If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. When Rupert Nathan, a 63-year-old father in England, used the term “kapo” to describe another Jewish man in a private Facebook comment, it ignited a controversy that resulted in his arrest and 12-hour detention, all witnessed by his distraught 12-year-old daughter. This term, originating from a chapter in Nazi Germany, refers to Jewish individuals who oversaw fellow prisoners in concentration and extermination camps. Today, it is sometimes used among Jewish people to accuse someone of betrayal. According to the Daily Mail, Nathan, who also labeled Rabbi Gabriel Kanter-Webber a “creep” and a “fake Rabbi” in the comments, has expressed fear for his career. His case has been forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service by the police to determine if he should be charged under the “malicious communications” law. This is yet another incident that raises significant concerns about the extent of British policing in matters that involve potentially offensive language rather than clear legal violations. The Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment, where Nathan is a member, chose not to pursue any action against him. Despite this, the police proceeded to arrest him a month later, an act that his daughter found deeply traumatic. Nathan recounted the emotional toll it took on her, fearing he might share a fate similar to others who suffered severe consequences for their actions. “I admit that calling someone a ‘kapo’ is not a nice thing to do but it is not a crime,” Nathan told Daily Mail. “I am astounded that police waste their time on cases like mine and Allison Pearson’s when they could spend their time tackling real hate-crimes instead.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post UK: Man Arrested for Calling Rabbi a “Kapo” on Facebook Sparks Free Speech Outcry appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The United Nations (but not only) has clearly chosen to focus its push on introducing digital ID systems to some of the world’s developing countries, particularly in Africa. What’s referred to in reports as “a comprehensive initiative” is now taking place across the continent, driven by the UN development agency UNDP, as well as the UN Innovation Network, and even UNESCO (Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). This is one of the components of what’s known as the UN’s Global Digital Compact. Such initiatives are sold in those countries as a way to develop better access to services and improve “digital inclusion.” Related: Digital ID, Bill Gates vaccine record, and payments system combo to be trialed in Africa  But opponents around the world say the schemes create large, centralized surveillance networks prone to misuse, particularly without stringent safeguards in place. After the UN agencies previously formalized their initiatives in Kenya, it is now the turn of Ethiopia and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) where similar programs are being launched in cooperation with their governments. In Ethiopia, the government is organizing ID card registration in what’s said to be a large-scale effort that encompasses financial services, healthcare, and education. In Eswatini, the UNDP, together with the country’s government, carried out a digital readiness assessment. The goal was to find out if Eswatini’s digital infrastructure in various sectors is capable of implementing digital ID programs at this time. It would appear not since the result of the evaluation revealed more money needs to go into developing that infrastructure, as well as training staff, and further developing both public and private digital services. The latter are supposed to take on an increasingly important role, as has previously been done in other African countries. UN’s representative in Eswatini is quoted as saying that the results of the assessment program will be used to put together a roadmap to improve digital infrastructure and associated employee skills – that would then lead to the introduction of digital IDs. Eswatini government officials spoke along the same line, saying that the country’s Digital Transformation Strategy will benefit from the results of the UN’s assessment, eventually leading to “integrated digital services.” Various digital ID projects, either discussed or tested elsewhere in the world are typically unpopular, facing low uptake and constant pushback from both privacy and security advocates. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post The UN Is Using Africa as a Testing Ground for Controversial Digital ID Systems appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The United Nations (UN) is engaging in yet another effort that can easily slip into a tool for “bolstering” online censorship. Earlier in the week the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change was launched during a G20 Summit. This adds to a convoluted list of various UN-driven treaties, initiatives, and goals – and here the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has found a partner in Brazil’s authorities. Those behind the document say it’s there to help combat climate change disinformation and take aim at social media in particular. If UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay is to be believed, this type of “disinformation” is “running rampant” on the internet. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who addressed the summit, also contributed to building the dramatic and alarmist narrative around both issues – climate, and “disinformation” – when he, in a social media post, complained about “coordinated disinformation campaigns impeding global progress on climate change.” So far, the countries that have joined include Chile, Denmark, France, Morocco, Sweden, and the UK. They will collectively contribute to the UN raising $10–$15 million to fund “research and awareness campaigns” but also advocacy groups, and what’s referred to as communication strategies to help achieve the initiative’s goals. While clearly treating the climate change theories as scientific fact, Azoulay stopped just short of referring to that as an existential threat – but did call it an “existential challenge.” The UN official wants to see more than governments, scientists, etc., on board: the role of journalists is also highlighted here – in a rather strange way. Instead of reporting the news, journalists are envisaged as a kind of advocates themselves, “a critical link between science and society,” said Azoulay. The UNESCO chief also chose to “preemptively” treat journalists as needing protection from “facing risks while reporting on climate issues.” It’s unclear what “risks” Azoulay had in mind, but it almost certainly is not what seems like a real risk – namely, these professionals abandoning their professional role, and outright becoming mouthpieces for the UN and various governments, and fighting their battles. In this case – the “climate change” one. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post UN’s Latest Climate Agenda Sparks Alarms Over Online Censorship appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Demonetization of users on social platforms is nothing new and has happened countless times over the past years, but after an entire social network – Twitter – became the target of similar activities, those allegedly behind the push found themselves in court. Twitter, along with all other major social sites, was in the good graces of the world’s most powerful corporations and advertisers – until Elon Musk acquired the company and made the “unforgivable” move to change course and steer the platform, now X, towards free speech. The way the powerful umbrella group known as the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and its members, massive global brands, reacted was by organizing a boycott of X, a lawsuit filed in August against WFA’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) alleges. We obtained a copy of the amended complaint for you here. GARM shut down operations shortly after this, while the filing, which has recently been amended to add Amazon’s Twitch, identifies close to 20 of its members as defendants, including CVS Health, Mars, and Unilever. Starting in the fall of 2022, Twitch stopped buying ads on X in the US and has since “only spent a small amount elsewhere in the world,” reads the lawsuit, which accuses GARM’s members of suddenly (“in a marked departure from their prior pattern of purchases”) deciding to no longer run ads on Twitter/X. While these claims are refuted by what legacy media claim are experts and insiders, the lawsuit is based on a report the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives released in July, which said the documents it had seen reveal that as soon as Musk took over, GARM started telling its members to boycott the platform. “The extent to which GARM has organized its trade association and coordinates actions that rob consumers of choices is likely illegal under the antitrust laws,” the report noted at the time. In a somewhat comical interpretation of reality, given the multi-billion industry it represents, the WFA in early August announced GARM’s activities would cease – because it didn’t have financial resources to fund a court battle. The WFA (that is now handling the lawsuit) announced this in a statement that also referred to GARM as “a small non-profit.” Legacy media reports now covering the lawsuit also, for some reason, choose to describe GARM in exactly the same way – “a small non-profit initiative” – only, without putting that in quotes. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post X Takes Aim at Twitch in Legal Fight Over Ad Boycotts appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

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