Internet: Politics wants to force porn filters again

Internet

The Internet is - not everywhere, but in Germany - a freely accessible virtual place. Still. Because, once again, German politicians, in this case in the form of the federal states, are obliged to enforce so-called porn filters under the guise of protecting minors. In this, however, there is the inherent and great danger of massive censorship of the free internet. Even the so-called upload filters, which were pushed through by politicians despite massive criticism and protests, pose a similar risk and must be implemented soon. With the porn filters, politicians want to create another form of regulation of the Internet.

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Integration into the operating system

Filter systems are required that automatically block adult content; not for the first time. To this end, the federal states want to oblige the operating system manufacturers to integrate such youth protection filters into the system and activate them as standard. This applies equally to PCs and laptops as it does to smartphones and tablets. In order to get access to adult content, for example pornography, the user must first prove that they are of legal age.

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Lock all pages?

The demands go beyond porn sites. Any website that does not have an age label should be blocked. To put it clearly: this affects almost the entire web. So there is a risk of massive overblocking. Various media and IT associations are also warning against this, and at the same time expressing massive criticism of the project. These include, for example, Bitkom, Eco, game, Vaunet, FSK and USK. The plans can hardly be implemented and one cannot expect foreign operators to adhere to the German requirements, according to the joint letter to the state chancelleries of the federal states.

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Reporting system for large websites

But that's not all. Large websites (with more than a million users) should set up systems according to the plans, via which adult content can be reported quickly and at any time. In addition, website operators should, if necessary, classify content according to the age rating if it is intended for German consumers.

Source: Der Standard

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Man's Incredible Recovery From Locked-In Syndrome Stuns the Internet

Jacob Haendel, 32, has been recovering from both acute toxic progressive leukoencephalopathy (TAPL) and locked-in syndrome since 2018, documenting the process online.

In 2017, Haendel was diagnosed with acute toxic progressive stage four leukoencephalopathy, sometimes referred to as 'chasing the dragon syndrome,' after years of heroin use. In most cases, inhaling fumes created by heroin heated on foil causes the damage to the brain, leaving the individual struggling with movement.

Months later, he was admitted to hospital after frequently tripping over and struggling to eat or speak while at home. There he was transferred to the neuroscience intensive care unit. He was suffering from autonomic storms, in which the nervous system is essentially in overdrive causing full-body sweats, spasms, breathing issues and a heartbeat sometimes over 200 times a minute. These storms would last up to 12 hours.

Soon, Haendel was left in what is referred to as locked-in syndrome. Haendel could understand and hear everything that was happening, but was unable to move or communicate, leaving medical professionals unsure of his consciousness. This lasted months, before in June 2018 Haendel managed to slightly flick his wrist in front of a doctor. That's where his recovery began, gradually snowballing into using blinking to communicate, later using letter boards and eventually slowly learning to talk again.

Come spring 2019, he was speaking again and by September 2019 he was beginning to move out of his wheelchair with the help of others.

It's rare for someone to recover from either TAPL or locked-in syndrome, in fact he's the only known person to recover from stage four TAPL—let alone both. His recovery is a long and ongoing one, followed along by users online.

Through his Reddit and YouTube accounts, Haendel has been extremely open about the struggles and milestones he's reached. Just yesterday, he went viral on Reddit for an update of him doing a task in his wheelchair, gaining 76,000 votes in 10 hours.

Ten months ago, Haendel shared a video of him completing a recovery task while in his wheelchair. This time, he was able to complete it standing up. Although he struggles at first, with the encouragement of staff, he tries again and succeeds.

The post has been met with words of amazement and gratitude. 'You're one of the most badass people currently alive. It's not enough that you're the only known case to be in recovery from stage four, aye? You're posting videos to inspire anyone else out there. Talk about having stones and not stopping,' commented one Reddit user.

'Looking forward to you dunking a basketball next year. Keep fighting the good fight,' wrote another user.

Three months ago Haendel shared a video of him trying out the Nike Flyease sneakers, which tie up themselves. In December he posted a video on his journey to moving out of full-time care and into his own apartment.

But his use of the internet to document his progress has also allowed Haendel to share a far more light-hearted side to it all too, one that isn't all Rocky reaching the top of the stairs-style moments. In September, he shared a video titled 'The humor in relearning simple s**t,' in which he hysterically laughs at himself attempting to learn to feed himself again, and spilling food down himself each time.

Similarly, he was asked what the 'happiest' moment of being locked in was. 'There were two healthcare professionals talking as if I was not in the room and one of them said I gotta tell you about my awkward hook up last night. It was humorous,' he wrote.

Through Haendel's openness to share his unbelievable story, many have been able to learn about the process of recovery in cases like this, while Haendel has been able to brighten the day of many.

Newsweek has contacted Jacob Haendel for comment.