Phica.eu has been forced to shut down, after Italian police and politicians decided that the internet needs yet another layer of “protection” from itself. The site announced it is removing all its content under pressure from investigations into “sexist” websites. Translation: if you host anything that offends the fragile feelings of a few, the state will pull the plug.
It wasn’t just a gallery of photos. Phica.eu was a nice forum, also used for hosting conversations between users and organizing meetups between like-minded people. In other words, a community. And communities that aren’t state-approved are exactly what the EU fears most.
All this has nothing to do with sexism. It’s pure censorship. And censorship always requires the same ugly mechanism: a censor, an authority that claims the right to draw the line between “acceptable” and “unacceptable.”
But where does that line get placed? Today it’s photos of politicians with snarky comments. Yesterday it was porn. Tomorrow it will be your jokes, your memes, your private messages.
Don’t be fooled by the official spin about “protecting women.” This crusade wasn’t launched because the EU suddenly discovered morality. It was pushed by a handful of ugly female politicians (but there were some forum users who liked Meloni or Boschi
) who couldn’t stomach being ridiculed - or appraised - online. Rather than face mockery or compliments like every other public figure in history, and gain free extra exposure and popularity, they ran to the state and demanded that everyone else’s speech be shut down.
Pornography has always been the canary in the coal mine of free expression. Larry Flynt fought this battle decades ago: porn must be free, or speech itself is never safe. Once you accept that a government can erase a website because some bureaucrat decided it’s “sexist,” you’ve already surrendered the principle.
Europe is marching, step by step, into total censorship, hidden under the pleasant buzzwords of “safety” and “dignity.” The mask slips more every year. And unless people wake up, the day will come when nothing is left online except state approved propaganda and cat videos.
It wasn’t just a gallery of photos. Phica.eu was a nice forum, also used for hosting conversations between users and organizing meetups between like-minded people. In other words, a community. And communities that aren’t state-approved are exactly what the EU fears most.
All this has nothing to do with sexism. It’s pure censorship. And censorship always requires the same ugly mechanism: a censor, an authority that claims the right to draw the line between “acceptable” and “unacceptable.”
But where does that line get placed? Today it’s photos of politicians with snarky comments. Yesterday it was porn. Tomorrow it will be your jokes, your memes, your private messages.
Don’t be fooled by the official spin about “protecting women.” This crusade wasn’t launched because the EU suddenly discovered morality. It was pushed by a handful of ugly female politicians (but there were some forum users who liked Meloni or Boschi
) who couldn’t stomach being ridiculed - or appraised - online. Rather than face mockery or compliments like every other public figure in history, and gain free extra exposure and popularity, they ran to the state and demanded that everyone else’s speech be shut down.Pornography has always been the canary in the coal mine of free expression. Larry Flynt fought this battle decades ago: porn must be free, or speech itself is never safe. Once you accept that a government can erase a website because some bureaucrat decided it’s “sexist,” you’ve already surrendered the principle.
Europe is marching, step by step, into total censorship, hidden under the pleasant buzzwords of “safety” and “dignity.” The mask slips more every year. And unless people wake up, the day will come when nothing is left online except state approved propaganda and cat videos.