Israel Calls Facebook A “Monster” For Not Censoring Terrorists

Censorship And Free SpeechFacebook has come under political pressure in recent months to take a stronger stance against extremists who use the site to communicate. The most recent example came last weekend when an Israeli government official called the site a “monster” for not doing more to fight terrorism.

“Facebook today, which brought an amazing, positive revolution to the world, sadly, we see this since the rise of [ISIS] and the wave of terror, it has simply become a monster,” Israel Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said.

Israel is currently preparing legislation that would require social media sites to “remove content that the state considers threatening,” according to The Verge. Another Israeli official also noted recently that the country wants Facebook to treat extremism the same way it treats child pornography.

Facebook responded with a statement of its own, saying that it works with groups around the world to make sure Facebook is used properly.

“We work regularly with safety organizations and policymakers around the world, including Israel, to ensure that people know how to make safe use of Facebook,” a spokesperson for the site told Reuters. “There is no room for content that promotes violence, direct threats, terrorist or hate speeches on our platform.”

Of course, as freedom of expression advocate Jillian York noted to The Verge, it may not be the best idea to trust Facebook to decide who is and isn’t a terrorist. That’s just one more vitally important decision to put in a website’s hands that already controls a ton of our information.


Recommended Resources

bitdefender trafficlightBitDefender Traffic Light is a free cross-browser add-on that intercepts, processes and filters all Web traffic, blocking any malicious content and taking browser security to new levels.

PIAPrivate Internet Access is an award-winning, cost-effective VPN solution. The use of an anonymous and trusted VPN is essential to your online privacy, security and identity protection.

System Mechanic 14 – Make your computer run like new. Winner of 200+ Editor’s Choice awards!

Update: Facebook May Be Considering Removing Human Judgment From Trending Topics Altogether Previous post Update: Facebook May Be Considering Removing Human Judgment From Trending Topics Altogether Facebook Rolls Out Beta Version Of “Secret Conversations” Feature   Next post Facebook Rolls Out Beta Version Of “Secret Conversations” Feature