Trump accused of secretly blocking move to quell internet extremism
"Trump news: EU president launches blistering attack on president as Johnson vows to confront him over trade war"
By Nick Miller August 25, 2019 — 10.32am
Biarritz: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has arrived in France for the G7 summit hoping to push his case for a global fight against extremism on the internet – but new doubts have emerged over whether US president Donald Trump is on board.
On Saturday, shortly before Morrison’s plane touched down at the meeting of major democratic leaders in the south-western coastal resort of Biarritz, French media claimed the White House had opposed social networks signing a so-called “Charter for an open, free and safe internet” inspired by the so-called Christchurch Call.
US President Donald Trump is greeted by President of France Emmanuel Macron as he arrives to the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France.Credit:Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP
Google, Facebook, Microsoft, SnapChat and Twitter had been expected to sign the pledge on Friday, but French officials said it had been shifted to Monday when both Trump and Morrison will be present.
“There’s no doubt on the fact that the social networks will sign the pledge,” French junior minister for the digital industry Cedric O insisted on Saturday.
But French radio station Europe 1 reported the event had “disappeared” from the official agenda and there had been “long doubt” over the participation of social media giants.
“Pressure from Donald Trump was mentioned,” the station said, citing an unnamed source.
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The charter is due to be discussed at a working lunch on Monday, attended by the G7 national leaders plus Morrison. On Sunday Morrison and Trump will have a short "pull aside" conversation.
Digital strategy is a new battleground between the US and France. The latter imposed a 3 per cent digital sales tax, on the grounds that internet giants are using international tax loopholes to shift profits out of the countries where they are made.
But Trump retaliated by threatening to raise tariffs on French wine, and is reportedly keen to raise the issue again in Biarritz.
If Trump decides the fight against internet extremism can be used as a lever to extract concessions from the French on the digital tax initiative, it could be a blow to Morrison’s hopes for the summit.
The Australian prime minister has adopted New Zealand’s “Christchurch Call” to eliminate terrorist and violent content online. The government anticipated the G7 would be a chance for Morrison to build on his success at June’s G20 summit in Osaka, where he convinced leaders to send a joint message to social media platforms to do more to root out extremist content that can inspire terror and violence.
A senior Trump official denied the White House had pressured social media giants not to sign the charter, which builds on the Christchurch call outlining new ways to fight hate speech, cyberbullying and online terrorism – with new rules for taking down or moderating extreme content, ensuring transparency and supporting victims.
But the official told Reuters the industry had banded together to try to water down the initiative: “We heard from a couple of companies that they felt bullied by France to join,” he said.
And he was non-committal on whether Trump would sign, saying the White House was still evaluating it. “It certainly has merits,” he said.
In the US the constitutional right to free speech is seen as a major block to efforts to crack down on internet hate speech and terrorism.
US president Donald Trump had lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday in France.Credit:AP
The problem, instead, is that the Europeans, and the Germans in particular, treat themselves badly, with a ruinous obsession over public debt. And the costs of that obsession are spilling over to the world as a whole.
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Most of the costs of German fiscal obstinacy fall on Germany and its neighbors, but there are some spillovers to the rest of us. Europe’s problems have contributed to a weak euro .. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DEXUSEU , which makes U.S. products less competitive and is one reason American manufacturing is sliding. But characterizing this as a situation in which Europe is taking advantage of America gets it all wrong, and is not helpful.
What would be helpful? Realistically, America has no ability to pressure Germany into changing its domestic policies. We might be able to provide a little moral suasion if our own leadership had any intellectual or policy credibility, but, of course, it doesn’t. There’s a sense in which the whole world has a Germany problem, but it’s up to the Germans themselves to solve it.
One thing is for sure: Starting a trade war with Europe would truly be a lose-lose proposition, even more so than our trade war with China. It’s the last thing either America or Europe needs. Which means that Trump is probably going to do it.
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