On 4/28/2022 12:50 PM, Technobarbarian wrote:
> On 4/28/2022 10:30 AM, George.Anthony wrote:
>> On 4/28/22 12:19 PM, Technobarbarian wrote:
>>>
>>> "GUEST ESSAY
>>>
>>> I Blew the Whistle on Facebook. Europe Just Showed Us the Next Step."
>>>
>>> "Elon Musk’s deal to take Twitter private, which has spurred
>>> questions about power, censorship and safety for the future of the
>>> platform, happened just days after the European Union reached a
>>> landmark agreement to make social media less toxic for users. The new
>>> E.U. standards, and the ethic of transparency on which they are
>>> based, will for the first time pull back the curtain on the
>>> algorithms that choose what we see and when we see it in our feeds.
>>>
>>> In Europe’s case, the dryly named Digital Services Act is the most
>>> significant piece of social media legislation in history. It goes to
>>> the heart of what I’ve tried to do as a whistle-blower who worked
>>> inside Facebook: make social media far better without impinging on
>>> free speech. Today, Facebook’s poorly implemented content moderation
>>> strategies leave those most at risk of real world violence
>>> unprotected and only consistently succeed at one thing: angering
>>> everyone.
>>>
>>> Last October, I came forward a with a simple message: Facebook knew
>>> it was cutting corners to make more money, and the public was paying
>>> the price. In over 20,000 pages of documents that I disclosed to the
>>> Securities and Exchange Commission and to Congress, the public
>>> learned what Facebook already knew — its products were spurring hate
>>> and division, leading teenagers into rabbit holes of self-harm and
>>> anorexia, leaving millions of users without basic safety systems for
>>> hate speech or violence incitement and, at times, were even used to
>>> sell humans across the platform.
>>>
>>> Global companies had chosen profit-maximizing strategies at the
>>> expense of the public interest before. We’ve seen it with pollution
>>> in the chemical industry, environmental damage in natural resource
>>> extraction and predatory mortgages in financial services.
>>>
>>> What distinguishes the bad practices of these other industries from
>>> Big Tech is simple — there are laws holding them accountable. That’s
>>> what government is intended to do in democratic capitalism: use the
>>> law to steer the market back into alignment with the public interest.
>>> When concentrated monopolistic power privileges the few over the many
>>> and distorts how the free market operates, this kind of correction is
>>> vital.
>>>
>>> How the new European law is carried out will be just as important as
>>> passing it. It is a broad and comprehensive set of rules and
>>> standards, not unlike food safety standards for cleanliness and
>>> allergen labeling. But what is also remarkable about it is that it
>>> focuses on oversight of the design and implementation of systems
>>> (like how algorithms behave) rather than determining what is good or
>>> bad speech.
>>>
>>> The law requires that Facebook and other large social platforms be
>>> transparent about what content is being amplified and shared virally
>>> across the platform. And it must apply consumer protections to
>>> features that, among other things, spy on users, addict kids or
>>> weaken public safety. With transparency finally required, it will be
>>> easier for European regulators and civil society to verify that
>>> companies are following the rules.
>>>
>>> These rules are like systems in the United States that compel
>>> pharmaceutical companies to keep drugs safe and to allow the Food and
>>> Drug Administration to independently verify the results. Most people
>>> aren’t aware of them, but we’re all glad they are there.
>>>
>>> The new requirement for access to data will allow independent
>>> research into the impact of social media products on public health
>>> and welfare. For example, Facebook, Instagram and others will have to
>>> open up the black box of which pages, posts and videos get the most
>>> likes and shares — shining light on the outcomes of the algorithms.
>>>
>>> This will allow thousands more people, not just those who work at
>>> these companies, to address the complex problems of how information
>>> markets change social outcomes. As an algorithmic specialist and data
>>> scientist, I’m most excited by this. No longer will we depend on
>>> taking the companies’ word for it when they say they are trying to
>>> fix a safety problem. Democratic and investor accountability and
>>> oversight of big companies boils down to whether we can accurately
>>> diagnose the problems their products are causing, devise solutions
>>> and verify that the industry is actually following through with them.
>>> The era of “just trust us” is over."
>>> [snip]
>>>
>>> https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/opinion/social-media-facebook-transparency.html
>>>
>>>
>>>        This has all been going on since well before Mr. Musk
>>> displayed any interest in getting in the business and he has said he
>>> wants Twitter's algorithms to be transparent.
>>>
>>>         Another fun thing that has gone unmentioned here is that if
>>> the orange outrage ever gets seriously back into tweeting or
>>> "truthing", that isn't necessarily a good thing for the GOP. The
>>> retrummplicans seem to have forgotten how the idiot gifted a couple
>>> of senate seats to the Democrats.
>>>
>>> "Donald Trump Rejoining Twitter Could Hurt Republicans in Midterms
>>> BY KATHERINE FUNG ON 4/26/22 AT 2:04 PM EDT"
>>>
>>> "Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter has renewed hopes that Donald
>>> Trump's account could be reinstated, but the former president has
>>> vowed not to return to the social media giant—a possible political
>>> win for the Republican Party.
>>>
>>> Political consultants told Newsweek that Trump's determination to
>>> stay off Twitter could help the GOP take back both the House and the
>>> Senate in November's midterms.
>>>
>>> "Truth be told, most Republican lawmakers would prefer that he not
>>> rejoin the Twitter universe, because it will be impossible for them
>>> to stay on message if he does," said Jay Townsend, a Republican
>>> political consultant who has worked for four presidential campaigns
>>> and a number of congressional races."
>>>
>>> "Some political observers doubt that Trump would be able to refrain
>>> from using Twitter, noting that the former president "is known to
>>> change his mind with great frequency." But Townsend and another
>>> Republican strategist, Alex Patton, said that keeping Trump off the
>>> platform could definitely help Republicans in the fall.
>>>
>>> Pointing to the U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia last year,
>>> Patton noted that Trump's Twitter presence allowed him to "hijack
>>> media coverage," which resulted in mixed messaging to Republican
>>> voters who were trying to decide if they should cast ballots for GOP
>>> candidates or refrain from voting because of skepticism about the
>>> election process's integrity.
>>>
>>> "Now that [Trump's] political organization is playing heavily in GOP
>>> primaries, if he were to reengage on Twitter, the potential for
>>> messy, undisciplined primaries increases dramatically," said Patton,
>>> CEO of Ozean Media.
>>>
>>> Despite warnings that undermining the election process could deter
>>> voter turnout, Trump has continued to assert that the 2020
>>> presidential election was "stolen" and that there was widespread
>>> voter fraud. No evidence has been produced to support the allegations."
>>> [snip]
>>>
>>> https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-rejoining-twitter-could-hurt-republicans-midterms-1701129
>>>
>>>
>>> "​​POLITICO Playbook: Republicans to Trump: Stay away from Twitter
>>> By RACHAEL BADE and EUGENE DANIELS  04/26/2022 06:15 AM EDT"
>>>
>>> "The news that ELON MUSK is buying Twitter has thrown Washington into
>>> a tizzy over one major question: Will DONALD TRUMP return to his old
>>> favorite social media platform and start tweeting again?
>>>
>>> As it turns out, no one is more petrified of this than members of
>>> Trump’s own party.
>>>
>>> On Monday night, in a series of calls and texts with several top GOP
>>> insiders, every single one of them told us that they hoped the former
>>> president stays the hell away from Twitter, lest he sink their
>>> chances at flipping the House and Senate. Some of his allies even
>>> think that a return to his old Twitter habits could damage his own
>>> brand ahead of a possible third presidential bid in 2024.
>>>
>>> “If I’m a Democrat, I’d pray that Elon Musk puts Trump right back on
>>> Twitter,” said one House GOP leadership aide, who asked not to be
>>> named to speak candidly. “I don’t think it costs Republicans the
>>> House, but it certainly will elevate Trump’s opinions — and is going
>>> to put Republican candidates and members back having to answer for
>>> that.”
>>>
>>> The person added: “It’s enough to create headaches — and it’s enough
>>> to probably cost us a couple seats.”
>>>
>>> Some may find this a rather surprising reaction, given that many
>>> Republicans have both accused Big Tech of censoring conservative
>>> voices (the former president being the most prominent example) and
>>> showered praise on the Musk takeover. But as is often the case with
>>> the GOP and all things Trump, privately, they feel very differently.
>>>
>>> To be sure, there’s a lot yet unknown about whether or not Trump will
>>> return to Twitter.
>>>
>>> Will Twitter allow it? Questions abound over whether Musk’s new
>>> leadership team will allow the resurrection of the now-defunct
>>> @realDonaldTrump handle. (The Tesla and SpaceX impresario, however,
>>> has blasted Twitter’s permanent bans and what he views as its
>>> censorship of free speech.)
>>>
>>> Will Trump even want to rejoin? Trump said on Fox News on Monday that
>>> he doesn’t intend to return to the platform, and will instead stick
>>> to his own social media startup, Truth Social. “I am not going on
>>> Twitter,” he said. “I am going to stay on Truth.”
>>>
>>> Here’s the thing: Nobody really believes him."
>>> [snip]
>>>
>>>       I expect Mr. Musk to piss off the loons at both ends of the
>>> spectrum. For example, the lefties are likely to be concerned with
>>> how Mr. Musk's supposedly absolutist free speech ideals work out in
>>> China.
>>>
>>>       I bought more popcorn. I should be all set for the next few
>>> months at least.
>>>
>>>       [I don't own stock in any social media companies and I am not
>>> currently working for any of them. I make it a practice to not get
>>> too attached to the clients. I may be a grand pain here, but I have
>>> never tweeted in my entire life.]
>>>
>>> TB
>>>
>>
>> Maybe not but you sure have crowed a lot.
>>
>
>     I'm sure it must look like crowing to you. To me it's more like a
> rational adult talking about the real world around excited children who
> think Christmas has arrived early.
>
> TB
Nothing rational about you.

--
- Why do liberals fear free speech? Because they can't handle the truth.