Jun 1, 2017

Europe says tech companies are removing more hate speech

Matt Rourke / AP

The European Union says platform companies are removing more instances of reported illegal hate speech:

  • Facebook and Google-owned YouTube both removed around 66% of content that they were notified about in a newly-released evaluation of a code of conduct adopted by European regulators and the companies. Richard Allen, Facebook's Vice President of Public Policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said in a statement "that our partnership is having a significant positive impact for people in the EU."
  • Twitter, meanwhile, only removed 37.5%. Karen White, Twitter's Head of Public Policy in Europe, said in a statement that the company tries to "to reach the right balance between showing all sides of what's happening and tackling hateful conduct."

The bottom line: Every company removed a greater percentage of content than when a similar study was conducted at the end of last year. A top European regulator said, per Reuters, that "we can objectively say that all [the companies involved] have improved." Companies overall also vetted more flagged content within 24 hours than the last time the question was examined.

Why it matters: Platforms are under increasing pressure to deal with problematic content, and there's no sign that it's letting up.

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Netanyahu says July 1 deadline for West Bank annexation won't change

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday at a Likud Party faction meeting at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, that his July 1 deadline for starting the process of annexation in the West Bank will not change, according to people in attendance.

Why it matters: The White House and the State Department have stressed over the last few weeks that the deadline set by Netanyahu is "not sacred" to the Trump administration — and that any discussion of annexation needs to be in the context of renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

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Trump threatens to move Republican convention from North Carolina if capacity reduced

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President Trump threatened in a series of Monday tweets to move this summer's Republican National Convention from Charlotte if North Carolina's Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, doesn't allow the event to be held at full capacity.

The state of play: Mandy Cohen, the state's health and human services secretary, said last week that the GOP should "plan for the worst" as mass gatherings will be a "very big challenge" if the number of coronavirus cases in the state continues to increase, per NPR.

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The wreckage of summer

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

We usually think of Memorial Day as the start of the summer, with all of the fun and relaxation that goes with it — but this one is just going to remind us of all of the plans that have been ruined by the coronavirus.

Why it matters: If you thought it was stressful to be locked down during the spring, just wait until everyone realizes that all the traditional summer activities we've been looking forward to are largely off-limits this year.

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