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Elon Musk says relaxing content rules on Twitter will boost free speech, but research shows otherwise
The Conversation | May 09, 2022
Company Listed: Twitter
Elon Musk’s accepted bid to purchase Twitter has triggered a lot of debate about what it means for the future of the social media platform, which plays an important role in determining the news and information many people – especially Americans – are exposed to.
Musk has said he wants to make Twitter an arena for free speech. It’s not clear what that will mean, and his statements have fueled speculation among both supporters and detractors. As a corporation, Twitter can regulate speech on its platform as it chooses. There are bills being considered in the U.S. Congress and by the European Union that address social media regulation, but these are about transparency, accountability, illegal harmful content and protecting users’ rights, rather than regulating speech.
How will Elon Musk change social media?
Washington Post | May 09, 2022
Company Posted: Twitter
There’s no shortage of hand-wringing over Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. Journalists, progressives and the World Health Organization have sketched out disinformation dystopias that could emerge once Musk takes Twitter’s reins. One tool that Twitter uses to stop the spread of disinformation is banning users who tweet misleading information. Many fear that if Musk removes this policy, Twitter will become more toxic.
But all this anxiety assumes that Twitter was effectively managing disinformation to begin with. With my research team — Kyle Rose, Sarah Warren and Rob Lytle — I find that disinformation continues to spread across the platform. Musk’s takeover is not the only problem that Twitter has in managing its information reliability.
Social media platforms fail to control anti-Muslim posts: Report
Siasat | May 08, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
On March 15, 2019, a 28-year-old gunman named Brenton Harrison Tarrant, stormed into two mosques – Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre – situated in New Zealand and started firing indiscriminately on people who had come to attend the Friday prayers. He ended up killing 51 people and injuring 40.
Shocking was the fact that the killing was live-streamed on the social media giant Facebook. Prior to the attacks, Brenton had published an online manifesto, that has now been banned in New Zealand and Australia.
Investigations revealed that Brenton was highly influenced by online hate crime content that vilified Muslims.
Trump’s First Amendment Lawsuit Against Twitter Dismissed by Federal Judge
New American Journal | May 08, 2022
Company Listed: Twitter
In an important ruling that should make it clear to the American people why the Constitutional right of free speech does not apply to private companies, including social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube, a federal judge dismissed former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Twitter on Friday for permanently banning him for posting false, misleading information leading to violence after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
In his opinion, federal Judge James Donato in San Francisco made clear why he was not persuaded that Twitter had infringed on Trump’s free speech rights when it shut down his account on Jan. 8, 2021. This came two days after a radical, right-wing mob incited by Trump’s “stop the steal” rally and lies about the election results stormed the Capitol in hopes of halting the peaceful transfer of power, as Congress was in session to certify Joe Biden the winner in the presidential election of 2020.
IAS Expands Partnership with TikTok to Measure Viewability and Invalid Traffic Globally
PR Newswire | May 09, 2022
Company Listed: TikTok
We are excited to offer marketers an increasingly comprehensive set of IAS Media Quality Solutions to manage their advertising campaigns on TikTok," said Lisa Utzschneider, CEO, IAS. "It is more important than ever for marketers to engage with users on social platforms and ensure that their ads appear next to brand safe & suitable content on a global scale. We are thrilled to deliver a holistic solution on TikTok and provide new levels of transparency and precision for these campaigns.
IAS will now provide advertisers with trusted, third-party measurement powered by the Open Measurement Software Development Kit (OM SDK), giving marketers ultimate transparency and confidence around campaign performance. Governed by the IAB with IAS being a founding member, the OM SDK is designed to facilitate transparent third-party viewability and verification measurement for ads served to mobile apps and open web environments. IAS is thrilled to partner with TikTok, one of the largest content platforms, to bring the OM SDK integration on their platform, leading transparency in the walled garden space. In addition, the offering will provide granular reporting with 24/7 access to the IAS Signal UI, allowing advertisers to take action and stay informed on campaigns. By partnering with IAS, marketers now have access to an increasingly comprehensive set of solutions to manage their advertising campaigns on TikTok.
T&S Policies & Regulations
Regulatory news and policy decisions impacting the T&S ecosystem.
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Committee passes bill to block social media from ‘censoring’ users
Ohio Capital Journal | May 09, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
An Ohio House committee passed legislation Tuesday prohibiting social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube from “censoring” their users.
The legislation would block the companies from removing posts or expelling people from their platforms based on the “viewpoint” of users or ideas expressed in their posts. It wouldn’t apply to speech already illegal under federal law like harassment or inciting violence.
Passage comes as some of the large social media networks grapple with trends like widespread undermining among Republicans of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results, the proliferation of bunk health advice around the COVID-19 pandemic, and wholesale denial of the Holocaust.
Digital Markets Act: Will latest EU rules herald a new era for Big Tech?
Tech HQ | May 09, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
In mid-December 2021, following a long period of consultation, the EU presented a pair of draft laws that aim to re-write the rules of digital governance in the region, in particular with regard to ‘Big Tech’.
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) targets the lack of competition in digital markets; the Digital Services Act (DSA) is primarily concerned with transparency and consumer protection. The EU bloc has reached consensus on both pieces of legislation, with the former to come into force by next year, while the latter will see industry-wide implementation from 2024 onwards.
T&S Good News
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Facebook to discontinue features including ‘Nearby Friends’, others
Nairametrics | May 09, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media, Facebook
Social media giant, Facebook, has said it will be removing ‘Nearby Friends’, a feature that lets people share their current location with other Facebook friends, from the app by the end of this month.
Other features to be discontinued from May 31, 2022, include Weather alerts, Location History, and Background Location.
While Facebook did not give any reason for this move, it said it would continue to collect users’ location information for “other experiences.
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Associate Product Policy Manager, Trust & Safety
Coinbase | Remote, OR, USA
Posted: May 06, 2022