On April 23rd, the European Union passed the Digital Services Act. This new law, designed to protect European Union citizens from illegal content online, requires the giant internet monopolies such as Meta (Facebook), Google, and Twitter to take appropriate actions to tackle illegal online content. Should the tech giants fail to live up to the standards set by the European Union governing body, they will face punitive measures.
This law was reported on by corporate media outlets such as Reuters as an important measure taken by the European Union to protect its citizens from some of the more harmful aspects of the internet. There is great concern because the Internet has become a hub for disinformation and people taking advantage of children and other protected classes. We are told this law is designed to make people safer.
Two days earlier, on April 21, Reuters reported on rumors of a similar law supposedly planned to be passed by the Vietnamese government later this year. According to Reuters, the rumored law would require the Internet monopolies to take down illegal content within certain time frames. Should the companies fail to live up to these responsibilities, they could find themselves facing punitive measures.
The two laws are incredibly similar, and yet the reporting and discussion around them could not be more different. While the European law is being praised and the government representatives that proposed the law are being seen as genuinely wanting to improve...
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