Vice: Facebook Is Censoring Posts That Could Save Opioid Users’ Lives. “In its efforts to stop opioid sales on the site, Facebook appears to be blocking people who warn users about poisonous batches of drugs or who supply materials used to test for fentanyls and other contaminants. Just as 1990s web security filters mistook breast cancer research centers for porn sites, today’s internet still seems to have trouble distinguishing between drug dealers and groups trying to reduce the death toll from the overdose crisis. VICE reviewed screenshots and emails to corroborate the claims made in this story.”
content removal
The Guardian: France online hate speech law to force social media sites to act quickly
The Guardian: France online hate speech law to force social media sites to act quickly. “French MPs have passed a landmark law to fight online hate speech that will oblige social media networks to remove offending content within 24 hours and create a new button to enable users to flag abuse.”
The Verge: France wants to fine Facebook over hate speech
The Verge: France wants to fine Facebook over hate speech. “The provision, which is part of a larger internet regulation bill, was adopted by the lower house of the French Parliament on Thursday. If it were to be fully approved, it would create a 24 hour deadline for social networks to remove hate speech from their platforms once it’s flagged. According to the New York Times, the bill will move to the body’s upper chamber, their Senate, for discussion next.”
The Verge: YouTube can’t remove kid videos without tearing a hole in the entire creator ecosystem
The Verge: YouTube can’t remove kid videos without tearing a hole in the entire creator ecosystem. “As a federal investigation into YouTube’s problems with children enters its late stages, the platform needs a solution. But as YouTube struggles to find a fix that addresses policymakers’ concerns, it’s left with a major roadblock: children have become integral to the overarching creator community.”
EFF: Social Media Platforms Increase Transparency About Content Removal Requests, But Many Keep Users in the Dark When Their Speech Is Censored, EFF Report Shows
EFF: Social Media Platforms Increase Transparency About Content Removal Requests, But Many Keep Users in the Dark When Their Speech Is Censored, EFF Report Shows. “San Francisco and Tunis, Tunisia—While social media platforms are increasingly giving users the opportunity to appeal decisions to censor their posts, very few platforms comprehensively commit to notifying users that their content has been removed in the first place, raising questions about their accountability and transparency, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said today in a new report. “
The Verge: CrossFit storms off Facebook and Instagram, citing long list of grievances
The Verge: CrossFit storms off Facebook and Instagram, citing long list of grievances. “CrossFit, the branded workout regimen, deleted its Facebook and Instagram pages earlier this week and explained the reasoning through an impassioned press release. The announcement lists various reasons for the indefinite suspension of its accounts, including accusations that Facebook’s News Feeds are ‘censored and crafted to reflect the political leanings of Facebook’s utopian socialists.'”
Facebook: Another three billion fake profiles culled (BBC)
BBC: Facebook: Another three billion fake profiles culled. “Facebook has published its latest ‘enforcement report’, which details how many posts and accounts it took action on between October 2018 and March 2019. During that six-month period, Facebook removed more than three billion fake accounts – more than ever before.”
