^CategoryCensorship

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 5, 2022

Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Babylon Bee and Twitter, Casey Newton on Musk and Twitter, Dan Gallagher, Laura Forman, Peter Kafka, Talulah Riley, Thomas Barrabi, Twitter and Elon Musk}

Musk and Twitter? The Babylon Bee Nailed It a While Back

_{After months-long strife, Musk offers full price for Twitter — for now. The drama continues to be free to view} _{News

October 5, 2022

4

Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media}

We would not have credited even Elon Musk with his sudden decision to buy Twitter for the full price after months of legal proceedings during which he said he didn’t want it at all but Twitter, which hates him, was forcing him to buy it anyway. Not a rumor: Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk confirmed his intention to purchase Twitter, according to a new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Monday. “[W]e write to notify you that the Musk Parties intend to proceed to closing of the transaction contemplated by the April 25, 2022 Merger Agreement,” Musk’s lawyers stated in a letter filed with the SEC. Andrew Moran, “Elon Musk Confirms Intention to Buy Twitter, SEC Filing Shows” at Read More ›

megaphone wrapped in barbed wire. the concept of banning freedom of speech. censorship barbed wire megaphone

^{Type
post

Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
September 30, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Media

Tagged
Censorship and US law, Common carrier doctrine, Featured, Section 230}

The Courts: May Social Media Censor Speech and Ban Users?

_{Two federal appeals courts came down on opposite sides. Hear the story} _{Richard W. Stevens

September 30, 2022

12

Censorship, Law, Media}

May Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube censor your posts and ban you from using their social media platforms? May a state government require large social media platforms to allow users and posts to present lawful information, ideas, and viewpoints with which the platforms disagree? Florida and Texas both enacted laws to restrict platforms from censoring and banning users whose content the platforms disliked. Two different federal appeals courts in 2022 ruled on whether these two states’ laws were constitutional — and came out on opposite sides. The following three scenarios frame the key issues. Scenario A: Commercial Ground Transportation A fellow boards a private company-owned, regularly scheduled commercial bus bound for Berkeley, California, wearing a T-shirt proclaiming in big letters: Save Read More ›

Once more unto the breach / 3D illustration of science fiction scene with robot general holding battle hammer rallying his android troops under a stormy dark sky

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 24, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Business and Finance, Censorship, Surveillance

Tagged
Artificial intelligence and social issues, Artificial intelligence creating apocalypse, Michael K. Cohen}

Oh, Not This Again: “AI Will Rise Up and Destroy Mankind”

_{The advances of AI raise a number of issues, yes. But the intelligences behind these advances are not artificial at all} _{Denyse O'Leary

September 24, 2022

4

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Business and Finance, Censorship, Surveillance}

A new paper from researchers at Oxford University and Google’s Deepmind prophesies that “the threat of AI is greater than previously believed. It’s so great, in fact, that artificial intelligence is likely to one day rise up and annihilate humankind … Cohen says the conditions the researchers identified show that the possibility of a threatening conclusion is stronger than in any previous publication.” (MSN, September 15, 2022) How? Why? The research paper predicted life on Earth turning into a zero-sum game between humans and the super-advanced machinery. Michael K. Cohen, a co-author of the study, spoke about their paper during an interview. In a world with infinite resources, I would be extremely uncertain about what would happen. In a world Read More ›

A man with the sky surreal painting illustration

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
September 19, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Politics, Social Media

Tagged
Facebook, Facebook and censorship, Facebook and FBI, Facebook COVID controversy censorship, Louisiana-Missouri Facebook lawsuit, Miranda Devine}

Facebook and Government: Working Together for Thought Management

_{A critical distinction between Facebook and traditional media is that Facebook is global and total, not regional and partial} _{News

September 19, 2022

5

Censorship, Politics, Social Media}

In recent years, motivated perhaps by a sense of public duty, Facebook (rebranded as Meta) has turned its attention to fine-grained political reeducation and censorship of the nearly 3 billion monthly active users of its platform. All the instances listed below (plus, doubtless, many others we don’t know of at press time) add up to quite the program of thought management: ● Working closely with the FBI to monitor Americans who questioned the results of the 2020 election: “It was done outside the legal process and without probable cause,” alleged one of the sources, who spoke on condition of -anonymity. “Facebook provides the FBI with private conversations which are protected by the First Amendment without any subpoena.” These private messages Read More ›

Little Caucasians blond boy child 3-4 years old covered his face with his hands alone in the dark and is afraid. The concept of social problems and dysfunctional families, child abuse. Copy space.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
September 2, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Crime, Social Media

Tagged
Apple app store and Twitter, Casey Newton, Tumblr and child porn, Twitter, Twitter (and Elon Musk), Twitter and censorship, Twitter and child porn, Twitter's censorship priorities}

Twitter’s Censorship — Child Porn (Shrug… ), MDs’ Doubts: NO!

_{Twitter censored doctors and researchers who raised doubts about COVID strategies but seemed helpless about child porn} _{News

September 2, 2022

4

Censorship, Crime, Social Media}

Earlier this week, we looked at The Verge’s groundbreaking coverage of Twitter’s inability to prioritize and address child porn (and non-consensual nudity) at the site. One of the authors, Casey Newton, followed up Wednesday at Platformer,, filling readers in on new facts that he and Zoe Schiffer learned from a former Twitter employee after their story was published. One was that “Twitter’s move would draw Apple’s attention to the significant amount of porn on the service, and potentially place new restrictions on its iOS app or even remove it from the App Store.” That’s no idle threat, Newton reminds us. In 2018, Tumblr was dropped from the Apple app store when “child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was found on the Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 26, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Ethics, Medicine and Health, Social Media

Tagged
Alphabet Workers Union and CPCs, Big Tech and crisis pregnancy centers, Chris Humphrey, Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) and Big Tech, Elizabeth Warren and crisis pregnancy centers, Kathy Hochul and crisis pregnancy centers, Vision for Life, Yelp and CPCs}

Google Employees Demand Corporate War on Crisis Pregnancy Centers

_{The recent Dobbs decision returning abortion legislation to the states has also spurred abortion activists to violence against pro-life crisis pregnancy centers} _{News

August 26, 2022

5

Censorship, Ethics, Medicine and Health, Social Media}

Recently, in a petition circulated by the Alphabet Workers Union, 650 Google employees asked the firm to suppress search results for pro-life crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) “by removing results for fake abortion providers” as well as to stop collecting users’ data on abortion-related searches. Yelp has already doubled down against the centers: As the linked story notes, Yelp has decided to flag them with a “consumer notice,” warning users that “Crisis Pregnancy Centers typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite” (translation: no abortionists on staff). Utilizing the common leftist tactic of accusing people who express a different view of dispensing “misinformation,” Yelp said in a statement that “it’s been well-reported” (well… “reported”) “that crisis Read More ›

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a press briefing, Friday, September 24, 2021, in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Hannah Foslien)

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 26, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Politics

Tagged
COVID-19 and disinformation concept, Daniel Henninger, Disinformation concept and journalism, Disinformation Governance Board, Disinformation Governance Board (bipartisan opposition), Disinformation Governance Board disbanded, Nina Jankowicz}

U.S. Shuts Down Its Paused Disinformation Governance Board

_{Faced with resounding unpopularity, the Department of Homeland Security has decided that the Board is not necessary} _{News

August 26, 2022

4

Censorship, Politics}

The Department of Homeland Security, facing widespread backlash, has ended the governance board that would decide what news is “disinformation”: “In accordance with the HSAC’s prior recommendation, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas has terminated the Disinformation Governance Board and rescinded its charter effective today, August 24, 2022. “With the HSAC recommendations as a guide, the Department will continue to address threat streams that undermine the security of our country consistent with the law, while upholding the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of the American people and promoting transparency in our work.” “Following HSAC Recommendation, DHS terminates Disinformation Governance Board” at Department of Homeland Security (August 24, 2022) The Board had been placed on hold shortly after its Read More ›

A man's hand separates people from the Internet. The concept of blocking access to the World Wide Web, self-isolation and traffic filtering. the great firewall. Control over the Internet.

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 25, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Politics, Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech censorship, Clarence Thomas, CLINTEL, Elitsa Dermendzhiyska, John Daniel Davidson, Sam Harris, Sam Harris and censorship, Triggernometry}

Atheist Philosopher Sam Harris Supports Online Political Censors

_{Denyse O'Leary

August 25, 2022

5

Censorship, Politics, Social Media}

Recently, neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris came out in favor of Big Social Media censorship in a Triggernometry YouTube podcast. His comments, as reported in a partial transcript, supported acknowledged BSM efforts to stifle public awareness of of compromising material found on the laptop of Present Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden just prior to the U.S. 2020 election: ‘At that point, Hunter Biden literally could have had the corpses of children in his basement – I would not have cared,’ began the best selling author, who specialises in religion, rationality, and ethics… ‘Now, that doesn’t answer the people who say that it is still completely unfair to not have looked at the laptop in a timely way or to shut Read More ›

Social media concept. Corona virus fake news concept. Scale on red background

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 10, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Media, Science

Tagged
Cameron English, Clickbait, Error correction as science goal, Liar's Dividend, Misinformation and clickbait, Science incentive structure, Science incentives and questionable claims}

Why Misinformation Comes From the Top as Well as the Bottom

_{At Big Think, Cameron English asks us to look at the incentives for academic scientists to publish questionable research that gains widespread attention.} _{News

August 10, 2022

4

Censorship, Media, Science}

Cameron English, Director of Bio-Sciences at American Council on Science and Health, offers a useful take on the need felt by some in power to crack down on Misinformation: The uncomfortable truth is that academic scientists routinely publish questionable research that attracts widespread media attention, adding to the morass of “inaccurate information” circulating online. If we want to get this problem under control, we need our trusted sources to quit releasing untrustworthy information. Cameron English, “‘Trusted’ Sources Spread Anti-Science Nonsense, Too” at Big Think (August 4, 2022) But the fact is, untrustworthy information pays: It is true that researchers live and die by their grants; they either “publish or perish,” as the old saying goes. Often, that means academic scientists Read More ›

Automotive Engineer Use Virtual Reality Headset for Virtual Electric Car 3D Model Design Analysis and Improvement. 3D Graphics Visualization Shows Fully Developed Vehicle Prototype Analysed Optimized

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 4, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, Data Privacy, Surveillance, Technocracy, Virtual Reality

Tagged
Adam Goad, Austin Egbert, Big Tech, Big Tech influence, Bitcoin (currency), Blockchain, censorship, Centralization, cloud, cryptocurrencies, decentralization, Edge computing, Ethereum, Facebook, Featured, Jack Dorsey on Web3, metaverse, Metaverse (living in metaverse), Robert J. Marks, Twitter, Virtual Reality, Web3}

Why Don’t Some Tech Moguls Like Web3, the New Internet?

_{Web3 is a decentralized, less controlled version of the internet, as George Gilder predicted in Life After Google} _{News

August 4, 2022

10

Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, Data Privacy, Surveillance, Technocracy, Virtual Reality}

In this week’s podcast, “Web3: The next generation of the internet” (August 4, 2022), Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviews graduate student Adam Goad and Dr. Austin Egbert, both in computer engineering at Baylor University, on the coming decentralization of the internet. With developments like the ones they discuss looming, Big Tech may be seeing a waistline trim. This is the Part I of the first of the three discussions. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Mind-Matters-198-Adam-Goad-Austin-Egbert.mp3 A partial transcript and Additional Resources follow. Dr. Marks began by discussing all the services he gets from Google, confessing that he has not needed to go to a library in over two decades. But… Robert J. Marks: Now, is Google just being nice in giving me Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
July 27, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Abortion rate decline in U.S., Crisis Pregnancy Centers and Google Maps, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (court case), Elizabeth Warren and crisis pregnancy centers, Erin Matson, FACE Act (1994), Google Maps and CPCs, Gretchen Whitmer, Ken Paxton, Reproaction, Social media and crisis pregnancy centers, YouTube and abortion information}

Lawmakers to Google Maps: Leave Crisis Pregnancy Centers Alone!

_{Seventeen state attorneys’ general have warned Google not to alter map search results in response to abortion activists’ demands} _{News

July 27, 2022

4

Censorship, Social Media}

Recently, abortion activists were demanding that Google Maps crack down on crisis pregnancy centers that offer help other than abortion. In response, a group of 17 state attorneys general led by Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton sent a letter dated July 21, asking Google to “advise the co-signing Attorneys General whether it has adjusted its search results and advertisements to discriminate against crisis pregnancy centers, and if so, how.” It reads in part, Unfortunately, several national politicians now seek to wield Google’s immense market power by pressuring the company to discriminate against pro-life crisis pregnancy centers in Google search results, in online advertising, and in its other products, such as Google Maps. As the chief legal officers of our respective States, Read More ›

Hand holding mobile smart phone, with notification icons and city background

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
July 26, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Medicine and Health, Social Media

Tagged
Casey Newton on COVID censorship, COVID-19 censorship, Facebook and COVID censorship, Meta and COVID censorship, Nick Clegg on COVID censorship}

Facebook Blinks: No Longer Wants to Censor COVID “Misinformation”

_{Global Affairs President Nick Clegg has revealed that Facebook is seeking the guidance of its Oversight Board about removing “false claims”} _{News

July 26, 2022

4

Censorship, Medicine and Health, Social Media}

Citing the view that the COVID-19 pandemic has “evolved,” Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is deciding whether to continue removing “misinformation” about the pandemic from the platform: Meta has asked the company’s Oversight Board, which is funded by Meta but operates independently, to decide whether removing “false claims about masks, social distancing and vaccines” on Facebook is still appropriate as “countries around the world seek to return to more normal life,” Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said Tuesday in a blog post. Sherri Walsh, “Facebook parent Meta to reconsider removing COVID-19 misinformation” at UPI (July 26, 2022) The U.S. government had put a lot of pressure on Meta, as UPI notes, and Facebook removed 25 million items of information. Read More ›

Double exposure of business woman and Big Data concept. Digital neural network.Introduction of artificial intelligence. Cyberspace of future.Science and innovation of technology.city background.

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
July 21, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Data Privacy, Politics, Social Media, Surveillance, Technocracy

Tagged
Big Tech and neo-feudalism, Big Tech decline in popularity, Brave search engine, Coming of Neo-Feudalism (book 2020), DuckDuckGo sidelined by Google, Google and don't be evil slogan, Google attempts to shape thinking, Google censorship, Google's global dominance, Joel Kotkin, Neo-feudalism, Silicon Valley disparities}

Google’s Most Ambitious Project to Date: Reshaping Your Thinking

_{Controlling so much communication — and fired up by ideology — it’s in a better position for that than many suppose} _{News

July 21, 2022

7

Censorship, Data Privacy, Politics, Social Media, Surveillance, Technocracy}

In a column yesterday at Spiked, urban studies specialist Joel Kotkin, author of The Coming of Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class (2020), provided depressing evidence that the power of Big Tech is beginning to genuinely resemble the power medieval lords had over their serfs. It’s not just an office joke any more. Google, he recounts, was part of an anti-authoritarian high tech culture when it went public in 2004. Its search engine technology, and others, were seen as empowering the little guy. In 2018, for unclear reasons, Google dropped the famous “Don’t be evil” slogan. Since then, in Kotkin’s view, it is “increasingly becoming a force not for good, but for, well, evil.” He musters an impressive Read More ›

Cyborg hologram watching a subway interior 3D rendering

^{Type
post

Author
Gary Smith
Date
July 19, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, China, Surveillance

Tagged
China and crime prediction algorithms, China and mind-reading algorithms, Crime prediction algorithms, Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden, Featured, Freedom of the press and Constitution, George Orwell on total surveillance, Good Wife (TV series), James Clapper, Mind-reading algorithms, National Security Agency (NSA), Social credit scores, Surveillance and liberal democracy, Telescreen and modern equivalents}

Big Brother Is Watching You (And Trying to Read Your Mind)

_{Chinese researchers now claim to have developed technology that can read our minds} _{Gary Smith

July 19, 2022

6

Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, China, Surveillance}

One of the most popular story lines in the widely acclaimed television show The Good Wife (2009–2016) is when National Security Agency (NSA) techies entertain themselves by eavesdropping on the heroine’s personal life. It clearly resonated with viewers and reinforced the fears of many that the NSA might be listening to their conversations. Indeed, they might be. In 2013 James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, was asked by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden about whether NSA collects “any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans.” Clapper answered, under oath, “No sir, not wittingly.” Clapper had been informed the day before that he would be asked this question and he was offered an opportunity the day Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 18, 2022

Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech stocks, Elon Musk (and Twitter), Elon Musk vs. the Twitterbots, Twitter (and Elon Musk), Twitterbots and Twitter's influence}

Twitter vs. Musk: The Many Different Ways the Story Could End

_{Twitter, which didn’t really want Musk, is now suing to make him its boss. They all hate each other. Can this work?} _{Denyse O'Leary

July 18, 2022

5

Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media}

In the most recent episode of the Musk and Twitter show, Twitter was suing driverless car entrepreneur Elon Musk to compel him to buy the company at the original posted price — despite the fact that earlier, many employees didn’t want him to buy it at all. Also despite the fact that he says he no longer wants to. Readers, this is happening only because Big Tech stock values are way down. A useful article by technology reporter Alex Sherman at CNBC (July 11, 2022) identifies eight ways the saga could end, namely 1 and 4: Musk just ends up paying the $1B breakup fee or some other settlement and Twitter continues with its meltdowns and bot problems, as long Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 10, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media

Tagged
Alejandro Mayorkas, Chuck Grassley, COVID-19 vaccines, Disinformation Governance Board, Face masks against COVID-19, Josh Hawley, Lab leak theory (COVID-19), Whistleblowers, Yoel Roth}

Dox Show Disinformation Board Was For Use Against Americans Too

_{A whistleblower leaked a cache of documents to two U.S. senators who have put them online} _{Denyse O'Leary

June 10, 2022

6

Censorship, Media, Social Media}

On Tuesday, Senators Chuck Grassley (R – Iowa) and Senator Josh Hawley (R – Missouri) publicized whistleblower documents that make clear that the Disinformation Governance Board, currently on hold, had much greater ambitions than we have been led to believe. Here are some highlights from the documents publicized June 7, 2022: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas explicitly told CNN that the new Governance Board was not intended to spy on U.S.citizens: Mayorkas: Ministry of Truth won’t “monitor American citizens … the board does not have any operational capability. What it’ill do is gather together best practices … & disseminate those best practices to the operators that have been executing & addressing this threat for years” pic.twitter.com/VbHF6Wek2Y — Tom Read More ›