Navigation

Archive | Facebook

How dangerous is Big Data?

By on January 26, 2017 in Big Brother, Big Data, Democracy, Facebook, Privacy, social media, Trump

Kosinski and his team continued, tirelessly refining their models. In 2012, Kosinski demonstrated that from a mere 68 Facebook likes, a lot about a user could be reliably predicted: skin color (95% certainty), sexual orientation (88% certainty), Democrat or Republican (85%). But there’s more: level of intellect; religious affiliation; alcohol-, cigarette-, and drug use could all be calculated. Even whether or not your parents stayed together until you were 21 could be teased out of the data. (…)

The process is identical to the models that Michal Kosinski developed. Cambridge Analytica also uses IQ-Quiz and other small Ocean test apps in order to gain access to the powerful predictive personal information wrapped up in the Facebook likes of users. And Cambridge Analytica is doing precisely what Kosinski had warned about. They have assembled psychograms for all adult US citizens, 220 million people, and have used this data to influence electoral outcomes.

Antidote Zine: Trump Knows You Better Than You Know Yourself »

Update, another piece, at Motherboard: The Data That Turned the World Upside Down »

3

War on fake news and hate speech to open Pandora’s box?

By on December 19, 2016 in Big Brother, Censorship, Democracy, Facebook, Free Information, Freedom of Speech, Germany, Media, Rule of law, social media

What is truth?

Facebook will start to flag content as »disputed«. Obvious fake news will be flagged by Facebook itself. And disputed »real« news content will be subject to third-party fact-checking with e.g. Snopes, Factcheck.org, ABC News, the AP, and Politifact.

Are they to draw a line between »fake« and »wrong«? While »fake« in many cases might be assessed on reasonably objective grounds, »right« or »wrong« can be a very complicated and delicate matter.

At the same time, there is a proposal in Germany to fine Facebook € 500,000 for each identified piece of fake news or hate speech that is not removed within 24 hours.

To its nature, »hate speech« is a definition that lies very much in the eye of the beholder. Even where there is a legal definition, things might prove problematic – as such laws often give different groups different sets of »rights« (like protection from verbal or written abuse). This being a deviation from the principle that all people should be equal before the law.

These are extremely complex issues. No doubt these rules will lead to disputes over freedom of speech. Here also lies inherent conflicts between mainstream media and alternative media, between the political elite and popular opposition, and between conflicting sets of values. This might prove to be a modern version of Pandora’s box.

And – in a wider perspective – the very notion that there will be some sort of »Ministry of Truth« is deeply disturbing.

/ HAX

• Wired: Facebook Finally Gets Real About Fighting Fake News »
• Deutsche Welle: 500,000 euro fines for fake news on Facebook in Germany? »
• Quartz: Germany threatens to fine Facebook €500,000 for each fake news post »

0

Will Facebook destroy the Internet?

By on November 28, 2016 in Big Data, Facebook, Free Information, Internet

Something like Facebook could never have emerged within Facebook. It needed an open web within which to gestate.

Despite this, Facebook is taking conscious efforts — like Free Basics — to destroy the open web. It’s destroying the very environment that made its own existence possible.

Quincy Larson @ FreeCodeCamp: I can’t just stand by and watch Mark Zuckerberg destroy the internet »

0

Facebook, China & censorship

By on November 24, 2016 in Censorship, China, Facebook

A New York Times report that Facebook is developing a system that could censor information to appease the Chinese government is the talk of the tech industry right. The timing couldn’t be worse: domestically, Facebook is under pressure for failing to adequately manage the influence of fake news on the U.S. election, yet here it is seemingly prepared to quash legitimate information on user timelines to kowtow to the Chinese government and further its interests in a country of 1.3 billion people.

Jon Russell @ Techcrunch: Facebook is unlikely to succeed in China, even if it compromises on free speech »

0

Call for Facebook transparency

By on November 1, 2016 in Censorship, Facebook, Freedom of Speech, social media

The letter called on Facebook to make publicly accessible its guidelines for censoring content. Specifically, the groups want Facebook to reveal the technical and policy details about the company’s internal system for handling censorship requests on individual pieces of content from law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and other government entities. It also urged Facebook to create a public appeal platform for users to contest content removals, institute a blanket policy of only turning over user data to governments when required to do so by the force of law, and undergo an external audit of its content- and data-sharing polices.

The Daily Dot: Over 70 activists groups call on Mark Zuckerberg to reveal Facebook’s censorship policies »

0

Norwegian Aftenposten vs. Facebook

By on September 21, 2016 in Facebook, Freedom of Speech

The Norwegian editor who successfully took on the might of Facebook over its censorship of the famous “napalm girl” photograph has challenged Mark Zuckerberg to publicly face up to his responsibility as one of the world’s most powerful people.

Espen Egil Hansen, whose newspaper Aftenposten helped force the social media site to back down in it decision to remove The Terror of War image from Facebook versions of its articles, accused Zuckerberg of ducking the debate. He branded Facebook a “frenemy of the people” because of the way it dominates the internet.

Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, has refused to comment on the issue. The company has relied instead on anonymous quotes released by a Swedish PR firm, Hansen said.

The Guardian: Norwegian editor challenges Zuckerberg to discuss censorship »

0

ECJ: Worldwide privacy class action against Facebook

By on September 13, 2016 in Big Data, Data Protection, ECJ, Facebook, Privacy

A worldwide class-action privacy lawsuit against Facebook, initiated by Max Schrems, has been referred to Europe’s top court. (…)

Schrems first brought his suit in 2014, and accuses Facebook of breaking EU privacy law in multiple ways, including supporting the NSA’s Prism surveillance program. Later, 25,000 Facebook users from around the world—except those in the US and Canada, where different rules apply—joined Schrems in a class action under Austrian law by assigning their rights to him.

Ars Technica: Worldwide privacy class action against Facebook heads to EU’s highest court »

0