It's begun. The great wall separating the internet in the European Union (EU) from the outside world. Only so far, it seems most of this has been voluntary compliance from companies afraid of big fines. This is eerily reminiscent of the censorship and control of the internet in China, the type of thing done by a totalitarian government. So far the E.U. seems to just want to impose all sorts of rules, but most of these rules relate to information and data. So ultimately this involves control over information, not just commerce. A company faces a threat of being fined, or ultimately having their website blocked in the EU. see related thread: European Union may implement censorship against American companies like Google (posted in Computers & Tech) Google Will Further Block Some European Search Results by Mark Scott, New York Times February 11, 2016 In its continuing game of hide-and-seek with European privacy regulators, Google is about to make more changes to how people view its search results in Europe. The companyt will soon block access to certain disputed links from all of its domains -- including the main United States one, Google.com -- when people in Europe use its online search engine, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. They spoke only on the condition of anonymity. This mostly concerned laws relating to individual privacy.Google Will Further Block Some European Search Results - The New York Times (nytimes.com) GDPR: Which websites are blocking visitors from the EU? by Rebecca Sentance, May 31st 2018 On the 25th May 2018, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect. Ripple effects from the new regulation were immediately felt across the internet -- and not just in the form of a sudden dearth of unwanted emails arriving in people’s inboxes. Even given the two-year period that companies have had to prepare themselves for the GDPR, it was inevitable that some would be caught on the back foot when the regulation officially came into force. Facing the prospect of a fine of up to €20 million or 4% of annual turnover for non-compliance, several businesses decided that the best course of action was to deny EU users access to their service -- or else to provide them with a drastically reduced user experience. Let’s take a look at the businesses which are known to have pulled the plug on the EU in the wake of GDPR, and consider whether blocking EU users -- whether temporarily or permanently -- will be enough to get companies around the regulation. The Association of National Advertisers (ANA)'s new "EU-only" homepage states that "Due to requirements placed upon the ANA as a result of the EU’s Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we are not permitting internet traffic to our website from countries within the European Union at this time." To say this is ironic would be an understatement. While the ANA is not an international body, it positioned itself as a go-to source of advice and best practice on GDPR for US marketers in the run-up to the legislation taking effect -- only to itself fall victim to the regulation. The article says The Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Orlando Sentinel and a number of other U.S. news websites have blocked their access to Europe. (The Los Angeles Times beginning in May 2018 ) Specifically, the two media groups whose newspapers are blocking EU traffic are Tronc, Inc. and Lee Enterprises, which between them own some 77 American news titles, plus a handful of assorted magazines and websites. While these might be newspapers aimed primarily at a US readership, news in the digital age is international. Millions of EU readers follow news developments in the US. Both NPR and USA Today reaction to the GDPR by offering European viewers a stripped-down version of their site. This wasn't entirely bad since ads and tracking cookies were eliminated, actually resulting in much faster load times. GDPR: Which websites are blocking visitors from the EU? (econsultancy.com) Many EU visitors shut out from US sites as a response to GDPR never came back by Neil Thurman, 19th July 2022 Some US publishers decided it was not worth changing their data collection practices for the relatively small market EU visitors represented and blocked those visitors completely. Although some of the hundreds of US sites that blocked remain blocked to this day, others, like the Los Angeles Times, restored full access after a number of months, and others after a number of years.Many EU visitors shut out from US sites as a response to GDPR never came back | Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (ox.ac.uk) The video streaming services Netflix and Spotify have stopped providing service in Europe. Spotify fined in Sweden over GDPR data access complaint Natasha Lomas, TechCrunch, June 13, 2023 (related to individual privacy and not being upfront about how the company processed user data) EU lawmakers include Spotify and iTunes in geoblocking ban Julia Fioretti, Reuters, April 25, 2017 The EU demanded that Spotify and iTunes charge the same prices to customers in different parts of the world. That would mean music streaming services such as Spotify and iTunes would not be able to prevent, for example, a French customer buying a cheaper subscription in Croatia, if they have the required rights. The proposed law was expanded to include music streaming services. European Parliament members voted to include copyright-protected content such as music, games, software and e-books in the law. EU lawmakers include Spotify and iTunes in geoblocking ban | Reuters Google fined $1.7 billion for search ad blocks in third EU sanction by Foo Yun Chee, Reuters, March 20, 2019 Google fined $1.7 billion for search ad blocks in third EU sanction | Reuters (So far nothing concerning, but shows Google is having to comply with EU rules for providing information services) Meta Blocks People in the EU From Accessing Threads Via VPN by Emily Price, PC Magazine, July 14, 2023 Meta does not want to run afoul of the European Union's strict data-usage laws, like the recently enacted Digital Markets Act (DMA). If you live in the EU and have been thinking of trying Threads using a VPN, don't bother. (Meta is the new company name of the very popular social internet site Facebook) E.U. sanctions demand Google block Russian state media from search results by Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, March 9, 2022 The E.U. banned 'broadcasting' Sputnik and RT. Now it’s arguing that applies to search results and social media reposts from regular users. The European Union has told Google to wipe Russian state media organizations RT and Sputnik from search results in Europe as part of its sanctions on the two entities, a sharp escalation in government attempts to shut down Russian propaganda on tech platforms and sparking fresh concerns regarding regulation of free speech. Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Google’s YouTube all said last week they would block posts from Russian state media accounts in Europe, responding to public pressure and government requests. An official order from the E.U. banning the "broadcast" of RT and Sputnik came on March 2, but it was not clear immediately how it applied to Internet companies. Now, a document uploaded by Google to a database of government requests shows E.U. officials explaining how the order applies not just to the social media accounts of RT and Sputnik, but also to search results and to posts from individuals who "reproduce" content from the two media organizations on any social media platform. The E.U. letter does carve out an exception for media organizations reporting on the sanctions. The E.U.'s position is a "far-reaching and remarkable interpretation of the law," said a professor who studies Internet law and civil liberties. The document wasn't made public by the E.U., so it also raises questions about transparency. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is forcing a new set of questions for the tech companies as they respond to intense public pressure to cut Russia off from the rest of the world, while also balancing their desire to keep their apps open and usable for Russian citizens. The Ukrainian leader who is pushing Silicon Valley to stand up to Russia Searches for "Russia Today" on Google in Europe did not return a link to the organization’s page, while the same search done in the United States did. The debate over tech platforms, content moderation and government censorship has raged for years. The companies have slowly added new policies about what they will and will not allow as propaganda, medical misinformation and violent hate speech have gripped their platforms over the years. They also respond to government requests and laws to block content, such as legislation in Germany that bans Nazi imagery. The EU is demanding Google remove Russia Today and Sputnik from search results - The Washington Post Seems Europe has some very different ideas about "free speech" than the United States does.
EU sets new online rules for Google, Meta to curb illegal content by Foo Yun Chee, Reuters, April 25, 2022 Brussels - Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google, Meta (FB.O) and other large online platforms will have to do more to tackle illegal content or risk hefty fines under new internet rules agreed between European Union countries and EU lawmakers. The Digital Services Act (DSA) is the second prong of EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's strategy to rein in U.S. tech giants. Last month, she won backing from the 27-country bloc and lawmakers for landmark rules called the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that could force Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft to change their core business practices in Europe. "We have a deal on the DSA: The Digital Services Act will make sure that what is illegal offline is also seen and dealt with as illegal online - not as a slogan, as reality." Very large online platforms and online search engines will be required to take specific measures during a crisis. The move was triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the related disinformation. The companies also face a yearly fee up to 0.05% of worldwide annual revenue to cover the costs of monitoring their compliance. EU lawmaker Martin Schirdewan criticised the exemption granted to medium-sized companies. "Under pressure from the conservatives, an exception rule for medium-sized companies was integrated, this is a mistake. Due to the large number of companies that fall under this definition in the digital sector, the exception is like a loophole," he said. The DSA will be enforced in 2024. EU sets new online rules for Google, Meta to curb illegal content | Reuters Some of these rules in the article seem fine, and I don't have a problem with, but others seem concerning, like they could be misused by government. Website blocking in the European Union: Network interference from the perspective of Open Internet Vasilis Ververis, Lucas Lasota, Tatiana Ermakova, Benjamin Fabian, September 19, 2023 By establishing an infrastructure for monitoring and blocking networks in accordance with European Union (EU) law on preventive measures against the spread of information, EU member states have also made it easier to block websites and services and monitor information. In setting up the infrastructure for monitoring and network blocking to adhere to the EU legislation for preventive dissemination measures of terrorist content, gambling regulations, copyright enforcement, tobacco and health website regulations, extremism, phishing, and hate speech, EU member states have made it easier to block websites and services and to monitor information. This research also lists and catalogs publicly available blocklists in the EU. The blocklists are used by EU member states to block access to websites or services. ... One of the ways to enforce this regulation was to issue website blocklists of the unlicensed gambling websites and oblige ISPs to censor them in their networks. This is one of the first instances of EU-wide website blocking that drove ISPs to create a filtering infrastructure in their networks ... Lately, the censorship of websites has increased and more categories have been added to the blocklists ranging from streaming websites, subtitles, file sharing, and torrents to tobacco, health, and medicine information resources ... The paper goes into very technical detail about precisely how websites are blocked and filtered by private companies, to try to comply with government rules. They mention gambling websites that are blocked, in Germany an ISP blocked certain domains via DNS due to a court ruling. Website blocking in the European Union: Network interference from the perspective of Open Internet - Ververis - Policy & Internet
