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Micro-blogging service Twitter has announced that it will filter tweets on a country-by-country basis due to differing legal demands. Critics were quick to accuse the company of attacking freedom of online speech to make extra profit.
Individual tweets can now be shown in some countries but blocked in others, the internet giant said in a blog post on Thursday. The goal is to comply with legislation under different jurisdictions, while not deleting offending content globally. Twitter offers the example of France and Germany, where public pro-Nazi statements are banned.
“Until now, the only way we could take account of those countries’ limits was to remove content globally. Starting today, we give ourselves the ability to reactively withhold content from users in a specific country — while keeping it available in the rest of the world,”the statement says.
Twitter adds that it will do its utmost to keep its filtering actions transparent and notify users, whose tweets are being blocked, of why this is being done.
Coming at a sensitive time shortly after the global internet strike against the SOPA/PIPA bills, deemed a bane on online freedoms, the move could not but draw criticism over ‘self-censorship’. Forbes contributor Mark Gibbs called it ‘social suicide’ on Twitter’s part, going on to speculate that the company now probably filters all new tweets for keywords like “Nazi” and automatically bans those deemed suspicious.
Indeed, by-country filtering would appeal to countries like China, which recently launched a crackdown on national micro-blogging sites to force their users to disclose their real names, so that authorities could hold them accountable for “spreading harmful rumors.”
And with Twitter having been used to coordinate protests in Arab countries during last year’s public uprisings, the vivid image of a greedy corporation serving repressive regimes to make profit is all too easy to imagine.
However the concern may be overblown. Twitter says its new policy is an alternative to completely deleting tweets when a government demands it. The company has to comply with national laws to operate in a country, be it Germany’s ban on praising Nazism, American anti-piracy DMCA provisions or Thailand’s legislation protecting the royal family. In the past, Twitter admits it did remove some posted tweets.
Regional blocking is not done automatically – officials have to file a request to remove a tweet, then a legal review of it will follow in accordance with national laws. Frankly speaking, trying to put a lid on sensitive info this way is just about as efficient as trying to stop torrent trackers from pirating films.
On the other hand, this new partial option may become an incentive for repressive regimes to up the ante in an attack on freedom of speech, since they will expect a quieter public outcry over such action.
It remains to be seen how much publicity damage Twitter will suffer. The internet community in general is very sensitive where its freedoms are concerned, and pledging that “tweets must flow” will hardly be enough to convince it that Twitter is not simply abusing its popularity.
“The open exchange of information can have a positive global impact … almost every country in the world agrees that freedom of expression is a human right. Many countries also agree that freedom of expression carries with it responsibilities and has limits.”As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression. Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there. Others are similar but, for historical or cultural reasons, restrict certain types of content, such as France or Germany, which ban pro-Nazi content.Until now, the only way we could take account of those countries’ limits was to remove content globally. Starting today, we give ourselves the ability to reactively withhold content from users in a specific country — while keeping it available in the rest of the world. We have also built in a way to communicate transparently to users when content is withheld, and why.We haven’t yet used this ability, but if and when we are required to withhold a Tweet in a specific country, we will attempt to let the user know, and we will clearly mark when the content has been withheld. As part of that transparency, we’ve expanded our partnership with Chilling Effects to share this new page,http://chillingeffects.org/twitter, which makes it easier to find notices related to Twitter.There’s more information in our Help pages, both on our Policy and about Your Account Settings.One of our core values as a company is to defend and respect each user’s voice. We try to keep content up wherever and whenever we can, and we will be transparent with users when we can't. The Tweets must continue to flow.
Despite the changes sweeping Libya, violence and bloodshed have not stopped. In shocking revelations, military and security forces stand accused of torturing detainees to death. Rights groups say Libya's new rulers have not addressed the problem.
Amnesty International says in recent weeks, it met with detainees in Tripoli, Misrata and Gharyan who showed visible signs of torture – open wounds to the head, limbs, back and other parts of the body.
"Several detainees have died after being subjected to torture in Libya in recent weeks and months amid widespread torture and ill-treatment of suspected pro-Gaddafi fighters and loyalists," Amnesty said.
"The torture is being carried out by officially recognized military and security entities, as well as by a multitude of armed militias operating outside any legal framework," the statement reads.
The group says it encountered formidable obstacles it could not overcome. Burns from electric shocks and cigarettes, heavy bruising and renal failure – all this, evidence of continuing torture of prisoners, the organization says.
When two more inmates died after beatings, the international group halted its mission in protest.
“Patients were brought to us in the middle of interrogation for medical care, in order to make them fit for further interrogation. This is unacceptable. Our role is to provide medical care to war casualties and sick detainees, not to repeatedly treat the same patients between torture sessions,” the group’s General Director Christopher Stokes said in a statement.
The news comes amidst rising frustration with Libya’s interim government.
Demonstrations in Benghazi last week ended with the resignation of a high-ranking member of the National Transitional Council (NTC).
In the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid, locals pushed out the NTC’s forces, claiming systematic abuse.
“It started with the very beginning of the rebellion, […] the second day of the rebellion. On the 18th of February, 50 African migrants were rounded up, locked in the detention center and burnt to death. And the NTC expressed their support for this kind of behavior. This is part of the strategy of the West. You know, divide and rule. That was giving the green light to torture and execution – what we are seeing now. This is a clear recipe for civil war,” says Middle East political analyst Dan Glazebrook.
Meanwhile, the behavior of the NATO forces that brought the NTC to power has also raised questions. Last year, a high-profile team of human rights activists went to Libya to investigate alleged international law violations in the country. The group examined the actions of NATO, former government and insurgents.
The Arab Organization for Human Rights together with two other organizations released the final report.
The document suggests “NATO classified civilian sites as military ones for attacks, including homes, schools, colleges.”
Insurgents, the team claim, “also violated international law, including civilian killings; torture and other abuses.”
All in all, investigators believe “crimes of war and against humanity were committed”.
“Some of the NATO representatives were at the frontline – guiding the raids, and directing them, and coordinating. If are your mandated to protect civilians – this is not your mandate,” says Raji Sourani from the Arab Organization for Human Rights.
“I saw so many people killed in front of my eyes … I saw the killing of 51 people. The youngest was 15,” says Ali Alkasih, a witness of NATO’s bombing in Libya.
And while all sides in the Libyan conflict are to blame for violence and violations, the human rights activists claim, not all of them have been held responsible for their wrongdoings.
A recent United Nations report has revealed that up to 8,000 pro-Gaddafi supporters are being held by militia groups in Libya right now.
And with numerous accusations of torture and revenge killing throughout the country, hopes of a new beginning for Libya seem far off yet.
TRIPOLI/BRUSSELS/NEW YORK, JANUARY 26, 2012 – Detainees in the Libyan city of Misrata are being tortured and denied urgent medical care, leading the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to suspend its operations in detention centers in Misrata, MSF announced today.
MSF teams began working in Misrata’s detention centers in August, 2011, to treat war-wounded detainees. Since then, MSF doctors had been increasingly confronted with patients who suffered injuries caused by torture during interrogation sessions. The interrogations were held outside the detention centers. In total, MSF treated 115 people who had torture-related wounds. The organization reported all the cases to the relevant authorities in Misrata. Since January, several of the patients returned to interrogation centers were again tortured.
“Some officials have sought to exploit and obstruct MSF’s medical work,” said MSF general director Christopher Stokes. “Patients were brought to us in the middle of interrogation for medical care, in order to make them fit for further interrogation. This is unacceptable. Our role is to provide medical care to war casualties and sick detainees, not to repeatedly treat the same patients between torture sessions.”
MSF medical teams were also asked to treat patients inside the interrogation centers, which the organization categorically refused.
The most alarming case occurred on January 3, when MSF doctors treated a group of 14 detainees who returned to a detention facility from an interrogation center. Despite previous MSF demands for the immediate end of torture, 9 of the 14 detainees had suffered numerous injuries and displayed obvious signs of torture.
The MSF team informed the National Army Security Service—the agency responsible for interrogations—that a number of patients needed to be transferred to hospitals for urgent and specialized care. All but one of the detainees were again deprived of essential medical care and were subjected to renewed interrogations and torture outside the detention centers.
After meeting with various authorities, MSF sent an official letter on January 9 to the Misrata Military Council, the Misrata Security Committee, the National Army Security Service, and the Misrata Local Civil Council, again demanding an immediate stop to any form of ill treatment of detainees.
“No concrete action has been taken,” said Christopher Stokes. “Instead, our team received four new torture cases. We have therefore come to the decision to suspend our medical activities in the detention centers.”
MSF has been present in Misrata since April 2011, following the outbreak of conflict in Libya. Since August 2011, MSF has worked in Misrata’s detention centers, treating war-wounded, performing surgeries, and providing orthopedic follow-up care to people who had suffered bone fractures. MSF medical teams have carried out 2,600 consultations, including 311 for violent trauma.
MSF will continue its mental health activities in schools and health facilities in Misrata, and will continue to assist 3,000 African migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons in and around Tripoli.
MSF is an international medical humanitarian organization that has worked in Libya since February, 2011. To ensure the independence of its medical work, MSF relies solely on private donations to finance its activities in Libya and does not accept any funding from governments, donor agencies, or military or political groups.
