The Knesset plenum approved in a preliminary reading the bill to prevent the commission of offenses by publishing on the Internet (removal of content), 2021 by Member of Knesset Meir Yitzhak-Halevi and a group of Knesset members. The opposition was outraged at the preliminary approval of the bill and called it a “mouth-clogging.”
The explanatory memorandum reads: “Along with the benefits of technological developments that have taken place in recent years and the increasing use of the Internet, including social networks, we are witnessing an increase in the rate of mental distress among social network users – adults and teens alike.”
“There are also those who use the Internet to commit crimes, such as posting incitement to violence, sexual offenses, publications that unjustifiably infringe on a person’s privacy, publications that could harm a person’s dignity and psyche and shame, and more. We have recently been exposed to social networks themselves. “Consciously cooperating with injuries and damage done to their home field due to economic considerations and competition with other networks.”
“Recently, there has been a global trend of increasing use of the Internet to publish harmful content. This trend has led, among other things, to an increase in the level of violence in various countries around the world. The effort to eradicate these phenomena is cross-border. The State of Israel has also been dealing with this phenomenon recently, and therefore the extension of the legal toolbox to deal with it is required. “
MK Meir Yitzhak Halevi said that “for the past 3 years I have been dealing with the issue of violence on social networks as a public figure as an educator and even as a victim. “Unfortunately, social networks have become a convenient and dangerous easy platform for encouraging and creating violence, incitement, extortion, threats, sexual harassment and the creation of de-legitimization, which works against victims from an early age to old age.”
“In a normal world, the role of social networks is to serve as a platform for information transfer, information disclosure, legitimate criticism, legitimate public pressure and there is no doubt that their role is very important. “The most difficult social crisis that Israeli society has been going through in recent years,” he added.
MK Bezalel Smutrich, who opposed the proposal, said that “this is the law for closing the mouths of the right, after that you took over most of the institutionalized media in the State of Israel. You want to make yourself a censor of social networks as well. “
“The only place on the right, where the national and Zionist camp in the State of Od Israel can express itself and has freedom of expression, will also shut up. You will call everything incitement, you will call a call for violence. Israel, “he argued.
Before the vote, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said on the spot that “I want to tell you how absurd and dangerous this thing is, are you talking about democracy? Terrible danger, “knocking on the table.
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