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<\/a><\/p>\nFrench police have arrested Pavel Durov, who holds both Russian and French citizenship, for facilitating crimes.\u00a0 Durov is the CEO of Telegram, a messaging app that is encrypted, making its texts all but impossible to trace.\u00a0 That has made it a favorite of drug dealers, human traffickers, child pornographers, and other criminals.\u00a0 Then again, it is also a favorite of dissident groups under authoritarian governments.<\/p>\n
Should internet platforms, the companies that operate them, and the people who work for them be held responsible for what is communicated over them?\u00a0 Many countries and regulators are saying \u201cyes,\u201d requiring social media platforms to monitor what users say, ban certain categories of speech, \u201cfact check\u201d political statements, and censor offensive comments.<\/p>\n
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I know we all like to see internet moguls squirm.\u00a0 And we would love to find a way to limit the damage that social media networks can do.\u00a0 But how is it fair to blame the platform for what is said on it?<\/p>\n
What about telephones?\u00a0 Do we expect Verizon or ATT to monitor, fact check, and remove bad actors?\u00a0 Criminals use telephones.\u00a0 There is a legal mechanism for tapping their phones with a warrant, but the phone companies are not held to be responsible for people\u2019s phone calls.\u00a0 Similarly, laws could allow authorities to tap into criminals\u2019 social media accounts under certain circumstances and with legal protections.\u00a0 But don\u2019t have laws to punish the companies that operate the communication medium and those who work for them.<\/p>\n
Or am I missing something?\u00a0 Do you have any solutions?<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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