European Film Industry Heavyweights Call for Regulation of Tech Giants in Trump Era
Some of the biggest names in the European film industry have joined a call for more regulation of global tech platforms in wake of Donald Trump's presidential inauguration and vocal support of his new government by tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
An online petition titled 'Defend Our Democracies Against Tech Giants' launched on Jan. 24 has gathered more than 1,000 signatures from European industry professionals, including such bold-faced names as Oscar winners Juliette Binoche and Volker Schlöndorff, two-time Palme d'Or winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, and arthouse directors Marjane Satrapi, Rebecca Złotowski and Jessica Hausner.
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Other prominent film and cultural figures in Europe, including Venice film festival director Alberto Barbera and Nobel Prize-winning Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek, are among the names on the Change.org petition.
'How much longer will we tolerate that digital giants from the USA, Russia and China openly defy European laws and challenge our democracies?' reads the petition, in part, decrying what it calls an unprecedented offensive against European digital regulations being waged by U.S. tech giants with 'only one goal: To allow the unrestricted spread of disinformation, the most dangerous hate speech, calls for violence and the most deceitful conspiracy theories.'
The petition calls out various digital platforms for their alleged violations of European regulations, including alleged non-compliance with European Union (EU) regulations by Musk's X; Zuckerberg's Meta, which recently ended its fact-checking program in the U.S. (it still complies with mandatory fact-checking in Europe); data security issues with Chinese-owned TikTok; and illegal content circulating on Telegram, the social media platform created by Russian programmer Pavel Durov.
Unlike the U.S. where there are few legislative guardrails for digital players, the EU has a number of laws on the books designed to enforce European laws on data protection and illegal content, including hate speech.
Many in Europe see a new threat from digital platforms being weaponized to undermine or destabilize their democratic systems. Musk has been vocal in his support of far-right groups in the U.K. and Germany and tweeting against government politicians. Over the weekend, Musk took part in the official campaign kickoff for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party — joining the event via live video link.
'Only massive civic mobilization will ensure fair, balanced and protective digital regulation for all European citizens,' the petition concludes. 'Together, let's demand a digital space that aligns with our values and rights.'
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The post Borderlands Mexico: Renegotiating USMCA may boost North American trade appeared first on FreightWaves.
