Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1028264
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 SEPTEMBER 2018 JAMES DEBONO MALTESE internet users have identified "hate speech" as the sort of illegal content they are most likely to encounter while surging online. According to a Eurobarom- eter survey held in 28 EU mem- ber states, the Maltese were the most likely of all member states to complain about encountering hate speech on the web. The survey also shows that the Maltese are the keenest in Eu- rope to defend online freedom of expression Hate speech is defined in EU law as the public incitement to violence or hatred directed to groups or individuals on the basis of certain characteristics, "including race, colour, religion, descent and national or ethnic origin". But those answering the sur- vey were not given a definition of hate speech and therefore the replies could be conditioned by preconceptions on what consti- tutes hate speech in each coun- try. Compared to the EU average of 29% of those who said they encounter hate speech online, this rose to 55% in Malta. Next came the Czech Republic (53%), Bulgaria (52%) and Poland (50%) as the most likely to encounter hate speech whileEstonia (15%), Italy (17%) and Lithuania (19%) were the least likely. 9% of Maltese also reported encountering child sexual abuse online and 12% claim to have encountered terrorist content compared to 6% of respondents in all EU-28 countries. 37% of Maltese encounter pirated ma- terial while 40% encounter fake or counterfeit goods online. However, 73% of Maltese re- spondents said they do not take any action when encountering illegal content online, compared to 59% of Europeans who do take action. 11% of Maltese – compared to 21% of Europeans – said they re- ported such abuse directly to the service provider. Interestingly, 7% of Maltese respondents reported that con- tent they had posted online was removed or blocked. Most of these cases involved sharing pi- rated content. The survey also shows Malta having the highest rate of daily use of social media. While 63% use the social media on a daily basis (19 points higher than EU average), 14% use it a few times a week. 41% of the Maltese are also likely to watch videos, live streams or listen to music on a daily basis, 10 percentage points more than the EU average. DAVID HUDSON MOVIMENT Graffitti and Kamp Emerġenza Ambjent have struck a conciliatory tone over accusations against the police force for mishan- dling their Planning Author- ity protest, insisting that their main focus is the PA's "offen- sive" fuel station policy, "and not police actions". "Officers were simply do- ing their job," the two NGOs said, while clarifying, howev- er, that members of the Rapid Intervention Unit (RIU) went overboard by grabbing and dragging activists from their neck, and even hurling their musical instruments at the protestors. The protest on Thursday took place just inside the Plan- ning Authority (PA) offices and resulted in somewhat of a ruckus when the protestors were slightly injured in the fray and handled poorly and violently by intervening police officers. Even Prime Minister Joseph Muscat condemned the reaction of the police, call- ing it "heavy-handed." The Malta Police Associa- tion, however, justified po- lice action and said that the protestors had gained access to the PA offices illegally and would not exit the building when told to do so. In response Moviment Graf- fitti seemed to be in agree- ment with the MPA state- ment, arguing that the police were doing their job and that police action, whether legiti- mate or not, was not their pri- ority at this point. "Our foremost concern re- mains the Fuel Service Sta- tion Policy and the offensive behaviour of the PA, and not police actions," they said of the PA policy that allows 3,000sq.m mega petrol pumps to be built on land outside de- velopment zones, often turn- ing into convenience stories on roadways in rural areas. "It is for this reason that the NGOs participate in an act of peaceful civil disobedience," Graffitti said. Nine months after a prom- ised review of the Fuel Service Station Policy, this remains unreformed and still in place. While the Zejtun fuel station application this week was re- fused, Moviment Graffitti and Kamp Emerġenza Ambjent claimed that four fuel stations have already been approved in the past months, with 11 oth- ers being processed. "This amounts to a total size equal to seven times the area of the Floriana granaries on natural and agricultural land. This is pure madness and it must be stopped," the NGOs said. Moviment Graffitti said the power of developers had esca- lated outside democratic con- trol since policymakers them- selves, several organisations and thousands of citizens disapproved and voiced their outrage towards fuel stations on ODZ land. The NGO promised that since it received overwhelm- ing support over the past few days, they feel galvanised and encouraged to push for a stronger movement "that can defend our country from speculators' greed and PA's servility to big business." Maltese most likely to encounter online hate speech in EU 63% use social media on a daily basis Don't blame the police: 'It's the PA's servility that is offensive' The internet profile of the Maltese Malta EU 28 Shop online daily 2% 2% Use social networks daily 63% 44% Watch videos/livestreams/music daily 41% 31% Use file sharing services to download 13% 8% Read news website and blogs daily 20% 19% Encounter hate speech online 55% 29% Members of KEA and Moviment Graffitti were forcefully removed by the police during the protest NEWS