[ad_1]
[Nueva York 17 de Reuters BREAKINGVIEWS]- Firearms and the member exchange site (SNS) have a few things in common. Many people use it responsibly, but if it falls into the wrong hands, it becomes dangerous. However, both industries have benefited from “unfair public assistance” in the form of legal immunity on the actions of their users. This can never be permanent.
FacebookFB.OFounder Mark Zuckerberg and TwitterTWTR.NChief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey attended a Senate hearing on the 17th to examine whether restrictions on political office are appropriate.
What is at stake is article 230 of the Correspondence Quality Law, which not only largely exempts the SNS from responsibility for user posts, but also allows the freedom to identify and display “offensive” content. “. Article 230, which helped Facebook become a giant, now gives Zuckerberg and Dorsey de facto arbitration on whether content is dangerous to society.
Firearm manufacturers also enjoy generous legal protection. The basis is the “Law for the Protection of Legal Commercial Arms Trade (PLCAA)”. As a result, victims of firearm crime are basically liable to the manufacturer. On the other hand, manufacturers like Smith and Wesson and Remington are not required to introduce a simple but life-saving mechanism, such as installing an indicator that tells the gun that it has a bullet in it. Human life is the victim of such omissions. Gun regulation advocacy groups have complained that there were about 250 gun shooting failures by children in the United States earlier this year.
Both the SNS and the firearms industry will change dramatically without legal protection. Advocates for the right to own a gun claim that without PLCAA, 47,000 people working in the industry would be unemployed. It’s probably an exaggeration. However, if a lawsuit is filed or the introduction of safety devices is mandatory, legal costs will increase and weapons production will become more expensive. In the case of SNS, the more aggressively follow-up is done, the more employment will increase. For users, it will be necessary to become more familiar with the conventional wisdom that posting to Facebook and Twitter is no longer “all they want to do.”
If we can predict the future movement of the hearing on the 17th, Article 230 of the Communication Quality Act may be amended under the next administration of Mr. Byden. On the other hand, no modification of PLCAA can be seen. Even if the Democratic Party wants to abolish it, it will need the approval of 60 out of 100 senators just to get it into the bill. However, as PLCAA has become an exclusive interest and the number of voters supporting gun regulation is increasing, the time will surely come to receive a “reward.” For example, Senators from the New Federal Parliament to be convened next year include Mark Kelly of Arizona and John Hickenlooper of Colorado (both Democrats), who are eager to improve firearm safety. ..
Facebook and Twitter are also better than the gun manufacturers. They acknowledge that their disclaimer is threatened and are trying to take the lead on the matter. Both Dorsey and Zuckerberg welcomed the amendment to section 230 of the Communication Quality Act. By doing so, it can be said that it is a really sensible decision because it will add to the correction work. In that sense, SNS will be able to survive better than firearms manufacturers after the “magic armor” has been removed from the disclaimers.
● Background news
* Facebook CEO Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Dorsey attended a Senate hearing on the 17th with the caption “Censorship, Repression, and 2020 Elections.” He was asking questions about posting false information and misleading content related to the elections.
* Twitter has identified posts that are deemed inaccurate or often questionable, such as those posted by President Trump, prior to the 3rd of this month, which was voting day for the presidential and parliamentary elections. , Introduced a mechanism to display it so that it can be understood. As of the 12th, the number of warnings related to the presidential election reached 300,000.
* Twitter also blocked users from spreading the New York Post’s alleged October coverage of Byden’s second son, Hunter. On the 17th, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gram, criticized Twitter for acting as a “final editor” of these measures. He disagreed with the idea that it was a platformer rather than an item dealer.
* In accordance with article 230 of the Communication Quality Law, SNS is not responsible for the content published by the majority of users. Dorsey tweeted on the 17th that the company has proposed reforms such as the extension of Article 230.
(I am a columnist for “Reuters Breaking views”. This column is based on my personal opinion).
* Reuters columnists provide content such as news, transaction prices, data and other information in this document for your personal use only and for business purposes only. It is not a thing. The content of this document is not intended to solicit or induce investment activity and is not appropriate for use in making decisions when trading, buying or selling this content. This content does not provide any investment, tax, legal or other advice as investment advice, nor does it make any recommendation with respect to specific individual financial stocks, financial investments or financial products. Use of this document is not a substitute for investment advice from qualified investment professionals. Reuters makes reasonable efforts to ensure the reliability of the content, but any views or opinions provided by the columnist are the views or analysis of the columnist, not the views or analysis of Reuters.
