It’s not the only health issue to be subject to misinformation online, but the prevalence of anti-vaccination content on social media is causing great concern among public health officials, politicians and more. Read the rest of this entry »
Regulating Facebook, Google and Amazon is hard given their bewildering complexity – Zac Rogers
18 08 2019
Back in the 1990s – a lifetime ago in internet terms – the Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells published several books charting the rise of information networks. He predicted that in the networked age, more value would accrue in controlling flows of information than in controlling the content itself. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Amazon, Facebook, Google, The Conversation, Zac Rogers
Categories : Media Regulation, Social Media
Pseudoscience is taking over social media: and putting us all at risk – Santosh Vijaykumar
4 08 2019
Search for “climate change” on YouTube and before long you’ll likely find a video that denies it exists. In fact, when it comes to shaping the online conversation around climate change, a new study suggests that deniers and conspiracy theorists might hold an edge over those believing in science. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Santosh Vijaykumar, The Conversation
Categories : Social Media
Why Facebook’s new ‘privacy cop’ is doomed to fail – Bhaskar Chakravorti
30 07 2019
The Federal Trade Commission issued its largest-ever fine, of US$5 billion, to Facebook for violating a 2011 privacy settlement in late July. But the amount is only about a month’s worth of the company’s revenue, suggesting that the fine, while seeming large, is, in fact, rather modest. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Bhaskar Chakravorti, Facebook
Categories : Social Media
The Great Hack and the dysaguria of Cambridge Analytica – Eoin O’Dell
28 07 2019
The Great Hack has just dropped on Netflix (IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes | wikipedia | poster left). It is a documentary that explores “how a data company named Cambridge Analytica came to symbolize the dark side of social media in the wake of the 2016 US presidential election”. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Cambridge Analytica, Cearta.ie, Eoin O'Dell, Facebook
Categories : Social Media, Surveillance
Facebook algorithm changes suppressed journalism and meddled with democracy – Jennifer Grygiel
27 07 2019
Facebook’s News Feed algorithm determines what users see on its platform – from funny memes to comments from friends. The company regularly updates this algorithm, which can dramatically change what information people consume. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Algorithms, Facebook, Jennifer Grygiel
Categories : Social Media
The Facebook Appeal and Procedural Grounds – Christopher Knight
25 07 2019
What sort of grounds of challenge can be run on an appeal against a monetary penalty notice issued by the Information Commissioner? Where the Tribunal has a full merits jurisdiction, is there scope for grounds of challenge relating to the process by which the MPN was reached? Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Facebook, Information Commissioner
Categories : Data Protection, EU, Social Media
Twitter is right to have special rules for Donald Trump: it’s recognising that not all tweets are equal – Fabienne Peter
23 07 2019
Twitter recently decided that rule-breaking tweets from influential politicians would be hidden behind a warning. Journalists were quick to label the new policy the “Trump rule”. But it wasn’t long before the rule was put to the test and found lacking. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Donald Trump, Fabienne Peter, The Conversation, Twitter
Categories : Social Media
Online Harms White Paper – Some Consultation Responses [Updated3]
20 07 2019
The consultation period for the Government’s “Online Harms White Paper” closed on 1 July 2019. The consultation website tells us that the Government is “analysing your feedback”. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Consultation Responses, Online Harms White Paper
Categories : Internet, Social Media
Our “data self” explained. A brief journey into Surveillance Capitalism – Nataly Tedone
17 07 2019
If we had the choice to be paid to discuss and share our likes, dislikes, food choices, political views, health issues, desires, fears and anything that makes us unique, would we? Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Nataly Tedone
Categories : Internet, Social Media
