a16 EZ RE the washington post.monday, february 24 , 2020
letters to the editor[email protected]local opinionsF
ACEBOOK FOUNDER and chief executive
Mark Zuckerberg made a perplexing request
of global lawmakers this month in Munich:
When it comes to speech, don’t treat social
media sites like newspapers, and don’t treat them
like telecommunications companies, but treat them
like they’re “somewhere in between.” What does that
mean? The company released a white paper days
later that offers some answers — and raises many
more questions along the way.
Facebook has become eager for regulation just as
regulation has become inevitable. States within the
European Union have already begun to concoct
frameworks for forcing companies to moderate
content more aggressively, and now the body as a
whole is seeking a unified rule. Meanwhile, officials
here are looking askance at f irms’ traditional protec-
tions from liability for users’ actions. The debate
isn’t about whether platforms must carry every-
thing. It’s about whether they may — or whether
these sites ought to have stronger obligations to
police material that’s illegal, or even just harmful.Facebook’s answer is basically “yes, but.” The site
wants rules, but it prefers that those rules focus on
monitoring and removal mechanisms that firms
must put in place, rather than restrictions on
companies carrying specific types of speech. Firms,
in other words, ought to fully enforce the terms of
service they already have. The proposal is useful in
that it would at least theoretically hold Facebook
and its cohort to public account for doing, or not
doing, what they say. B ut it’s a lso quite similar to the
status quo. To really encourage the more aggressive
enforcement that legislators want to see — not only
from Facebook but also from the scrappier and often
scarier sites on the Internet — a bigger stick might be
necessary.
Certainly, punishing companies for individual
pieces of offending content would encourage over-
censorship. But governments could tell companies
the categories of content they’re supposed to be
policing and then certify whether their efforts are
adequate to the job. In Europe, these categories of
content look likely to stretch beyond the merelyillegal to the “harmful” — a risky proposition that
could be mitigated by regulators clearly defining
what they expect of firms. In the United States,
illegality is the word, and though Internet sites’
traditional protection from liability for what users
post shouldn’t be removed altogether, there is room
for revision: protect good Samaritan companies that
have reasonable systems in place for detecting and
scrubbing illegal content, and don’t protect those
that refuse to try.
Any of these rules would tell companies to make
tricky and sensitive decisions about expression —
outsourcing a role usually performed by the courts
to a private actor. Of course, that’s also what is
happening already. Key to any regime for online
content regulation, then, is transparency into what
companies’ policies are, how they carry them out
and why they make the decisions they do. Key also
will be avenues for appeal that are just as open.
Facebook doesn’t want to be treated like a newspa-
per, or like a telecommunications company, y et r ight
now it looks a lot like a government.Facebook is looking a lot like a government
The company is eager for regulation. What should the rules be?
A
MERICA’S DREAMLAND, California, has
more recently acquired an association in the
public mind with the social nightmare
known as homelessness. In 2019, Califor-
nia’s homeless population grew by 21,306 people —
more than the combined increase in all 49 other
states — according to the U.S. Department of Hous-
ing and Urban Development. The California total of
roughly 150,000 represents just over a quarter of the
national figure, in a state that has one-eighth of the
U.S. population.
This is indeed a “disgrace,” as California
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) candidly put it in a wide-
ranging “State of the State” address Wednesday —
and as anyone who has walked certain streets of San
Francisco or Los Angeles, with their rows of squalid
tents and open drug use, can attest. Identifying
homelessness, and the associated public-health and
humanitarian issues, as his administration’s top
priority, Mr. Newsom provided a comprehensive
listing of all the policy failures in mental health, race
relations and sheer bureaucracy that have fed to-
day’s crisis.
Though a lack of affordable housing may not be
the sole or even main cause of street homelessness,
Mr. Newsom was also right to target increased
housing supply as part of the solution. He w as doubly
correct to call for a “commitment — right now, this
year — to major reform that will eliminate red tape,
and delays for building critically needed housing —
like affordable, multifamily homes — especially near
transit and downtowns.” This is where things get
tricky, politically, however. “Not in my backyard” i s
the perennial cry of middle-class homeowners when
faced with the prospect of high-density residential
development. Local governments over which these
voters hold sway have responded with restrictive
land-use regulations. Ye t the evidence is mounting
that undue regulations are doing tremendous dam-
age to housing markets, and not just in California.
A new Bank of England-sponsored study of254 U.S. metropolitan areas has found that rising
house prices no longer stimulate new construction
as much as they used to. Instead, prices go u p with no
corresponding increase in supply. The cause: artifi-
cial supply restrictions. Instead of new building
permits, communities get housing bubbles, especial-
ly at t imes, such as the present one, when the Federal
Reserve is holding interest rates low, in part to
stimulate housing demand. These effects, devastat-
ing to housing affordability, are not equally distrib-
uted throughout the country, a ccording to the study.
They a re concentrated in states — including not onlyCalifornia but also Oregon and Washington, which
are also experiencing homelessness crises — with the
tightest land-use restrictions.
The silver lining in this situation: It creates a
convergence of interests between two key groups —
the construction industry and advocates for social
justice — not normally thought of as political allies.
Democrats such as Mr. Newsom would seem particu-
larly well-positioned to build consensus and lead
reforms, which, if successful, would show that freer
markets are not necessarily incompatible with a
fairer society.Calif. isn’t golden
for homelessness
Housing market regulations are
doing tremendous damage.ABCDE
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the Washington post
1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 (202) 334-I enjoyed Henry Aaron’s Feb. 16 op-ed, “Dear
DMV: I’d like to see you more often,” because I had
a similar reaction when I renewed my driver’s
license in September 2018. I was startled to see that
I could legally drive until I was 96. The only
difference was I was reminded that I would have to
submit a new “medical/eye report” in September
2022 to avoid “suspension of my driver privileges”
at almost 92.
Mr. Aaron is right in suggesting that the District
take action to change the automatic eight-year
renewal.
Naomi Glass, WashingtonDriving’s grandfather clause
Regarding Paul Waldman’s Feb. 19 blog excerpt,
“Why Trump is letting Blagojevich out of prison”
[op-ed]:
Yes, President Trump is really after the normaliza-
tion of corruption. And the Republicans are fully
complicit because they say nothing. They have sold
their souls to save their jobs. We h ave reached such a
level of immorality that everyone shrugs at the
attacks on the environment, foreign policy, the
judicial system and personal integrity. Every time
Mr. Trump does something illegal or immoral,
hardly anyone says anything.
Our reputation is at stake. As a foreign friend of
mine said, “My whole life I have admired the
democracy in North America. You have to know that
over here we have lost the capacity to be astonished
by what Trump does. What has happened to Ameri-
ca? We are profoundly disillusioned. If we lose the
good example of the United States, we lose all hope
of fixing ourselves. Our model is gone. If it’s not you,
then who?”
Karen Galeano, AshburnThe cost of Republican immorality
Regarding the Feb. 18 front-page article “When
Mom is a face on the phone”:
Politics reflects who we are. It represents our
most fundamental ideas, how we solve issues that
plague us and the means to move forward. That’s
not the case today.
President Trump’s policies on family separation
are not representative of the United States that I
want to live in — a country that cares for minority
rights and offers freedom to all. He has turned our
country into one built on xenophobia and partisan-
ship, refusing to concede even when it is evident
that his solutions are wrong. It’s the families such
as Adelaida Reynoso’s that fall victim to this.
When she’s scared and pretends plush bears are
her mother, who really benefits? If a “reasonable
fear of torture” has been established, in what
world do you send a mother back to her country?
In no respect is this U.S. politics, or any idea we
stand for. At best it’s abusive, and, at worst, it
sacrifices our position as a global leader of
opportunity for all.
It’s a sad day in this country when, if you aren’t
native-born, you’re treated like less of a person. For
the future of our nation and our moral fabric, these
policies must be reversed immediately. Don’t let a
toxic president set a toxic precedent.
Manu Onteeru, SterlingA toxic president’s toxic precedent
Regarding the Feb. 16 Business article “Another
elevator, another child injured”:
There is no excuse for life-threatening accidents
caused by residential elevators. Children should be
safe both inside and outside their homes. Elevators
— whether located in a private residence, an office
building or a hotel — are complex pieces of equip-
ment that require strict code compliance and regu-
lar inspections.
However, far too often, lifts in private homes are
not required to be periodically inspected.
The elevator industry, i ncluding the International
Union of Elevator Constructors, understands the
importance of code compliance and inspections and
proper training and licensing for the individuals
who maintain our nation’s elevators — and believes
the same standards applied to commercial elevators
should be upheld for residential lifts. When inspec-
tions and other safety measures are circumvented,
precious lives are at risk.
The bottom line is this: In-home elevators can be
dangerous and deadly and should require code
compliance and mandatory inspections.
If we want to keep our loved ones safe, in-home
elevators must be included as part of any elevator
safety equation.
Frank J. Christensen, Columbia
The writer is general president of
the International Union of Elevator Constructors.Home elevators need regulation
Julia Azari is correct: The political primary
system is broken, as she wrote in her Feb. 19
Wednesday Opinion essay, “To fix the primaries, let
the elites decide.” But I differ with her proposed
solution.
The major parties have outsourced their funda-
mental responsibilities for the past 50 years. They
have let an inattentive public select their major
candidates and define their stance. As a result, the
2016 Republican primary process produced a
nominee who was a Democrat for most of his adult
life and had no political experience. This year,
Democrats could well nominate a presidential
candidate who is not a member of the party.
It is past time for change. I suggest that in 2024,
elected party leaders, along with perhaps two
representatives from each state, meet before any
primary e lections t ake place. T his g roup would first
lay out the major planks of the party’s 2 024
platform.
Then it would take a straw vote on candidates
who wished to run on the party ticket. Nonparty
members would be excluded by definition. Anyone
who received less than 15 percent of the first straw
vote would not be listed on party ballots. The
overall winner of the straw vote might be so
designated on primary ballots.
Once the platform was agreed upon and the
candidates determined, party representatives
might select five different dates for party primary
elections. States would choose one of those dates
and use paper ballots for the elections.
That would fix our broken primary system.
Thomas Bleha, ArlingtonHow to fix our broken primaries
I
N APRIL 2019, a Russian man d rove t o a training
base outside Moscow r un by the Federal Security
Service, or FSB, a successor to the Soviet KGB.
The base, near the village of Averkiyevo, is
equipped with multiple shooting ranges and is de-
signed to train FSB officers in shooting techniques.
The nonprofit journalism outfit Bellingcat has identi-
fied the man as Vadim Krasikov, and says that, based
on cellphone data, he spent f our days at t he facility, a n
important clue about who was behind a murder in
Germany last August.
Bellingcat says Mr. Krasikov, who traveled under a
fake name, is the man charged by German federal
prosecutors with the shooting in Berlin on Aug. 23 of
Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen rebel
field commander, who had fought Russia in the
Second Chechen War. An ethnic Chechen and citizen
of Georgia, Khangoshvili sought asylum in Germany
after p revious attempts o n his life. He w as shot in the
head and shoulder from behind with a Glock-
pistol. His alleged killer was apprehended after wit-
nesses saw him ditch the weapon, a wig and a bicyclein t he n earby River Spree.
At first, it wasn’t clear who was behind the assassi-
nation. Russia denied any responsibility. President
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, rejected
any accusation of Russian involvement, describing it
as “absolutely groundless.” Mr. P utin, in Paris on Dec. 9 ,
said K hangoshvili was a “cruel and blood-thirsty”
militant wanted by Russia. But as for who killed him,
he added, “I don’t know what happened to him. It’s a
criminal milieu, and anything can happen t here.”
Now, however, Bellingcat and its partners, Der
Spiegel and the Insider, have uncovered information
that points directly to the FSB. According to the
journalists, “This investigation conclusively estab-
lishes” t hat the agency “plotted, p repared, a nd p erpe-
trated” t he killing.
The investigation, based on cellphone metadata
and cellphone tower connection records, documents
calls and movements by Mr. Krasikov. He was fre-
quently in contact with Eduard Bendersky, who
heads an FSB veterans association and runs private
security agencies that provide services to state-ownedcompanies. The probers found that Mr. Bendersky
and Mr. Krasikov spoke by phone at least 20 times in
the period of February-August 2019, with the phone
calls becoming m ore frequent in the month before t he
assassin’s trip to Berlin. The last call was Aug. 13, just
before Mr. Krasikov departed Russia.
The journalists called Mr. Benderksy on the same
phone — and he denied ever hearing of Mr. Krasikov.
The data show Mr. Krasikov visited another FSB
special operations center in Balashikha outside Mos-
cow eight times, including just before he left Russia.
He made stops in Paris and Warsaw before the
shooting in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten.
Germany has expelled two diplomats, saying Russia
was not cooperating with the investigation, but that’s
barely a slap on the wrist. The investigation by Belling-
cat and its partners depicts a state-sponsored assassi-
nation on German soil, not unlike the earlier attempt
to kill Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain and,
before that, the murder of Alexander Litvinenko with
polonium-laced tea in London. Germany must show
that such crimes will not be tolerated.An assassination in Berlin
An investigation by journalists points to Russian involvement in a killing in Germany.
ABCDE
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
editorialstom tolesRegarding John Seymour’s Feb. 16 Local Opinions
essay, “Arlington is moving closer to a carbon-free
future”:
Arlington County recently adopted the new Com-
munity Energy Plan that aims for the county to
become carbon-neutral by 2050. The plan imple-
ments a solar farm to use renewable energy sources
without using energy p roduced i n other areas, such a s
the Midwest, a common practice even for Arlington
County until recently.
The county and Amazon, which plans to build its
new headquarters in the area, will be harnessing
energy from the solar panels. Not only does this plan
implement better sources of energy for the county,
but it also encourages Dominion Energy, one of the
biggest energy providers in the region, to move away
from fossil fuels.
Though it is a noble cause, is it really “potentiallyclimate-mitigating”? On a scale as small as one
county, i t may not make any significant impact on the
environmental issues we face. More counties across
the nation must take such action for it to have any
legitimate effects on t he climate.
Arlington County certainly got the ball rolling, but
it is crucial that other counties begin implementing
such plans as well. L ocal government p lans c an make
a huge impact. If one county c an do it, w hat is holding
the r est of us back from following?
Ananya Sen, HerndonOther counties should follow Arlington’s carbon-neutral lead
Local government plans can
make a huge impact.