Not responding to notification could cost companies 4% of their revenue under EU law
Internet companies will be fined up to 4% of their revenue if they fail to remove terrorist content within one hour of being notified by authorities, under legislation approved by MEPs.
The civil liberties committee approved the move by 35 to one, with abstentions, but removed an obligation on companies to monitor uploaded content or use automated tools.
Continue reading...Firms are not doing enough to combat potential interference, minister said after report found foreign meddling is ‘very likely’
The world’s major social media companies are not doing enough to help Canada combat potential foreign meddling in this October’s elections and the government might have to regulate them, the cabinet minister in charge of ensuring a fair vote has said.
The democratic institutions minister, Karina Gould, spoke shortly after Canada’s electronic signals spy agency said it was very likely that foreign actors will try to meddle in the election.
Continue reading...It feels urgent, with elections approaching in several democracies, to focus on lessons from 2016, when the Brexit referendum and the US presidential election were both marred in ways still coming to light. Among several valuable reports, a recent study for the European parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology usefully encapsulates the challenges without unremitting alarmism and pessimism. It is clear-eyed about both the benefits and dangers to democracies of technologies that are in the handheld devices of most voters.
Against a backdrop of increasing polarisation, “new digital technologies have taken centre stage in political processes – both as a source of information and a campaigning platform”, says the study, Polarisation and the use of technology in political campaigns and communication. “Such new and relatively unregulated platforms create new opportunities for nefarious actors to deliberately push false content and distort information flows for political gain.” But artificial intelligence will also offer new opportunities for better accountability and transparency.
Continue reading...In her latest Instagram live, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez takes questions from followers while assembling furniture in her chair-less Washington DC apartment. Covering topics from popcorn flavours to staying focused on the issues that matter, Ocasio-Cortez demonstates her ability to use social media in an authentic way that engages potential young voters
Continue reading...Labor supports legislation in response to Christchurch shooting that threatens jail for executives, despite media companies’ concerns
The Australian parliament has passed legislation to crack down on violent videos on social media, despite furious reaction from the tech industry, media companies and legal experts.
The Labor opposition combined with the ruling Liberal-National Coalition to pass the law on Thursday, despite warning it won’t allow prosecution of social media executives as promised by the government. Tech giants expressed the opposite concern that it may criminalise anyone in their companies for a failure to remove violent material.
Continue reading...How my heart leapt when the US college admissions scandal drew in a sitcom star and her Insta-famous daughter
What’s happening with Olivia Jade, the Instagram influencer who was named and shamed in the US college admissions scandal?
Dawn, London
I’m back! As some of you (well, my mother) may have noticed, I have been away for a few weeks. Booking time off is always exciting, isn’t it? Until that time off comes around and you realise you are now missing the most exciting news story ever. What, Brexit? The Mueller report? I guess they have their newsy appeal. But, no. I am referring to the US college admissions scandal, a story that involves privileged American kids, the actor Felicity Huffman and a cast member from Full House! The only way this story could appeal to me more is if it was filmed by John Hughes and renamed Hadley Freeman’s Day Off.
Continue reading...Anti-sorcery post by evangelical Catholic group widely mocked on Facebook
Catholic priests in Poland have burned books that they say promote sorcery, including one of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, in a ceremony they photographed and posted on Facebook.
Three priests in the northern city of Koszalin were pictured carrying the books in a large basket from inside a church to a stone area outside. The books were set alight as prayers were said and a small group of people watched on. A mask, various trinkets and a Hello Kitty umbrella were also visible in the pictures of the makeshift bonfire.
Continue reading...The 14-year-old publicly criticised Paltrow for oversharing, reflecting unease in an entire generation
Gwyneth Paltrow’s teenage daughter has criticised her mother for posting a picture of her online without her consent, a reaction one expert says will become more common as a generation that has been snapped since their birth grows up.
Paltrow posted a photo to Instagram earlier in the week of herself with Apple Martin, her 14-year-old daughter with Coldplay singer Chris Martin, at a ski field. Apple’s face is largely covered by ski goggles.
Continue reading...Devin Nunes’ Cow has a herd of 498,000 followers on Wednesday night, surpassing the California congressman’s 396,000
A parody Twitter account that mocks Devin Nunes now has more followers than the California congressman does – all because of media attention brought by a defamation lawsuit Nunes brought against Twitter and users who make fun of him on the platform.
Devin Nunes’ Cow had more than 498,000 followers on Wednesday evening. Nunes’ own Twitter account had 396,000.Another account cited in the suit, “Devin Nunes’ mom” has since been suspended.
Continue reading...Dozens of posts containing disinformation spread, with fears people may not trust results of a legitimate election
The spread of fake news and disinformation has spiked in Indonesia in recent months, weeks before millions are scheduled to vote in the country’s elections.
Data released in a new report from Mafindo, an organisation focused on combating fake news and improving digital literacy, shows that political fake news and disinformation shot up by 61% between December 2018 and January this year.
Continue reading...After Christchurch many are asking what role the ‘darkest reaches of the internet’ play in radicalisation
No depth goes unplumbed on the far-right forum 8chan. Its threads reveal a seething, toxic mass of rabid antisemitism, neo-Nazism, Islamophobia, gratuitous violence, coded inside jokes and conspiratorial ravings published by anonymous users.
Nothing has changed in the days after the Australian alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant, 28, came to 8chan boasting of the imminent massacre in Christchurch. Posts have since praised Tarrant as a “hero” and called for copycat attacks, or, alternatively, denounced him as a pawn in a false flag conspiracy.
Continue reading...The platform briefly blocked some of Warren’s ads attacking it. Her response: ‘Curious why I think FB has too much power?’
Elizabeth Warren could not have asked for a better illustration for her point.
The US senator and Democratic candidate for president took aim at Facebook on Monday evening after the social network briefly blocked her campaign from running advertisements that just happened to call for breaking up Facebook.
Continue reading...Social platforms wield increasing power in Thai politics, where traditional media remain under the iron grip of the military
Just over a week ago, Thailand’s army chief began trending on Twitter.
It started with an order, made by General Apirat Kongsompong that 160 radio stations across the country must play the 1970s anti-communist propaganda song, Nuk Paen Din (Scum of the Earth) which glorifies the might of the armed forces, on a daily basis.
Continue reading...The Facebook CEO says integrating messaging apps will help protect users’ privacy, but experts disagree
For 15 years, Facebook has pushed, prodded, cajoled, lured and tricked billions of people into sharing the most intimate details of their lives online, all purportedly in service of making the world “more open and connected”.
On Wednesday, the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg put forward a new idea: doing the opposite.
Continue reading...Youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner reality TV family tops Mark Zuckerberg by two years
Kylie Jenner, the youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner American reality TV family, has become the world’s youngest billionaire at the age of just 21.
Jenner, who grew up under the watch of TV cameras filming Keeping Up with the Kardashians, was on Tuesday admitted to the “nine-zero” fortune club by Forbes. The business magazine ranked Jenner as the world’s 2,057th richest person. She became a billionaire two years younger than the Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, who took the title at the age of 23 in 2008.
Continue reading...Amnesty says social media firm must do more to support users who report harassment
Human rights campaigners have called for action after a survey revealed that more than half of the reports that women lodge about harassment on Facebook are met with no action from the social media company.
The Survation poll, commissioned by the feminist campaign group Level Up, found that 29% of the 1,000 women who took part had been harassed on Facebook.
Continue reading...Economic fears raised as online subscriptions plummet in months following launch of levy created to curb ‘gossip’
Millions of people in Uganda have abandoned the internet after punishing taxes were imposed on social media use and money transactions using mobile phones.
A daily levy, introduced in July to tame “idle talk” online and raise revenue, affects more than 60 online platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. To use such sites, Ugandans are expected to pay a tax of 200 Ugandan shillings (4p) a day.
Continue reading...As site grapples with flood of fake news, former Snopes editor says CEO’s crowdsourcing comments show he has ‘learned nothing’
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg revealed that he is considering crowdsourcing as a new model for Facebook’s third-party factchecking partnerships.
In the first of a series of public conversations, Zuckerberg praised the efforts of factcheckers who partnered with Facebook following the 2016 presidential election as a bulwark against the flood of misinformation and fake news that was overtaking the site’s News Feed.
Continue reading...Investigative sites have used social media posts to confirm Russia involvement in conflicts
Russia’s parliament has voted to ban its soldiers from using smartphones and social networks after a series of open-source investigations revealed their secret participation in foreign conflicts.
Russia’s Duma on Tuesday voted to ban members of the armed forces from publishing information online about their military units, deployments and other personal information, including photos, video and geolocation data.
Continue reading...Damian Collins warns of ‘deepfake films’ showing doctored footage of politicians
Online disinformation is only going to get more sophisticated, the chair of the committee investigating disinformation and fake news, Damian Collins, has warned.
Related: Facebook labelled 'digital gangsters' by report on fake news
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