societal issues – The News Desk

22Oct

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Technology

TikTok steps up efforts to counter misinformation about Israel-Hamas war

London CNN — TikTok is stepping up efforts to counter misinformation, incitement to violence and hate relating to the Israel-Hamas war on its online platform, it announced Sunday, days after the European Union (EU) warned social media companies they risked falling foul of the bloc’s content moderation laws. As part of its measures, TikTok is launching a command center to coordinate the work of its “safety professionals” around the world, improving the software it uses to automatically detect and remove graphic and violent content, and hiring more Arabic and Hebrew speakers to moderate content. TikTok said in a statement that, following the brutal attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians on October 7, ...

16Oct

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Technology

Australia issues $386,000 fine against X over failure to cooperate with child sex abuse probe

CNN — Australia issued a fine of $610,500 Australian dollars ($386,000) on Monday against the company formerly known as Twitter for “falling short” in disclosing information on how it tackles child sex abuse content, in yet another setback for the Elon Musk-owned social media platform. Just days earlier, the European Commission formally opened an investigation into X after issuing a previous warning about disinformation and illegal content on its platform linked to the Israel-Hamas war. Australia’s e-Safety Commission, the online safety regulator, said in a statement Monday that X had failed to adequately respond to a number of questions about the way it was dealing with the problem of child abuse ...

15Oct

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Technology

EU officials warn TikTok over Israel-Hamas disinformation

CNN — EU officials warned TikTok Thursday about “illegal content and disinformation” on its platform linked to the war between Hamas and Israel, calling for CEO Shou Zi Chew to respond within 24 hours. In a letter to Chew, European Commissioner Thierry Breton said failure to comply with European Union laws around content moderation could result in penalties. It is the third such letter Breton has sent to large social media platforms this week, after he sent similar warnings to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and Meta. In August, a recently passed EU law known as the Digital Services Act went into effect for large online platforms including the companies Breton addressed t...

14Oct

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Technology

The Israel-Hamas war reveals how social media sells you the illusion of reality

New York CNN — As the Israel-Hamas war reaches the end of its first week, millions have turned to platforms including TikTok and Instagram in hopes of comprehending the brutal conflict in real time. Trending search terms on TikTok in recent days illustrate the hunger for frontline perspectives: From “graphic Israel footage” to “live stream in Israel right now,” internet users are seeking out raw, unfiltered accounts of a crisis they are desperate to understand. For the most part, they are succeeding, discovering videos of tearful Israeli children wrestling with the permanence of death alongside images of dazed Gazans sitting in the rubble of their former homes. But that same demand for an intimate view of the ...

14Oct

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Technology

EU officials warn Google and YouTube about Hamas-Israel disinformation and graphic content

Washington CNN — The European Commission sent a warning letter Friday to Google and its subsidiary YouTube over disinformation and graphic content linked to the Hamas-Israel conflict, in the European Union’s latest effort to scrutinize Big Tech’s handling of the war. The letter from European Commissioner Thierry Breton, addressed to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and also sent to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, reminded the company about its content moderation obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). Breton shared the letter on X. Breton highlighted legal requirements for Google to keep graphic content such as hostage videos away from underage users; to act swiftly when authorities flag content tha...

12Oct

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Technology

EU launches probe into disinformation campaigns as X says ‘hundreds’ of Hamas-affiliated accounts removed

London CNN — X says it has removed “hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts” and taken down thousands of posts since the attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group, even as the European Commission formally opened an investigation into X after a previous warning about disinformation and illegal content on its platform linked to the Israel-Hamas war. The platform, formerly known as Twitter, was given 24 hours by the European Union earlier this week to address illegal content and disinformation regarding the conflict or face penalties under the bloc’s recently enacted Digital Services Act. CEO Linda Yaccarino responded to EU official Thierry Breton in a letter dated Wednesday that she posted to...

11Oct

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Technology

EU warns Elon Musk of ‘penalties’ for disinformation circulating on X amid Israel-Hamas war

CNN — European officials warned X on Tuesday that the company formerly known as Twitter appears to have been hosting misinformation and illegal content about the war between Hamas and Israel, in potential violation of the European Union’s signature content moderation law. In a letter addressed to X owner Elon Musk, Thierry Breton, a top European commissioner, said X faces “very precise obligations regarding content moderation” and that the company’s handling of the unfolding conflict so far has raised doubts about its compliance. As a platform subject to Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA), X could face billions in fines if regulators conclude that violations have occurred. X didn’t immediately re...

5Oct

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Technology

ADL says it will resume advertising on X following feud with Elon Musk

New York CNN — The Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday said it plans to resume advertising on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, following a spat with owner Elon Musk. Musk last month threatened to sue the ADL for defamation, claiming that the nonprofit organization’s statements about rising hate speech on the social media platform had hurt X’s advertising revenue. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt pushed back on the claims, saying that while the ADL was part of a coalition of groups that called on companies to pause advertising on the platform immediately following Musk’s acquisition last year, it had not been engaged in such calls in recent months. Musk’s statements about the group also ampli...

European Union commissioner blasts X over disinformation track record

2Oct

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Technology

European Union commissioner blasts X over disinformation track record

CNN — European Union officials on Tuesday called on large social media platforms to step up their enforcement against online mis- and disinformation, particularly about the war in Ukraine. In prepared remarks Tuesday, European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova particularly criticized X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, as having the “largest ratio of mis/disinformation posts” among platforms that submitted reports to the EU. “Disinformation actors were found to have significantly more followers … and tend to have joined the platform more recently than non-disinformation users,” Jourova added. X’s report follows a decision this spring to withdraw from commitments to abide ...

X, formerly known as Twitter, scraps political misinformation reporting feature

1Oct

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Technology

X, formerly known as Twitter, scraps political misinformation reporting feature

CNN — X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, has scrapped a feature that lets users self-report political misinformation on the platform, a research group says, marking the latest safety-focused guardrail that X has rolled back since billionaire Elon Musk took the helm. The move was first spotted by an Australia-based digital policy think tank, Reset Australia. The group of researchers sent an open letter to X warning of the potential harms this can cause as it came just weeks ahead of a major referendum vote on whether to change the Australian constitution to establish an Indigenous advisory group with a direct line to government. “There now appears to be no channel to report ele...