Lithuanian police will patrol the Internet: what does the measure “will be effective in all other matters”?

Death: The dignity of a human being is trampled on by the police state

Public figure, the cultural historian Darius Kuolys did not miss the opportunity to critically evaluate the new intentions of the Lithuanian police on the social network:
“Good morning Lithuania! In the e-space, a virtual police patrol!”, LRT informed us today. “We will try from Facebook … We don’t know if we can delete comments … But we will use the wrong language prevention function . If there are indications of incitement to hatred and minor offenses, we will warn the person … We will avoid the consequences … We will focus not only on incitement to hatred and misinformation … “, Mindaugas Akelaitis, head of the Public Police Board he explained this morning on the LRT program. Officials who will monitor the electronic space 24 hours a day and capture inappropriate messages, comments, the virtual patrol will react – a police icon will appear next to a particular commentator and the public and a a message that this is illegal and must be stopped “, the Commissioner General of Police Renatas Požėla taught this Monday. And clarified: this measure” will be effective “not only against” hate crimes “, but also” in all others issues “, quotes D. Kuolys to the media.

What “all other business” will the police take up, says Kuolys, the commissioner did not disclose: “The commissioner did not tell us, and who gave the police the power to decide out of court what constitutes” illegal activity “in cyberspace? Didn’t he explain how the selected “number of officials” would determine what was “inappropriate language,” “hate speech,” “disinformation,” and “all other issues” that would lead to “preventive measures” against citizens? the hope that such a challenge posed by the police to a free society would receive a public response from the leaders of the parliamentary parties of the Seimas, at least from the Law and Order Committee. Although it was a very polite question for the Minister of the Interior: ” And what is happening in that Lithuania, dear madam? “Unfortunately, only the voice of the President of the Union of the Fatherland, Gabrielius Landsbergis, was heard in public, who enthusiastically supported the active participation of the police in our s “public discussions”. Good morning, Lithuania! Yes, intimidation, the humiliation of human dignity, must be stopped through a joint civic effort. But certainly not through the police state, which tramples on human dignity in an even more disgusting way, ”writes D. Kuolys on the social network.

Matonis: Officials Will Only Accept Obvious Criminal Cases

Ramūnas Matonis, Head of the Communication Division of the Lithuanian Police, says that currently three officers have been selected, who will begin to perform the functions of a virtual police patrol in a month: “So far, this is a pilot project. We want to see if it works. If this works, we will see the result, some prevention; in the future we do not rule out the possibility of more such officials. “The virtual patrol, according to Matonis, could also monitor comments from media portals.

The incitement to hatred, according to Manoti, will be one of the priorities to which the work of the virtual patrol is directed. How to distinguish incitement to hatred from personal opinion? Matonis said officials would only take obvious cases: “If a person gathers a platoon of his friends for the same rights to catch rainbow-clad people, harming them is obviously inciting hatred against a particular social group.”

Officials will look for and investigate fraud cases online: “For example, a group has been created to offer driving licenses. The officer sees the person offering it and is officially warned that the act is illegal. We hope that this official warning is sufficient, “said a representative of the Lithuanian police.

Meanwhile, Balys Liubinavičius, chief analyst at Debunk EU, an independent analytics technology center that investigates disinformation in public space, doubts the efficacy of the new tool in stopping the spread of false news and facts: You can do this in this regard. “.