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T&S Early Warning News
Get ahead of new stories that are impacting the T&S industry.
We found dozens of TikTok accounts skirting the app's filters to peddle drugs by using nose and snowflake emoji and banned hashtags
Businessinsider | May 03, 2022
Company Listed: TikTok
TikTok accounts advertising illegal drugs can easily circumvent the app's word blocks to reach new audiences from the Discover page, an Insider investigation has found.
We found accounts using emoji such as snowflake, snowmen, and noses in their posts to advertise cocaine. Snow is a common slang term for cocaine.
Insider also found accounts pushing magic mushrooms that used slang and tied together banned hashtags with permitted hashtags to get around TikTok's filters on more obvious drug-related terms. Cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms are illegal in both the UK and the US.
WA woman loses $732,000 to property scam after responding to fake email
Vervetimes | May 04, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
A would-be homeowner has lost more than $700,000 in a single click.
The West Australian woman was in the process of purchasing a property in Beaconsfield in April when she received an email from someone she thought was her settlement agent.
The emailer had sent through authentic-looking documents and asked that she deposit the money into a bank account prior to settlement. The message came via a generic Hotmail email address that used the agency’s name.
White House 'disinformation czar' Nina Jankowicz makes TikTok account private
Fox News | May 03, 2022
Company Listed: TikTok
The Biden administration's new executive director of its Disinformation Governance Board has made her TikTok account private, thus removing it from the public space.
Some on the social media platform questioned the move by Nina Jankowicz, who has also been criticized after a TikTok video of her singing a revised version of Mary Poppins’ "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" tailored around "information laundering" was unearthed.
T&S Policies & Regulations
Regulatory news and policy decisions impacting the T&S ecosystem.
Compare and review T&S Policies for dozens of companies here
When social media moderation becomes censorship
Washingtonexaminer | May 04, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
While Elon Musk promises a Twitter that does not suppress speech, former President Barack Obama recently asserted that we need more content moderation rather than less. Obama seems to miss the reality of what moderation really means. Intentionally or mistakenly, he's calling for greater censorship.
Genuine "moderation" means protecting people from information that might do them harm, typically misinformation or disinformation that leads them toward unwise or dangerous actions or decisions. Moderation should not "protect" people from viewpoints or dissent; that would be censorship.
California pushes ahead with kids’ online safety proposals as Washington stalls
Yahoo News | May 04, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
A California state panel advanced a proposal that would hold tech companies responsible for features that can be addictive and harmful, a measure that, if passed, could put California at the forefront of the fight for kids’ online safety as Washington stalls.
All but one member of the California Assembly Judiciary Committee voted to advance the bill, A.B. 2408, with Republican Assemblymember Kevin Kiley, who is running for Congress, abstaining.
Could the UK's Online Safety Bill change gaming worldwide?
Gamesindustry | May 04, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Creating safe, inclusive and engaging spaces for the gaming community has long been the goal of the gaming industry, with games businesses creating and implementing tools, features and processes to address illegal and unwanted behaviors and keep players safe online.
To date, this approach has largely been self-motivated, with only limited regulation; namely the take down requirements for unlawful content under the e-commerce regulations.
How Ireland lost its chance to become Big Tech’s ‘super regulator’
CNBC | May 04, 2022
Company Listed: Facebook
Incoming EU rules forcing Big Tech to police content on the internet more aggressively will be enforced directly by the European Commission, a move experts say will diminish the role Ireland has played so far in supervising digital giants in the region.
Since 2018, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has been the main privacy watchdog supervising the likes of Facebook parent company Meta and Google under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which aims to give consumers more control over their data.
Groups surprised at government 'secrecy' over online harm bill consultation
CBC | May 04, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Some advocacy groups and individuals who submitted feedback to the federal government about its proposed online harms legislation say they were surprised the government didn't make their consultation documents public, which would have ensured concerns about a "disturbing" and "extremely problematic" plan were heard widely.
The Liberal government laid out a blueprint last year for cracking down on harmful material posted online to platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. Under the proposed rules, a digital safety commissioner would help enforce a new regime that requires social media companies to weed out child pornography, terrorist content, hate speech and other harmful posts.
Facebook, Google Face Regulatory Reckoning That May End Big Tech Dominance
Newsweek | May 04, 2022
Company Listed: Facebook, Google, Meta, TikTok