Austrian Government Wants To Outlaw Online Anonymity
from the it's-just-going-to-hurt-those-most-in-need-of-protection dept
In response to who knows what -- maybe just a desire to make it easier for the government to track/investigate internet users -- the Austrian government wants to eliminate online anonymity in its country by 2020. The proposed law says pseudonyms are still allowed, but they'll be linked to accounts that require users to provide site operators with a ton of personal information.
Those in Austria wishing to post a comment on the internet in the future will no longer be able to do so anonymously. According to the Government's new draft law on "Diligence and Responsibility on the Web," users want to provide their first name, last name and address to platform operators. In the event of an investigation, operators would have to provide information to government agencies or, in some cases, to private persons in cases of insult or defamation.
How this will be accomplished is anyone's guess. One theory is this will rely on two-factor authentication linking users' accounts to their phones. In Austria, the purchase of a phone or SIM card requires the purchaser to turn all of this information over to the retailer. More security but less privacy, I guess.
This law would apply to any site that has more than 100,000 registered users or exceeds 500,000 euros in annual revenue. Good thing there's that much revenue involved, considering violators could be hit with 500,000 euro fines, which rise to one million if there are repeated violations.
The deployment and enforcement logistics are only part of the problem. The other hurdle the proposal faces is being upheld by the European Commission, which may take a dim view of a law that does so little to protect the privacy of internet users.
Tech law expert Lukas Feiler from the Baker McKenzie law firm believes that the draft law is a violation of the EU e-commerce directive. Feiler recently told STANDARD that service providers on the web only have to the laws of the country in which they are located. As such, Austria may not impose laws that are stricter than those in an operator's country of origin.
The law also imposes more costs on site operators, requiring sites to staff a liaison position -- one that must be receptive to government requests 24/7. This includes sites not located in Austria but which have enough registered users -- or earn enough revenue from Austrian users -- to be subject to the law's coverage. There likely will have to be additional compliance personnel hired to ensure the law is being followed and vet info provided by users registering for accounts.
And to what end? The proposal's backers suggest the single beneficiary of this proposed law will be the Austrian government, which will find it much easier to unmask internet users for purposes of law enforcement. The public receives no benefit, unless making it easier to engage in defamation lawsuits can be considered a net benefit for the public at large.
Opponents of the law see it for what it is: an attack on the free and open exchange of ideas under the protection of anonymity. This law will hit the most marginalized members of Austria hardest and make it prohibitively expensive for local sites to continue to do business in the country. There's no societal good being proposed here, just a way to give the government a bit more control of the greatest communication tool ever invented.
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Filed Under: anonymity, austria, free speech, online anonymity, privacy, security
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Nazi that coming.
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Re:
Like father like son they say.
An just like his father he going to lose that race against people who are better runners.
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Re: Re:
Go fuck yourselves you austrian assholes.
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Re: Re: Re:
I'm not certain, my dude, but I interpreted 'going to lose that race against people who are better runners' to refer to the soviets.
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Is it the sites that could be hit with fines for allowing anonymous posts or the posters themselves? I presume it's the former since the EU has declared war on the internet rather than going after the actual persons committing crimes.
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Is it the sites that could be hit with fines for allowing anonymous posts or the posters themselves? I presume it's the former since the EU has declared war on the internet rather than going after the actual persons committing crimes.
The internet is the weapon these actual persons use.
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Re: Re:
That misses the point entirely so I won't bother to address how reactionary and naive that statement is.
Those actual persons committed the crime. Why should "the internet" pay hefty fines for that instead of the perpetrator?
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Yes, we all need to be afraid of anonymous/semi-anonymous Twitter users such as [checks notes] @dril~.
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It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness like here.
First, note the focus tucked away up there:
So long as you "woke" SJW NPCs keep casting "conservatives" as outright Nazis -- as was done in Techdirt headline just this week -- instead of merely ordinary people reluctant to fully go along with your pushed agenda, then this is almost necessary. You kids won't tolerate any disagreement here, won't stay on topic, but jump to so vile of ad hom as can think off, with intent to run off the few reasonable who drop in.
Your "free speech" doesn't have to be vile. You wouldn't speak so in person. You wouldn't tolerate a bar that enforces the orthodoxy of here. The Internet is not separate, doesn't need relaxing of rules.
So this is reasonable reaction from reasonable people.
YOU are the problem and the cause of this. -- Now you'll prove it with ad hom and censoring.
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Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness like he
Bingo.
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Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness like he
Wrong, it is people with thin skins, like you, who are the cause of this, the rest of us are capable of shrugging off insults, and allowing other people to have different political views.
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Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness lik
Defamation is not "insults." Anonymous defamation (for which one cannot even find the "original publisher" and for which all republishers are immune) can destroy anyone. This is just a check and balance against that.
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Re: Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness
It's amusing and ironic that you are here defending this move and yet still posting anonymously. Put up or shut up.
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Re: Re: Re: Goodnight jhonboy
Hi jhon boy!
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That “check and balance”, if it were applied globally, would end your ability to post anonymously. I doubt you want that privilege of yours revoked.
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Re:
At this point I'd say it's fair to dismiss as a hypocrite anyone who argues against anonymity while posting anonymously.
If they think that others shouldn't be allowed to speak anonymously then they should have no problem attaching their real name to anything they post, and refusal to do so should be treated as justification to just ignore and/or dismiss anything they said as grossly hypocritical and/or dishonest.
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Yep
Its the same for people who say "I dont care about privacy" and you ask them for all account and password details to all email and social media accounts.
They never give them.
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Re: Yep
To be fair, there is a difference between handing your account over to someone (who then can take actions on your behalf), and a read-only view of all their content (a violation of privacy).
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Re: Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness
We don't have to adapt to you for you to be here. You have to adapt to us. If you cannot do that, then get off of the internet.
If you cannot deal with an everyday occurrence of someone calling you names, or claiming BS about you, then you have no place here. GTFO.
If others take what is written on the net seriously, then point them to 4chan and let nature take it's course. They'll either never trust a computer screen again, or become so fucked up that they gain the title of "delusional child."
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Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness like he
So long as you "woke" SJW NPCs keep casting "conservatives" as outright Nazis -- as was done in Techdirt headline just this week -- instead of merely ordinary people reluctant to fully go along with your pushed agenda, then this is almost necessary.
No headline said that conservatives were nazis.
Don't lie.
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Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness lik
Neo nazi is what? A self-proclaimed nazi? Or a conservative nazi? or is. it a nazi with blacck hair? I forgot. Its be such a long time since they let me out..
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Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness lik
Sorry but that is EXACTLY as I understood the headline too!
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Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness lik
No, it just said that AI couldn't tell the difference between Republicans and Nazis.
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Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness lik
We don't call Conservatives "Nazis", we call people that undermine democratic values like "anonymity" Nazis.
Which of course is wrong in that context, as the accurate term would be "fascist".
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Re: Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness
The only Fascists I see is the left wing party. it's their way and shut the F up!!! Their right, you're wrong. You can't speak!!! The ones undermining Democratic values are from the left along with Mainstream media flat out posting lots of lies.
If you're not on the left, you're a radical Republican right-wing Nazi. So That's at least half if not more of the U.S. population. Even JFK would be thrown right into that group.
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The funny thing is, you are wrong about two things here: You used “their” when you should have used “they’re”, and you can still post here despite your misspelling (i.e., “wrong” spelling).
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Re: Happens to idiots all the time
I’m sorry to inform you sir that your browser has somehow taken you to techdirt.com. The site you are actually looking for is wnd.com.
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"Fascism is the way of the left wing."
Um, no.
Though it's really easy to get caught up in monolithic classification, such as sorting people into left and right and deciding that all people of one of those agree with the same principles.
I commonly point out that some of our more prevalent identities (feminist, conservative, Christian, Californian, atheist, capitalist, etc.) are such diverse groups that it's dangerous to universally attribute to them any notion, even ones that are axiomatic or seem to be by definition. Not all Californians live in California.
This refers, by the way, to those who identify themselves according to these labels. Generally it's not a good idea to label others and presume their belief systems based on one facet. Human beings are a complicated lot.
And if you want to accuse someone of fascism (or anything else similarly hyperbolic), be specific as to whom, and what they did. That way we can better assess whether we agree with you, than presume as a matter of self defense you're a hysterical crackpot and we should ignore you.
For instance, recently there's been news that the DHS has been considering sending child detainees from the border to be held long term at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. I don't know from who this specific idea came, whether from Steve Miller or Trump himself, but that seems like a cruel thing to do. Sending children to an extrajudicial detention camp is pitiless even before we regard whether they are militant or dangerous.
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Re: "Fascism is the way of the left wing."
Sending children to an extrajudicial detention camp is pitiless even before we regard whether they are militant or dangerous.
Hey, the next generation of people who hate the USG with a burning passion and can be used to justify fearmongering about how those in authority need even more power in order to 'protect the american public' isn't going to create itself, and locking them up in an isolated prison is a hell of a lot cheaper than dropping bombs on them.
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Re: Re: "Fascism is the way of the left wing."
[Sad but True]
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Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness lik
This is Blue, Mike. He/she/it lies all the bloody time, fighting an imaginary Mike and loudly berating The Rich while slavering like a dog at their feet if their riches were earned by The Sacred Copyright (TM).
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Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness like he
No AC.
People are still going to do those things Becuase “fuck Austria”
You just won’t be one of them. Haha
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Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness like he
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Re: It's a logical Troll
YOU are the problem and the cause of this, but jump to so vile of ad hom as can think off about Blue's Mom
Says the AC slinging Ad-Hom attacks, regular anti-jewish attacks, and outright lies. (Cabbage Law!)
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Re: Re: It's a logical Troll
Cole's Law is derived from Cabbage Law.
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Re: Re: Re: It's a logical Troll
Cole's Law is derived from Cabbage Law.
Truth.
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Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness like he
So, we're going to totally dismantle free speech and enact a dystopian government tracking and censorship program, because someone was mean to you on the internet.
And you wonder why people call you fascists.
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Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness lik
Of course the difference between nazis and fascists is like the difference between pedophiles and epiibophiles. Technically in both cases they are two distinct terms but despised enough that most people don't care about the distinction and consider them synonomous as they refer to type of vile people who do essentially the same thing. Most wouldn't object to referring to a knife murderer as both a slasher and a stabber regardless of the precise circumstances.
Which brings to mind a not untrue joke that the two biggest group who care about the label are practitioners and academics who are trying to understand precisely what is wrong with them aside from the obvious and are cataloging the gory details.
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Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness like he
Hey!
Wanna buy some
horizontal rules?
I have way too many to use them all up.
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Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness like he
"SJW NPCs keep casting "conservatives" as outright Nazis -- as was done in Techdirt headline just this wee"
First off, the incel trend of casting people who disagree with them as not being human is kinda disturbing. It's only so long before you people start actually killing people because they have different views, as you prove time and time again.
Anyway, the TD headline said no such thing. It did note that SOME conservatives were being blocked because they were agreeing with neo-Nazis. It did not say that all of them were. If that offends you, get rid of the Nazi fucks from within your ranks rather than complain that other people are correctly identifying them.
"Your "free speech" doesn't have to be vile."
Actually, the only free speech that really needs defending is the "vile" stuff. Bland, inoffensive speech does not need defending, only the stuff that other people would wish to silence.
However, non-government entities do not have to put up with your crap.
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Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness lik
Ah, Paul...! While right-wingery and conservatism often go hand-in-hand, neo-nazism is a bit too much for most of them.
The problem here is that neo-nazis have successfully cast themselves as conservatives when "Right wing nutjob" is a more appropriate description. I hate being lumped with these people so can you please describe them as nutjobs or something? Ta.
Agreed on every other point.
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Re: Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vileness
"While right-wingery and conservatism often go hand-in-hand, neo-nazism is a bit too much for most of them."
Most of them... but certainly not all. I appreciate that the right/left divide oversimplifies things somewhat and most sane moderates would not like to be lumped in with extremists no matter which part of the spectrum they associate with. However, when you have literal neo-Nazis running for office under the banners of mainstream conservative political parties, it becomes hard to ignore the association.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: It's a logical reaction to just unnecessary vile
[Sad but True]
The mainstream conservative parties aren't kicking them out when they damn well should, which isn't helping.
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Re:
That's true, but sometimes some "adult words" are needed to drive a point across to willfully obtuse assholes.
I surely the fuck would.
You don't get out much, do you?
Nor does it need ADDITIONAL rules, either. I can tell someone that they are a fucking idiot and their notions are as dumb as a box of rocks at a bar, on the sidewalk or in a mall without giving anyone my name, address or any other personal information.
Once again, you are claiming that because the internet isn't different than real life it needs special rules and laws. How does that make any sense?
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Re: Re:
Yes on a boat, yes with a goat,
Yes in a tree, those words would still be spoken you see.
Whether in the rain or on a train,
You would still have need of a brain.
I would speak it here or there,
I would speak it anywhere.
I do not like dimwits you see,
I do not want to lose CDA 230.
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Banning Anonymity
I take double exception to that!
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unless making it easier to engage in defamation lawsuits can be considered a net benefit for the public at large.
Huge benefit.
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Huge detriment.
Fixed that for you.
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Promoting commerce in other countries
I bet that there are many Austrians walking around with cellphones purchased in bordering countries. What a way to move business away from your constituents.
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Re: Promoting commerce in other countries
Same in Switzerland. And yes, that is nothing a democracy should ever do.
But then, fascism is en vogue again. In Switzerland as in Austria as in the USA.
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Re: Re: Promoting commerce in other countries
Phones using cell towers can be used as detonators.. its surprising they are still legal at all.
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*rolleyes*
Yes Austria, please give full name and address to every unsecured piece of shit website out there and make things much easier for identity thieves and general jackass. It'll be neat seeing EKO-Cobra or WEGO on the news for once instead of US SWAT teams I guess.
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Re: *rolleyes*
Yeah Austria give the EU the reputation The US has with its voters hahaha
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Re: Re: *rolleyes*
trollfail.
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Comment on USA suggesting this....
From a congress, that loves to HIDE who is voting for what..
Love'd my monikor on FB, until they DEMANDED I use my own name.. it was NotEd..not ed(noted).. funny part is that my OLd school friends found me under that name..
Now for a special comment..
DO we really care if an A-hole is an A-hole, or just a idiot??
Knowing who they are, WHO CARES??
If someone spouts the truth about you, it would nave been WISE to let everyone know in the FIRST PLACE.
Big #1..
we are all idiot, we were all Young, we all are stupid, we were all young, We dont know everything, and a GREAt person listens MORE then he speaks..
The only reasons SOME use anon. tends to be repercussions, and being afraid of WHAT YOU ARE STUPID ENOUGH TO DO...
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Re: Comment on USA suggesting this....
We dont know everything, and a GREAt person listens MORE then he speaks..
I see from the length of your post you are not a man of few words. ;p
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Re: Re: Comment on USA suggesting this....
Im a large rubber duck that goes Squeak..
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Re: My rubber ducky
Ok ECA. That was funny. Usually I don’t read what you say because of your capitalisation bro.
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So which elected leader got called a mean name & instead of launching a lawsuit decided to try to pass a stupid law so they will never been offended online ever again?
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Re:
I think it was the Archbishop Duke Ferdinand
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Re:
EU writing new laws on luncheon napkins is nothing new..
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misread Austria as Australia
Why do I misread Austria as Australia?
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Re: misread Austria as Australia
Psychic platypus mind control...
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Re: Re: misread Austria as Australia
No. It's the Hoop-Snake DropBear Drongo Alliance.
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Re: Re: Re: misread Austria as Australia
Can't be, they're in charge of censoring conservatives on Google this month...
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Re: Re: Re: Re: misread Austria as Australia
That's what the Psychic Platypus WANT you to believe, which is a distraction to prevent you from noticing a rear-guard action by the Wombat Bilby Currawong Collective, who are allegedly in secret talks with a vote-whisperer who has the ear of Senator Hanson.
Apparently only Antony Green has true immunity from the mind melding of the Anning-Palmer-United Get-Down joint ticket, who are running a close second to the Tony Abbott Wind Power Forever No-to-Adani Party.
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Re: misread Austria as Australia
Just give it time! It's been a good while since anyone poured bleach in the political gene-pool Downunder.
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Re: misread Austria as Australia
Australia is pulling the same crap lately.. Punishing platforms for violent content will lead to censorship of legitimate speech.
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Re: misread Austria as Australia
I did too. Mind you, they're both in the grip of insurgent right-wingery so... why not?
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This is the country that started WWI.
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Making online anonymity illegal
Yeah. Good luck with that.
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If the platform is not in either Austria or the EU, they are not subject to Austrian law.
So good luck to Austria trying to enforce that on sites in the United states
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Re:
Exactly. How many Austrian companies have websites that accept public content and have over 100,000 users or make over E500,000 annually?
How many of those are popular with users in other countries?
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Re: Re:
My guess is ZERO!!! How many will be created after the law goes into effect, ZERO!
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Re:
These politiscuers get together from both sides of the water over dinner and the next thing you know is their laws become our laws.
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Re:
The sad thing is that people like you only think that something has an effect on the world if it happens in the US. Some of us have a wider view than whatever patch of soil we happen to be sitting on.
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Baker & McKenzie has a nice history:
https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/02/us/jury-awards-7.1-million-in-sex-case.html
https://www. nytimes.com/1994/09/02/us/jury-awards-7.1-million-in-sex-case.html
Men who marry women who work in law offices are dumb.
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Re:
https://www.jdjournal.com/2018/02/09/partner-at-baker-mckenzie-accused-of-sexual-assault/
This is the recent one. Like I said, men who marry women who work in law offices are very dumb.
Censoring someone for saying this doesn't change the reality, and if anything, prevents men from hearing this message.
Too bad some ugly woman doesn't sue for discrimination for not being hired.
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Re: Re:
If I had a time machine the first thing I'd use it for is to go back and prevent your parents from breeding.
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Re: Re: Re:
Awwww u mad bro?
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
Compared to the tantrum you threw when Ayyadurai lost his appeal, Jhon boi?
I don't think there's a toilet big enough to contain the shit you lost...
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Re: Re:
I'm a man. I wish I hadn't seen your garbage message. Too bad it wasn't flagged enough before I read the comment section to make it hidden.
Posting it here doesn't do anything either when you place it in the wrong thread.
The recycle bin is that way
-------->
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Re: Re: Re:
The law firm was mentioned here, so it's relevant.
This is what I mean about some topics hitting too many nerves for social media not to censor the speaker.
A woman who is sexually harassed has pretty much admitted to why she was hired (and why unattractive women were not), and what her husband has married. #metoo is going to have to confront this eventually. That's liberals for you: they want open discussion and debate as long as they can control it.
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
No, tangents and bile get censored. Suck it up, snowflake.
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How?
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Re:
He doesn't have anything to say about the actual substance of the article, and it give him a chance to exercise his misogyny
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Re: Alzheimer’s hitting hard today eh?
Poor Jhon boi. Still mad you can’t get it up bro? By the way speaking of forbidden topics. How’s that lawsuit coming bro?
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Re: Re:
"Like I said, men who marry women who work in law offices are very dumb."
Huh. Strange how that's your take rather than "men shouldn't try to sexually assault women no matter where they work".
Also, I don't see where it's mentioned that any of the rapist assholes were married to anyone at the firm.
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What?!?
According to the Government's new draft law on "Diligence and Responsibility on the Web," users want to provide their first name, last name and address to platform operators.
Who decided that users want this? Seems like it could be a typo or translation error but I doubt the Internet user base wants to provide this info.
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Given how often Jhon and Hamilton post under the Anonymous Coward label, and how Ol’ Blue Balls uses ridiculous pseudonyms every day, I guarantee none of them would want to retain their anonymity.
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We dont know everything, and a Great person listens MORE then he speaks..
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Bad law
I hope this doesn't pass. The Net is supposed to be a bastion of unfettered free expression. The law would be completely unenforceable anyway.
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when the hell did austria become america
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