michaelmalak writes: The Colorado Senate President Pro Tempore, Kerry Donovan, is the prime sponsor of SB21-132,
Digital Communications Regulation, which if passed, would fine websites $5,000 per day as a class 2 misdemeanor if they “allow” user comments that: “…promote hate speech; undermine election integrity; disseminate intentional disinformation, conspiracy theories, or fake news; or authorize, encourage, or carry out violations of users’…
Tag: hate speech
Apache Software Foundation Ousts TinkerPop Creator
Frosty P writes: The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) has removed Marko Rodriguez from the TinkerPop project he co-founded because his provocative Twitter posts were said to have violated the ASF Code of Conduct. “I was removed from the project I started 11 years ago for ‘publishing offensive humor that borders on hate speech,'” Rodriguez explained in an email to The Register….
Did Facebook Change Its Rules to Placate the Right?
Former lobbyist/political advisor Joel Kaplan joined Facebook in 2011 to lead its Washington D.C. outreach, reports BuzzFeed news. But some employees said they were very unhappy with decisions made by both Kaplan and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: In April 2019, Facebook was preparing to ban one of the internet’s most notorious spreaders of misinformation and hate, Infowars founder Alex Jones. Then…
Discord Bans the r/WallStreetBets Server As Subreddit Goes Private
According to The Verge, Discord has banned the r/WallStreetBets server for allowing “hateful and discriminatory content after repeated warnings.” It did not ban the server for financial fraud. We have also learned that Reddit’s WallStreetBets subreddit has been set to private. Here is Discord’s full statement: The server has been on our Trust & Safety team’s radar for some time due…
Parler Booted Off Amazon’s AWS Hosting Service, Suspended by Apple
“Apple has suspended Parler until the makers of the app solve its content moderation challenges,” reports Forbes, citing a statement from Apple saying “there is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity. Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats…” Meanwhile, BuzzFeed News reports: Amazon notified Parler that it would be…
Will America’s Next President Break Up Facebook?
With 25 days until Joe Biden becomes America’s next president, Politico writes that throughout the US government, “From lawmakers on Capitol Hill to antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission, Washington is training its sights on the world’s largest social network like never before.” Biden’s antitrust enforcers will take ownership of a lawsuit the FTC filed this month threatening to dismantle…
Key People Are Leaving Facebook and Torching the Company In Departure Notes
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BuzzFeed News: On Wednesday, a Facebook data scientist departed the social networking company after a two-year stint, leaving a farewell note for their colleagues to ponder. As part of a team focused on “Violence and Incitement,” they had dealt with some of the worst content on Facebook, and they were proud of their work…
Big Tech Firms To Face 6% Fines If Breach New EU Content Rules
Big tech firms such as Google and Facebook will face fines of up to 6% of turnover if they do not do more to tackle illegal content and reveal more about advertising on their platforms under draft European Union rules. Reuters reports: The EU’s tough line, which is due to be announced next week, comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny worldwide of…
YouTube Will Remind Users To ‘Keep Comments Respectful’ Before Posting
YouTube is taking new steps to weed out bullying, hate speech and other kinds of nasty comments. From a report: The company introduced a new feature that will remind users to “keep comments respectful,” when its automated systems detect a comment may be offensive. The change is rolling out now on Android, and will eventually move to other platforms, though it’s…
Facebook Removes Temporary Algorithm Change That Had Blocked Misinformation
Facebook’s employees and executives “are battling over how to reduce misinformation and hate speech without hurting the company’s bottom line,” reports the New York Times, after employees had spotted false and misleading election-related misinformation going viral on the site. The solution? Make temporary changes to the controversial algorithm “which helps determine what more than two billion people see every day” by…