Social Media
Automated Social Media Moderation In Focus Following Allegations Of Censorship
Panelists say they’ve been censored on social media — and they point to platforms’ auto moderation.
Social Media
Social media plays a powerful force in the lives of most adults and teenagers.
Donald Trump
Despite Speculation, Section 230 Is Here to Stay: Rep. Bob Latta
Republican representative Bob Latta said Section 230 is not going anywhere anytime soon.
FCC
Biden Revokes Trump-Era Executive Order Designed To Crack Down On Big Tech
Biden orders FCC and FTC to stand down on Trump-era order targeting social media companies.
Social Media
Josh Hawley Wants To Break Up Big Tech And Revisit How Antitrust Matters Are Considered
Senator Josh Hawley talks Section 230, antitrust reform, and the Capitol riots.
Social Media
Oversight Board Upholds Trump’s Ban From Facebook
The Oversight Board has sent the decision back to Facebook management, criticizing it for setting a “standardless” penalty.
Judiciary
Supreme Court Declares Trump First Amendment Case Moot, But Legal Issues For Social Media Coming
April 5, 2021—Despite accepting a petition that avoids the Supreme Court deliberating on whether a president can block social media users, Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday issued a volley that may foreshadow future legal issues surrounding social media in the United States. On Monday, the Supreme C
COVID
Pressed by Congress, Big Tech Defends Itself and Offers Few Solutions After Capitol Riot
March 26, 2021 – The heads of the largest social media companies largely defended their platforms, reiterated what they’ve done, and offered few solutions to the problems that ail them during a congressional hearing Thursday. But, under harsh questioning from the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
Free Speech
Experts Reexamining Role of Targeted Ads and Political Extremism in Wake of January 6 Attack
March 25, 2021—In the wake of rioters storming the Capital Building on January 6, experts and social media platforms are reexamining the role of targeted ads and content on virtual platforms. Experts are divided on how to proceed on the future of targeted content. Some cautioned that its nature allo
Expert Opinion
Trevor Wagener: State Regulation of Content Moderation Would Create Enormous Legal Costs for Platforms
Dozens of bills regulating internet content moderation have been proposed in at least 30 state legislatures, and one in Utah currently sits on the governor’s desk awaiting his veto or signature. If enacted, many of the bills would impose prescriptive state regulations governing internet content mode
Big Tech
Facebook’s Oversight Board Defends Against Critics Who Call It a Shield For Company
March 16, 2021 – A member of Facebook’s Oversight Board, which was created to provide content moderation decisions for the social media giant, defended itself Tuesday against critics who say it was created as a sort-of regulatory shield for the company. The board’s head of communications, Dax Hunter
Social Media
Capitol Riot Was Only A Matter Of Time, Say Experts at South by Southwest
March 16, 2021 – The ease with which social media companies have allowed fringe groups to organize, egged on by then-President Donald Trump himself, made the January 6 Capitol riot an inevitability, experts on a South by Southwest panel said Tuesday. Brandy Zadrozny, investigative reporter NBC News,
Social Media
Pressed by House Committee on Buy-Side Restrictions, Robinhood CEO Says, ‘Look, I’m Sorry!’
February 21, 2021 – “Look, I’m sorry.” That’s what Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev said to those who lost money in the stock frenzy surrounding GameStop that began in late January. The virtual hearing got off to a tense start. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., grille
Free Speech
Permanent Suspension of Donald Trump From Facebook Now in the Hands of its Oversight Board Subsidiary
February 7, 2021—After the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, Facebook was one of the first big tech platforms to ban former President Donald Trump from posting, announcing on January 7 that his suspension would last at least until the inauguration of President Joe Biden. Following the i
COVID
Misinformation on Social Media Has Spread Like a Virus, Say Panelists at State of the Net
January 27, 2021—In the midst of a global pandemic, misinformation has spread across social media like a contagious virus transmitted from population to population, said experts during the first panel of the entirely-virtual State of the Net 2021 conference on Tuesday. “President Joe Biden has put t
Biden-Harris Administration
Transition Between White House Social Media Accounts More Complicated Than in 2016
January 21, 2021—Tech platforms are approaching the 2021 presidential transition with caution, lest their tools get used to livestream another historic insurrection, after providing the platforms which amplified ideology that resulted in a problematic string of events preceding Donald Trump’s last d
Social Media
Trump Blasts Big Tech and Takes No Responsibility For Inciting Deadly U.S. Capitol Insurrection
January 12, 2021 — President Donald Trump on Tuesday reacted to the content moderation practices that digital platforms exercised since the events of January 6 – including banning him from Twitter — before departing Andrews Joint Base in Prince George’s County, Maryland, onboard Air Force One. The P
