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Facebooks very own independent content oversight board has testified about the social media behemoths content moderation shortcomings!

Michael McConnel, the Co-Chairman of the panel, followed by the bodys decision to indefinitely ban former President Donald Trump, said that Facebooks rules are a shambles and there is no transparency, nor any consistency.

McConnel, on Fox News Sunday said that the independent body gave a series of recommendations to Facebook on making the rules clearer. And now it is being anticipated that the company will take the new few months to implement and apply the same in a straightforward way.

The social media behemoth suspended Trumps account after he encouraged his loyal supporters to storm the Capitol, an event which became a deadly attempt to overturn the counting of the Electoral College votes in favour of Joe Biden. The ban was originally only a temporary measure, but its status was turned to indefinite on the following day.

According to McConnell, Trumps posts were a plain violation of Facebooks rules, which state that one must not praise dangerous individuals and organisations during a time of violence. During the riot on January 6th, even though Trumps statements seemed like he was asking for peace, he was mostly egging them on to continue.

After Facebook went on and banned the former President, members from both parties in the U.S Congress called for breaking up large tech companies by arguing that they are exercising monopolistic powers on the marketplace by censoring voices and holding back innovations.

But McConnel, a constitutional law professor at Stanford University and a former federal judge, dismissed the concerns about Facebook violating Trumps First Amendment rights by leaving the ban in place by stating that the social media giant is a private company.

McConnel said that Facebook is not a government-owned entity, making Trump a customer and not a citizen of Facebook. But that being said, he mentioned that the lack of consistency and transparency around Facebooks content moderation rules do contribute to questions about unfairness and biases.

The Co-Chairman of Facebooks Independent Content Oversight Board said that fairness and consistency are the bedrocks of freedom of expression rules. Therefore, if Facebook simply let Trump off the hook, then it wouldnt exactly be called equal treatment as he is subjected to the same rules all other users of the platform operate under.

McConnel dismissed the concerns from Senator Hawley and others who have remarked that the oversight board members are simply toadies for the social media against as Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, appointed them.

For long Facebook has been facing criticism over its content moderation policies. In many other countries, such as India and Myanmar, the social media giant faced the heat for making moves against certain content that people felt was a biased approach to favour certain parties.

It now remains to be seen when and how Facebook plans to make amends in the content moderation and oversight policies. We will keep you updated on all future developments. Until then, stay tuned.

See the article here:
Facebooks Content Censorship Policies Are Broken, And It Must Be Fixed ASAP! - Dazeinfo

On Tuesday, a noted Palestinian-American journalist reporting live from protests near Jerusalem was suddenly and mysteriously silenced on Twitter with every single tweet replaced by the message @MariamBarghoutis account is temporarily unavailable because it violates the Twitter Media Policy. It was a mistake, the company quickly admitted, and her tweets were quickly restored.

But it turns out that one part of the incident was not a mistake. While Twitter may have taken action on this persons account in error, there actually is one particular situation where Twitter reserves the right to make your tweets disappear. And if you ask me its super, super dumb.

Twitter pointed me to this page and this specific image as an example of the policy, which seems like it could date back as far as October 2017:

There, the Requiring media or profile edits policy reads: If an accounts profile or media content is not compliant with our policies, we may make it temporarily unavailable and require that the violator edit the media or information in their profile to comply with our rules. We also explain which policy their profile or media content has violated.

Or, in plain English, if your profile picture, header image, or other picture you post doesnt meet Twitters standards, Twitter wont just censor that image it may censor your entire account until you fix it.

Why would Twitter need to notify people about a bad image on every single tweet from an author, instead of just omitting the image and perhaps providing an explanation? Over the past several years, weve seen many, many instances of Twitter choosing to place warning labels nearby offensive and damaging content, labels that still allow people to easily view those tweets.

When I raised this question, a Twitter spokesperson would only say that the policy is designed to better inform folks on the actions taken by Twitter. The company declined to say more.

The most generous explanation I can muster is that this is an old, antiquated policy that should have been retired long ago.

Twitter also initially restricted Barghoutis ability to tweet, retweet, follow and like for 12 hours, according to screenshots she provided to The Verge. Its not clear why her account was mistakenly censored to begin with; Twitter couldnt immediately say whether it was a human action or an automated system.

Go here to see the original:
The Twitter policy that could temporarily censor every single one of your tweets - The Verge

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson MP

Gavin Williamson said the Government's new bill would stop universities and student unions from "hounding out" speakers whose views they object to.

Announced as part of the Queen's Speech, the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will place new legal duties on students' unions and universities to ensure free speech - with a regulator able to issue fines for any breaches.

South Staffordshire MP Mr Williamson told the Express & Star: "Freedom of speech is a right in this country, but sadly at our universities there have been some instances where it hasn't been available to all.

"We have an absolute right to articulate our views which others may find objectionable, providing they don't meet the threshold of hate speech or inciting violence.

"We've got to be able to protect that right in order to prevent the chilling effects of censorship on campus.

"Students and staff should always feel they are safe to put forward and debate new ideas, without fear of repercussions, even if these are sometimes controversial and unpopular.

"That's what this bill is going to be delivering.

"Universities should be amazing places where people can share ideas and thoughts.

"We can't be having a situation where student unions or universities decide they don't like a particular view and decide to censor it by hounding out people."

Mr Williamson said he had been written to by a large number of academics thanking him for pushing the legislation.

"What was so sad was that so many of them did not dare put their name and address on the letter because they were so worried about potential repercussions," he said.

"That for me is not the kind of free thinking university system we want to have."

There have been numerous instances in recent years when speakers perceived not to fit in with a left-wing worldview have been no platformed at university campuses.

Former West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge was once banned from speaking at Sussex University having initially been invited by a body called the Free Speech Association.

Last year Bristol students' union demanded nearly 500 to pay for security at a talk by the Israeli Ambassador, despite charging nothing for a talk by his Palestinian counterpart.

And former Tory Home Secretary Amber Rudd also fell foul of leftists when her talk at the University of Oxford to mark International Womens Day was cancelled after students complained about her role in the Windrush scandal.

Under the legislation, speakers will be able to seek compensation through the courts if they suffer a financial loss from a breach.

See more here:
Gavin Williamson in bid to end censorship on campus - expressandstar.com

When we receive a valid legal request, we review it under both the Twitter Rules and local law. If the content violates Twitters rules, the content will be removed from the service, the spokesperson said. If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only.

Some advocates have slammed the companies for complying with the order, citing Facebooks partnership with the Global Network Initiative, a coalition that seeks to limit online censorship by autocratic governments, and Twitters stated mission to serve the public conversation.

Facebook, Twitter, and other technology companies have a responsibility to respect human rights, including right to free speech, said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, in an email interview. Online censorship can have a debilitating effect on dissent. It is important for companies to protect the human rights of their users and not censor information in violation of international standards.

Despite the Indian governments order, the companies should interpret and implement legal demands as narrowly as possible, to ensure the least possible restriction on expression, notify users, seek clarification or modification from authorities, and explore all legal options for challenge, Ganguly said.

But the choice by social media companies facing government demands isnt only a moral one but a business decision, too. India has more than 755 million internet users second in the world only to China making it an attractive market for U.S. companies. Modis use of the countrys digital regulation laws places the companies in an unenviable position.

Read more:
In India, Facebook and Twitter walk censorship tightrope with government - Roll Call

Former President Donald Trump told Fox Business on Thursday that Rudy Giuliani was "the greatest mayor in the history of New York and a great patriot. (April 29) AP Domestic

One of the nations largest states is taking on Big Tech.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is likely to sign into lawa bill that would prevent social media companies Facebook, Twitter and Googles YouTube from deplatforming politicians such as former President Donald Trump.

The bill was approved Thursday by the Republican-controlled state Legislature.

It would ordersocial media companies to publish standards with detailed definitions of when someone would be censored or blocked and makecompanies subject to as much as $250,000 daily fines for deplatforming a Florida candidate. The bill would requirea social media company to notify users within seven days that they could be censored, giving them time to correct posts.

Republican lawmakers in Florida said legislation is needed to curb the influence the nations leading social media companies have over the national conversation.

"What this bill is about is sending a loud message to Silicon Valley that they are not the absolute arbiters of truth," state Rep. John Snyder, a Republican from the Port St. Lucie area, said Wednesday, according to NBC News.

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"What this bill does is send a loud message that the Constitution does not have an asterisk that says only certain speech is free and protected," he said.

The legislation is likely to face industry opposition.

This bill abandons conservative values, violates the First Amendment, and would force websites to host antisemitic, racist, and hateful content. Content moderation is crucial to an internet that is safe and valuable for families and Floridian small businesses, but this bill would undermine this important ecosystem, Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel of trade group NetChoice, said in a statement to USA TODAY.

Szabo argued that the legislation would make it more difficult for conservatives to get their voices heard.

He told Florida lawmakers this monththat conservative speech has never been stronger.

No longer limited to a handful of newspapers or networks, conservative messages can now reach billions of people across multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Gab, Parler, Rumbleand MeWe, Szabosaid. Weve seen the rise of conservative voices without having to beg for an op-ed in The Washington Post or New York Timesor a speaking slot on CNN. Social networks allow conservative voices to easily find conservative viewers.

Donald Trump was booted off social media after the Capitol riot by a mob of his supporters Jan. 6.(Photo: AP)

Conservatives intensified attacks on social media companies after the ejection of Trump and other conservatives in response tothe attack Jan. 6 on the U.S. Capitol.

DeSantis, a Republican and a Trump ally,condemned the oligarchs in Silicon Valley for deplatforming Trump and other conservatives.

Without citing evidence, DeSantis said Facebook, Twitter and YouTube use their size, advertising power and global reach to influence thought and play favorites being tougher on those who comment from the political right than left.

DeSantis revived his criticism after a roundtable he held in March was taken down from YouTube because the governor and scientists he invited were accused of airing COVID-19 misinformation.

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If conservatives want to remain on social media platforms, they should follow the rules, State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, an Orlando-area Democrat, told NBC News.

"There's already a solution to deplatforming candidates on social media: Stop trafficking in conspiracy theories. That's the solution. Stop pushing misinformation if you're a candidate or an incumbent elected official. Stop retweeting QAnon. Stop lying on social media," Smith said.

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Ban Trump? Not so fast. Florida is about to pass a law to stop Facebook and Twitter from censoring politicians - USA TODAY