France and the UK both want to
force tech companies to impose censorship
according to their specifications. This time the specific target is
Islamist ideology, but the use of words such as "inflammatory" shows
they aim to suppress more.
They also want to work together to abolish privacy of communications
world-wide.
Once privacy and freedom of speech are rejected as principles, what
target will be next? Corbyn? Quoting
Aneuran Bevan?
Will saying that global heating is likely to kill billions of people,
and that the victims have the right to fight to prevent killing them,
be forbidden too?
There could be one good effect. Since global heating denial promotes
mass murder, that too could be censored. Austerity policies kill far
more people, in the US and UK, than terrorism. (It may not be true in
France because it is not so right-wing — but Macron may establish
that.) If publications arguing for austerity and neoliberalism were
banned, it might become more difficult to radicalize people to become
Tories or Republicans.
Even so, I am still opposed to censorship. Respecting freedom of
speech includes letting people say things that we despise.