europe". In addition to the DSA, the regulation on the deletion of terrorist online content and the regulation on political advertising are also relevant. The review of criminal content "must be strengthened and must not be restricted", demanded the Social Democrat. What is also needed is "more transparency about the algorithms so that they do not fuel dangerous radicalization processes, especially among young people".
(nie)

This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.

 

[Lone MacReady II]

Not German, (((American))). If you are militarily occupied by another nation - your nation's government isn't your own - by definition.

Iudea Delenda Est.

 

[General Emílio Médici]

German comedy is less subtle than I thought.

German comedy is no laughing matter. They take it very seriously.

 

[XL xQgg?QcQCaTYDMjqoDnYpG]

Not German, (((American))). If you are militarily occupied by another nation - your nation's government isn't your own - by definition.

Iudea Delenda Est.

No government is your own. It's like saying that the person robbing you at gunpoint is YOUR robber.
Other than that, I agree. Both the US and German governments are parasitic entities, nothing but a group of thugs, robbing, oppressing, and enshittifying peoples under them.

 

[Tetra]

Not German, (((American))). If you are militarily occupied by another nation - your nation's government isn't your own - by definition.

Iudea Delenda Est.

It's always cringe as fuck whenever someone tries to shrink responsibility of their own cringe politicians and voters by pointing at some foreign power that has soldiers in their country at best. America didn't occupy Germany during weimar but they were still weimar. Given natos structure you could say every nato member occupies germany.

 

[XL xQgg?QcQCaTYDMjqoDnYpG]

Given natos structure you could say every nato member occupies germany.

This is very close to the truth. At least muuuuuch closer than the negation of that statement.

 

[tehpope]

good. Cope and seethe globalists.

 

[rel=alternate]

Germans are insane. Everything they touch suddenly needs to be become ultra regulated, sometimes just for the sake of it.

It must be weird to be told no, because in EU, they can hurt you wherever you are if you somehow miss a step somewhere.

Assuming these people have common sense, they also know they can't ban these corporation because it would cripple the country's economy. Everybody relies so much on these giant platforms for ads, the effects would be felt instantly.

 

[XL xQgg?QcQCaTYDMjqoDnYpG]

Assuming these people have common sense

Your best bet is assuming the opposite.
Assuming that the sociopath thugs in Brussels and Berlin have common sense will just lead to overconfidence on your part, and overconfidence is an insidious killer.
If you don't believe me, surely it would be common sense to not annihilate the German automotive industry because it is one of the biggest and most important sectors of the economy.

 

[Mexican Molotov Marauder]

Germans are insane. Everything they touch suddenly needs to be become ultra regulated, sometimes just for the sake of it.

It must be weird to be told no, because in EU, they can hurt you wherever you are if you somehow miss a step somewhere.

Assuming these people have common sense, they also know they can't ban these corporation because it would cripple the country's economy. Everybody relies so much on these giant platforms for ads, the effects would be felt instantly.

Meta in particular is completely untouchable due to Whatsapp's popularity. The krauts have absolutely no leverage when dealing with Zuckerberg and they both know it.

 

[Harvey Danger]

The aim of the meeting was to discuss possible violations of the DSA that could occur in connection with the federal elections in February 2025, as well as risk-minimizing measures among all stakeholders involved. Representatives from Google (YouTube), LinkedIn and its parent company Microsoft, Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and X as well as national authorities and civil society organizations (NGOs) were present.

What's to stop them from saying "yes, we comply" and then doing nothing? Every time a bureaucrat brings something up, just say "we investigated it and it isn't harmful".

"Our commission found that it's disinformation!" "Your commission is wrong and did not do sufficient analysis." Impasse, until they start threatening to seize assets, at which point the big guys just shut down Europe for a day and see who wins.

 

[Nero Fiddled]

The Greens demanded it,

Not a great fan of the social media companies, but I have to say, I wouldn't want to sit in a room with those weird fuckers either.

 

[Toothp!ck]

What's to stop them from saying "yes, we comply" and then doing nothing? Every time a bureaucrat brings something up, just say "we investigated it and it isn't harmful".

"Our commission found that it's disinformation!" "Your commission is wrong and did not do sufficient analysis." Impasse, until they start threatening to seize assets, at which point the big guys just shut down Europe for a day and see who wins.

Honestly if Elon was based he would go there in a zoom call then just start reading headlines of Muslim pedophiles getting light sentences.

 

[Unpaid Emotional Labourer]

Fuck off. If the EU has the will to force member states to block social media, that’s their business. But no one is going to be paying fines or caving to any of this. They have no leverage, they can’t make anyone pay or change or do anything at all. Their only move is taking the hit with the European population if they block them from all social media at the country level. Many will just use VPNs, but all will blame the EU for the irritation and inconvenience. If it’s sooooo important, then the EU should proudly take that hit. But US companies aren’t going to protect them from the dissatisfaction of the European population.

 

[SpellforceFan]

Even if they make member countries to block chinktok, kikebook, instagoy and whatever, nowadays even NPCs can use VPNs and completely bypass it on their phones. They'd have to force google and apple (for which there's precedence in EU, as they've already bent down and kissed the ring) to make those apps unavailable on phones, since sideloading apps (especially on iphones) is still black magic to normies. I'm not using any of those, so I just hope for the funniest thing to happen to either side of that conflict.

 

[Meat Target]

"The absurd claim that European states commit censorship must be retracted."

"Behead those who say Islam is violent" energy.

What's to stop them from saying "yes, we comply" and then doing nothing? Every time a bureaucrat brings something up, just say "we investigated it and it isn't harmful".

Germany's capricious Calvinball governance. They'd declare them in contempt and have them arrested for hate speech.

 

[Hightension]

Get fucked germcucks.
I hope your cuntry gets totally destroyed.