A Choice of Algorithms on Social Media Platforms
The spread of misinformation through social media has been a prevailing topic, particularly today as its effects are more blatantly realized. Like many others, I was appalled by the seizure of Capitol Hill, but not surprised that the violence transpired. The association of conspiracies over COVID is another example of the rendering of “fake news” phenomenon. A previous post by Aaron also brought up recent misinformation of abductions occurring in BC’s lower mainland. I personally had family and friends reaching out and sharing this Tik Tok to alert me to be more vigilant. I gently reminded them that vigilance should be practised and not readily giving credence to everything you read or hear from social media. I sent them a CBC article warning users of the misinformation being spread about these said abductions.
When I encountered this article by Kastrenakes, I was hopeful that perhaps it was possible to find a balance between engaging with others online and retaining some control over the content we choose. The article summarizes Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s intention to provide users with a mechanism to choose the algorithm that best suits their online experience. The intention is not to censor users from content but rather engage the user to choose their online experience rather than relying on a single company to provide an algorithm. If successful, users would have more choice over what content they would like to see.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/9/22275441/jack-dorsey-decentralized-app-store-algorithms
Great Article Hits Close to Home
A recent article by arstechnica, states 70% of top “civic” Facebook groups are toxic or violent according to a report.
The report discusses the issues of hate speech, violent rhetoric, misinformation and toxic behaviour in relation to the US Capitol. However, this is a global issue.
I live in the Fraser Valley, and we are seeing local fear mongering on Facebook with regards to missing people. Conspiracy theories that they were all related began to explode. Moreover, conspiracy theories that Global News was “Fake News” also have shown up in the comments section. In my view, this indicates that this phenomenon can occur on macro and micro scales. What I have witnessed locally is rather shocking. Facebook conspiracy theories do not stay on Facebook. Many people have posted about “protecting yourself” from abductors. This has translated into real people actually beginning to carry around knives and weapons out of fear of being abducted. The problem of people taking action due to Facebook posts is not only a problem for the US Capitol, but an issue we are all exposed to.
The idea behind free speech, is to beat bad ideas with better ideas. However, Facebook Algorithms does not work this way. It promotes what is trending. What are the solutions? Do we shut down these groups? Are conspiracy theorists being shut down a realistic solution? How do you bring a conspiracy theorist back to a middle ground?
https://www.citynews1130.com/2020/02/11/police-fake-news-facebook-groups/
News of the Week; February 3, 2021
COMMUNICATIONS
- Bell Blasted For Taking $122m Labour Subsidy While Boosting Dividends
- AT&T & Verizon Got Billions From Government, Yet Laid Off 95,000 People In Just Five Years
- After Years Of Litigation, AT&T Customers Get A Measly $22 For Being Lied To Over ‘Throttling’
- Why victims of AT&T unlimited-data throttling get only $22 in settlements
- AT&T customer since 1960 buys WSJ print ad to complain of slow speeds
- Antitrust Remedies in Highly Regulated Industries
- Xiaomi denies ties to China’s military, calls US ruling “unconstitutional”
- Cable ISP warns “excessive” uploaders, says network can’t handle heavy usage
- State reps try to ban Comcast data cap and price hikes until pandemic is over
- Comcast lifts uploads to 5Mbps amid complaints its low-income plan is too slow
- 27% Of Cable TV Subscribers Will Cut The Cord This Year
- Flash is dead—but South Africa didn’t get the memo
- Georgia Towns Sue Netflix In Flimsy Bid To Nab A Slice Of The Pie
- The Wall Street Journal Kisses Big Telecom’s Ass In Whiny Screed About ‘Big Tech’
- A TV Broadcaster’s Guide to Where Washington Regulatory Issues Stand
- Fixed-satellite service operators may soon access new frequencies and routine licensing procedures
- How to Watch the Super Bowl in VR With Friends for Free
DIGITAL
- 70% of top “civic” Facebook groups are toxic or violent, report finds
- Lawmakers take aim at insidious digital “dark patterns”
- Influencers told not to use ‘misleading’ beauty filters
- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos stepping down
- Jeff Bezos to leave Amazon CEO post after 27 years, become executive chair
- No, WallStreetBets isn’t robbing Wall Street to help the little guy
- WallStreetBets craze pushes dogecoin up 5x in 24 hours
- Facebook “Supreme Court” overrules company in 4 of its first 5 decisions
- Facebook Oversight Board decisions
- People Want Real Change From Facebook. Its ‘Supreme Court’ Isn’t Delivering.: The first decisions from the new Oversight Board have been issued. The results are underwhelming.
- Facebook Oversight Board’s First Decisions… Seem To Confirm Everyone’s Opinions Of The Board
- Every crazy thing that happened in Apple and Facebook’s privacy feud today
- Facebook makes the case for activity tracking to iOS 14 users in new pop-ups
- EU calls US$15.7bn Apple tax ruling ‘contradictory’: At the heart of the legal arguments are simple questions on where value is created and where it should be taxed
- Apple, Its Control Over the iPhone, The Internet, And The Metaverse
- Apple’s updated App Store guidelines clarify positions on recent controversies
- Latest FTC “Made in USA” Enforcement Includes Scrutiny of Hashtags
- Biggest MAGA Conference Threatens Politico With Bogus Lawsuit For Reporting On Conference Troubles
- Google settles federal gender and race discrimination charges for $3.8M
- Google Play bans open source Matrix client Element, citing “abusive content”
- A Wave of Online Services Have Suspended Accounts Associated with Trump and His Supporters
- TikTok Implements Prompts To Deter Users From Proliferating Misinformation
- TikTok Inks Multi-Faceted Partnership With British Ad And Marketing Giant WPP
- Australians May Soon Face Life Without Google
- Microsoft backs Australian law forcing Google to pay for news links
- Online Harassment Toward Women Is Getting Even More Insidious
- Dominion Sues Rudy Giuliani For $1.3 Billion Over False Statements About Its Voting Systems
- Professional Assholes Equate Consequences With ‘Cancel Culture’ To Obscure That They’re Finally Being Held Accountable
- Continued Access to Service Not Sufficient to Bind User to New Terms of Service–Stover v. Experian (Eric Goldman)
- Google and Twitter Defeat Lawsuit Over Account Suspensions/Terminations–DeLima v. Google (Eric Goldman)
- Politician Can Block Constituents at Twitter–If It’s a “Campaign” Account–Campbell v. Reisch (Eric Goldman)
- Selling Keyword Ads Isn’t Theft or Conversion–Edible IP v. Google (Eric Goldman)
- TripAdvisor Doesn’t Get Early Section 230 Dismissal–Putt v. TripAdvisor (Eric Goldman)
- No, Revoking Section 230 Would Not ‘Save Democracy’
- Removing Civil Rights Law From Section 230 Will Create Many New Problems, While Failing To Fix Existing Ones
- Columbia Law Professor Spews Blatantly False Information About Section 230 In The Wall Street Journal
- No Section 230 Has Nothing To Do With Horrific NY Times Story Of Online Stalker Getting Revenge For Decades’ Old Slight
- Content Moderation At Scale Is Impossible: Google Play Bans Video Player App Over ASS File Extension Support
- Content Moderation Case Study: Twitter Removes Account Of Human Rights Activist (2018)
- Content Moderation Case Study: GitHub Attempts To Moderate Banned Words Contained In Hosted Repositories (2015)
- CNN Ends Distribution Deal With Facebook Watch, Brings ‘Go There’ Series In-House
- YouTube’s new “Clips” feature lets users share 60-second clips of videos
- YouTube Will Let Viewers Share Custom Short Videos Cut From Creators’ Uploads And Livestreams
- YouTube Doubled Number Of TrueView Advertisers In Q4 2020, Earned $6.9 Billion
- Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide Last Week
- Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide Last Week
- Top 50 Most Viewed U.S. YouTube Channels Last Week
- Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels Last Week
- The Obamas To Host YouTube’s Black History Month Special, ‘Black Renaissance’
- YouTube Sets Series From Hillary Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions, Starring Patricia Bright
- Instagram Revamps User Interface For Stories Consumption On Desktops
- Snapchat Launches ‘Safety Snapshot’ Program To Educate Users On Data Security
- Teespring Goes Live With ‘Spring’ Rebrand, Has 450,000 Creators On The Platform
- Ryan Reynolds To Premiere Snapchat Series Alongside Will Smith’s Westbrook Media
- Amid Miami Move, Jake Paul Lists Infamous Calabasas Mansion For $7 Million
- Wheelhouse Launches ‘DNA’ Division For Digital And Audio Ventures, Inks 360 Deal With Nikita Dragun (Exclusive)
- Barstool Sports, NPR, Wondery Were Top-Earning Podcast Producers Of 2020 (Report)
- Netflix Is Testing A Sleep Timer That Will Automatically Stop Playback
- HBO Max To Offer Cheaper, Ad-Supported Subscription In Q2
- Apple TV+ Nabs Jared Leto, Anne Hathaway For Series About WeWork Saga
A.I.
- Artificial intelligence soon to be regulated in Canada?
- FTC Brings First BOTS Act Case Against Online Ticket Brokers
- FTC Sets Its Eye on Algorithms, Automated Tech, and AI-Enabled Applications
- FDA Releases Action Plan for Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning-Enabled Software as a Medical Device
- Boston Dynamics’ robot dog gets an arm attachment, self-charging capabilities
- Microsoft Patent: Chatbots Made From The Online Habits Of Dead People
- Patent Issues for Factory Automation Inventions in AI
- National Defense Authorization Act Propels National Strategy on AI Development
- AI and data protection – uncomfortable bedfellows?
- Three Considerations for AI Healthcare Application Developers and Users
- National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office Launched as “Central Hub” for AI Research and Development
- Driving AI development: new UK AI roadmap released
- Artificial Intelligence: Landmark 2020 Developments and Rapid Business Adoption
- ICO Contributes To Briefing On AI And Healthcare
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- For the Want of a Nail – Copyright Claims Fail When Plaintiffs Can’t Show Ownership
- Thomson Reuters v. ROSS case will test limits on protections for subscription-based database: ROSS Intelligence alleges monopolistic, anticompetitive control over legal research market
- Bernie and his Marvelous Mittens. It’s all Good Fun Until a Copyright Lawyer Gets Involved
- Anthropomorphized Characters Representing Human Emotions are Not Copyrightable
- Annotations that Accompany State and Local Laws are not Copyrightable
- Generalized Expressions of Scientific Facts and Generic Themes are Not Copyrightable
- Spoofs, Parodies, Compatibility, and Comparisons: When Can Competitors Borrow from Each Other?
- Music – The Scope of Protection
- The Lies Told About The EU Copyright Directive’s Upload Filters May Help Get Them Thrown Out In Court
- Japan Looks To Amend Copyright Law To Force Some Cosplayers To Pay To Cosplay
- Pitch perfect appeal for James Arthur
- Is your joint copyright work purple or red/blue?
- Mitigating Copyright Issues in Remote Learning
- Music Licensing in the Video Streaming Era
- Pocky Ruling Denies Trade Dress Protection for the Useful, Though Not Essential, Shape of Cookie
- Third Circuit Panel Revises Half-Baked Trade Dress Functionality Decision
- Please Dough Not Use My Trademark
- Much ado about ballet shoes – important designs case on copying
- The Shape of Things to… Eat
- The Federal Court of Appeal Upholds Finding that Trademark Use Can Be Established Without a Physical Presence in Canada.
- Federal Court grants interlocutory injunction in trademark action for second time in six months
- Canadian Intellectual Property Office allows requests for expedited COVID-19 medical trademarks
- Taste, Smell, Hear, Touch, and See – Appealing to All Five Senses with Non-Traditional Trademarks
- Taylor Swift in ‘Evermore’ Trademark Lawsuit Over Utah Theme Park Name
- Trademark Modernization Act Strengthens Rights of Brand Owners
- The Trademark Modernization Act: Real Change to Address the Realities of Trademark Law
- Brewery Industry Insight — A Play-on-Words Mark Prevailed
- Annual Reminder: You Can Probably Just Call The Super Bowl The Super Bowl
- A decision based on Aesthetics – UK IPO rules stylisation is enough to overcome confusion
- General Court finds no likelihood of confusion in BBQLOUMI opposition – Cypriot cheesemakers continue to struggle in EU trade mark courts
- Lady A vs. Lady A: (Trademark) Battle of the Bands
- TTAB Precedent No. 46: No Abandonment of A.W. SHUCKS
- Cannabis Trade marks and commercialisation in the US, UK and EU.
- Minimalist trademarks: end of the road for uniqueness?
- Cybersquatting trends and strategies that brand owners need to know
- Janssen’s abiraterone acetate and prednisone combination therapy patent found invalid
- When is There an “Actual Invention” Involving Computers?
- Office Actions: Options to consider when you need an extension of time to respond to the Patent Office
- Protecting innovations through patent due diligence and FTO analysis
- Data Breaches Ain’t Just About Privacy: Risking the Loss of Patent Rights by Data Breach with Subsequent Disclosure
- All Hands On Deck: Ensuring Innovation, Not Just Patents, From All
- Third Circuit Requires Patent Validity Analysis In Adjudicating Antitrust Causation
- Federal Circuit Finds Patent Infringed After Reversing Claim Construction That Violated “Grammatical Principles” to Cover All Embodiments
- Judge Hellerstein Upholds Infringement by Microsoft of Kaufman’s “And/Or” Patent
- Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Litigation Update: Defendants’ Motion to Stay Pending IPR Denied in AR Design Innovations’ Patent Case
- Update on Patent “Aggregation” Suit Against Fortress
- Patent-Eligible Subject Matter
- Patent-Ineligible Subject Matter
- 2020 IP Law Year in Review: Patents – Executive Summary
- Snapshot: intellectual property for fashion goods in Canada
- 14 States Are Now Considering ‘Right to Repair’ Legislation
- Is there Magic in those Mushrooms? Protecting Psilocybin and Other Actives from Magic Mushrooms
- IP Litigation 2020 Year in Review
PRIVACY
- Clearview AI’s Facial Recognition App Called Illegal in Canada
- Not So Fast: Clearview Asks for Rehearing of Seventh Circuit Decision on Article III Standing for BIPA Class Action
- Michigan State Police Officials Are Dodging Public Records Obligations By Using Encrypted Messaging Apps
- Consent Standards under the Proposed Consumer Privacy Protection Act
- FTC’s allegations of misuse of facial recognition
- FTC Settles with Fertility-Tracking App Developer Regarding Health Data Disclosures
- 30% of “SolarWinds hack” victims didn’t actually use SolarWinds
- From first to sixth: Huawei’s phone business tanks thanks to US sanctions
- Police Chief Demands Holes In Encryption Because Some Cops Decided To Participate In The DC Insurrection
- States Gear Up to Limit Use of Biometrics and Biological Data
- Apple sets “early spring” rollout for iOS privacy changes
- Texas Immigration Lawyer Sues DHS, CBP Over Seizure And Search Of His Work Phone
- Why Does the Brand of My Phone Affect My Credit Rating?
- Data Security and Privacy Predictions for 2021: 6 Issues to Watch
- The government will guard Biden’s Peloton from hackers. What about the rest of us?
- Canadian Privacy Law 2020 Year in Review
GAMES
- Valve loses controller patent case, must pay $4m in damages
- Valve on the hook for $4 million over Steam Controller patent infringement
- Is Steam really conspiring to price fix?
- Riot Games pushes for arbitration in gender discrimination lawsuit
- Riot Games pushes gender discrimination case back towards arbitration
- Ubisoft Toronto co-founder Alexandre Parizeau departs Ubisoft
- Activision lawyers dismiss diversity hiring proposals as ‘unworkable’
- Game firms acknowledged by Human Rights Campaign for LGBTQ inclusivity
- Google closes Stadia’s dedicated game studios after less than 2 years
- Google shuts down first-party Stadia game studios to refocus as platform provider
- Google closing Stadia game studios, opening up tech to publishers
- Google Stadia Shuts Down Internal Studios, Changing Business Focus
- Google Shutters Stadia Game Dev Studio, Will Focus On Distribution And Tech
- Google eliminates Stadia’s internal development team
- What Stadia’s pivot tells us about the future of cloud gaming
- Google needs to think smaller about games streaming | Opinion
- Level Up: 33 Legal Tips for Game Developers and Publishers
- New supply chain attack uses poisoned updates to infect gamers’ computers
- Amazon Can Make Just About Anything—Except a Good Video Game: The company produces successful movies, TV shows, e-readers and speakers, but gaming has proven difficult to crack.
- Report: Mismanagement plagues Amazon’s struggling push into video games
- Amazon is reportedly spending nearly $500 million a year on its video game division
- Activision bans 60,000 Call of Duty: Warzone cheaters
- Goldeneye 007’s lost Xbox 360 remaster has leaked—as a full-game speedrun
- We have finally played the lost, official Goldeneye 007 remaster for Xbox 360
- Destruction AllStars review: Amazing PS5 car combat, in spite of speedbumps
- Sony says semiconductor shortage makes increased PS5 production difficult
- Sony reports ‘significant’ sales increase following PS5 launch
- The PlayStation 5 had sold 4.5 million units by the end of 2020
- Scalpers aren’t the main reason you can’t find a new console
- Activision Patent Seeks to Improve Esport Footage Sharing For Future Titles: A patent filed by Activision looks at ways to improve the esports experience with detailed data that could enhance the way broadcasts look.
- CD Projekt’s stock soars after Elon Musk tweets about Cyberpunk
- GameStop stock dips as apps like Robinhood restrict trading
- Discord Takes Over Moderation Of r/WallStreetBets Server As Facebook Shuts Down Popular Stock Trading Group
- Discord bans WallStreetBets as subreddit briefly goes private
- Robinhood blocking purchase of GameStop stock
- Robinhood denies automatically selling users’ GameStop shares
- Robinhood’s plan to “democratize finance” hit a GameStop-shaped speed bump
- Robinhood App Decides To Stop Helping The Poor Steal From The Rich
- Discord bans WallStreetBets for hateful conduct amid GameStop stock surge
- Hedge fund Melvin sustains 53% loss after Reddit onslaught
- Hedge fund Melvin Capital pulls out of GameStop trading
- GameStop stock story won’t have a happy ending | This Week in Business
- Canada’s answer to Robinhood Markets warns traders but won’t halt trading in speculative stock: Wealthsimple doesn’t plan to restrict trading as other brokerages have done in recent days, CEO says
- Multiple GameStop stock story adaptations reportedly in the works
- As Virgin Galactic gets swept up in GameStop mania, it gets back to flying
- AOC Examines Wall Street Over Twitch Stream
- How to protect your intellectual property in the games industry
- Tabletop Simulator devs face criticism for Google Translate-sourced translations
- Piracy: Does it matter? – People will try to steal your game in huge numbers, says Butterscotch Shenanigans’ Adam Coster — treat it as a design constraint
- EA signs multi-year license extension with UEFA to continue FIFA collaboration
- EA extends UEFA exclusivity, working on multiple FIFA mobile games
- EA reveals new studio Full Circle, the developer taking on the next ‘Skate’: The studio is led by the former head of Xbox Live and staffed by the creators of the original ‘Skate’ games
- EA posts record-breaking bookings driven by Ultimate Team, Apex Legends
- EA reports record net bookings as Apex Legends, Ultimate Team exceed expectations
- EA Play now has 13 million players across all platforms
- Star Wars has made $3bn for EA
- EA has made $3 billion in net bookings from just Star Wars games
- EA “very, very confident” about BioWare’s future despite key departures
- EA sees “huge potential” in racing following Codemasters acquisition
- EA Sports returning to college football
- EA Sports revives college football games, but without NCAA involvement
- EA is getting back into college football without NCAA, player licenses
- Detroit: Become Human dev Quantic Dream sets up new studio in Montreal
- Microsoft requests EU approval for ZeniMax acquisition
- Sega Sammy splits video games and pachinko machines into separate companies
- Nintendo raises fiscal forecast as Switch closes in on 80 million lifetime sales
- Nintendo Switch sales overtake 3DS as Nintendo raises forecasts again
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold over 31 million copies in nine months
- Super Nintendo World Recreated in Minecraft: A Minecraft player is currently building an authentic replica of the upcoming Super Nintendo World theme park, complete with its rides and shops.
- Modded Game Boy looks like an Apple product, works as Apple TV Remote
- iOS 14.5 update adds DualSense and Xbox Series X controller support
- The Medium has already recouped production and marketing costs
- The Medium | Critical Consensus
- Valve updates Steamworks to make sharing patch notes easier
- The Epic Games Store amassed over 160 million PC users in 2020
- Spider-Man: Miles Morales has sold 4.1m copies
- 25 years later, Midway’s lost “MLB Jam” arcade game has been found
- A new $110 light gun for old Duck Hunts: Ars tests an HDTV-friendly option
- Why Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ 31 million sales are so incredible
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons returns to No.1 | UK Boxed Charts
- All game development is unsustainable | 10 Years Ago This Month
- How can Xbox encourage consumers to ‘swim upstream’? | Opinion
- Brawl Stars is Supercell’s fourth title to pass $1bn in lifetime revenue
- Epic Games Store’s 160 million users spent over $700m in 2020
- Navigating the new normal: Studio culture in the time of COVID
- Australian games industry delivers 29 percent revenue growth despite COVID-19
- Sumo Group acquires PixelAnt Games
- Sumo acquires Polish work-for-hire studio PixelAnt Games
- Plug In Digital acquires Black Shell’s catalogue
- Gearbox Entertainment joins Embracer Group in $1.3b deal
- Borderlands dev Gearbox acquired by Embracer Group in $1.38 billion deal
- Embracer Group acquires Aspyr Media for $100m
- Embracer acquires mobile developer Easybrain and independent studio Aspyr
- Embracer Group merges with Easybrain in $640m deal
- AppOnboard raises $20m for Buildbox engine
- AppOnboard nets $20 million to support ‘no-code’ mobile dev platform Buildbox
- Pocket Worlds closes $7m funding round
- Ninja Theory halts updates for new IP Bleeding Edge
- Ninja Theory’s Bleeding Edge is staying online but won’t receive new content
- Digital drives Capcom sales to $622m
- Rovio shuts down Hatch
- Australian developer revenues raise 29% to $140m
- Pocket Worlds raises $7 million to double down on social mobile games
- Netflix and Legendary partner on Tomb Raider series
- Rime pairs accessible gameplay with relatable loss | Why I Love
- Over 50 percent of esports followers likely to bet on esports in the US – Survey
- FaZe Clan Signs With UTA Amid Content Expansion Into Scripted, Podcasting, More
- Red Bull Launches AR Mobile Game Series With Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, 4 Other Athletes
- Blog: Five insights from 3700 reviews of Cyberpunk 2077
- Blog: A level design analysis of BioShock Infinite – Part 5
- Blog: How randomness contributes to strategic thinking
- Blog: What I learned from doing a game jam every month for a year
- Blog: Analyzing Unexplored’s secret cyclic dungeon generation
- Video: The value of large spenders in free-to-play games
- Q&A: Lessons learned from five years spent on the Hitman series
- Don’t Miss: The creative challenges BioWare faced designing Mass Effect 3
- Don’t Miss: Gearbox on producing a bigger Borderlands
- Utility Patents – What Game Developers Should Know
Jon
Amazon’s New CEO
This past week, Jeff Bezos announced that he will be stepping down from his position as CEO of Amazon and that Andy Jassy will be replacing him. According to the articles, this shift in power has been in the works for quite some time and isn’t a surprise to insiders of the company. Forbes states that the timing of Jeff Bezos’ decision is “impeccable” as Amazon has reached new heights in the past year. The reason that Jeff Bezos gives for departing from his position as chief executive officer is a desire to dedicate more time to growing his other projects including the Bezos Earth, Blue Origin, etc.
While Amazon has reached new heights financially, it is evident that Andy Jassy will face struggles and tough decisions coming into the position. To give an overview of prominent issues that the company faces: Amazon will have to deal with the anti-trust investigations which include both hindering competition from third-party sellers and allegedly feeding its users’ private data to an algorithm to decide which products to launch. Amazon is also faced with criticism for its treatment of warehouse workers. While Amazon has faced criticism in the past about its work conditions (workers are discouraged from using the washroom during their shifts), this really came into the spotlight in the early days of the pandemic. Amazon has also been frequenting headlines for its position against its workers joining unions. This could all change with a vote that started in the state of Alabama. Finally, Amazon faces ongoing criticism by environmentalists for its carbon emission which is causing irreparable harm to our earth.
Leaders of Amazon have continued to dodge the above-mentioned problems. As people have discovered the convenience of online shopping like never before, Amazon may continue to spring to new heights even after COVID. That said, its incoming CEO, Andy Jassy, should stop avoiding the problems that the company has created. I am of the opinion that working conditions should be improved: bathroom breaks should not be limited. Amazon workers should have the freedom to join a union to have their voices heard and rights protected. Amazon will also have to face Congress, which has come down on its improper use of data for marketing and product-launching purposes.
The future of Amazon remains unknown. While Jeff Bezos embarks on a new adventure with Blue Origin, I look forward to seeing how Andy Jassy responds to the problems when he takes over in July.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/amazon-bezos-stepping-down-1.5898176
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/02/04/amazon-jassy-antitrust-union/
Commissioners found Clearview AI (US) violated Canadians’ privacy.
Following from the previous posts on digital privacy, a recent report from four Canadian privacy commissioners expressed frustration at Clearview AI’s infringement of Canadian privacy law, and doubt that our current regime is capable of enforcing compliance. The facial recognition company stopped assisting Canadian law enforcement agencies the last time these concerns were raised, but has yet to delete Canadians’ photos from their database as ordered. The UK and Australia are jointly conducting a similar investigation.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/technology-clearview-facial-recognition-1.5899008
Legislation coming (to Canada) this year to force Google, Facebook to pay for news content
Saw this article about a statement today from Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault and thought it was worth sharing, especially in light of the previous posting regarding the same issue in Australia.
Groundhogs Day Moving to Robots
Hi all,
Thought this was an interesting story given it was groundhogs day a few days ago! PETA is wanting to replace using groundhogs with artificial intelligence.
Apple Privacy Changes: A response to Ad-based social media platforms
I have been following this news progress since first learning of Tim Cook (Apple’s CEO) publicly criticized social media platforms (though thinly veiled referenced to Facebook Inc. in particular) over online privacy concerns. This week, we discussed advertising regulation and how digital media has escaped the stringent advertising regulations that traditional media has been required to comply with. January 28 2021 was Data Privacy Day, an international event lamented to bring awareness on the use, collection and sharing of the public’s personal information. The event attempts to encourage dialogue and empower individuals and business to respect privacy, safeguard data and enable trust. Tim Cook was one of the virtual speakers. He stated that “A social dilemma cannot be allowed to become a social catastrophe.” This is in reference to the use of algorithms to manipulate social media users to look at advertisements, generating revenues for these social media platforms.
Facebook has released that they will begin rolling out notifications to iPhone users on how their data is being used for personalized ads to get ahead of Apple’s privacy changes but has stated how Apple’s decision will hurt its advertising business. Facebook Inc. stated that they intend to inform their users to encourage their consent to personalized ads as it helps support businesses that rely on ads to reach customers. I personally am very careful in using social media platforms, knowing that I do not have any control over how they use my data, despite my efforts to “turn off” personalized ads settings”. I believe that consumers are at a greater disadvantage as they now need to make a decision between privacy or be engaged. Apple’s privacy changes in requiring social media platforms to acquire its user’s express consent to the use of their data & receive personalized ads is a great first step to changing how we interact with new media, what we choose to share/not share in the public domain, and stifling misinformation based on our perceived preferences
https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-apple-feud-over-privacy-internet-future/
Interoperability of Social Media
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/01/twitter-and-interoperability-some-thoughts-peanut-gallery
Hi everyone,
I came across an interesting blog post talking about the possibility of an interoperable internet and the pros/cons for such interoperability. The idea behind an interoperable internet is that “digital walls” between social platforms are eliminated so that users can choose whichever platform they want but still be able to interact with users on a different platform.
The post talks about how the more people there are on a platform like Twitter, the more reason there is to use Twitter and, subsequently, the more difficult it is to leave that platform. This effect is called the “network effect” or “lock in”. This “lock in” means that some users, despite wanting to leave a platform for whatever reason, nevertheless continue to use that platform simply because that is where most people are. It’s kind of like FOMO, and the post calls this situation a “mutual hostage-taking”.
The post argues that if people are able to send messages and carry over their contacts onto different platforms, the costs of switching are reduced. Interoperability also gives users more freedom to choose a platform with privacy and moderation policies that better match their standards. However, in a decentralized and interoperable internet, it becomes more difficult to implement and enforce policies on a large scale. Also, the post points out that the ability to switch platforms more freely could just lead to an increase in platforms that have more lax policies and where harmful and undesirable content thrives.
Reading through this, I wonder if interoperability would ever become a reality. And if it were to happen, would it arise because of cooperation between various platforms or because of ownership by one company over multiple platforms? On the one hand, cooperation seems unlikely because platforms right now probably wouldn’t be happy to remove the “digital walls” and allow their users to flock to competitors more freely. On the other hand, Facebook has recently integrated Instagram and Messenger, so it seems to be in the strongest position to push for interoperability. However, interoperability between platforms owned by a single company (or a select few) may undermine the benefits, given how a lot of people are critical of the “editorial judgement” of major platforms.
Communications Law
