Trump Administration Balks at Global Pact to Crack Down on Online Extremism - The New York Times

PARIS — The Trump administration said on Wednesday that it would not sign an international accord intended to pressure the largest internet platforms to eradicate violent and extremist content, highlighting a broader divide between the United States and other countries over government’s role in determining what content is acceptable online.

Citing free speech protections, the administration said in a statement that “the United States is not currently in a position to join the endorsement.” It added that “the best tool to defeat terrorist speech is productive speech.”

The statement coincided with President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand meeting in Paris to sign what they have labeled the Christchurch Call. The agreement was crafted after a terrorist attack on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March that left 51 Muslim worshipers dead. The massacre was live streamed on Facebook, and spread virally over the internet.

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Ms. Ardern has used the Christchurch killings to rally support for increased vigilance toward keeping violent and extremist content off the world’s largest internet platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft and Amazon have vowed to monitor their services more aggressively for material that encourages and facilitates violence.

Yet the debate about regulating the internet is raising broader questions about what constitutes acceptable free expression online. Companies and governments have largely coalesced around addressing violent, terrorist-related and child-exploitation content online, but there is less consensus on issues like what qualifies as hate speech and misinformation, and what forms of political rhetoric are tolerable even if they are offensive and polarizing.

The Christchurch Call is not binding and does not include penalties for platforms that do not comply. But as governments around the world consider new laws and regulations, tech companies are under growing pressure to demonstrate that they can police their platforms. On Tuesday, before the gathering in Paris, Facebook said it would place more restrictions on the use of its live video service

Last week, France proposed new laws that would require companies to eliminate harmful content. Britain put forward a similar proposal last month. And after the Christchurch massacre, Australia passed a law that made company executives personally liable for the spread of violent material.

Dipayan Ghosh, who worked on privacy policy issues at Facebook and in President Barack Obama’s administration, said the absence of the United States from the accord showed that it was ceding tech regulation to other nations.

“That the U.S. is a no-show to such an important meeting indicates a shocking lack of concern about the tremendous harms perpetuated by the internet, including terrorism and killing,” said Mr. Ghosh, who is now co-director of the Platform Accountability Project at Harvard University. “Further, our lack of participation will reinforce the intellectual divide between Americans and the rest of the world.”

He said the agreement was symbolically significant and put tech companies on notice that they must meet new safety obligations.

“If companies participate in the accord, they are necessarily representing to consumers that they will live up to its demands, and they will be compelled by governmental agencies to live up to those commitments,” he said.

On Wednesday, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter signed on to the Christchurch Call and to a nine-point plan for addressing extremist and violent content. The plan calls for the companies to take steps like updating their terms of use; identifying checks on live streaming; sharing technology development; and collaborating on protocols for responding to crises. The companies also agreed to improve tools for users to report objectionable content, and to publish transparency reports on efforts to detect and remove such material.

In a joint statement, the companies called the Christchurch shootings a “horrifying tragedy” and said “it is right that we come together.”

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, said in an interview that the companies’ plan was part of the tech industry’s broader shift away from self-regulation.

“Now you see a clear reaction and, in some cases, rejection of that,” Mr. Smith said in an interview.

Mr. Macron and Ms. Ardern said the Christchurch Call was the start of a wider effort to address the use of the internet to spread violent and extreme ideologies. The push is to continue at a meeting of Group of 7 leaders later this year and a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

“We have taken steps to act,” Mr. Macron said.

Ms. Ardern said, “The social media dimension to the attack was unprecedented and our response today with the adoption of the Christchurch Call is equally unprecedented.”

At a news conference at the French presidential palace, the two leaders played down the Trump administration’s position. Ms. Ardern noted that American officials had expressed support for the pledge’s broad goals.

In its statement on the subject, the Trump administration said it supported the Christchurch Call’s “overall goals” and would “continue to engage governments, industry, and civil society to counter terrorist content on the internet.”

Mr. Macron, acknowledging the differing views on free speech, argued that stricter policies were needed to stop the spread of not just explicitly violent content, but also anti-Semitic and other types of hate speech, bullying and racist material, which he said could incite extremist behavior. There have not been clear definitions about what is acceptable in those areas.

“That’s the gray zone,” Mr. Macron said.

Both leaders praised the tech companies for vowing to make changes. “We have an agreement here that involves both tech companies and countries,” said Ms. Ardern. “In the past we have had either one or the other.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/15/technology/christchurch-call-trump.html

2019-05-15 19:18:45Z
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Steve Bannon: There is 'no chance' Trump is going to back down in the China trade war - CNBC

There is "no chance" President Donald Trump will back down in the U.S. trade war with China, former Trump advisor Steve Bannon told CNBC on Wednesday.

"China has been running an economic war against the industrial democracies for now 20 years," said the hardline ex-White House chief strategist, who helped craft Trump's nationalist message.

Bannon said previous presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — passed the buck on addressing and fixing the problems of China's protectionist economy. But Trump is not shying away from the fight, he added.

"There is no chance that Donald Trump backs down from this. I think he's looking at the good of people on a global basis," Bannon said in the  "Squawk Box" interview.

Under Trump, Washington has taken a tougher stance on China than his recent predecessors. In addition to disputes around trade and the alleged Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property, American intelligence chiefs expressed their distrust of Chinese tech giant Huawei and Chinese telecom company ZTE.

The standoff with China "cuts to the core of what the United States is going to be in the future," Bannon said. "With 'Made in China 2025,' 'one belt-one road,' and Huawei's 5G rollout, this is a master plan to become an economic hegemon, " he added, referring to Chinese policies on its economy and trade.

U.S. officials have repeatedly said the Chinese stock market and economy have suffered more than those in the U.S. from the tariff fight, and will continue to bear the brunt. On Wednesday, China reported surprisingly weaker growth in retail sales and industrial output for April, adding pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus as the trade war with the United States escalates.

"We have all the cards," Bannon said. "The Chinese business model cannot continue. It won't continue."

For its part, China's Communist Party has remained defiant, putting out a rallying cry in state media.

The deal that Trump has said China backed out of was not really about trade, Bannon said. "They refused and basically walked away from the deal because they understood that they've been running an economic war in this. And this is not a trade deal. This is a truce in an economic war, an armistice so to speak, and that they weren't prepared to do it."

With trade talks at a stalemate, the U.S. is considering putting tariffs on the remaining billions and billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods coming into the U.S. Last week, the Trump administration followed through on its threat and increased duties on $200 billion worth of Chinese products from 10% to 25%. On Monday, in retaliation, China announced plans to raise tariffs, some to as high as 25%, on $60 billion in U.S. goods.

Trump's tweets and tough public rhetoric aside, negotiators for both sides — led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and China Vice Premier Liu He — need to get behind closed doors, "take the heat down" and work hard on getting an agreement, Bannon said. "This is not going to take place overnight."

Addressing a question about whether the Chinese would have rather negotiated with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin than China-hawk Lighthizer, Bannon praised Lighthizer. "There is no gap between Lighthizer and President Trump."

Since May 5, when Trump surprised investors with tweets threatening higher tariffs on China, the S&P 500 had lost about $1.1 trillion in value — the type of decline that if it were to persist could put a real drag on U.S. economic growth. The index made some of that back with Tuesday's nearly 1% recovery after Monday's 2.4% decline. Despite the knock from trade concerns, the S&P 500 was still only 4% away from its May 1 all-time intraday high as of Tuesday's close, and up more than 20% since the 2018 low on Christmas Eve.

The China dispute certainly makes for strange bedfellows, with Trump facing calls from allies on Wall Street and free-trade conservatives to reach a deal. U.S. stocks opened lower Wednesday. Meanwhile, Democrats including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are urging the president to extract the most concessions possible from China.

Bannon, a Goldman Sachs alum who became a proponent of nationalism, said he believes the China issue will frame the 2020 presidential campaign in favor of Trump. "This is history in real time. This is the most significant thing that any president can possible do," he said, adding that Trump won't bow to the pressure and make a superficial agreement that doesn't address all the ways Beijing is cheating economically.

On Tuesday evening, former Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein was on the same wavelength as Bannon, tweeting, "Tariffs might be an effective negotiating tool."

— CNBC digital correspondent in Singapore Yen Nee Lee and Reuters contributed to this report.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/15/steve-bannon-no-chance-trump-is-going-to-back-down-in-the-china-trade-war.html

2019-05-15 12:16:52Z
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'Jeremy Kyle Show' canceled after cheating guest dies by suicide - Fox News

British broadcaster ITV on Wednesday canceled a popular, long-running daytime reality show after the death of a guest who failed a lie-detector test during a recording.

ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall said "The Jeremy Kyle Show" was being scrapped "given the gravity of recent events."

The tabloid-style talk show, which had run for 14 years, was pulled after 63-year-old Steve Dymond was found dead at a home in Portsmouth, southern England, on May 9.

WOMAN, CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND REVEALED TO BE HALF-SIBLINGS ON 'JEREMY KYLE SHOW'

Media reported that he had killed himself. Police said the death was not suspicious, and a post-mortem will be held to determine the cause.

On an episode filmed earlier this month, Dymond took a lie-detector test to convince his fiancee that he had not been unfaithful, but was told he had failed.

The episode has not been aired.

"The Jeremy Kyle Show" was canceled after a guest died by suicide. The guest overdosed after failing a lie detector test about his alleged cheating on the British tabloid-style talk show. (Getty)

Dymond's death has heightened concern in Britain about the stress put on people appearing on reality television and online shows, and program-makers' duty to protect their guests.

'LOVE ISLAND' STAR MIKE THALASSITIS DEAD AT 26

It's a debate that has raged, off and on, for close to two decades since Britain began making home-grown equivalents of sensationalist U.S. programs like "The Jerry Springer Show" and putting ordinary people under intense scrutiny on reality shows such as "Big Brother."

ITV was already under pressure following the deaths of two former contestants, Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis. on reality show "Love Island." Gradon's 2018 death was ruled a suicide at an inquest. An inquest has not yet been held for Thalassitis, who died in March.

'LOVE ISLAND' STARS' DEATHS PROMPTS PAST CONTESTANTS TO ASK FOR HELP WITH PRESSURES OF FAME

Lawmaker Damian Collins, chairman of the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said the panel would discuss "what should be done to review the duty of care support for people appearing in reality TV shows" during a private meeting on Wednesday.

Simon Wessely, a former head of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said shows like "Jeremy Kyle" were "the theatre of cruelty."

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"And yes, it might entertain a million people a day, but then again, so did Christians versus lions," he said.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jeremy-kyle-show-canceled-cheating-guest-suicide-itv

2019-05-15 11:35:42Z
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Jeremy Kyle Show canceled 'for good' after guest's death, ITV says - CNN

Broadcaster ITV said it has permanently canceled production of the Jeremy Kyle Show, which had been running for 14 years.

Widely seen as the UK's answer to the Jerry Springer Show, the Jeremy Kyle Show often featured feuding couples or friends accused of betrayal, with participants sometimes agreeing to lie detector tests in order to settle disputes. Results would be revealed in front of a baying studio audience, with occasionally violent consequences.

The deceased participant, who has been identified as Steve Dymond, died a week after appearing on the show, ITV said, but no cause of death was confirmed.

Jenny Cummins, head of press for ITV, told CNN Wednesday that the show would be canceled "for good," and ITV CEO Carolyn McCall released a statement as a review of the long-running program continues.

"Given the gravity of recent events we have decided to end production of The Jeremy Kyle Show," said McCall.

"The Jeremy Kyle Show has had a loyal audience and has been made by a dedicated production team for 14 years, but now is the right time for the show to end."

"Everyone at ITV's thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends of Steve Dymond," continued the statement.

ITV previously announced it would not screen the episode in which Dymond appeared.

The broadcaster said it will continue to work with Jeremy Kyle on other projects.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/15/entertainment/jeremy-kyle-canceled-scli-gbr-intl/index.html

2019-05-15 11:35:00Z
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US orders 'non-emergency government employees' to leave Iraq - Aljazeera.com

The US State Department on Wednesday ordered the departure of "non-emergency government employees" from Iraq, the US embassy in Baghdad said in a statement.

Referring to the embassy and the US consulate in Erbil, it said "normal visa services at both posts will be temporarily suspended. The US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in Iraq".

The statement recommended those affected "depart by commercial transportation as soon as possible".

The alert comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran, a sign of which was a US decision to send a Patriot missile battery and a Navy amphibious transport dock ship to the Middle East.

On Sunday, the embassy advised Americans to avoid travel to Iraq, citing "heightened tensions".

Last week, Washington said it had detected new and urgent threats from Iran and its proxy forces in the region targeting Americans and American interests. Washington last month blacklisted Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a 'terrorist group'.

The US administration reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports in November after President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran, Washington and major world powers.

On Wednesday, Iran said it would officially stop fulfilling some commitments under the 2015 deal following an order from its national security council, ISNA news agency reported.

An official in the country's atomic energy body told ISNA that Iran now would not limit its production of enriched uranium and heavy water.

Can Europe save the Iran nuclear deal? (25:10)

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/orders-emergency-government-employees-leave-iraq-190515081039448.html

2019-05-15 11:04:00Z
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US non-essential personnel ordered to leave Iraq Embassy, consulate - Fox News

The State Department has ordered all non-emergency personnel at the U.S. Embassy and consulate in Iraq to leave the country amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, the agency said in a security alert on its website early Wednesday morning. The alert also said that normal visa services would be temporarily suspended.

GEN. JACK KEANE SAYS REPORT TRUMP HAS UPDATED PLANS TO SEND 100,000 TROOPS TO IRAN IS 'DISTORTION OF WHAT REALLY HAPPENS'

Last week, U.S. officials said urgent "credible threats" from Iran against Americans were detected and the embassy advised against all travel to the region, citing “heightened tensions.”

Iran has threatened to pull out of the nuclear deal and resume higher uranium enrichment if no new deal is put in place. The U.S. left the Iran nuclear deal last year.

Trump denied Tuesday that the administration was planning to send more than 100,000 troops to counter Iran if necessary.  (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Amber Smalley, U.S. Navy via AP)

On Tuesday, Trump denied that the administration was planning to send more than 100,000 troops to the region if necessary, but then said, "Would I do that? Absolutely ... If we did that, we’d send a hell of a lot more troops than that.”

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo backed the president's claim, saying "We fundamentally do not seek war with Iran.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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2019-05-15 09:42:14Z
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U.S. Orders Partial Evacuation of Embassy in Baghdad - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The State Department ordered a partial evacuation of the United States Embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday, responding to what the Trump administration said was a threat linked to Iran, one that has led to an accelerated movement of American ships and bombers into the Persian Gulf.

The department ordered “nonemergency U.S. government employees,” at both the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil, to leave the country. The order applies primarily to full-time diplomats posted to Iraq by State Department headquarters in Washington, and an embassy statement said that visa services in Iraq would be suspended as a result. Contractors who provide security, food and other such services will remain in place for now.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that the administration had received intelligence related to “Iranian activity” that put American facilities and service personnel at “substantial risk.” Other American officials have said the same piece of intelligence points to potential attacks by Shiite Arab militias tied to Iran against American troops in Iraq or Syria.

Iraqi officials have voiced skepticism about the about the threat described by the Americans, and on Tuesday, so did the British deputy commander of the American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, or ISIS.

“No, there’s been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria,” Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika, speaking from Baghdad, told reporters at the Pentagon by video link. There were dangers in the region that were constantly assessed, he said, referring to “noncompliant actors” among the militias, but those have not changed.

The Pentagon’s Central Command released a statement saying that General Ghika’s comments “run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from U.S. and allies regarding Iranian backed forces in the region,” and that as a result, United States forces in Iraq were “now at a high level of alert.”

Mr. Pompeo made a surprise visit to Baghdad on May 7 to brief Iraqi leaders about the threat.

On May 5, John Bolton, the national security adviser, issued a statement warning against any attack by the Iranian military or a “proxy” against American interests or allies. Mr. Bolton said the United States was sending the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and bombers to the Persian Gulf. Other officials later said that the strike group’s movement to that area had been previously scheduled and was merely being sped up.

On Friday, the Pentagon said it was sending another ship and a Patriot antimissile battery to the Middle East.

The order for a partial evacuation of the Baghdad embassy, which at the height of the Iraq War was the largest in the American diplomatic system, adds to the rising tensions between the United States and Iran. It is unclear when the employees being evacuated will be told they can return.

In September, Mr. Pompeo ordered a full withdrawal from the American Consulate in Basra, in southern Iraq, after a few rockets landed around the grounds of the city’s airport, where the consulate is. The rockets did not cause any injuries. For more than a year beforehand, State Department officials had debated whether to shut down the consulate to save money, and some diplomats said the evacuation of the consulate was related to that.

The Trump administration blamed Shiite militias tied to Iran for the rocket attacks in Basra. It also said that those types of militias were responsible for rocket attacks around the same time in the area of the Baghdad embassy. As in Basra, the attacks in Baghdad did not injure anyone.

Tensions with Iran have been rising since May 2018, when President Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal that world powers reached with Tehran. The United States then reinstated major sanctions last November, and those have weakened the Iranian economy.

In April, the Trump administration designated an arm of Iran's military as a foreign terrorist organization and ended waivers it had granted to eight governments to exempt them from sanctions for buying Iranian oil.

European nations are still in the nuclear deal and have urged Iran to stay committed to it, despite Mr. Trump’s provocations. Iran said last week that it would begin walking away from some of the deal’s restrictions on its nuclear activity.

Critics of the Trump administration, and of Mr. Bolton in particular, have suggested that American officials are presenting faulty intelligence to make a case for war against Iran, as the administration of President George W. Bush did in 2002 to justify the invasion of Iraq. Mr. Bolton was the under secretary of state for arms control and international security then, and he asserted that Saddam Hussein, the longtime ruler of Iraq, was trying to develop weapons of mass destruction.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/15/us/politics/us-iraq-embassy-evacuation.html

2019-05-15 09:22:30Z
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