0:00:01.950,0:00:04.500
Thank you very much.[br]Thanks to everyone who stood up.

0:00:04.510,0:00:06.990
Unnecessary but very flattering.

0:00:07.380,0:00:09.760
Thank you, Jonathan,[br]for your very kind words.

0:00:10.480,0:00:12.320
Thank you, the Anti-Defamation League,

0:00:12.330,0:00:14.510
for this recognition

0:00:14.570,0:00:18.230
and your work in fighting racism,[br]hate and bigotry.

0:00:18.720,0:00:19.950
And to be clear,

0:00:20.040,0:00:22.320
when I say racism, hate, and bigotry

0:00:22.860,0:00:26.210
I'm not referring to the names[br]of Stephen Miller's labradoodles.

0:00:26.600,0:00:27.880
[audience laughs]

0:00:30.490,0:00:33.920
Now, I realize that[br]some of you may be thinking:

0:00:34.110,0:00:38.130
"What the hell is a comedian doing[br]speaking at a conference like this?"

0:00:39.010,0:00:40.290
I certainly am.

0:00:40.390,0:00:41.390
[audience laughs]

0:00:41.440,0:00:44.640
I've spent most of the past two decades[br]in character.

0:00:44.760,0:00:49.680
In fact, this is the first ever time[br]that I've stood up and given a speech

0:00:49.750,0:00:53.170
as my least popular character:[br]Sacha Baron Cohen.

0:00:53.280,0:00:54.280
[audience laughs]

0:00:54.380,0:00:55.950
[audience cheers]

0:00:57.470,0:01:01.320
And, I have to confess, it is terrifying.

0:01:02.710,0:01:06.830
I realize that my presence here[br]may also be unexpected for another reason:

0:01:07.560,0:01:10.580
At times, some critics[br]have said my comedy

0:01:10.730,0:01:14.090
risks reinforcing old stereotypes.

0:01:14.280,0:01:19.210
The truth is, I've been passionate about[br]challenging bigotry and intolerance

0:01:19.270,0:01:20.420
throughout my life.

0:01:20.770,0:01:22.140
As a teenager in England,

0:01:22.160,0:01:24.950
I marched against[br]the Fascist National Front

0:01:25.010,0:01:26.890
and to abolish apartheid.

0:01:27.220,0:01:29.750
As an undergraduate,[br]I traveled around America

0:01:29.770,0:01:32.770
and wrote my thesis[br]about the Civil Rights Movement

0:01:32.900,0:01:35.410
with the help of the archives of the ADL;

0:01:35.670,0:01:38.610
and as a comedian,[br]I've tried to use my characters

0:01:38.650,0:01:41.690
to get people to let down their guard

0:01:41.710,0:01:43.940
and reveal what they actually believe,

0:01:44.250,0:01:45.950
including their own prejudice.

0:01:46.430,0:01:48.550
Now, I'm not gonna claim[br]everything I've done

0:01:48.570,0:01:50.210
has been for a higher purpose.

0:01:50.560,0:01:52.670
Yes, some of my comedy –

0:01:52.700,0:01:54.390
okay, probably half my comedy –

0:01:54.410,0:01:56.120
has been absolutely juvenile.

0:01:56.220,0:01:57.350
[audience laughs]

0:01:57.470,0:01:59.710
And the other half completely puerile.

0:01:59.750,0:02:01.520
But...[br][audience laughs]

0:02:01.590,0:02:05.100
I admit there was nothing[br]particularly enlightening about me

0:02:05.140,0:02:07.060
as Borat from Kazakhstan,

0:02:07.150,0:02:09.180
the first 'fake news' journalist,

0:02:09.240,0:02:10.390
[audience laughs]

0:02:10.460,0:02:12.800
running through a conference[br]of mortgage brokers

0:02:12.860,0:02:14.400
while I was completely naked.

0:02:14.420,0:02:15.490
[audience laughs]

0:02:15.520,0:02:19.720
But when Borat was able to get[br]an entire bar in Arizona to sing

0:02:19.820,0:02:21.720
♪ throw the Jew down the well ♪

0:02:21.740,0:02:22.750
[audience laughs]

0:02:22.800,0:02:26.930
it did reveal people's indifference[br]to anti-semitism.

0:02:27.490,0:02:31.300
When, as Bruno, the gay[br]fashion reporter from Austria,

0:02:31.600,0:02:34.630
I started kissing a man[br]in a cage fight in Arkansas,

0:02:35.000,0:02:36.540
nearly starting a riot,

0:02:36.630,0:02:40.440
it showed the violent potential[br]of homophobia.

0:02:40.740,0:02:44.020
And, when disguised[br]as an ultra-woke developer,

0:02:44.040,0:02:48.010
I proposed building a mosque[br]in one rural community,

0:02:48.110,0:02:50.880
prompting a resident to proudly admit:

0:02:50.940,0:02:53.650
"I am racist against Muslims,"

0:02:54.030,0:02:57.360
it showed the growing acceptance[br]of islamophobia.

0:02:58.090,0:03:01.630
That's why I really appreciate[br]the opportunity to be here with you.

0:03:01.850,0:03:04.160
Today, around the world,

0:03:04.260,0:03:07.170
demagogues appeal[br]to our worst instincts.

0:03:07.430,0:03:10.870
Conspiracy theories,[br]once confined to the fringe,

0:03:11.100,0:03:12.400
are going mainstream.

0:03:12.700,0:03:17.860
It's as if the age of reason,[br]the era of evidential argument

0:03:17.880,0:03:19.100
is ending,

0:03:19.110,0:03:22.010
and now knowledge[br]is increasingly delegitimized

0:03:22.350,0:03:25.350
and scientific consensus is dismissed.

0:03:25.650,0:03:29.450
Democracy,[br]which depends on shared truths,

0:03:29.520,0:03:30.620
is in retreat,

0:03:30.660,0:03:34.430
and autocracy,[br]which depends on shared lies,

0:03:34.460,0:03:35.690
is on the march.

0:03:36.060,0:03:37.840
Hate crimes are surging,

0:03:38.020,0:03:41.400
as are murderous attacks[br]on religious and ethnic minorities.

0:03:41.800,0:03:45.200
Now, what do all these[br]dangerous trends have in common?

0:03:45.570,0:03:47.180
I'm just a comedian and an actor,

0:03:47.210,0:03:51.040
I'm not a scholar,[br]but one thing is pretty clear to me:

0:03:52.110,0:03:55.410
All this hate and violence[br]is being facilitated

0:03:55.510,0:03:57.550
by a handful of Internet companies

0:03:57.920,0:04:01.920
that amount to the greatest[br]propaganda machine in history.

0:04:02.400,0:04:04.310
[audience applauds]

0:04:06.690,0:04:09.290
The greatest[br]propaganda machine in history.

0:04:09.310,0:04:11.700
Let's think about it. [br]Facebook, YouTube...

0:04:11.720,0:04:13.500
...Google, Twitter and others –

0:04:13.770,0:04:15.670
they reach billions of people.

0:04:15.700,0:04:18.440
The algorithms[br]these platforms depend on

0:04:18.800,0:04:20.470
deliberately amplify

0:04:20.530,0:04:23.360
the type of content[br]that keeps users engaged;

0:04:23.750,0:04:27.080
stories that appeal[br]to our baser instincts,

0:04:27.270,0:04:29.380
and that trigger outrage and fear.

0:04:29.630,0:04:34.690
It's why YouTube recommended videos[br]by the conspiracist Alex Jones

0:04:34.830,0:04:36.760
billions of times.

0:04:37.360,0:04:40.360
It's why fake news outperforms real news,

0:04:40.630,0:04:44.430
because studies show that[br]lies spread faster than truth.

0:04:44.920,0:04:48.230
And it's no surprise that the greatest[br]propaganda machine in history

0:04:48.630,0:04:52.070
has spread the oldest[br]conspiracy theory in history:

0:04:52.270,0:04:55.310
the lie that Jews are somehow dangerous.

0:04:56.010,0:04:57.640
As one headline put it:

0:04:57.980,0:05:01.450
"Just think what Goebbles[br]could have done with Facebook."

0:05:01.480,0:05:02.537
[audience groans]

0:05:02.640,0:05:03.640
On the internet,

0:05:03.960,0:05:07.170
everything can appear equally legitimate.

0:05:07.470,0:05:09.750
Breitbart resembles the BBC,

0:05:10.090,0:05:12.730
the fictitious protocols[br]of the Elders of Zion

0:05:12.980,0:05:15.630
look as valid as an ADL report,

0:05:16.040,0:05:18.730
and the rantings of a lunatic[br]seem as credible

0:05:18.750,0:05:21.370
as the findings of a Nobel Prize winner.

0:05:21.850,0:05:25.770
We have lost, it seems,[br]a shared sense of basic facts

0:05:26.070,0:05:28.570
upon which democracy depends.

0:05:29.020,0:05:31.810
When I, as the wanna-be-gansta Ali G,

0:05:31.830,0:05:34.650
asked the astronaut Buzz Aldrin:

0:05:34.950,0:05:37.420
"what woz it like to walk on de sun??"

0:05:37.650,0:05:39.560
[audience laughs]

0:05:41.650,0:05:46.960
the joke worked because,[br]we, the audience, shared the same facts.

0:05:47.360,0:05:49.730
If you believe the moon landing was a hoax

0:05:49.960,0:05:52.230
the joke doesn't work.

0:05:52.360,0:05:55.730
When Borat got that bar[br]in Arizona to agree that,

0:05:56.000,0:06:01.070
♪ Jews control everybody's money[br]and they never give it back ♪

0:06:02.150,0:06:05.410
the joke worked because[br]the audience shared the fact

0:06:05.440,0:06:08.480
that the depiction of Jews as miserly

0:06:08.810,0:06:12.580
is a conspiracy theory[br]originating in the Middle Ages.

0:06:12.780,0:06:16.890
But when, thanks to social media, [br]conspiracies take hold,

0:06:17.060,0:06:19.790
it is easier for hate groups to recruit,

0:06:19.990,0:06:22.630
easier for foreign intelligence agencies

0:06:22.690,0:06:25.100
to interfere in our elections,

0:06:25.400,0:06:32.370
and easier for a country like Myanmar[br]to commit genocide against the Rohingya.

0:06:33.170,0:06:35.710
[audience applauds]

0:06:38.780,0:06:40.980
Now, it's actually quite shocking

0:06:41.010,0:06:44.650
how easy it is to turn[br]conspiracy thinking into violence.

0:06:44.700,0:06:46.790
In my last show, "Who is America?"

0:06:47.350,0:06:50.650
I found an educated, normal guy[br]who'd held down a good job,

0:06:50.690,0:06:53.100
but who, on social media,

0:06:53.120,0:06:55.790
repeated many of the conspiracy theories

0:06:56.060,0:06:58.230
that President Trump, using Twitter,

0:06:58.580,0:07:04.540
has spread more than 1700 times[br]to his 67 million Twitter followers.

0:07:05.040,0:07:10.440
The president even tweeted that[br]he was considering designating Antifa

0:07:10.580,0:07:13.480
who are anti-fascists[br]who march against the far-right,

0:07:13.580,0:07:15.980
as a terror organization.

0:07:16.380,0:07:21.120
So, disguised as an Israeli[br]anti-terrorism expert,

0:07:21.390,0:07:23.150
Colonel Erran Morad,

0:07:23.170,0:07:24.170
[audience laughs]

0:07:25.008,0:07:26.725
[in a foreign accent][br]"Yalla. Let go"

0:07:26.757,0:07:27.987
[audience laughs]

0:07:28.160,0:07:30.260
Disguised as him, [br]I told my interviewee

0:07:30.280,0:07:32.500
that at the Women's March in San Francisco

0:07:32.560,0:07:38.440
Antifa were plotting to put hormones[br]into babies' diapers in order to

0:07:38.470,0:07:40.630
[in a foreign accent][br]"make them transgender,"

0:07:40.660,0:07:41.660
[audience laughs]

0:07:41.910,0:07:43.480
And this man believed it.

0:07:43.740,0:07:48.510
I instructed him to plant small devices[br]on three innocent people at the march,

0:07:48.530,0:07:50.610
and explained that,[br]when he pushed a button,

0:07:50.650,0:07:53.350
he'd trigger an explosion[br]that would kill them all.

0:07:53.790,0:07:56.940
They weren't real explosives, [br]of course, but he thought they were.

0:07:57.090,0:08:00.120
I wanted to see, would he actually do it?

0:08:00.460,0:08:02.360
The answer was yes.

0:08:02.730,0:08:06.900
He pushed the button and thought[br]he had actually killed three human beings.

0:08:07.370,0:08:10.000
Voltaire was right when he said,

0:08:10.100,0:08:13.810
"Those who can make you[br]believe absurdities

0:08:14.140,0:08:16.510
"can make you commit atrocities."

0:08:17.580,0:08:24.080
And social media lets authoritarians[br]push absurdities to billions of people.

0:08:24.600,0:08:25.680
In their defense,

0:08:25.710,0:08:29.850
these social media companies[br]have taken some steps to reduce hate

0:08:29.890,0:08:32.380
and conspiracies on their platforms,

0:08:32.420,0:08:34.930
but these steps[br]have been mainly superficial.

0:08:35.370,0:08:37.130
And I'm talking about this today

0:08:37.150,0:08:40.230
because I believe that[br]our pluralistic democracies

0:08:40.630,0:08:43.860
are on a precipice[br]and that the next 12 months,

0:08:43.890,0:08:47.310
and the role of social media[br]could be determinant.

0:08:48.050,0:08:49.910
British voters will go to the polls

0:08:49.940,0:08:51.940
while online conspiracists

0:08:52.180,0:08:56.250
promote the despicable theory[br]of the "great replacement,"

0:08:56.310,0:08:59.400
that white Christians[br]are being deliberately replaced

0:08:59.420,0:09:01.420
by Muslim immigrants.

0:09:01.750,0:09:03.760
Americans will vote for president

0:09:04.120,0:09:11.130
while trolls and bots perpetuate[br]the disgusting lie of a Hispanic invasion.

0:09:11.620,0:09:15.530
And after years of YouTube videos[br]calling climate change a hoax,

0:09:16.070,0:09:19.400
the United States is on track,[br]a year from now,

0:09:19.800,0:09:23.070
to formally withdraw[br]from the Paris Accords.

0:09:23.470,0:09:27.150
A sewer of bigotry[br]and vile conspiracy theories

0:09:27.350,0:09:31.250
that threaten our democracy,[br]and to some degree, our planet.

0:09:31.850,0:09:35.550
This can't possibly be what[br]the creators of the internet had in mind.

0:09:35.850,0:09:40.660
I believe that it's time for[br]a fundamental rethink of social media

0:09:40.890,0:09:44.460
and how it spreads[br]hate, conspiracies and lies.

0:09:44.800,0:09:47.670
(Audience cheers; applauds)

0:09:52.570,0:09:57.640
Last month, however,[br]Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook

0:09:58.040,0:09:59.780
delivered a major speech

0:10:00.110,0:10:04.330
that, not surprisingly, [br]warned against new laws and regulations

0:10:04.360,0:10:05.820
on companies like his.

0:10:06.180,0:10:09.880
Well, some of these arguments[br]are simply...

0:10:10.152,0:10:12.190
...pardon my French, bullshit.

0:10:12.670,0:10:13.890
Let's count the ways.

0:10:14.060,0:10:17.990
First, Zuckerberg[br]tried to portray this whole issue as

0:10:18.460,0:10:21.070
"choices around free expression."

0:10:21.100,0:10:22.670
That is ludicrous.

0:10:23.050,0:10:26.570
This is not about[br]limiting anyone's free speech.

0:10:26.840,0:10:28.360
This is about giving people –

0:10:28.390,0:10:32.010
including some of the most[br]reprehensible people on earth –

0:10:32.280,0:10:35.910
the biggest platform in history[br]to reach a third of the planet.

0:10:36.350,0:10:39.950
Freedom of speech[br]is not freedom of reach.

0:10:40.460,0:10:42.370
Sadly, there will always be racists,

0:10:42.410,0:10:45.400
misogynists,[br]anti-semites and child abusers,

0:10:45.460,0:10:47.460
but I think we can all agree

0:10:47.500,0:10:50.430
that we shouldn't be[br]giving bigots and pedophiles

0:10:50.700,0:10:55.030
a free platform to amplify their views[br]and target their victims.

0:10:55.070,0:10:57.800
[audience applauds]

0:11:00.770,0:11:03.960
Second, Mark Zuckerberg[br]claimed that new limits

0:11:03.980,0:11:05.880
on what's posted on social media

0:11:05.910,0:11:09.250
would be [br]"to pull back on free expression."

0:11:09.610,0:11:11.150
This is utter nonsense.

0:11:11.600,0:11:14.530
The First Amendment[br]says that, and I quote:

0:11:14.740,0:11:18.000
"Congress shall make no law...[br]abridging freedom of speech."

0:11:18.240,0:11:22.530
However, this does not apply[br]to private businesses like Facebook.

0:11:22.930,0:11:26.630
We're not asking these companies[br]to determine the boundaries of free speech

0:11:26.860,0:11:28.330
across society,

0:11:28.530,0:11:32.300
we just want them[br]to be responsible on their platforms.

0:11:32.670,0:11:35.670
If neo-nazi comes[br]goose-stepping into a restaurant

0:11:36.040,0:11:39.410
and starts threatening other customers[br]and says he wants to kill Jews,

0:11:39.840,0:11:42.450
would the owner of the restaurant,[br]a private business,

0:11:42.580,0:11:46.760
be required to serve him[br]an elegant 8-course meal?

0:11:47.190,0:11:48.550
Of course not!

0:11:48.690,0:11:51.820
The restaurant owner[br]has every legal right –

0:11:52.060,0:11:54.690
and indeed, I would argue,[br]a moral obligation –

0:11:54.890,0:11:56.500
to kick that Nazi out.

0:11:56.720,0:11:58.560
And so do these internet companies.

0:11:58.610,0:12:00.610
[audience applauds]

0:12:04.550,0:12:06.060
Now third.

0:12:06.200,0:12:09.920
Mark Zuckerberg seemed to equate[br]regulation of companies like his

0:12:10.210,0:12:14.250
to the actions of [br]"the most repressive societies."

0:12:14.710,0:12:15.810
Incredible.

0:12:16.100,0:12:20.620
This from one of the six people[br]who decide what information

0:12:20.820,0:12:22.990
so much of the world sees:

0:12:23.550,0:12:25.590
Zuckerberg at Facebook,

0:12:25.720,0:12:27.590
Sundar Pichai at Google,

0:12:27.760,0:12:31.730
at its parent company Alphabet,[br]Larry Page and Sergey Brin,

0:12:32.060,0:12:35.770
Brin’s ex-sister-in-law,[br]Susan Wojcicki at YouTube,

0:12:35.800,0:12:37.770
and Jack Dorsey at Twitter.

0:12:38.300,0:12:40.040
The Silicon Six.

0:12:40.640,0:12:43.170
All billionaires, all Americans,

0:12:43.420,0:12:46.480
who care more[br]about boosting their share price

0:12:46.850,0:12:48.750
than about protecting democracy.

0:12:49.222,0:12:51.140
[audience applauds]

0:12:53.630,0:12:57.278
This is ideological imperialism.

0:12:57.780,0:13:00.860
Six unelected individuals[br]in Silicon Valley

0:13:01.160,0:13:04.200
imposing their vision[br]on the rest of the world,

0:13:04.460,0:13:06.660
unaccountable to any government

0:13:06.740,0:13:09.970
and acting like[br]they're above the reach of law.

0:13:10.000,0:13:12.300
It's like we're living[br]in the Roman Empire,

0:13:12.330,0:13:14.340
and Mark Zuckerberg is Caesar.

0:13:14.880,0:13:16.940
At least that would explain his haircut.

0:13:17.220,0:13:18.629
[audience laughs]

0:13:19.460,0:13:21.380
Now here's an idea.

0:13:22.380,0:13:26.180
Instead of letting the Sillicon Six[br]decide the fate of the world,

0:13:26.680,0:13:29.290
let our elected representatives,

0:13:29.650,0:13:33.860
voted for by the people[br]of every democracy in the world,

0:13:34.030,0:13:35.660
have at least some say.

0:13:36.590,0:13:39.230
Fourth, Zuckerberg[br]speaks of welcoming

0:13:39.330,0:13:41.630
"a diversity of ideas,"

0:13:42.070,0:13:44.190
and last year he gave us an example.

0:13:44.250,0:13:47.910
He said that he found[br]posts denying the Holocaust

0:13:47.970,0:13:49.410
"deeply offensive,"

0:13:49.610,0:13:52.080
but he didn't think[br]Facebook should take them down

0:13:52.340,0:13:56.580
"because I think there are things[br]that different people get wrong."

0:13:56.980,0:14:02.120
At this very moment, there are still[br]Holocaust deniers on Facebook,

0:14:02.220,0:14:04.100
and Google still takes you

0:14:04.130,0:14:07.830
to the most repulsive[br]Holocaust denial sites

0:14:07.960,0:14:09.390
with a simple click.

0:14:09.650,0:14:14.530
One of the heads of Google, in fact,[br]told me that these sites just show

0:14:14.870,0:14:16.670
"both sides" of the issue.

0:14:16.700,0:14:17.670
[audience groans]

0:14:17.740,0:14:19.000
This is madness.

0:14:19.100,0:14:21.402
To quote Edward R. Murrow:

0:14:21.460,0:14:24.640
One "cannot accept[br]that there are, on every story,

0:14:24.750,0:14:28.280
"two equal and logical sides[br]to an argument."

0:14:28.310,0:14:31.606
We have, unfortunately,[br]millions of pieces of evidence

0:14:31.646,0:14:32.661
for the Holocaust.

0:14:32.720,0:14:35.720
It is an historical fact.

0:14:35.850,0:14:38.760
And denying it is not[br]some random opinion.

0:14:38.920,0:14:43.460
Those who deny the Holocaust[br]aim to encourage another one.

0:14:44.230,0:14:46.500
[audience applauds]

0:14:50.670,0:14:55.370
Still, Zuckerberg says that[br]"people should decide what is credible,

0:14:55.420,0:14:57.040
"not tech companies."

0:14:57.250,0:14:59.760
But at a time[br]when two-thirds of Millenials

0:14:59.790,0:15:02.560
say they haven't even heard of Auschwitz,

0:15:02.600,0:15:05.390
how are they supposed to know[br]what's credible?

0:15:05.813,0:15:10.660
How are they supposed to know[br]that the lie is a lie?

0:15:10.920,0:15:13.560
There is such a thing as objective truth.

0:15:13.820,0:15:16.290
Facts do exist.

0:15:16.570,0:15:19.920
And if these internet companies[br]really want to make a difference

0:15:20.180,0:15:23.940
they should hire enough monitors[br]to actually monitor,

0:15:24.230,0:15:28.340
work closely with groups like the ADL[br]and the NAACP,

0:15:28.670,0:15:34.810
insist on facts, and purge these lies[br]and conspiracies from their platforms.

0:15:35.210,0:15:37.380
[audience applauds]

0:15:40.480,0:15:44.810
Now, fifth, when discussing[br]the difficulty of removing content,

0:15:44.860,0:15:45.960
Zuckerberg...

0:15:46.610,0:15:50.130
Mark Zuckerberg asked, [br]"where do you draw the line?"

0:15:50.600,0:15:54.570
Yes, drawing the line can be difficult,

0:15:55.040,0:15:56.800
but here's what he's really saying:

0:15:56.920,0:15:59.700
removing more[br]of these lies and conspiracies

0:15:59.870,0:16:01.640
is just too expensive.

0:16:01.980,0:16:05.040
These are[br]the richest companies in the world,

0:16:05.240,0:16:07.450
and they have[br]the best engineers in the world.

0:16:07.720,0:16:10.680
They could fix these problems[br]if they wanted to.

0:16:10.850,0:16:14.090
Twitter could deploy an algorithm

0:16:14.260,0:16:17.020
to remove more[br]white supremacist hate speech,

0:16:17.220,0:16:19.270
but they reportedly haven't

0:16:19.650,0:16:23.260
because it would eject[br]some very prominent politicians

0:16:23.330,0:16:24.430
from their platform.

0:16:24.450,0:16:25.600
[audience groans]

0:16:25.650,0:16:27.870
Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

0:16:28.400,0:16:30.330
[audience applauds, cheers]

0:16:35.540,0:16:37.060
The truth is

0:16:37.560,0:16:39.940
these companies[br]won't fundamentally change

0:16:39.960,0:16:42.250
because their entire business model

0:16:42.610,0:16:45.720
relies on generating more engagement,

0:16:45.880,0:16:48.320
and nothing generates more engagement

0:16:48.330,0:16:50.760
than lies, fear and outrage.

0:16:51.040,0:16:53.250
So it's time[br]to finally call these companies

0:16:53.270,0:16:57.260
what they really are:[br]the largest publishers in history.

0:16:57.470,0:16:58.960
So here's an idea for them:

0:16:59.230,0:17:02.130
abide by basic standards and practices

0:17:02.470,0:17:06.700
just like newspapers,[br]magazines and TV news do everyday.

0:17:07.340,0:17:10.840
We have standards and practices[br]in television and the movies.

0:17:11.140,0:17:14.080
There are certain things[br]we cannot say or do.

0:17:14.420,0:17:16.160
In England, I was told that Ali G

0:17:16.450,0:17:19.420
couldn't curse[br]when he appeared before 9 p.m.

0:17:20.080,0:17:23.920
Here in the US, [br]the Motion Picture Association of America

0:17:24.290,0:17:26.320
regulates and rates what we see.

0:17:26.560,0:17:31.060
I've had scenes in my movies cut[br]or reduced to abide by those standards.

0:17:31.500,0:17:36.440
If there are standards and practices[br]for what cinemas and TV channels can show

0:17:36.480,0:17:39.710
then, surely [br]companies that publish material

0:17:39.732,0:17:40.940
to billions of people

0:17:40.970,0:17:43.710
should have to abide[br]basic standards and practices too.

0:17:43.810,0:17:45.270
[audience applauds]

0:17:49.880,0:17:53.150
Take the issue of political ads,

0:17:54.050,0:17:55.850
on which Facebook have been resolute.

0:17:56.090,0:17:58.920
Fortunately, Twitter finally banned them,

0:17:59.033,0:18:02.290
and Google, today I read, [br]is making changes too.

0:18:02.649,0:18:04.460
But, if you pay them,

0:18:04.770,0:18:08.730
Facebook will run[br]any political ad you want,

0:18:09.070,0:18:10.300
even if it's a lie.

0:18:10.599,0:18:15.170
And they'll even help you[br]micro-target those adds to their users

0:18:15.220,0:18:16.910
for maximum effect.

0:18:17.380,0:18:19.526
Under this twisted logic,

0:18:19.770,0:18:22.820
if Facebook were around in the 1930s

0:18:22.850,0:18:26.080
it would have allowed Hitler[br]to post 30-second ads

0:18:26.090,0:18:28.750
on his solution to the "Jewish problem."

0:18:29.460,0:18:31.950
So here's a good standard and practice:

0:18:32.462,0:18:38.650
Facebook, start fact-checking[br]political ads before you run them,

0:18:39.120,0:18:42.510
stop micro-targeted lies immediately,

0:18:42.870,0:18:44.420
and when the ads are false,

0:18:44.500,0:18:46.910
give back the money[br]and don't publish them.

0:18:47.710,0:18:49.740
[audience applauds]

0:18:55.380,0:18:57.120
Here's another good practice:

0:18:57.261,0:18:59.191
slow down.

0:18:59.679,0:19:03.550
Every single post doesn't need[br]to be published immediately.

0:19:03.920,0:19:06.560
Oscar Wilde once said: [br]"We live in an age

0:19:06.660,0:19:11.030
"when unnecessary things[br]are our only necessity."

0:19:11.495,0:19:12.495
But...

0:19:13.260,0:19:15.690
But, let me ask you,[br]is having every thought

0:19:15.720,0:19:18.570
or video posted instantly online,

0:19:18.710,0:19:21.310
even if it's racist[br]or criminal or murderous,

0:19:21.600,0:19:23.510
really a necessity?

0:19:23.940,0:19:24.960
Of course not.

0:19:25.432,0:19:28.680
The shooter who[br]massacred Muslims in New Zealand

0:19:28.910,0:19:31.880
live streamed his atrocity on Facebook

0:19:31.950,0:19:34.110
where it then spread across the internet

0:19:34.200,0:19:36.950
and was viewed likely millions of times.

0:19:37.160,0:19:41.630
It was a snuff film,[br]brought to you by social media.

0:19:42.260,0:19:44.300
Why can't we have more of a delay

0:19:44.560,0:19:47.200
so that this trauma-inducing filth

0:19:47.430,0:19:51.670
can be caught and stopped[br]before it's posted in the first place?

0:19:51.840,0:19:54.870
[audience applauds]

0:19:56.788,0:20:00.980
Finally, Zuckerberg said that[br]social media companies should

0:20:01.480,0:20:04.150
"live up to their responsibilities,"

0:20:04.380,0:20:08.920
but he's totally silent about[br]what should happen when they don't.

0:20:09.410,0:20:11.660
By now, it's pretty clear

0:20:11.720,0:20:15.190
they can't be trusted[br]to regulate themselves.

0:20:15.660,0:20:18.930
As with Industrial Revolution,[br]it's time for regulation

0:20:19.200,0:20:24.370
and legislation to curb the greed[br]of these high-tech robber barons.

0:20:24.670,0:20:26.670
[audience applauds]

0:20:29.670,0:20:32.060
In in every other industry,

0:20:32.100,0:20:36.040
a company can be held liable[br]when their product is defective.

0:20:36.310,0:20:39.720
When engines explode[br]or seat belts malfunction,

0:20:39.980,0:20:43.950
car company's recall[br]tens of thousands of vehicles

0:20:44.290,0:20:46.320
at a cost of billions of dollars.

0:20:46.680,0:20:50.090
It only seems fair[br]to say to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter:

0:20:50.530,0:20:52.860
Your product is defective,

0:20:53.080,0:20:55.130
you are obliged to fix it,

0:20:55.370,0:20:57.340
no matter how much it costs

0:20:57.408,0:21:00.990
and no matter how many moderators[br]you need to employ.

0:21:01.940,0:21:05.380
[audience applauds, cheers]

0:21:08.480,0:21:10.810
In every under-- sorry

0:21:10.830,0:21:15.190
In every other industry[br]you can be sued for the harm you cause.

0:21:15.450,0:21:19.790
Publishers can be sued for libel,[br]people can be sued for defamation.

0:21:20.070,0:21:22.630
I've been sued many times!

0:21:22.680,0:21:23.620
[audience laughs]

0:21:23.700,0:21:25.860
I'm being sued right now

0:21:26.700,0:21:30.870
by someone whose name I won't mention[br]because he might sue me again!

0:21:30.930,0:21:31.940
[audience laughs]

0:21:31.970,0:21:36.800
But social media companies[br]are largely protected from liability

0:21:36.810,0:21:38.610
for the content their users post –

0:21:38.810,0:21:40.980
no matter how indecent it is –

0:21:41.260,0:21:43.510
by Section 230 of, get ready for it,

0:21:43.820,0:21:46.680
the Communications Decency Act.

0:21:47.260,0:21:48.390
It's absurd!

0:21:48.652,0:21:53.690
Fortunately, internet companies can now[br]be held responsible for pedophiles

0:21:53.700,0:21:56.670
who use their site to target children.

0:21:56.830,0:21:57.730
So I say,

0:21:57.880,0:21:59.500
let's also hold these companies

0:21:59.760,0:22:02.730
responsible for those who use their sites

0:22:02.910,0:22:05.970
to advocate [br]for the mass murder of children

0:22:06.170,0:22:08.140
because of their race or religion.

0:22:08.810,0:22:10.481
[audience applauds]

0:22:14.640,0:22:17.350
And maybe fines are not enough.

0:22:17.770,0:22:23.920
Maybe it's time to tell Mark Zuckerberg[br]and the CEOs of these companies

0:22:24.411,0:22:27.510
you already allowed one foreign power

0:22:27.520,0:22:29.390
to interfere in our elections.

0:22:29.660,0:22:34.000
You already facilitated[br]one genocide in Myanmar.

0:22:34.130,0:22:36.630
Do it again and you go to jail.

0:22:36.720,0:22:38.460
[audience applauds]

0:22:43.440,0:22:47.750
In the end, it all comes down to[br]what kind of world we want.

0:22:48.590,0:22:52.650
In his speech, Zuckerberg[br]said that one of his main goals

0:22:52.950,0:22:58.160
is to "uphold as wide a definition[br]of freedom of expression as possible."

0:22:58.570,0:22:59.660
It sounds good.

0:23:00.230,0:23:04.330
Yet our freedoms[br]are not only an end in themselves.

0:23:04.400,0:23:06.760
They're also the means to another end –

0:23:06.960,0:23:08.930
as you say here in the US:

0:23:09.110,0:23:13.240
the right to life, liberty[br]and the pursuit of happiness.

0:23:13.470,0:23:18.610
But today these rights are threatened[br]by hate, conspiracies and lies.

0:23:18.920,0:23:24.480
So allow me to leave you with a suggestion[br]for a different aim for society:

0:23:24.980,0:23:26.840
The ultimate aim of society

0:23:27.140,0:23:30.790
should be to make sure[br]that people are not targeted,

0:23:30.940,0:23:33.820
not harassed and not murdered

0:23:33.894,0:23:36.800
because of who they are,[br]where they come from,

0:23:36.860,0:23:39.200
who they love or how they pray.

0:23:39.860,0:23:42.470
[audience applauds, cheers]

0:23:54.830,0:23:57.600
If we make that our aim –

0:23:57.690,0:24:00.180
if we prioritize truth over lies,

0:24:00.480,0:24:02.390
tolerance over prejudice,

0:24:02.650,0:24:04.760
empathy over indifference,

0:24:04.900,0:24:07.830
and experts over ignoramuses –

0:24:07.980,0:24:08.990
[audience laughs]

0:24:09.130,0:24:11.330
then maybe, just maybe,

0:24:11.590,0:24:15.570
we can stop the greatest[br]propaganda machine in history.

0:24:16.069,0:24:17.928
We can save democracy,

0:24:17.988,0:24:22.470
we can still have a place[br]for free speech and free expression,

0:24:22.730,0:24:26.540
and most importantly,[br]my jokes will still work.

0:24:26.880,0:24:28.080
Thank you very much.

0:24:28.280,0:24:31.180
[cheers and applause]