A 45-year-old Afghanistan refugee has reportedly murdered a young Nigerian man, identified as Henry Onyekachi, in a circumstance which portrays religious intolerance in Lisbon, Portugal.
Onyekachi, 29, arrived the country some months ago as a refugee and was put in the same room with the unnamed Afghan refugee.
According to CM Lisbon, the incident happened on December 8, in Lisbon.
It was gathered that Onyekachi appealed for help from people around the area at that time, but no one responded to rescue him, till he bled to death.
A source said they had a clash over house chores and the fact that the suspect was having a negative influence on the other refugees in the apartment.
Additionally, Onyekachi’s family has called out to rights activists around the world to seek justice for their son in a statement.
“We, the family, need the help of the entire world to seek justice and to put a stop to this hyperactivity because we don’t know who may be the next victim,” a member of his family said.
Onyekachi was from Ngwugwo Ibere community in the Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria.
Nota del editor: Las reporteras ejecutivas de The Daily Universe, Andrea Cabrera y Sydnee Gonzalez, entrevistaron a personas en Utah y Washington, D.C., para averiguar cómo la política y la religión se mezclan en los Estados Unidos.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Durante su niñez, Sam Dearden, miembro de La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días, escuchaba con frecuencia comentarios como, “No puedes ser liberal o demócrata y ser un buen mormón”.
A pesar de que compartía la misma religión con la mayoría de sus compañeros, cuando su familia se mudó de Boston a Utah a sus 11 años, Dearden—quien ahora trabaja para la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional—no encajaba en su nueva comunidad. Como adulto, se da cuenta de que las diferencias se derivaron en parte por una distinción en la forma en que él abordó la política, en comparación con muchos otros miembros de La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días
“Creo que, para muchos miembros de la Iglesia, quienes suelen tener orígenes conservadores, es algo natural decir a menudo que estas dos identidades van muy bien de la mano”, dijo Dearden. “Creo que eso es bastante inapropiado, teniendo en cuenta que el ser ‘conservador’ y ‘republicano’ no son identidades remotamente importantes como la de ser cristiano”.
(Metraje por Andrea Cabrera y Sydnee Gonzalez. Edición por Andrea Cabrera.)
<
p id=”block-d07071c9-9eb2-41a0-874c-1027a05a9481″>En el actual clima político, miembros de todas las religiones tienen que equilibrar sus creencias religiosas con sus puntos de vista políticos—y no es tarea fácil.
El equilibrio entre la política y la religión no es algo nuevo en los Estados Unidos. La separación entre la iglesia y el estado está escrita en sus documentos fundacionales; sin embargo, las ramificaciones filosóficas de esa idea aún se debaten. ¿Dónde está la línea entre los dos? ¿Se encuentra entre un salón de clases y una invocación a lo divino? ¿O se encuentra en algún lugar cerca de las líneas declarativas de “Una nación bajo Dios”?
Los estadounidenses están divididos sobre el asunto. Una encuesta de Pew Research Center en 2019 encontró que, aunque el 63% de los adultos estadounidenses quieren que los grupos religiosos permanezcan fuera de la política, más de la mitad de los estadounidenses opinan que la religión es una fuerza positiva en la sociedad.
Una línea borrosa: Las ideologías políticas y los principios religiosos
Para el senador Mike Lee, la religión es una parte fundamental de sus ideologías políticas. “Mis creencias religiosas forman cada aspecto de mi vida. No hay nada en mi vida que no sea influenciado de una manera u otra por ellas”, declaró el Santo de los Últimos Días a The Daily Universe.
Ryan Griffith, estudiante de UVU que presenta un podcast conservador llamado “Not at the dinner table” (No sobre la mesa del comedor), también utiliza la religión para dar forma a sus posturas políticas. “Siempre lo veo a través de la perspectiva de que las verdades eternas están en juego aquí”, manifestó el presentador. “Asi que cuando trato temas como el aborto, considero la verdad interna del albedrío, pero también tomo en cuenta la elección y la responsabilidad, y el valor eterno de la vida”.
Mo Elinzano, socio de la empresa de organización digital Biden para Presidente, trata de centrarse en la plataforma del partido que mejor representa sus valores religiosos y morales. “Estoy muy apasionada y orgullosa de ser mormona y demócrata”, sostuvo Elinzano. “Si realmente tratamos de emular al Salvador y ser como Él, no creo que el Partido Republicano, especialmente bajo el liderazgo de Trump o el conservadurismo, refleje eso”.
Mezclar los dos no siempre es sencillo. En octubre, Lee recibió críticas extensas por comparar al Presidente Donald Trump con el Capitán Moroni, héroe del Libro de Mormón, durante una concentración política en Arizona. Reconoció que no todos los miembros de su fe estaban de acuerdo con la comparación, pero añadió que no estaba impresionado con la manera en que las personas expresaron su desacuerdo.
“No debemos menospreciar a los demás cuando se basan en un argumento espiritual o escritural en defensa de lo que creen”, dijo Lee. “Decir: ‘No invoques las escrituras,’ ni compares a un ser humano mortal falible con alguien venerado por las escrituras, simplemente no es para mí… Tiene el efecto de esencialmente prohibir el pensamiento y la expresión religiosa de la plaza pública”.
Lauren Lethbridge, escritora de Utah quien tiene una tendencia conservadora, cree que tratar de mantener la religión y la política separadas puede ser agotador y que las personas deben dejar que su moral y sus creencias personales, que a menudo pueden basarse en la religión, guíen sus acciones y decisiones.
Ella recuerda que, desde una temprana edad, la política y la religión se mezclaban y dijo que sus padres a menudo buscaban la guía de los líderes de la Iglesia para determinar sus decisiones u opiniones políticas. Sin embargo, al crecer ella se ha alejado de esa conexión. “Si tengo una visión disidente de la mayoría de la Iglesia, no se refleja en mi posición personal dentro de mi religión ni en mi relación con Dios”, declaró la escritora.
Para Matteo Caulfield, estudiante de Georgetown, no eran sus familiares o amigos los que estaban fusionando las opiniones de los líderes religiosos con las opciones políticas; era su propia iglesia.
“La Iglesia Católica es una organización intrínsecamente política que a menudo da orientación a sus miembros sobre cómo involucrarse con la política pública”, estableció Caulfield. “Estas enseñanzas están tildadas como las enseñanzas católicas de la justicia social”.
Sin embargo, Caulfield señaló que la política de la que se habla desde el púlpito no significa que los católicos estén vinculados a un partido político o al otro. De hecho, el Pew Research Center ha encontrado que los votantes católicos se han dividido por igual entre los dos partidos principales.
Libertad religiosa para todos: La disección de la política de creencias
Bogdan Banu, exalumno de BYU, director de una ONG en Washington, D.C., originario de Rumania y miembro de la Iglesia Ortodoxa (Oriental) Rumana, dijo que la fuerte mezcla entre la política y la religión en la política estadounidense es inusual, especialmente en comparación con la política europea.
“Una persona es más elocuente al presentar su punto si tiene buenos argumentos sobre cuál se basa su punto de vista”, afirmó Banu. “Simplemente decir ‘Creo en algo’ puede funcionar en el contexto religioso, pero si uno quiere traducir eso a una política, debe tener ciertas evidencias para respaldar su punto de vista religioso”.
Arsalan Malik, un abogado no religioso en Washington, D.C., tuvo una formación religiosa que se dividió entre un padre ateo y una madre musulmana. Él está preocupado por lo que percibe como una fusión no auténtica de la política y la religión que viene por parte de los políticos.
“Cuando los políticos mencionan la religión, al menos recientemente, no es con fines altruistas; es por su propio interés en expandir al electorado”, dijo Malik. “La otra cosa que me ha estado preocupando últimamente es que la política se está volviendo más divisiva, y la religión se está convirtiendo en una manera de armarse contra las minorías”.
Como ejemplo, señaló la prohibición musulmana de Trump. Enfatizó el hecho de que mientras los políticos pueden ayudar a proteger la libertad religiosa, hay una distinción fundamental entre mejorar las libertades para todas las religiones y complacer a solo una.
Manifestantes mezclan la política y la religión con sus carteles en Lafayette Square, justo entre la Iglesia Episcopal de San Juan y la Casa Blanca, el martes 3 de noviembre del 2020.
El reverendo Patrick Conroy, quien sirve como capellán de la Cámara de Representantes de los Estados Unidos, hizo eco de los sentimientos de Malik. El clérigo dijo que hay una línea entre si el gobierno protege las prerrogativas religiosas y si protege la libertad religiosa.
“No debemos pedir al gobierno que haga cumplir nuestras posiciones”, estableció el reverendo. “Estamos haciendo un trabajo religiosamente importante y valioso cuando tratamos de trabajar dentro de nuestro sistema en lugar de exigir que nuestro sistema aplique nuestras posiciones que vemos como si fueran en blanco y negro y moralmente veraces, porque esas no se comparten en todos los ámbitos”.
El punto intermedio: Encontrar un equilibrio entre la política y la religión
Conroy cree que la religión tiene una importante presencia en el ambiente político. Ha descubierto que muchos miembros del Congreso valoran tener a alguien entre ellos que pueda recordarles de la gravedad de sus posiciones y el impacto que tienen en los estadounidenses. “Me han dicho que realmente les importa que yo esté presente.”
El ministerio de Conroy sirve como modelo de cómo la religión en la esfera política puede ser unificadora en lugar de divisiva. Aunque es sacerdote jesuita, Conroy se esfuerza por hacer que su ministerio sea inclusivo tanto para individuos de todas las religiones como aquellos que no son religiosos.
“Quiero que esta oficina sea el único lugar donde todos puedan decir amén”, afirmó el eclesiástico. “La única vez, tal vez todo el día o todo el año, que pueden ponerse de acuerdo debería pasar en la Oficina del Capellán”.
Su consejo a las personas que tratan de equilibrar la política y la religión es sopesar el propósito práctico del gobierno en contraposición a la certeza religiosa de una iglesia.
Para algunos, equilibrar la religión y la política es más fácil decirlo que hacerlo. Para Alicia Moulton, Santo de los Últimos Días, el camino hacia el compromiso político no ha sido fácil. “He tenido una relación de amor-odio con la política. Siento que es importante ser un buen ciudadano, pero a menudo he estado decepcionada por la forma en que la gente habla de temas políticos”, declaró Moulton. “Me ha costado mucho”.
Algo que la ha ayudado a poder participar con la política ha sido su fe. “Nuestra creencia que las personas son hijos de Dios y que todos son dignos de respeto puede ser una estrella guía para nosotros—no para dictar nuestras opiniones, sino en ayudarnos a hacerlo de una manera que sea semejante a Cristo”.
La periodista Dianna Douglas, quien actualmente produce un podcast que se llama Zion’s Suffragists (Sufragistas de Sion) que trata la participación política de las mujeres SUD, dijo que los Santos de los Últimos Días tienen un largo legado de participación política.
“Mi fe es la razón por la que estoy involucrada en la política hoy en día”, aseguró la periodista. “Como Santos de los Últimos Días, nuestro deber es tratar de cambiar el país para mejor, tratar de cambiar la sociedad para mejor, trabajar en nuestras comunidades, salvar nuestras comunidades, mejorar nuestras comunidades”.
Un paso clave hacia un sistema político saludable es la diversidad de opiniones y pensamientos. Después de vivir tanto en Utah como en Washington, D.C., Douglas ha visto de primera mano las desventajas de las comunidades de fe que se identifican excesivamente con un solo partido político.
“Tanto la Iglesia como el estado de Utah estarían mucho mejor si hubiera un poco más de equilibrio y diversidad en la política. De la misma manera, también creo que la política de Washington, D.C. sería mejor con un poco más de espacio para más opiniones y más perspectivas”, dijo la productora.
Jeffrey Stark es analista de sistemas de información geográfica para el Servicio Postal de los Estados Unidos (USPS, por sus siglas en inglés). Actualmente con sede en Washington, D.C., también ha experimentado el mormonismo en las costas este y oeste. “Aquí no existe tanto la actitud que ‘el Partido Demócrata es la grande y abominable iglesia,’ como lo que experimentarás en el oeste de los Estados Unidos”, mencionó el analista.
No se ha visto atraído por la política liberal durante su tiempo en Washington, D.C. Al contrario, se ha mantenido como moderado, una identidad a la que ha llegado en parte debido a su fe. Sin embargo, se ha sentido frustrado al ver que unos miembros de la Iglesia menosprecian a otros miembros con puntos de vista religiosos opuestos.
“Tal como lo veo, no todos los elementos de la plataforma republicana o de la plataforma demócrata están totalmente en línea con las enseñanzas del Evangelio”, manifestó Stark. “Cuando se trata de varias políticas, no existe la contienda del camino del Señor o el camino del mundo”.
“Las creencias religiosas tienen un lugar en el punto de vista del público sobre la esfera política”, sostuvo Rugh. Agregó que incluso los miembros de la misma fe pueden terminar respaldando diferentes soluciones. “La religión abarca los valores y los principios; la política tiene que ver con el proceso del compromiso y consenso, la construcción de coaliciones, la aprobación de las leyes y la realización de algo”.
Ben Mack, miembro de los Santos de los Últimos Días quien tiene experiencia en Capitolio y tiene una campaña en el Congreso de los Estados Unidos bajo el brazo, cree que los estadounidenses—y especialmente los Santos de los Últimos Días—tienen la oportunidad para crear puentes en el ambiente político actual.
“(La religión) me ayuda a mí a ver otras personas a mi alrededor de cierta manera. Sin importar qué tan apasionado que me sienta por una cierta postura política, los veo como mis hermanos y hermanas y los veo como hijos de Dios”, dijo Mack. “La camaradería y la hermandad, la uniformidad que tenemos es mucho mayor”.
Para Jared Burton, escritor independiente SUD, la camaradería de la Iglesia lo ha sostenido durante una crisis de identidad política. Aunque se crió en una familia republicana conservadora en Colorado, sintió que la política había cambiado después de regresar de servir una misión SUD en Brasil.
“Ha sido genial experimentar esto, ya que tengo este cambio de identidad política que me está pasando, tengo un sentido de pertenencia en la Iglesia. No tengo que preocuparme por pertenecer a un partido (político) específico”, declaró Burton.
The U.S. Department of Education alongside eight other federal agencies on Monday announced changes to protect the religious liberty of faith-based groups that participate in government-sponsored programs and make sure they don’t face more barriers or burdens than secular groups. Under the changes, for example, private religious schools would not be disqualified from participating in grants for federally fundedUpward Bound programs that help low-income, homeless, disabled, and otherwise disadvantaged high school students prepare for successful college application and performance.
The joint rule follows other protections for religious people and organizations flowing from an executive order President Donald Trump issued in May 2018.
Last week, the Department of Labor announced a rule giving faith-based government contractors the right to make employment decisions based on their religious beliefs. The change clarified that religious employers can hire only people who adhere to the tenets of their faith. It also extends religious liberty protections for churches to also cover “a corporation, association, educational institution, society, school, college, university, or institution of learning” that is “organized for a religious purpose.” That means it could protect for-profit entities like a small store or a hospital as long it is upfront about its religious purpose.
While groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have called the rule a “license to discriminate,”religious liberty advocates praised the agency for protecting faith-based organizations’ ability to carry out their goals.
“When a religious group hires people of the same religion to carry out their mission, it’s not ‘discrimination,’ it’s common sense,” Becket Senior Counsel Luke Goodrich told Catholic News Service. “And when the government refuses to work with religious groups that do the best job of caring for the needy, it’s not ‘equality,’ it’s nonsense.”
Critics predict that President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will take steps to roll back these protections, but that’s not done at the flick of a pen. “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program,” quipped economist Milton Friedman, hinting at the difficulty of change. That may work to liberty’s advantage this time.
Nicholas Tilsen, human rights defender of the Oglala-Lakȟóta Sioux Nation and president of the indigenous-led NDN Collective, is due in court on 18 December, charged with four felonies and three misdemeanours after he and others blocked a road leading to a fireworks celebration event, led by President Donald Trump, which was held on 4 July at the South Dakota site in the Black Hills region.
“Obviously we cannot pre-judge the outcome of the case against Nicholas Tilsen, but we are seriously concerned about his arrest and the charges brought against him in connection with the exercise of his rights as an indigenous person, particularly the right to assembly”, the five UN Special Rapporteurs said.
The independent experts called on the US “to ensure that Mr. Tilsen’s due process rights are respected during the criminal prosecution and recall the obligation to ensure equal protection of the law without discrimination”.
They also voiced alarm over “allegations of excessive use of force by law enforcement agents against indigenous defenders, and recent reports of surveillance and intimidation by local police officers following the arrests”.
The 38-year-old was one of 15 peaceful protesters arrested in connection with the political rally – organized without the consent of the indigenous peoples concerned – to celebrate US Independence Day.
Rushmore hosts colossal sculptures of former presidents carved into the side of the mountain.
“I’ve worked hard to make a better way for our people. These trumped-up charges aren’t just against me, they’re against our people…designed to derail our movements. But we stand on the right side of history and we know our ancestors stand with us”, Mr. Tilsen tweeted in August.
COVID factor
Mr. Trump’s rally in South Dakota, one of the states worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, was held without the consent of the Great Sioux Nation.
It attracted some 7,500 people who did not wear masks or practice social distancing, according to a news release from the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
“It is absolutely essential that the authorities do more to support and protect indigenous communities that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic”, the experts stressed.
“We also call on authorities to initiate dialogue with the Great Sioux Nation for the resolution of treaty violations”.
Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.
Issuing a strong warning against religious fanatics, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the government would not let anyone create any division and anarchy in the country over religion.
“This Bangladesh is the Bangladesh of Lalon Shah, Rabindranath, Kazi Nazrul, Jibanananda… this Bangladesh is the Bangladesh of Shahjalal, Shah Poran, Shah Mokdum, Khanjahan Ali; this Bangladesh is the Bangladesh of Sheikh Mujib and 16.5 crore Bangalees — this country is for all. We won’t allow anyone to create any division and anarchy in the name of religion,” she said.
The premier was addressing the nation on the occasion of Victory Day.
Hasina said a section of the defeated force of 1971 are out to confuse the religion-loving Muslims through providing false, fabricated and fictitious information as they want to create anarchy in the society.
“In 1972, the Father of the Nation had said not to make religion a tool of politics. But the associates of the defeated forces are now dreaming of taking the country to a situation which prevailed in the country 50 years back.”
The PM alleged that these bigots with political patronage were showing their audacity.
“The people of Bangladesh are pious, but not fanatics. We must not make religion as the weapon of politics. Everyone has the right to perform his own religious rituals.”
Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony. The country achieved its independence in an exchange of blood of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. “The people of the country will move on towards prosperity, progress and development keeping the religious morale high.”
She briefly described various development programmes of Bangabandhu and Awami League governments for flourishing Islam in the country.
DEBT OF BLOOD
In her 18-minute speech, the PM urged all to take a vow on the eve of the Victory Day not to forget the debt of blood of millions of martyrs.
“We must not let the non-communal spirit of the Liberation War fade away. My request to the youths and the new generation is that you must not forget the supreme sacrifices of your predecessors ever. You must not let someone dishonour the red and green flag that they have gifted [us],” she said.
The premier said youths must take a vow to transform the country into Golden Bengal imbued with the spirit of Liberation War.
VICTORY DAY AMID COVID
Talking about the Covid-19 pandemic, Hasina said the country is going to celebrate the Victory Day this year in a different situation.
“We have to bring changes to our daily routine due to the coronavirus pandemic. We are carrying out our personal, social and national activities avoiding public gatherings. Each life is invaluable…the death of a single person due to negligence is not desirable.”
The PM urged all to perform their everyday works and celebrate the Victory Day following health safety rules. “Make sure that you are masked up while going out of home and clean hands with soap or sanitiser regularly. Your protection is the safeguard for all.”
She said the whole nation faced the coronavirus unitedly and set an example in the world.
“In Bangladesh, we have been able to tackle this adverse shock to some extent with timely steps and programmes. We have announced a stimulus package worth Tk 121,000 crore which is 4.3 percent of the GDP.”
After absorbing the initial hit, the remittance inflow, agricultural production and export have bounced back, the PM added.
Hasina said the government has changed the celebration programmes of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman due to the pandemic.
“Our independence will step into the 50th year next year. Had there been no pandemic, we would have celebrated the Golden Jubilee of independence in a befitting manner simultaneously with the programmes of the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation.”
The premier said Bangabandhu used to say that nobody honours a beggars’ nation.
“We have erased that bad name of Bangladesh in the international arena as Bangladesh is now the name of a dignified country. Today’s Bangladesh is not a country of a fragile economy; today’s Bangladesh is self-dependent Bangladesh.”
Hasina said Bangladesh has fulfilled the eligibility criteria for graduation from the list of least developed countries to a developing country.
She said it was the dream of the Father of the Nation to establish secular Golden Bengal which would be free from hunger and poverty.
“We are at the doorstep of implementing his dream… we have to continue this development. With this, we will be able to fulfil our dream to become a developed and prosperous country by 2041,” the PM added.
State-owned Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh Television simultaneously broadcast the prime minister’s address. Private television channels and radio stations also aired the speech.
Big tech companies could face multibillion dollar fines in Europe and the threat of being broken up unless they comply with sweeping new regulations announced by the European Commission on Tuesday.
After years of wrangling in the U.S. over whether to hold tech companies accountable for data practices and anticompetitive behavior, the new rules in the E.U.—which has a total population of some 450 million across 27 countries—could force tech companies to change their practices globally.
The E.U. regulations come in the form of two new laws, one called the Digital Services Act and another called the Digital Markets Act. Both still need to undergo a consultation period and then be passed by European lawmakers, a process which could take years.
<p>The Digital Services Act (DSA) would introduce new obligations on platforms to reveal information and data to regulators about how their algorithms work, how decisions are made to remove content, and how adverts are targeted at users. Many of its provisions only apply to platforms with more than 45 million users, a threshold surpassed by several services including <a href="https://time.com/5505441/mark-zuckerberg-mentor-facebook-downfall/" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a>, YouTube, Twitter and <a href="https://time.com/5863350/tiktok-black-creators/" rel="nofollow">TikTok</a>.</p> <p>“With size comes responsibility,” said <a href="https://time.com/5829901/margrethe-vestager-europe-covid-19-apps-technology/" rel="nofollow">Margrethe Vestager</a>, the European Commissioner for competition, on Tuesday.</p> <p>Fines for failing to comply with the rules can be up to 6% of a company’s annual revenue—a sum which if levied at Facebook, for example, would amount to $4.2 billion. </p> <p>Meanwhile on Tuesday, the U.K. government is also expected to announce a <a href="https://time.com/5566501/facebook-regulation-zuckerberg/" rel="nofollow">similar law</a> that if passed would include fines of up to 10% of annual global turnover for platforms that fail to remove illegal content.</p> <p>The other law announced by the European Commission on Tuesday, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), is closer to <a href="https://time.com/5920453/facebook-antitrust-case/" rel="nofollow">antitrust</a> legislation. It aims to give smaller companies greater ability to compete with big tech platforms, which some European lawmakers have long thought of as monopolistic entities. Repeat violations of this law could lead to big tech companies being broken up, Vestager said. Fines for anti-competitive behavior could amount to up to 10% of a company’s annual turnover, and the E.U. will attempt to break up repeat offenders fined three times within five years.</p> <div class="component inline image margin-32-tb">
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<div class="component lazy-image no-upscale " data-high-density="true" data-src="https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/vestager.jpg" data-crop="" data-alt="Vestager during a virtual press briefing in the EU Commission headquarters on November 26, 2020, in Brussels, Belgium." data-title="Vestager during a virtual press briefing in the EU Commission headquarters on November 26, 2020, in Brussels, Belgium." data-shop-image="false" data-width="800" data-height="704">
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<p>Vestager during a virtual press briefing in the EU Commission headquarters on November 26, 2020, in Brussels, Belgium.
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</div> Experts say the regulation could have consequences for tech companies beyond the borders of the E.U. “Europe increasingly sees itself as a trailblazer for what it sees as tech-savvy, human rights-proof tech regulations,” says Mathias Vermeulen, the public policy director at data rights consultancy AWO. “If you’re a global company, and you have to deal with new obligations in one very big and crucial market, then similar features could be taken up elsewhere even though there’s no hard requirement to do so.”</p> <h2><b>What is the Digital Services Act?</b></h2> <p>The DSA is aimed at improving what many European lawmakers see as the lack of oversight over large tech companies.</p> <p>“The problem is that now tech companies can say they’ve been taking measures, but there’s absolutely no independent third party who can verify their figures,” Vermeulen says. “The idea with the Digital Services Act is to exercise more democratic control over how our rights are being affected by the products of these companies.”</p>
<p>The <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/proposal_for_a_regulation_on_a_single_market_for_digital_services.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">act</a> obliges platforms with more than 45 million users in the E.U. to tell users in plain language the “main parameters” used in algorithms that rank content. In a measure that appears tailored to allow users to opt out of having algorithms serve up content based on their past activity, it says platforms must offer users at least one option which is “not based on profiling,” according to the act.</p> <p>When it comes to illegal content, the act upholds existing E.U. principles that—similarly to the U.S.— platforms should not be held accountable for illegal content posted by users. But it does state that if platforms do not act quickly to make that content inaccessible once they are made aware of it, they could be held liable. </p> <p>The act does not expand the definition of illegal content. But it does lay out a list of content that is already illegal that the new regulations apply to, including illegal hate speech, terrorist content, images of child sexual abuse, non-consensual sharing of private images, stalking, counterfeit products, and copyright violations.</p> <p>The act doesn’t spend much time discussing details of what content should be counted as illegal. Instead, it states that companies must carry out their own “risk assessments” about how their services could be used to spread illegal content or allow manipulation that has “an actual or foreseeable negative effect on the protection of public health, minors, civic discourse … electoral processes and public security.” It obliges platforms to then act to “mitigate” those risks.</p> <p>“Before, the trend was to hold companies responsible for specific pieces of content that could still be found on their site,” says Vermeulen. “But this is more of a holistic vision, looking at what these companies are doing to address the risks their <i>systems</i> are posing.”</p> <p>Amid pressure on social media companies for their role in amplifying political extremism across the globe, the act will give European regulators more power to demand information from tech companies about how both their moderation teams and their algorithms work at scale. The threat of large fines, officials hope, will force companies to roll out new institutional practices even before a single fine is imposed.</p>
<p>Alongside fines of 6% of turnover for failure to comply with the regulations, the DSA says that platforms must also allow regulators insight into how their systems work—with fines of up to 1% of annual revenue if platforms “supply incorrect, incomplete or misleading information” to regulators, or “refuse to submit to an on-site inspection,” according to the act.</p> <p>The DSA says that those obligations will be accompanied by the ability to enforce changes to tech companies’ services, including “discontinuing advertising revenue for specific content, or other actions, such as improving the visibility of authoritative information sources.”</p> <p>In the Brexit referendum and 2016 U.S. election, so-called “dark ads” were common on social media platforms—adverts without any accompanying information about their funding or why they were targeted at users. The DSA introduces a legal requirement for platforms to maintain libraries of historical ads, and give people who see the ads more detailed information about the reasons they are being targeted. “Recipients of the service should have information on the main parameters used for determining that specific advertising is to be displayed to them, providing meaningful explanations of the logic used to that end, including when this is based on profiling,” the act states. (Platforms including Facebook and Twitter have already introduced measures along these lines.)</p> <h2><b>What is the Digital Markets Act?</b></h2> <p>With the development of the technology sector, economic activity increasingly happens online—but in some cases “online” means within the bounds of specific services designed by big tech companies. Think buying an app through the Apple app store, or buying goods on Amazon.</p> <p>Systems like that open the door to anticompetitive behavior, E.U. officials say. In November, the European Commission <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_2077" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">said</a> it believed Amazon was acting anti-competitively by collecting data on independent sellers that use the Amazon platform, and using that data to benefit Amazon’s own competitior products.</p> <div class="component inline image margin-32-tb">
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<p>Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos testifies via video conference during an antitrust hearing on July 29, 2020 in Washington, DC.
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</div> Just as its sister legislation only targets companies with more than 45 million users, the Digital Markets Act only targets “gatekeeper” companies, or those defined–at some point in the future–as dictating the terms of a marketplace. </p> <p>The act makes three main provisions: forcing “gatekeeper” companies to act fairly by not using competitors’ data to disadvantage them; by enforcing interoperability, allowing users to take their data elsewhere and still interact with their services; and by not treating their own services more favorably than competitors that use their platform.</p>
<p>“The business and political interests of a handful of companies should not dictate our future,” <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/putting-digital-services-at-the-service-of-europeans-1.4429042" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">wrote</a> Vestager and Thierry Breton on Sunday, the two European commissioners leading on the regulations. “Europe has to set its own terms and conditions.”</p> <p>Along with fines of up to 10% of global turnover for violations of antitrust law, the European Commission threatens that it could break up the businesses of repeat offenders—a step further than anything the incoming Biden Administration has pledged to do. “If a gatekeeper breaks the rules … several times repeatedly, we can also impose structural remedies, divestiture, that sort of thing,” Vestager said on Tuesday. (The E.U. has fined big tech companies for antitrust violations before — the most expensive instance being a $4.3 billion fine against Google in 2018.)</p> <p>“The Digital Markets Act imposes new obligations on these so-called gatekeeper companies, which have enormous power to control the markets they are operating in,” says Vermeulen. “This is mainly geared at marketplaces, search engines, operating systems and cloud services. It would prohibit companies from giving preferential treatment to their own products and services in, for instance, search rankings.”</p> <div class="component most-popular-feed inline">
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Pale Waves have unveiled a new song, She’s My Religion.
Following Change, the track serves as the second preview of the Manchester indie-pop quartet’s forthcoming second album ‘Who Am I?’, due out on February 12 via Dirty Hit.
It arrives after vocalist Heather Baron-Gracie posted a demo of the cut in May, calling it a “gay anthem”. More recently, she revealed a picture via Twitter with the caption ‘She’s My Religion – Tuesday’.
The band will appear alongside Charli XCX, Clairo, Beabadoobee and Phoebe Bridgers on the support bill for the 1975’s rescheduled headline show at London’s Finsbury Park on July 10.
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<p>Tue 10 Nov 2020
Pale Waves Announce New Album 'Who Am I?', Share Lead Single Change
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Pale Waves will release their second album next year.
Instrument for a common culture of transparency between Parliament, Council and Commission
Registration of interest representatives de facto mandatory through conditionality and complementary transparency measures with equivalent effect
Interest representatives to comply with reinforced code of conduct
On 15 December, Parliament, Council and Commission reached a final political agreement to strengthen transparent and ethical interest representation.
The agreement establishes principles and rules for a coordinated approach to transparent and ethical interest representation at EU level, building a common culture of transparency while taking into account the signatory institutions’ respective specificities.
A wide scope
The reinforced Transparency Register will apply to all three institutions, including the Council for the first time. Other European Union institutions and bodies can voluntarily use it too, thereby increasing the potential for greater transparency at EU level. The member states’ permanent representations will also take part through unilateral voluntary measures.
Activities aimed at influencing the decision-making processes or the formulation or implementation of policy or legislation at EU-level will fall within the Transparency Register’s scope. The negotiators agreed on a non-exhaustive list that includes organising meetings or events, contributing to public consultations, communication campaigns, and preparing position papers or amendments. The same types of activities by third countries will also be covered, when they are carried out by entities without diplomatic status or through intermediaries. Interest representatives will have to declare the interests and objectives they promote, as well as to specify the clients they represent. All registrants will need to provide information on the resources that they devote to interest representation activities, with a new focus on sources of funding.
Some activities will remain possible without registration, such as spontaneous meetings, providing information at the request of the institutions, legal advice, and activities by social partners, political parties, intergovernmental organisations or public authorities of the member states. However, associations and networks of such public authorities engaging in interest representation activities can register, if they choose to do so. In order to avoid unnecessary administrative burden, activities carried out by interest representatives exclusively on behalf of an association or network of which they are a part will be considered to be activities of that network or association.
Conditionality and complementary transparency measures
Each signatory institution will make registration of interest representatives a precondition for certain activities, and may put in place complementary transparency measures to encourage registration. In doing so, the institutions will ensure that those measures are consistent with the agreement and contribute to a high standard of transparent and ethical interest representation. All measures must be made publicly available on a dedicated webpage. You can read more on this in the relevant press release (7.12.2020).
Code of conduct and operational structure
Applicants must observe a code of conduct in order to be eligible for registration. Stronger provisions on monitoring and investigations ensure that effective action can be taken if the code of conduct is not observed, potentially resulting in the removal of registrants. The existing Joint Transparency Register Secretariat in charge of these processes will evolve into a tripartite operational structure, in which the three institutions will be represented on an equal footing. A Management Board will oversee the overall implementation of the Agreement. Find out more in the
Press conference
A press conference (at 15.45 on 15 December, in Parliament’s Anna Politkovskaya press conference room) will be held with the negotiators, Parliament’s Vice-President Katarina Barley and Constitutional Affairs Committee Member Danuta Hübner, German Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth for the Presidency of the Council, and Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová. Follow live or on VOD on EbS and Parliament’s Multimedia Centre.
Quotes
EP negotiator Katarina Barley (S&D, DE) said: “I am confident that the newly evolved Transparency Register will be effective, balanced, and increase citizens’ trust in the EU institutions. Our objectives have been achieved in this agreement: the EU will have a stronger Transparency Register, we have avoided unnecessary administrative burden for registrants, and the free mandate of European citizens’ elected representatives has been safeguarded. The improved rules provided in the code of conduct for interest representatives will also undoubtedly make a big positive impact.”
EP negotiator Danuta Hübner (EPP, PL) said: “”I am pleased that the new agreement expands the scope of the register to the Council. In addition, we have broadened the scope of the new transparency register. These, among other improvements, now allow us to monitor interest representation throughout the EU’s decision-making procedures in a more coherent manner. This agreement signals a new chapter for transparency in the EU”.”
Next steps
The agreement will have to undergo internal adoption procedures in each institution, after which it can be signed and enter into force. For Parliament, this means it will be referred to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, and then tabled for a vote by the full House. In the Council, it will be submitted for approval by the Committee of Permanent Representatives and afterwards adopted at Council level. The College will need to formally adopt the Agreement and empower Vice-President Jourová to sign it on behalf of the Commission.
Background
The Commission presented its proposal for a new inter-institutional agreement on a mandatory Transparency Register for interest representatives covering the Parliament, Council and the Commission in 2016. Since 2011, the Parliament and the Commission have jointly operated a public register for interest representatives. The Council has been an observer since 2014. More information can be found on the dedicated EP webpage.
