Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagSection 230

group-of-demonstrators-on-road-young-people-from-different-culture-and-race-fight-for-climate-change-global-warming-and-enviroment-concept-focus-on-banners-stockpack-adobe-stock
Group of demonstrators on road, young people from different culture and race fight for climate change - Global warming and enviroment concept - Focus on banners
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
October 14, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Environment, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , ,

Google and YouTube Demonetize Climate Change Skeptics

But how did Google acquire the authority to declare what is "misinformation" or "scientific consensus"?
Caitlin Bassett
October 14, 2021
Censorship, Environment, Social Media

The Google Ads team announced a new policy last week banning the monetization of content critical of a current consensus around climate change. Beginning in November, both Google and YouTube will: …prohibit ads for, and monetization of, content that contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change. This includes content referring to climate change as a hoax or a scam, claims denying that long-term trends show the global climate is warming, and claims denying that greenhouse gas emissions or human activity contribute to climate change. Google Ads team, “Updating our ads and monetization policies on climate change,” posted October 7, 2021 This does not mean that Google and YouTube will block any and all content that denies…

block users
Hand adding a new team member to a group. Business management concept
Type
post
Author
News
Date
October 4, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , , ,

Can Texas Win Its Fight With Big Social Media Censorship?

Engineering prof Karl D. Stephan notes that, currently, if a user is de-platformed from a large site such as Facebook, there are, famously, not a lot of alternatives
News
October 4, 2021
Censorship, Social Media

(This article by Karl D. Stephan originally appeared at Engineering Ethics Blog September 27, 2021, and is reprinted with permission.) On September 9, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 20, a law designed to keep social media companies with more than 50 million subscribers from blocking users whose viewpoints the company disapproves of. Scheduled to take effect in December, the law has already attracted controversy and threats of lawsuits to keep it from going into effect. Currently, if a user is de-platformed from a large site such as Facebook, there are not a lot of alternatives. The overarching law in the US pertaining to such situations is Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, which prevails if there is a conflict between…

law book pen
Justice and law concept. Gavel on sounding block in hand's Male judge at a courtroom, working with document law books, report the case on table in modern office.
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
August 8, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Section 230: What Is It and Why the Controversy?

Does Section 230 provide Big Tech too much power, or is it necessary for the moderation of misinformation and inappropriate content?
Caitlin Bassett
August 8, 2021
Censorship, Law, Social Media

At the center of the controversy between free speech and the rights of private companies lies Section 230, the controversial U.S. code dating back to 1996. Toward the end of his term in 2020, former President Donald Trump famously tweeted that Section 230 should be “completely terminated.” Sen. Josh Hawley, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voiced their support, but by and large, the sentiment was met with fierce resistance. Advocates for the reform (or complete repeal) of Section 230 argue that it shields Big Tech companies from accountability when they engage in politically-motivated censorship and content moderation. Supporters of Section 230 argue that it is essential to keep the internet free of misinformation and vile or obscene material. Section 230…

business-risk-control-concept-businessman-protect-wooden-block-fall-to-planning-and-strategy-in-risk-to-business-alternative-and-prevent-investment-insurance-business-stockpack-adobe-stock
Business risk control concept, Businessman protect wooden block fall to planning and strategy in risk to business Alternative and prevent. Investment Insurance Business.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 16, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , ,

The Push to Break Up Big Tech Monopolies

Facebook is "acting as an arm of the state," says Florida's governor
News
June 16, 2021
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures, hosted by Maria Bartiromo, over the weekend. The two discussed Big Tech’s alarming censorship power and Florida’s efforts to combat that power. Recent government emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act lawsuits suggest that Dr. Anthony Fauci and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg coordinated what should and should not be dispersed through social media platforms regarding COVID-19 and its origins. “Do you believe Fauci colluded with Mark Zuckerberg? Does this expose Facebook to legal action?” Bartiromo asked DeSantis. DeSantis answered by calling Facebook “an arm of the state”: Here’s an example of working with Fauci where Facebook, you can argue, is essentially acting as an arm of the state, because they’re…

woman-hand-using-smart-phone-with-lock-icon-graphic-at-coffee-shop-technology-business-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Woman hand using smart phone with lock icon graphic at coffee shop. Technology business concept.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 9, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Censoring the Censors? Florida’s Anti-Censorship Law

What exactly does the law do, and why is Big Tech sponsoring a lawsuit to halt it?
News
June 9, 2021
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Originally published by Dr. Karl Stephan at Engineering Ethics On May 24, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill designed to stop social media firms from censoring free speech. At least that’s what the governor’s website claims it does. Two big-tech industry groups, Netchoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), sued the state of Florida in early June over the legislation, which is scheduled to take effect on July 1. What exactly does the law do, and why are organizations such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Google sponsoring a lawsuit to halt it? People of certain political persuasions need not look far for motivations to pass such a law. Following the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 of this year,…

judge-holding-documents-stockpack-adobe-stock
Judge Holding Documents
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
June 8, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Big Tech Sues Florida Over New Censorship Law

Facebook, Twitter, and Google are fighting back against a Florida law that seeks to reign them in
Caitlin Bassett
June 8, 2021
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Technology trade companies representing Facebook, Twitter, and Google are suing Florida over its new law regulating the editorial and censorship powers of large social media platforms. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7072 into law on May 24, the first of its kind in the nation to curb the powers of online companies to remove and censor content and users. NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) – technology trade groups that have been vocal about their opposition to the law – filed the lawsuit against Florida the following Thursday in Tallahassee federal court. DeSantis and other supporters of the new law argue that its purpose is to safeguard the First Amendment rights of ordinary Florida citizens…

Texas State Capitol Rotunda
Texas State Capitol Rotunda
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
April 8, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , , , ,

Texas Senate Passes Bill Prohibiting Big Tech Censorship

The bill seeks to reign in Big Tech power and protect the principle of free speech for Texas citizens
Caitlin Bassett
April 8, 2021
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Last week, the Texas Senate passed a measure that would prohibit large social media companies like Facebook and Twitter from censoring political and religious viewpoints of Texas citizens. The bill now awaits a vote in the Texas House. Senate Bill 12 was introduced in March by State Senator Bryan Hughes. Titled “Relating to the censorship of users’ expressions by an interactive computer service,” the bill would not only prohibit censorship, but would require social media companies to disclose their moderation policies, publish reports about any blocked content, and create a legal route for people to appeal any censoring or deplatforming decisions. Social media companies currently enjoy legal protections against lawsuit under Section 230 of the U.S. Code, which on the…

details-of-diversity-used-horse-reins-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Details of diversity used horse reins
Type
post
Author
News
Date
March 18, 2021
Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Can Big Tech and Big Social Media Be Reined In?

A number of strategies to limit their power or make them share the wealth are being evaluated, both among governments and private think tanks
News
March 18, 2021
Business and Finance, Censorship, Social Media

Big Tech’s recent censorship moves have revived the debate about what, exactly, the new social media are? Are they publishers like HarperCollins or carriers like Ma Bell? Section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency Act exempts the Bigs from liability as publishers. But, unlike carriers, they can act against messages in their system that they don’t like. Generally, they benefit from a fuzziness that is not granted to other institutions. It’s probably not accidental that most Big Social Media are domiciled in the United States. Canada, to name just one other country, does not offer Twitter that protection. The scale of the conflict is expected to grow and a number of strategies to limit the Big Social Media’s power or…

social-media-censorship-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Social Media Censorship
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
March 9, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , ,

Texas Joins Fight Against Big Tech Censorship

Nearly two dozen states have proposed similar legislation in response to the increase of online censorship during the 2020 election period
Caitlin Bassett
March 9, 2021
Censorship, Social Media

Last week, Texas joined the growing pushback against Big Tech censorship when Governor Greg Abbott announced his support for a Texas bill that would prohibit the online censorship of political and religious viewpoints. “Silencing conservative views is un-American, it’s un-Texan and it’s about to be illegal in Texas,” Abbott wrote on Twitter last week ahead of a Friday press conference. Speaking alongside Abbott at the press conference was the bill’s sponsor, State Senator Bryan Hughes. Both figures made strong statements about free speech, the current threat of Big Tech, and their understanding of Texas’s role in this national struggle. “Texas is standing against big tech political censorship,” Abbott said. “We’re not going to allow it in the Lone Star State.”…

newspaper-on-brown-wooden-table-stockpack-unsplash.jpg
newspaper on brown wooden table
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
February 22, 2021
Categorized
Media, Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Facebook Unfriends Australia, Blacks Out Critical News

It started as a trade dispute but the growing power of Big Social Media to impose news blackouts threatens freedom of information, even safety
Denyse O'Leary
February 22, 2021
Media, Social Media

Last week, in a business dispute with the government of Australia, Facebook wiped news from Australia from its 2.6 billion users’ feeds. Michael Cook (pictured), editor of Australia-based MercatorNet, explains what that meant: So when you checked your Facebook feed on February 18, you didn’t see anything from The Australian, The Guardian, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph or, initially, the Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Western Sydney Health, South Australia Health, various state health services and some state Governments. This is in the middle of the fire season and a Covid-19 pandemic, for which many people rely on Facebook for updates. You also didn’t see anything from MercatorNet or BioEdge,…

get-out-of-jail-board-game-prison-free-escape-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Get Out of Jail Board Game Prison Free Escape
Type
post
Author
News
Date
February 13, 2021
Categorized
Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Prof: America Now Has Two Constitutions — Yours and Big Tech’s

People who are being debanked, depublished, and deplatformed are discovering that, whatever the Constitution says, they don’t have rights if Big Tech says they don’t
News
February 13, 2021
Social Media

University of Texas prof Michael Lind (pictured), asks us to think about the growing problem of Big Tech power as if we were living in an old time film about a corrupt county: Imagine that you are a resident in a low-population county in 1950. You run afoul of the small group of families who are effectively in charge. Your political and legal rights are unimpaired. You are free to vote and you are free to sue in municipal and county and state courts. The police treat you with unfailing courtesy and respect. But strange things start to happen. The only newspaper in the county refuses to take ads for your business. The only bank in the county announces that…

legal-law-concept-image-scales-of-justice-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Legal law concept image, scales of justice
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
January 20, 2021
Categorized
Social Media
Tagged
, , , , , ,

Finally, Someone Is Seriously Suing Twitter

Twitter is now being sued in Canada because Canada does not offer the protections accorded to the social medium that it has enjoyed in the United States
Caitlin Bassett
January 20, 2021
Social Media

Last week, a Canadian judge ruled that the Supreme Court of British Columbia has the right to hear the claims of Canadian billionaire philanthropist Frank Giustra against Twitter about the defamation he says he was subjected to on its platform. Giustra filed a lawsuit against Twitter in April 2019 in the Canadian province of British Columbia, claiming that he was the target of defamatory posts that harmed his reputation and community standing. According to his claim, people began making politically-motivated, false accusations against him via Twitter in 2015, ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The posts allege that Giustra was involved in “Pizzagate,” a conspiracy theory according to which the Democrats were operating a child sex trafficking ring out…