UK to fine Facebook & Google up to 4% value for not removing 'hate speech' & 'fake news' fast enough

The UK is rolling out a draconian new 'harmful content' policy that will punish social media with massive fines if they fail to remove ill-defined "hate speech," "misinformation," and "problematic content" quickly enough.

An "independent tech regulator" would have the power to impose fines amounting to as much as 4 percent of a company's value if Facebook, Google, or any other social media platform is too slow to remove objectionable content, according to UK digital minister Margot James, who told Business Insider the new rules would be officially unveiled next month. The regulations are purportedly aimed at eradicating "illegal hate speech," along with child grooming and "problematic content" related to suicide and self-harm, but also target the Western governments' beloved punching bag, "misinformation."

While the new regulator is supposed to be independent of government, it will be up to ministers to decide whether to set up a brand new body or just hand the responsibility for censoring objectionable content over to Ofcom - the same regulator which was recently found to be colluding with a government-funded "think tank" to tie up RT in regulatory red tape with astroturfed "complaints."

https://www.rt.com/uk/452714-uk-facebook-regulations-censorship/

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China loses leverage with Trump as North Korea talks stall

President Trump’s decision Thursday to walk away from denuclearization talks with North Korea could result in the president tightening his demands with China during their upcoming trade talks. The president needs China’s help to force North Korea to make a deal, but if those talks remain stalled then the president can afford to get tougher on trade with Beijing, experts note.

“North Korea has mattered on China trade,” said Derek Scissors, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. "The president says, ‘You know, if they help me on North Korea, I’ll cut them some slack on trade.’ I think that he’s still happy with them on Korea … but if that shifted, the deal would be in trouble."

Scissors was paraphrasing Trump, but the characterization is pretty close.

“We have tremendous trade deficits with everybody, but the big one is with China. … And I told them, 'You want to make a great deal?' Solve the problem in North Korea,” the president said in a 2017 Wall Street Journal interview. "That's worth having deficits. And that's worth having not as good a trade deal as I would normally be able to make."

The president has said his trade policies with China are the reason why Pyonyang has been willing to talk at all. “President Donald J. Trump feels strongly that North Korea is under tremendous pressure from China because of our major trade disputes with the Chinese Government,” he said in an August tweet.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/china-loses-leverage-with-trump-as-north-korea-talks-stall

Anti-abortion group seeks to make Democrats pay for vote on abortion survivors

A national anti-abortion group is planning on making infanticide an issue in the 2020 elections by running ads and canvassing in battleground states targeting Democratic lawmakers who voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in the Senate.

“There need to be political consequences for the extremism of the other side,” said Mallory Quigley, a spokeswoman for the Susan B. Anthony List, a group that seeks to elect anti-abortion lawmakers. “Now we have people on record, including a handful of people who are running for our nation’s highest office.”

Quigley said she is confident it will be a top issue in 2020 with President Trump setting the tone. In his State of the Union Address earlier this month, Trump took aim at Northam over his comments on infanticide, saying Northam “would execute a baby after birth.” He tweeted Monday after the Senate Born-Alive vote that “[t]his will be remembered as one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/anti-abortion-group-seeks-to-make-democrats-pay-for-vote-on-abortion-survivors

She's Not Leaving Either: Maryland House Delegate Censured For Dropping N-Word Refuses To Resign

The House of Delegates censured Harford County Del. Mary Ann Lisanti on Thursday for her use of a racial slur, which members said “brought dishonor to the entire General Assembly of Maryland.”

After the vote, the Democrat said she would not resign, despite calls for her to do so by House leaders, the governor, the Legislative Black Caucus and constituents.

She also said she did not believe she had used an offensive term to describe African-Americans, although she acknowledged earlier in the week that she had done so. A reporter asked if she had said it, and Lisanti responded: “I do not believe I did, but I am still accepting responsibility.”

Lisanti said resigning would be “an easy way out” and not the right thing to do.

“I recognize that some have rushed to judgment without information and freely jumped on the bandwagon of condemnation — likely for their own political expediency,” Lisanti told reporters.

Lisanti came under fire this week after The Washington Post reported she used the racial slur during an after-hours gathering in January at an Annapolis bar. Lisanti told a fellow lawmaker that when he helped a candidate in Prince George’s County, he was knocking on doors in a “n— — district,” according to the report.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2019/03/01/shes-not-leaving-either-maryland-house-delegate-censured-for-dropping-n-word-re-n2542429