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T&S Early Warning News
Get ahead of new stories that are impacting the T&S industry.
Instagram under fire over sexualised child images
The Guardian | April 17, 2022
Company Listed: Instagram, Facebook
Instagram is failing to remove accounts that attract hundreds of sexualised comments for posting pictures of children in swimwear or partial clothing, even after they are flagged to it through the in-app reporting tool.
Instagram’s parent company, Meta, claims it takes a zero-tolerance approach to child exploitation. But accounts that have been flagged as suspicious through the in-app reporting tool have been ruled acceptable by its automated moderation technology and remain live.
Child abuse, violence, assault: Doesn’t Facebook care about its content moderators?
Independent | April 15, 2022
Company Listed: Facebook
Recent revelations have laid bare Facebook’s continued neglect of contract content moderators around the world. As the Online Safety Bill and other legislation is enacted, we are calling on lawmakers all over to seize this golden opportunity and set minimum standards for how social media companies moderate harmful content, in a way that respects and upholds their workers’ rights.
In 2019, Mark Zuckerberg’s company turned to Sama, a US-based subcontractor, to be its primary content moderation partner across Africa. Sama primarily supports data services for Fortune 50 companies, but heavily promotes its social mission of lifting marginalized people out of poverty by giving “dignified” work. But in reality, reporters discovered, Sama was using these workers to sift through thousands of hours of murders, rapes, suicides, child sexual abuse, and other graphic content, without reasonable pay, training or emotional support.
How to stop Spotify sharing your personal data
Knowtechie | April 17, 2022
Company Listed: Spotify
When you consider companies that harvest user data for profit, free-to-use services, such as Google and Facebook, may come to mind. But even paid services, like Spotify Premium, collect and sell your data.
Collecting user data can be highly profitable, and even some pay-to-use services can’t resist the urge to share our personal information with advertisers and other interested parties.
The music streaming platform seems content to capture whatever user data it can to ostensibly conduct research, improve products, and target ads. While these reasons are fair, they connect to a larger goal: to make money.
T&S Policies & Regulations
Regulatory news and policy decisions impacting the T&S ecosystem.
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Why Researchers Want Broader Access to Social Media Data
Undark | April 18, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
WITHIN DAYS of Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine, several social media companies took steps to reduce the circulation of Russian state-backed media and anti-Ukrainian propaganda. Meta (formerly Facebook), for example, said it took down about 40 accounts, part of a larger network that had already spread across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Telegram, and Russian social media. The accounts used fake personas, replete with profile pictures likely generated with artificial intelligence, posing as news editors, engineers, and scientists in Kyiv. The people behind the network also created phony news websites that portrayed Ukraine as a failed state betrayed by the West.
Disinformation campaigns have become pervasive in the vast realm of social media. Will technology companies’ recent efforts to combat propaganda be effective? Because outsiders are not privy to most of the inner workings of the handful of companies that run the digital world — the details of where information originates, how it spreads, and how it affects the real world — it’s hard to know.
Saudi Arabia to continue blocking calls on apps not cooperating with regulations: Minister
Arabnews | April 17, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Saudi Arabia will continue blocking call facilities on apps that do not comply with regulatory and safety protocols in the country, according to Abdullah Al-Swaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology.
In a televised interview, the minister made it clear that no one will be allowed to cross what he sees as a red line, which guards the nation's security and sovereignty.
The minister noted that maintaining the confidentiality of customers’ data has emerged as a global challenge, due to the fact that people used to share sensitive data with social media platforms negligently.
How Should India Regulate Online Gaming?
Medianama | April 18, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
The focus should move away from prohibitions and punitive measures. This approach to regulation would serve the interests and put greater power in the hands of different stakeholders,” Meta’s Public Policy Director Sunil Abraham said during a panel discussion on a model framework for regulating India’s online gaming sector, organised by the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF).
Abraham was joined by Sarika Aggarwal Synrem, Commissioner & Secretary, Government of Meghalaya; and Dr. Subi Chaturvedi, Chief Corporate Affairs and Public Policy, Inmobi; in a discussion moderated by Gowree Gokhale, Partner, Nishit Desai Associates.
New disinformation law will be soon announced, Turkish official says
Dailysabah | April 17, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
The new disinformation law to protect public order, personal rights and freedoms will soon be shared with the public, with work on the draft still ongoing, Chair of the Digital Platforms Commission in Parliament and Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) Hatay deputy Hüseyin Yayman said Saturday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Yayman underlined that digital networks are not only high on the agenda of Turkey but also the world.
Giving the example of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, Yayman said: "A period called the era of hybrid wars has started. For example, the massacre in Bucha: The Russian side says, 'Ukrainians did this,' the Ukrainian side says, 'Russians did this.' In fact, we clearly see that disinformation is being used even in war. Our concern is to eliminate or minimize this disinformation, fake news, both in daily life, in public order, in social life and in the state-citizen relationship."
New internet laws return to Parliament for second reading this week
Tdpelmedia | April 17, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Parliamentarians will debate the government’s groundbreaking Online Safety Bill which requires social media platforms, search engines and other apps and websites allowing people to post content to improve the way they protect their users.
Ofcom, the regulator, will have the power to fine companies failing to comply with the laws up to ten per cent of their annual global turnover, force them to improve their practices and block non-compliant sites. Crucially, the laws have strong measures to safeguard children from harmful content such as pornography and child sexual abuse.