Israel’s Netanyahu urges Musk to balance free speech, fighting hate on X
Netanyahu’s request to X follows a spree of controversy over antisemitic content on the platform
Tesla employees criticized Musk’s meeting with Israeli PM over the government judicial reforms
Updated 19 September 2023
Reuters
LONDON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Elon Musk to strike a balance between protecting free expression and fighting hate speech at a meeting on Monday after weeks of controversy over antisemitic content on Musk’s social media platform X.
Earlier this month, Musk attacked the Anti-Defamation League, accusing the nonprofit that works to fight antisemitism of primarily causing a 60 percent decrease in US ad revenue at X, without providing evidence.
Musk bought the platform, then known as Twitter, in October.
Musk previously joined a conversation on X with the hashtag #BantheADL, engaging with users who expressed white supremacist views, and asked followers whether he should poll the platform about banning the ADL.
“I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to not only stop antisemitism ... but any collective hatred of a people,” Netanyahu said during the meeting that was broadcast live on X from Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California.
“I know you’re committed to that ... but I encourage and urge you to find a balance,” Netanyahu said.
Musk responded by saying he was against antisemitism and against anything that “promotes hate and conflict,” repeating his previous statements that X would not promote hate speech.
Musk has said X should be a platform for people to post diverse viewpoints, but the company will limit the distribution of certain posts that may violate its policies, calling the approach “freedom of speech, not reach.”
The billionaire, who also runs Tesla and SpaceX, noted that he received more pushback from Tesla employees about the meeting with Netanyahu than “anything else I’ve ever done.”
Netanyahu and his nationalist-religious coalition are trying to limit some of the Israeli Supreme Court’s powers, arguing it is necessary to prevent political overreach by unelected judges.
Opponents say the changes could encourage corruption and abuses of power by removing effective oversight, and the issue has split Israeli society and raised concerns over Israel’s democratic health.
About 200 people protesting the judicial overhaul gathered outside Tesla’s California factory, where the event was held.
Musk and Netanyahu also discussed how to harness the benefits of the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, while limiting the risks to society, a concern Musk and others in the tech industry have raised in recent months.
“We stand today at a juncture for all humanity, where we have to choose between a blessing and a curse,” Netanyahu said, adding that AI could advance medicine but lead to risks like disrupting democracy.
Israel is considered a world-leader in AI, thanks to burgeoning computing and robotics industries that draw on talent developed in the technologically advanced conscript military.
Foreign investment in Israeli tech startups has plunged in the last year, partly due to a global slowdown and exacerbated by investor fears that the push to trim the Supreme Court’s powers would remove a key check and balance.
With foreign flows down sharply, the shekel has weakened by more than 8 percent versus the dollar this year.
Israeli strike kills blogger who documented life in war-torn Gaza Strip
Mohammad ‘Medo’ Halimy was hit by shrapnel from an Israeli missile
Videos of everyday life in Gaza ‘helped me cope with depression,’ he said in a previous interview
Updated 30 August 2024
Arab News
LONDON: Mohammad “Medo” Halimy, a Palestinian blogger known for his daily reports of life in war-torn Gaza, was killed earlier this week in an Israeli airstrike.
Halimy, 20, died on Monday when he was struck by shrapnel from an explosion in Khan Younis caused by an Israeli, according to two youth organizations he had worked with.
Halimy gained widespread attention through his social media presence, where he shared videos that highlighted the harsh realities of life in Gaza while showing the resilience of its people.
He had amassed more than 190,000 followers on TikTok and more than 90,000 on Instagram.
His content ranged from simple cooking recipes, created with limited supplies and appliances, to videos that offered glimpses into everyday activities, such as taking a shower.
He also shared walkthroughs of how he produced his content, providing a rare and personal view of life under siege.
In an interview last year, Halimy revealed that each clip he posted to social media cost him about $3 — a significant sum in electricity-deprived Gaza.
His final video, depicting a regular day in Gaza, was posted just hours before his death.
In a June 2024 interview with Fault magazine, Halimy expressed his joy at the global support he received through his social media platforms.
“The most joy I get now is from the comments on my videos and the support from people worldwide. Seeing people recognize the truth and view the situation from an unbiased perspective is very uplifting,” he said.
Halimy said he was optimistic about the future despite the dire circumstances. “After this genocide is over, I will pursue my life dreams, no matter how long it takes — even if it takes 50 years. I aim to achieve so much that everyone will remember my name.”
Earlier this month, Halimy was featured in Time magazine, where he discussed how he initially began posting videos on TikTok as a way to cope with depression during the conflict.
He also launched an online fundraiser this year to help his family of eight escape the war zone, where more than 40,500 Palestinians have been killed.
Spark, a Gaza-based charity with which Halimy had collaborated in the summer of 2023, confirmed his death and praised his ability to “add beauty and splendour to a place wherever it is” in an online tribute.
“Mohammad, your kind spirit will remain with us, and we believe you deserve a better world,” the charity added.
The Israeli forces told media outlets that they could not confirm a strike in Khan Younis on Monday but reiterated their commitment to “countering threats while persisting to mitigate harm to civilians” in Gaza.
Kremlin says it made no deals with Telegram boss Durov
Durov under formal French investigation for suspected complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, child sex abuse images, drug trafficking and fraud
Updated 30 August 2024
Reuters
MOSCOW: The Kremlin has never made any deals with Telegram boss Pavel Durov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, adding that he was not aware of any meetings between the tech entrepreneur and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A French judge put Russian-born Durov under formal investigation on Wednesday for suspected complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, child sex abuse images, drug trafficking and fraud.
Durov’s lawyer said on Thursday it was “absurd” to suggest he should be held responsible for any crimes committed on the app.
“There were no negotiations between Durov and the Kremlin,” Peskov told reporters. “And the fact that he visited Russia, well, he is a Russian citizen, he moves freely, so naturally he visited Russia.
“There were no deals between the Kremlin and Durov,” Peskov said in response to further questions.
Peskov said that as far as he was aware, Putin and Durov had never met.
Russia, after years of pressure on Durov and his tech ventures, has rallied behind him, with Peskov this week saying that the case against him should not become political persecution.
Moscow tried and failed to block Telegram, which has almost 1 billion users, in 2018, and has demanded the platform hand over data in the past, something Durov says he refused to do.
The case has plunged Franco-Russian relations to new lows, according to Moscow, where some pro-Kremlin figures have accused Washington of being behind the detention of Durov, something Paris has denied.
How one Brazilian judge could suspend Musk’s X in the coming hours
Countries such as Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt have also temporarily suspended X before, usually to quell dissent and unrest
X is banned in several countries such as Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela and Turkmenistan
Updated 30 August 2024
AP
SAO PAULO: It’s a showdown between the world’s richest man and a Brazilian Supreme Court justice.
The justice, Alexandre de Moraes, has threatened to suspend social media giant X nationwide in the coming hours if its billionaire owner Elon Musk doesn’t swiftly comply with one of his orders. Musk has responded with insults, including calling de Moraes a “tyrant” and “a dictator.”
It is the latest chapter in the monthslong feud between the two men over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. The deadline for compliance is fast approaching, and many in Brazil are waiting and watching to see if either man will blink. What is the basis for de Moraes’ threat?
Earlier this month, X removed its legal representative from Brazil on the grounds that de Moraes had threatened her with arrest. On Wednesday night at 8:07 p.m. local time (7:07 p.m. Eastern Standard Time), de Moraes gave the platform 24 hours to appoint a new representative, or face a shutdown until his order is met.
De Moraes’ order is based on Brazilian law requiring foreign companies to have legal representation to operate in the country, according to the Supreme Court’s press office. This ensures someone can be notified of legal decisions and is qualified to take any requisite action.
X’s refusal to appoint a legal representative would be particularly problematic ahead of Brazil’s October municipal elections, with a churn of fake news expected, said Luca Belli, coordinator of the Technology and Society Center at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university in Rio de Janeiro. Takedown orders are common during campaigns, and not having someone to receive legal notices would make timely compliance impossible.
“Until last week, 10 days ago, there was an office here, so this problem didn’t exist. Now there’s nothing. Look at the example of Telegram: Telegram doesn’t have an office here, it has about 50 employees in the whole world. But it has a legal representative,” Belli, who is also a professor at the university’s law school, told The Associated Press.
In this file photo, taken on June 22, 2023, Brazilian Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes arrives for a court hearing in Brasilia, Brazil. (AP/File)
Does a single judge really have that much power?
Any Brazilian judge has the authority to enforce compliance with decisions. Such measures can range from lenient actions like fines to more severe penalties, such as suspension, said Carlos Affonso Souza, a lawyer and director of the Institute for Technology and Society, a Rio-based think tank.
Lone Brazilian judges shut down Meta’s WhatsApp, the nation’s most widely used messaging app, several times in 2015 and 2016 due to the company’s refusal to comply with police requests for user data. In 2022, de Moraes threatened the messaging app Telegram with a nationwide shutdown, arguing it had repeatedly ignored Brazilian authorities’ requests to block profiles and provide information. He ordered Telegram to appoint a local representative; the company ultimately complied and stayed online.
Affonso Souza added that an individual judge’s ruling to shut down a platform with so many users would likely be assessed at a later date by the Supreme Court’s full bench. How would de Moraes suspend X?
De Moraes would first notify the nation’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, who would then instruct operators — including Musk’s own Starlink Internet service provider — to suspend users’ access to X. That includes preventing the resolution of X’s website — the term for conversion of a domain name to an IP address — and blocking access to the IP address of X’s servers from inside Brazilian territory, according to Belli.
Given that operators are aware of the widely publicized standoff and their obligation to comply with an order from de Moraes, plus the fact doing so isn’t complicated, X could be offline in Brazil as early as 12 hours after receiving their instructions, Belli said.
Since X is widely accessed via mobile phones, de Moraes is also likely to notify major app stores to stop offering X in Brazil, said Affonso Souza. Another possible — but highly controversial — step would be prohibiting access with virtual private networks ( VPNs) and imposing fines on those who use them to access X, he added. Has X been shut down in other countries?
X and its former incarnation, Twitter, are banned in several countries — mostly authoritarian regimes such as Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela and Turkmenistan.
China banned X when it was still called Twitter back in 2009, along with Facebook. In Russia, authorities expanded their crackdown on dissent and free media after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. They have blocked multiple independent Russian-language media outlets critical of the Kremlin, and cut access to Twitter, which later became X, as well as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram.
In 2009, Twitter became an essential communications tool in Iran after the country’s government cracked down on traditional media after a disputed presidential election. Tech-savvy Iranians took to Twitter to organize protests. The government subsequently banned the platform, along with Facebook.
Other countries, such as Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt, have also temporarily suspended X before, usually to quell dissent and unrest. Twitter was banned in Egypt after the Arab Spring uprisings, which some dubbed the “Twitter revolution,” but it has since been restored. Why is Brazil so important to X and Musk?
Brazil is a key market for X and other platforms. Some 40 million Brazilians, roughly one-fifth of the population, access X at least once per month, according to the market research group Emarketer. Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” has claimed de Moraes’ actions amount to censorship and rallied support from Brazil’s political right. He has also said that he wants his platform to be a “global town square” where information flows freely. The loss of the Brazilian market — the world’s fourth-biggest democracy — would make achieving this goal more difficult.
Brazil is also a potentially huge growth market for Musk’s satellite company, Starlink, given its vast territory and spotty Internet service in far-flung areas.
Late Thursday afternoon, Starlink said on X that de Moraes this week froze its finances, preventing it from doing any transactions in the country where it has more than 250,000 customers.
“This order is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be responsible for the fines levied— unconstitutionally— against X. It was issued in secret and without affording Starlink any of the due process of law guaranteed by the Constitution of Brazil. We intend to address the matter legally,” Starlink said in its statement.
Musk replied to people sharing the earlier reports of the freeze, adding his own insults directed at de Moraes.
“This guy @Alexandre is an outright criminal of the worst kind, masquerading as a judge,” he wrote.
De Moraes’ defenders have said his actions have been lawful, supported by most of the court’s full bench and have served to protect democracy at a time in which it is imperiled.
In April, de Moraes included Musk as a target in an ongoing investigation over the dissemination of fake news and opened a separate investigation into the executive for alleged obstruction.
In this file photo, taken on March 9, 2020, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk listens to a question at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington. (AP/File)
Will X appoint a new legal representative in Brazil?
X said Thursday in a statement that it expects its service to be shutdown in Brazil.
“Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders,” it said. “To our users in Brazil and around the world, X remains committed to protecting your freedom of speech.”
It also said de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court “are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him.”
Palestinian filmmakers accuse Hollywood of ‘inhumanity and racism,’ urge colleagues to speak out
A group of almost 70 filmmakers signed the open letter criticizing ‘dehumanizing anti-Palestinian propaganda’
Appeal comes in wake of request to rescind Bisan Owda’s Emmy nomination for alleged ties to PFLP
Updated 29 August 2024
Arab News
LONDON: A group of nearly 70 Palestinian filmmakers has issued an open letter accusing Hollywood of “inhumanity and racism” and urging international film professionals to speak out against the portrayal of Palestinians in the Western entertainment industry.
Published in the US outlet Variety, the letter was signed by prominent figures including two-time Oscar nominee Hany Abu-Assad, director Elia Suleiman of “Divine Intervention” and “It Must Be Heaven,” and BAFTA-winning filmmaker Farah Nabulsi, known for her upcoming feature “The Teacher.”
The letter read: “We well understand the power of image and cinema, and for far too long we have been outraged at the inhumanity and racism shown by some in the western entertainment industry towards our people, even during this most difficult of times.”
The filmmakers emphasized the prevalence of what they describe as “anti-Palestinian and generally anti-Arab racist propaganda” in Western media, calling it “dehumanizing” and a direct threat to their existence as Palestinians.
They highlighted the critical historical moment for their community and called on their international colleagues to “do everything humanly possible to stop and end complicity with this unspeakable horror.”
The letter concluded: “This has to stop. Now.”
The filmmakers’ appeal comes in the wake of recent allegations against Bisan Owda, the director of the documentary “It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive.”
Owda has been accused by the Jewish non-profit organization Creative Community for Peace of having ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a US and EU-designated terrorist organization.
The organization had requested that Owda’s Emmy nomination be rescinded, but the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Emmys, refused, stating that it was “unable to corroborate” the claims or find any evidence of Owda’s active involvement with the PFLP.
The letter thanked Natas for “standing up to pressure,” adding: “Trying to censor Bisan’s voice is only the latest repressive attempt to deny Palestinians the right to reclaim our narrative, share our history, and in this case bring attention to the atrocities our people are facing in the hopes that we can bring an end to them.”
Mohamed Abd Rabbo was killed along with his sister Sumaya in an attack in Nuseirat camp
Updated 29 August 2024
Arab News
LONDON: Palestinian journalist Mohamed Abd Rabbo was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday in the Nuseirat camp, located in central Gaza.
His sister, Sumaya, was also killed in the attack.
Abd Rabbo, who worked for Al-Manara Media Co., is the latest victim in a growing list of Palestinian journalists killed since the start of the Israeli offensive on Gaza.
According to Gaza authorities, his death brings the total number of journalists killed during the conflict to 172, though the exact figure remains difficult to verify.
The Government Media Office in Gaza condemned Abd Rabbo’s death, describing the targeting of Palestinian journalists by Israeli forces as “systematic.”
The office called on the international community to intervene and put an end to what it has labeled as war crimes and genocide.
