Helle Thorning Schmidt, a member of Facebook’s Oversight Board, said during a virtual Politico Europe forum that free speech is not an absolute human right because it needs to be balanced with other human rights, which translates into the board's approach to content moderation on Facebook.
"How do you moderate content and how do you find that balance between human rights and free speech, which is a human right, but also other human rights because free speech is not an absolute human right. It has to be balanced with other human rights and that is what the Oversight is there to do," the former prime minister of Denmark.
"We have seen content moderation...from a select few in Silicon Valley and ultimately Mark Zuckerberg, who has been moderating content. Now we have the Oversight Board, which is a completely new invention to do this work. And, of course, I want to say that I think this is a very positive new way to do it," Schmidt added.
“Free speech is not an absolute human right,” says Helle Thorning Schmidt, member of Facebook’s Oversight Board and former PM of Denmark. “It has to be balanced with other human rights.”
— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) July 15, 2021
How does that translate to content moderation? It must strike a balance, find a middle. pic.twitter.com/E5reaQ2bnk
Schmidt's comments about free speech were met with harsh criticisms from Americans, given the First Amendment is a top priority for many:
Recommended
Wow.
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) July 15, 2021
This woman's ideas would lead to the end of America. Such oppression of our rights, especially free speech, flows directly from the Oligarchs of Big Tech, and it must be stopped.
Break up Big Tech. It has to be a foundation of the America First movement into 2022 and 2024 https://t.co/AHx4UuRCYW
We warned you about how @OversightBoard was filled with pretend #FreeSpeech advocates. https://t.co/F4dcbCMUg9
— Dan Gainor (@dangainor) July 15, 2021
“Free speech is not an absolute human right”
— Jason Buttrill (@JasonButtrill) July 15, 2021
Fact check = false https://t.co/vuUjDvkaaY
Which human right does free speech undermine? https://t.co/GX3zfQnfk7
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) July 15, 2021
Join the conversation as a VIP Member