<P><B>Who polices speech online? Who is in charge?</B></P><P>'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.'</P><P>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?</P><P>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. <I>Speech Police</I> 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.</P><P><I>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</I></P>
