Speech Police, David Kaye
Speech Police, David Kaye
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Speech Police
The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet

Author: David Kaye

Narrator: Andrew Eiden

Unabridged: 3 hr 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/04/2019


Synopsis

Who polices speech online? Who is in charge?

"There is an epidemic sweeping the world," the Nigerian Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said. "It is the epidemic of fake news. Mixed with hate speech, it is a disaster waiting to happen." Some argue that the disaster has already happened. But is the solution as simple as ridding social media of disinformation and hate speech? Who should decide whether content should be removed from platforms, or which users should be kicked off? Should governments set the rules and force the American behemoths--Facebook, YouTube and Twitter--to follow? Or should the companies be permitted to moderate their space as they see fit? David Kaye, one of the world's leading voices on human rights in the digital age, deals with these issues on a daily basis as the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression. Speech Police brings us behind the scenes, from Facebook's "mini-legislative" meetings to the European Commission's closed-door negotiations, and introduces journalists, activists, and content moderators who take down a virtual flood of photos, videos and text every day. He tells the story of people around the world who are trying to get it right while facing an almost impossible task--with massive consequences for users and the public.

Creative Commons cover icons (left to right) all courtesy of The Noun Project: Talk Bubble © diambergerak, ID; Ear Phones © Karen Tyler, GB; Microphone © John Caserta, US; Volume by Krishna; Ear © Scott Lewis, US

Reviews

Goodreads review by David on May 06, 2019

David Kaye is the United Nations special rapporteur for freedom of expression. He gets complaints from all over the world for the annoyances we all live with. Speech Police is his quick summary of the state of censorship, lack of effective self-regulation, and inconsistent and ineffective national r......more

Goodreads review by varsha :) on September 11, 2023

2.5 David Kaye’s book, Speech Police brushes the surface of online extremism and government regulation of social media platforms. He attempts to utilize a sufficiently global view of media platforms and does take into account individual countries' sovereignty to the best of his ability for a 145-page......more

Goodreads review by Bill on April 01, 2020

In his introduction, Kaye notes how the internet has changed over the last decade, the content in the form of individual blogs being replaced by social media. He notes that this has transformed it into something more like television with its centralization, sensationalism, insularity and inward-look......more

Goodreads review by Lauren on March 28, 2019

Last summer, I listened to an episode of the podcast Radiolab called “Post No Evil.” In it, Jad and Robert discuss the rules of what is and isn’t allowed on popular platforms, focusing on Facebook. Reading through the Facebook posting policy, it seems straightforward - just don’t post hateful and in......more