ISTANBUL: Turkiye has blocked access to instant messaging platform Discord following a court decision, the country’s infotech regulator said on Wednesday.
Turkiye’s Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) published the access ban decision on its website.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said a court in the capital Ankara decided to remove access from Turkiye to San Francisco-based Discord due to sufficient suspicion that the crimes of “child sexual abuse and obscenity” have been committed.
“We are determined to protect our youth and children, from the harmful publications of social media and the Internet that constitute crimes. We will never allow attempts to shake the foundations of our social structure,” Tunc also said in a post on X.
The access ban decision comes after public outrage caused by the murder of two women, perpetrated by a 19-year-old man earlier this month.
Following the incident, content on social media showed some users of Discord were praising the killing which led to public outrage against certain communities on the platform.
On Tuesday, Russia’s communications regulator blocked Discord for violating Russian law, after previously fining the company for failing to remove banned content, the TASS news agency reported.
Turkiye blocks instant messaging platform Discord
https://arab.news/wt8ky
Turkiye blocks instant messaging platform Discord
- Ankara decided to remove access due to sufficient suspicion that the crimes of ‘child sexual abuse and obscenity’ have been committed
US considers breakup of Google in landmark search case
- In a landmark case, a US judge found in August that Google had built an illegal monopoly
- Justice Department’s proposed remedies have the potential to reshape how Americans find information on the Internet
NEW YORK: The US said on Tuesday it may ask a judge to force Alphabet’s Google to divest parts of its business, such as its Chrome browser and Android operating system, that it says are used to maintain an illegal monopoly in online search.
In a landmark case, a judge found in August that Google, which processes 90 percent of US Internet searches, had built an illegal monopoly. The Justice Department’s proposed remedies have the potential to reshape how Americans find information on the Internet, while shrinking Google’s revenues and giving its competitors more room to grow.
“Fully remedying these harms requires not only ending Google’s control of distribution today, but also ensuring Google cannot control the distribution of tomorrow,” the Justice Department said.
The proposed fixes will also aim to keep Google’s past dominance from extending to the burgeoning business of artificial intelligence, prosecutors said.
The Justice Department is also considering asking for an order that would require Google to make available to rivals the indexes, data and models it uses for Google search and AI-assisted search features.
It might also ask the court to end Google’s payments to have its search engine pre-installed or set as the default on new devices.
Google has made annual payments — $26.3 billion in 2021 — to companies including Apple and other device manufacturers to ensure that its search engine remained the default on smartphones and browsers, keeping its market share strong.
Google called the proposals “radical” and said they “go far beyond the specific legal issues in this case.”
Some of the ideas in the proposal had previously garnered support from Google’s smaller competitors such as reviews site Yelp and rival search engine company DuckDuckGo.
Yelp, which sued Google over search in August, says spinning off Google’s Chrome browser and AI services should be on the table. Yelp also wants Google to be prohibited from giving preference to Google’s local business pages in search results.
The Justice Department is expected to file a more detailed proposal with the court by Nov. 20. Google will have a chance to propose its own remedies by Dec. 20.
US District Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling in Washington was a major win for antitrust enforcers who have brought an ambitious set of cases against Big Tech companies over the past four years.
Google has said it plans to appeal, and that its search engine has won users with its quality. It adds that it faces robust competition from Amazon and other sites where users go directly to search for goods or services, and that users can choose other search engines as their default.
Brazil Supreme Court lifts ban on Musk’s X
- X was blocked in Brazil for over a month amid a row over disinformation
- The social network settled millions of dollars in fines for failing to comply with a series of court orders
BRASÍLIA: Brazil’s Supreme Court said Tuesday it was lifting a ban on Elon Musk’s social network X, which was blocked in its biggest Latin American market for over a month amid a row over disinformation.
“I authorize the immediate return of the activities” of the social platform, Judge Alexandre de Moraes said in his ruling, after X settled millions of dollars in fines for failing to comply with a series of court orders.
He gave Brazil’s communications regulator 24 hours to make X accessible again to its millions of Brazilian users.
Moraes has for months been embroiled in a standoff with Musk, the world’s richest man, over a flood of online disinformation related to Brazil’s 2022 election campaign.
In August, the tensions came to a head when Moraes dramatically blocked X for failing to comply with his demands to remove dozens of right-wing accounts accused of spreading disinformation, and to name a new legal representative in Brazil.
The row, which pitted freedom of expression against corporate responsibility, was closely watched worldwide.
A furious Musk lashed out at Moraes by calling him an “evil dictator,” but X eventually complied with all of Moraes’s demands in order to have the suspension lifted.
Last week, Moraes confirmed that the company had also settled around $5.2 million in fines
French journalist associations call ‘once again’ for unrestricted Gaza access
- Open letter in French, Hebrew, and Arabic marks latest ignored call for Gaza access
LONDON: Nearly 30 journalist societies, mostly based in France, have renewed their call for unrestricted media access to Gaza while urging Israeli authorities to guarantee the safety of media workers “trapped” in the enclave reporting under “unprecedented circumstances.”
In a column published on Tuesday in Le Monde, the group, including journalist associations from France24, Arte, and Reporters Without Borders, pressed for Israel to allow international media into Gaza.
“Already condemned a year ago, this situation is unprecedented. As in every armed conflict, it is up to newsrooms to weigh up the risks of sending their journalists to war zones, as they do throughout the world,” read the article which was written in French, Hebrew and Arabic.
The group argued that preventing journalists from operating freely has allowed disinformation to spread unchecked, with falsehoods becoming “weapons of war used by all sides.”
Theodora column continued: “The right to inform and be informed is the cornerstone of our democracies. It is a fundamental freedom, enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
It added: “We therefore call on the Israeli authorities to protect the safety of the journalists currently trying to work in Gaza, and to open this territory to the international press so that it can do its job: Inform without hindrance and bear witness to the progress of this war, one of the most deadly and violent of the early 21st century.”
Despite international pressure, Israel has barred foreign media from entering Gaza, forcing outlets to rely on stained local journalists operating in a war zone.
German media outlets made a similar request to Israel in mid-September, calling the exclusion of international media “unprecedented in recent history.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded the deaths of at least 128 media workers, almost all Palestinian, since the start of the conflict, marking it as the deadliest war for journalists since records began in 1992.
New body to handle disputes between EU users and Facebook, TikTok, YouTube
- Until now, individuals and organizations using social media have had limited options to challenge the content decisions of social media companies without going to court
STOCKHOLM: Social media users in the European Union will be able to make complaints against Facebook, ByteDance’s TikTok and Alphabet’s YouTube over content moderation to a new independent body set up in Ireland.
The body, supported by Meta Platforms’ Oversight Board Trust and certified by Ireland’s media regulator, will act as an out-of-court dispute settlement body under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).
Until now, individuals and organizations using social media have had limited options to challenge the content decisions of social media companies without going to court.
Appeals Center Europe will start before the end of the year. It will initially decide cases relating to Facebook, ByteDance’s TikTok and Alphabet’s YouTube, and will include more social media platforms over time.
“We want users to have the choice to raise a dispute to a body that is independent from governments and companies, and focused on ensuring platforms’ content policies are fairly and impartially applied,” said Thomas Hughes, inaugural CEO of the Appeals Center and a former executive director for freedom of expression rights group Article 19.
With a team of experts, the new body will review each case within 90 days, and decide whether platforms’ decisions are consistent with their content policies, it said in a statement.
“We welcome the certification of new independent bodies by the Irish regulator,” said Thomas Regnier, a spokesman for the European Commission. “We will support the effective and uniform development of this system across the whole EU to give all EU users stronger rights online.”
Dublin-based Appeals Center, which has a one-time grant from the Oversight Board Trust, will be funded through fees charged to social media companies for each case. Users who raise a dispute will pay a nominal fee, which will be refunded if a decision is in their favor.
However, under the rules of DSA, online platforms may refuse to engage with such a dispute settlement body and it won’t have the power to impose a binding settlement on the parties.
The Appeals Center will have a board of seven non-executive directors.
Evacuation packages out of Lebanon advertised on social media
- Evacuation packages by plane, boat or bus to neighboring countries widely promoted on social media
- Ranging from $100 to $35,000 per package, inflated service sparks criticism for profiteering from crisis
LONDON: Companies in Lebanon are advertising evacuation packages on social media, offering escape routes to neighboring countries amid growing unrest, Arab News has learned.
Dozens of businesses have taken to platforms like Instagram to promote evacuation services via bus, taxi, boat, and plane.
One such service, Beirut-based Private Routes Flight Dispatchers, offers on-demand charter evacuation flights for up to seven people from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport.
According to a post on their Instagram page, destinations include Egypt, Bangui M’poko International Airport in the Central African Republic, and Entebbe International Airport in Uganda.
PRFD informed Arab News that charter prices vary depending on the client’s budget and the safety of the chosen route.
For instance, a charter flight to Larnaca, Cyprus costs $25,000, but if visas are not available, flights to Amman or Istanbul rise to $36,000. Flights to Egypt are priced at $31,000.
A PRFD representative explained that, under normal circumstances, they would offer charters to Europe or the Gulf, but due to the high demand for evacuations, they are sticking to shorter routes to accommodate everyone.
PRFD’s website states they provide “urgent flight services,” leveraging 15 years of experience to ensure “smooth, efficient, and timely operations.” Their flight dispatchers use state-of-the-art technology for flight planning, the website noted.
Another travel company, Traveo Agency, which appears to have been launched in early September, offers bus journeys to Amman, Jordan for $100 per ticket, and boat trips to Ayia Napa, Cyprus for $995 per person. A post on their Instagram reads, “Canceled Flight? Travel from Beirut to Ayia Napa by boat,” promising departures within five days.
Arab News reached out to Traveo Agency for further details but received no response at the time of publication.
Instagram has been inundated with similar evacuation offers.
Byblos Rent A Boat, a yacht rental service in Beirut, posted a video offering private boat trips to Cyprus. The video, accompanied by a computer-generated voice, claims the journey takes five to six hours with a professional crew ensuring safety. Prices were not disclosed, though users commented that the cost ranged between $2,000 and $2,500, sparking criticism for profiteering during the crisis.
Lebanon has been hit by Israeli airstrikes in recent weeks, pushing the country further into what international observers have called a “systematic socio-economic and humanitarian failure.”
The crisis has deepened the already stark social and economic divide, with wealthier Lebanese able to flee the escalating violence, leaving many behind. This growing wealth gap has sparked public anger, as ordinary citizens face increasingly dire conditions while those with means secure safe passage out of the country.
As the conflict widens, both Lebanese citizens and foreign nationals are scrambling to leave, with governments urging them to get out of the country immediately. With most commercial flights suspended, options for fleeing are limited. While some countries have arranged air evacuations, many are resorting to overcrowded ferries or smaller vessels as bombs continue to strike central Beirut.
Opportunistic business practices during crises, often referred to as “disaster profiteering,” are not new to Lebanon. In past conflicts, businesses have adapted to meet wartime demands, with some smuggling essential goods or profiting from the black market.
Following the collapse of the Lebanese lira in 2019 and the ensuing economic meltdown — exacerbated by corruption, a dysfunctional government, and crumbling institutions — the black market, reportedly controlled by Hezbollah, flourished. This illicit network, which capitalized on Lebanon’s reliance on remittances as a lifeline, has enabled Hezbollah to build a sophisticated financial system, profiting off the country’s widespread suffering.
