The Consortium Imposing the Growing Censorship Regime

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Anti Federalist said:
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Justice Minister defends house arrest power for people feared to commit a hate crime in future

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/pol...ends-house-arrest-power-for-people-feared-to/

28 Feb 2024

Justice Minister Arif Virani has defended a new power in the online harms bill to impose house arrest on someone who is feared to commit a hate crime in the future – even if they have not yet done so already.

The person could be made to wear an electronic tag, if the attorney-general requests it, or ordered by a judge to remain at home, the bill says.

Mr. Virani, who is Attorney-General as well as Justice Minister, said it is important that any peace bond be “calibrated carefully,” saying it would have to meet a high threshold to apply.

But he said the new power, which would require the attorney-general’s approval as well as a judge’s, could prove “very, very important” to restrain the behaviour of someone with a track record of hateful behaviour who may be targeting certain people or groups.

If “there’s a genuine fear of an escalation, then an individual or group could come forward and seek a peace bond against them and to prevent them from doing certain things.”

The peace bond could have conditions that include not being close to a synagogue or a mosque, he said. It could also lead to restrictions on internet usage and behaviour. “That would help to deradicalize people who are learning things online and acting out in the real world violently – sometimes fatally.”

Mr. Virani said the bill would strike a balance, though, and would mean that content that is “awful but lawful” would remain online.

“There’s a lot of bad stuff out there. But this is not about the bad stuff. This is a much higher level,” he said.

Bill C-63 is designed to curb the proliferation of hate online, but it also establishes a new hate-crime offence, which would carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Mr. Virani said the hate-crime offence would only be applied if coupled with another crime and the life sentence would only apply in the most serious of cases – not, for example, for mischief to a garage door.

“What’s really critical is that it gives the judge a wonderful range of sentences. This is not a mandatory minimum of a life sentence, this is just a larger range, including what would be the maximum sentence,” he said.

The bill also would make online platforms swiftly take down child sexual-abuse material, as well as sexual content posted without consent. But the government stepped back from forcing platforms to take down hate speech within 24 hours, introducing other tools to deal with this, including through a complaint to a new ombudsperson.

The bill’s predecessor, Bill C-36, died before the last election and the subsequent consultation would have forced social-media platforms to take down a wide range of content deemed harmful within 24 hours.

What to know about Bill C-63, Canada’s new online harms bill to protect children and prosecute hate crimes

Mr. Virani said the current bill followed studies of the experiences of other countries, including Britain, France and Germany, which have produced similar legislation. Some have had to reverse course after challenges and criticism.

Since it was published on Monday, some lawyers and constitutional experts have raised fears that Bill C-63 could chill free speech.

The bill would allow people to file complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission over what they perceive as hate speech online – including, for example, off-colour jokes by comedians. People found guilty of posting hate speech could have to pay victims up to $20,000 in compensation.

But experts including internet law professor Michael Geist have said even a threat of a civil complaint – with a lower burden of proof than a court of law – and a fine could have a chilling effect on freedom of expression.

Mr. Virani said as Justice Minister he has sworn to uphold the Constitution, which includes freedom of expression.

“Of course, I’m concerned about any chilling [of] freedom of expression. I heard those concerns, to a great extent,” he said.

He said the bill includes various safeguards to allow the human-rights commission to throw out frivolous complaints, including a kind of “summary dismissal mechanism” if a complaint does not hit the threshold for hatred or if someone files a complaint in bad faith. Costs could also be issued.

Mr. Virani said for those categories of harm online that would not need to be taken down within 24 hours, he would expect the response of the regulator, ombudsperson or other body examining a complaint to be “prompt.” Fears have been expressed that they could take months or even years to adjudicate on whether posts should be removed.

“Time is of the essence and we know how horrible material can go viral very, very quickly,” he said. He added for this reason it is critical that the bill progresses through Parliament to committee swiftly so the government can look at amendments.
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So, a first degree murder committed for hate is punishable by life in prison? Unlike normal first degree? I expect proosecutors will use this judicial discretion to bargain hard for guilty pleas.
 
CLIP from SYSTEM UPDATE #269:

Jen Psaki Caught Lying in New Book; "Anti-Disinformation" Industry Booms
https://rumble.com/v4v6k43-jen-psak...-book-anti-disinformation-industry-booms.html
{Glenn Greenwald | 14 May 2024}


​
 
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Liberal billionaire George Soros has spent $80 million to 'silence' Americans, Media Research Center says
By Brian Flood

Free Press, a media group financed by liberal billionaire George Soros, "is looking to incorporate global pressure to push Big Tech platforms to juice their censorship operations before the 2024 U.S. presidential election," according to the Media Research Center (MRC).

... in a new report, the conservative MRC found that Soros gave over $80 million to affiliated groups calling for "censorship" ahead of November’s critical election.

"One of the wealthiest men in the world is using his vast wealth and power to silence regular Americans ahead of the 2024 election. At a time when defending free speech is key, leftists are trying their best to shut down the voices of half of America, especially those who disagree with the radical agenda promoted by Biden, Soros and most Big Tech executives," MRC Free Speech America vice president Dan Schneider told Fox News Digital.

MRC associate editor Joseph Vazquez reported the Soros-funded media group "is at the helm of a new push to restrict free speech online," pointing to a recent press release as evidence.

Last month, Free Press boasted about a letter urging executives at Discord, Google, Instagram, Meta, Pinterest, Reddit, Rumble, Snap, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter and YouTube to keep online platforms "safe and healthy" in 2024 through six specific "interventions."

The letter was signed by "200 civil-society organizations, researchers and journalists," according to Free Press. The MRC found that "at least 45 of the signatories have had their coffers packed with Soros cash to the tune of a whopping $80,757,329 between 2016 and 2022 alone."

"The document attempted to justify that it was written with reducing ‘real-world harms’ and ‘the rise of extremism and violent attempts to overthrow democratic governments’ in mind. However, it appears its true design is to pressure Big Tech companies to silence speech the left despises as 60 countries across the globe gear up for their elections in 2024," Vazquez wrote.

"But even more disturbing was the letter’s implication that its primary target is interfering in the 2024 U.S. election," Vazquez continued. "This development is directly in line with Soros’ brand, who has dedicated millions of his ungodly fortune to groups looking to interfere in elections by stifling online speech."
...
Vazquez wrote that the "explicit push for speech controls is especially disturbing in light of the stated vision of one of Free Press’s founders," noting that Free Press co-founder Robert W. McChesney once wrote in 2000, "Our job is to make media reform part of our broader struggle for democracy, social justice, and, dare we say it, socialism."

The MRC then dove into who signed the letter and how they receive financial support.

"The signatory that received the most Soros funding in MRC’s tally was none other than the climate change-obsessed Global Witness, which is already on record pressuring Facebook and TikTok to increase censorship operations before the 2022 midterm elections," Vazquez wrote.

"The Soros empire funded the group with a massive $20,338,270 between 2016 and 2022," he continued. "The group’s ‘digital threats’ campaign, for example, is specifically focused on pressuring governments to regulate speech on social media."

The MRC also found that the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, another signee, received over $3 million from Soros between 2017 and 2022.

"The leftist group was recently exposed in a House Judiciary Committee investigation for co-authoring a ‘hate groups’ blacklist with the Soros-funded Global Disinformation Index (GDI) targeting ‘conservative’ and faith-based organizations. This list was later disseminated by law enforcement to several financial institutions," Vazquez wrote.

"The fact that Free Press is at the tip of this Soros-tied spear should concern every American," he continued. "Free Press’s obsession with censorship and gaining control of the Internet cannot be overstated."
...
More: https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/l...-silence-americans-media-research-center-says
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North Korea executed 30 teenagers for watching South Korean dramas: reports

In North Korea, watching your favorite Korean dramas could end in tragedy.

According to reports from South Korean news outlets Chosun TV and Korea JoongAng Daily, around 30 middle schoolers were publicly shot last week for watching South Korean dramas.

The shows were reportedly stored on USBs that were floated over the border by North Korean defectors.

Business Insider was unable to independently verify the report.

South Korean officials did not comment directly on the report, but according to Korea JoongAng Daily, one unnamed South Korean Unification Ministry official told reporters that "it is widely known that North Korean authorities strictly control and harshly punish residents based on the three so-called 'evil' laws."

One of these is North Korea's Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act, which forbids individuals from disseminating media that originates in South Korea, the US, or Japan.
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More: https://www.businessinsider.com/nor...ens-watching-south-korea-shows-reports-2024-7
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CLIP from SYSTEM UPDATE #315:

The Media Changed Its Rules For Hacked Materials in 2020: So What Now?
https://rumble.com/v5b2z25-the-media-changed-its-rules-for-hacked-materials-in-2020-so-what-now.html
{Glenn Greenwald | 15 August 2024}


​
 
Occam's Banana said:
CLIP from SYSTEM UPDATE #318:

Journalist Richard Medhurst Interview On His UK Arrest Under Terrorism Act
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BazVmcX7734
{Glenn Greenwald | 21 August 2024}


​
Click to expand...


I Was Arrested at Heathrow Airport as a “Terrorist” for My Journalism
https://richardmedhurst.substack.com/p/i-was-arrested-at-heathrow-airport
{Richard Medhurst | 20 Augustt 2024}

My name is Richard Thomas Medhurst.

I am an internationally accredited journalist from the United Kingdom.

On Thursday, as I landed in London Heathrow airport, I was immediately escorted off the plane by 6 police officers who were waiting for me at the entrance of the aircraft.

They arrested me—not detained—but arrested me under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act of 2000 and accused me of allegedly “expressing an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organization” but wouldn’t explain what this meant.

One officer took my bags, and when I asked why he was still back in the aircraft, I was told “look mate, you can get nicked right here in front of everyone, or in there. Your choice.”

I was taken to an adjacent room, patted down, my phone confiscated.

I was not allowed to inform my family.

Despite being calm and cooperative, I was handcuffed with something that placed my shoulders in an awkward position, and my wrists on top of, rather than next to each other. The handcuffs were extremely tight. Despite the police loosening them, they left marks on me for two days.

The police took me down onto the runway and put me in a police van; essentially a mobile cage and informed me everything was being recorded.

The van was cramped. I had to struggle the entire time to keep my balance and try not to fall over as we drove to the police station.

Once inside the station, they searched me again for the 2nd time in 10 minutes.

I was told to sit on a bench, remove my shoes; remove my socks. I was told to turn my socks inside out and hold them up for the officers to inspect.

They also made me hold up my feet for them to check.

The officers took me to a room with UV lights, which they told me is used to catch burglars sprayed with something—I have no idea why they did this, since they just removed me off a plane.

My suitcase was then opened in the lobby and ransacked; all my journalistic equipment and devices were seized, including phones, sim cards, wireless microphones, microphones and headphones. Even my shoelaces.

They later took my DNA, fingerprints, palmprints, and photographed me.

I was placed in solitary confinement, in a cold cell that smelt like urine. There was barely any light, and the bed—if you can even call it a bed—was a small concrete ledge, with a paper thin mattress.

The cell had no windows. No heating. No toilet paper.

I was recorded 24/7, with audio and video— even when going to the toilet.

I had to eat food with a piece of cardboard, that you’re supposed to fold in two in order to scoop up the meal.

The police said I have the right to inform someone I’m locked up. So I said, ok I want to call my family. And then they’d go: “well, your calls are withheld because of the nature of the alleged offense”.

I tried to ask: well what’s the point of a right if you can randomly withdraw it? Why tell me that I have this right at all?

And one of them said something along the lines of: “well it’s not an absolute right. It can be waived”.

Similarly, they said I had the right to know why I was being detained. So I asked (again), and the police would say something like: “we’re just the arresting officers, we don’t really know”, or, “this will be explained to you during the interview”, or some other generic response.

Despite the police officers’ civility and cheerfulness, I felt the whole process was designed to humiliate, intimidate, and dehumanize me; to treat me like a criminal, even though they must have been aware of my background and that I am a journalist.

I was under surveillance almost the entire time, from the moment I was arrested until I was released, be it in the police van, the station, the cell—all of it. No privacy whatsoever.

Many of my requests were also delayed or outright ignored.

When I was detained, I asked for water several times. The police would always say “sure”, but I ended up waiting hours for a tiny cup of water.

I asked if I could have my own clothes because I was in a t-shirt, it was cold and couldn’t sleep. They said they’d give me a pullover but never did. Although one guard did give me a 2nd blanket.

See, you have to nag and nag for the most basic things. This is why I was afraid they weren’t even going to call a solicitor for me.

I was able to see the nurse on one occasion. But on three other occasions when I asked to see the nurse, they’d say “yes”, then nothing.

For many hours, no one in the world knew what had happened to me or where I was.

Only the police could call a solicitor for me. I had to ask 4-5 different guards for several hours until I finally received a call.

Some of my solicitor’s calls did not get through or were not answered. One of the calls, my solicitor was told would be monitored and so they siply refused to take it.

I asked to speak to them afterwards when that happened but was not allowed to.

In total, I spent almost 24 hours in detention. At no point, whatsoever, was I allowed to speak to a family member or friend.

After waiting 15 hours, I was finally interviewed by two detectives. The interview lasted just about an hour, an hour and a half.

So there was clearly no need to hold me there this entire time.

But I believe that this was done on purpose to try to rattle me psychologically.

That failed.

I categorically and utterly reject all the accusations by the police.

I am not a terrorist. I have no criminal record.

Prior to this incident, I’d never been detained in my entire life.

I’m a product of the diplomatic community and I’m raised to be anti-war.

Both my parents won Nobel Peace Prizes for their work as United Nations peacekeepers. They had a tremendous effect on my worldview and outlook, and instilled in me the importance of diplomacy, international law and peace.

I myself, am a victim of terrorism. When I attended the British school in Islamabad, the Egyptian embassy adjacent to my school was blown up in a double bombing.

I categorically and unequivocally condemn terrorism.

I am a Medhurst. My family goes back 1000 years in this country. I come from a long line of public servants. My father served in the London Metropolitan Police, before entering the UN. He is an expert and an authority on counterterrorism who taught me much. My grandfather was in the Royal Air Force during WWII, and his father before him in the British Army in WWI.

I perhaps don’t have the same career paths as them, but I consider my journalism to be a public service and my way of doing my bit for the country, by providing a counterweight to mainstream media.

I love my country and respect its laws and legal institutions.

I get the feeling, nevertheless, that those like myself who are speaking up and reporting on the situation in Palestine are being targeted.

I had booked my ticket to London on the same day. Yet an entire team of police were mobilized to arrest and question me. This is why I felt that it was a pre-planned, coordinated arrest.

Many people have been detained in Britain because of their connection to journalism. Sometimes under the Terrorism Act, sometimes not.

I think of Julian Assange, Craig Murray, Kit Klarenberg, David Miranda, Vanessa Beeley.

However, as far as I’m aware, I’m the only journalist to have been arrested, and held for up to 24 hours under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act.

Keep in mind the conditions I outlined previously: the psychological element that you’re made to wait endlessly, you’re not told what you’re accused of, nor when you’ll be questioned.

Despite being released unconditionally, I do not feel that my bail is truly unconditional.

I am effectively in limbo, not knowing if I will be charged in 3 months, or if I will go to prison.

Journalism is my livelihood. I have an ethical and moral responsibility toward the general public to inform. But I feel that a muzzle has been placed on me.

I simply do not know if or how I can work at all during the next months. Palestine—the humanitarian crisis in Gaza— remain the most pressing news story in the world, however, it seems that any statement, no matter how innocent, factual, and well-intentioned, can be skewed and twisted into an offense of the highest order.

This is precisely the danger and absurdity of the Terrorism Act that I have always sought to impress upon the public, long before I ever became a victim of it myself.

It is out of control and has no place in a democracy.

Counter terrorism laws should be used to fight actual terrorism, not journalism.

We cannot call ourselves a democracy as long as reporters are dragged off of planes and detained and treated like murderers.

I am disgusted that I am being politically persecuted in my own country.

As I do not know if I can still report as a journalist for the next months, I kindly ask for your support during these times.

Freedom of the press, freedom of speech really are under attack. The state is cracking down and escalating, to try and stop people from speaking out against our government’s complicity in genocide.

Please stand not just with me, but with the others who are still inside. I know what they are going through, and the best relief is to know that people on the outside are rooting for you, and doing everything they can to get you out.

Thank you.

Richard Medhurst
 
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