Friday, March 15, 2019

EU: Telling Europeans What to Think

by Judith Bergman • March 15, 2019 at 5:00 am

The above initiatives, of course, exist in addition to all the other measures that the EU has put in place to "guide" Europeans onto the path of proper thinking... which the untransparent and unaccountable online tech giants -- Facebook, Google, Twitter and Mozilla -- signed in October 2018, and their 2019 "Code of Conduct on countering illegal online hate speech online."
In the same vein as China's "reeducation camps" or the former Soviet Union's "rehabilitation centers" that abused psychiatry for political purposes, Marine Le Pen in September was ordered to undergo psychiatric tests for tweeting the pictures, ostensibly to establish whether she "is capable of understanding remarks and answering questions".
It is probably safe to say that the first victims of the EU's media literacy policies will be diversity of opinion and free speech.

Marine Le Pen (pictured at podium), the leader of France's Rassemblement National (National Rally) party, posted tweets condemning the Islamic State terrorist group, including photos of their murdered victims. For this, she was charged with the crime of "disseminating violent images," and ordered by a court to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether she "is capable of understanding remarks and answering questions." (Photo by Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images)

The first European Media Literacy Week, an initiative of the European Union, will take place March 18-22 in various European cities. The week is a new initiative by the European Commission, putatively "to underline the societal importance of media literacy and promote media literacy initiatives and projects across the EU". The European Commission explains its policy of strengthening 'media literacy' within the EU -- which could have been a noble and useful initiative -- the following way:

"With the rapid rise of digital technology and its increasing use in business, education and culture, it is important to ensure everyone can understand and engage with digital media.

"Media literacy is vital for economic growth and job creation. Digital technologies are a key driver of competitiveness and innovation in the media, information, and communication technology sectors."