Zuckerberg Discusses Framework for Regulating Social Media Content
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| Zuckerberg Discusses Framework for Regulating Social Media Content | |
| Number | 1051 |
| Broadcast Date | FEBRUARY 17, 2020 |
| Episode Length | 5:06 |
| Hosts | Rich Stroffolino |
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says harmful content on social media should have a regulation framework between traditional media and a telco, Google plans to shutdown Google Station, and Redbox launches a free ad-supported live TV service.
Headlines
- At the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated he believed there should be regulation of harmful content on social media. He stated that the framework for that regulation should be somewhere between those used by newspapers, and a "telco-type" model, where "data just flows through you." He stated Facebook employs 35,000 people to review online content, which combined with automated systems currently suspend more than 1 million fake accounts each day, most within minutes of sign-up.
- Facebook announced it will let influencers in the US post paid content for political campaigns if the posts are clearly identified as ads. This follows a New York Times report on Thursday that Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign had paid popular Instagram meme pages for posts, and had partnered with a group called Meme 2020, led by the CEO of the viral media group Jerry Media. Facebook says sponsored political content won't go into Facebook’s political Ad Library unless the creator pays to boost their posts. On Instagram, paid posts will need to use the Branded Content Ads tool that adds the paid partnership label to a post. Posts that contain the voice of the politician will not be fact-checked under Facebook and Instagram policy but posts in the voice of solely the influencer will be.
- Samsung board Chairman Lee Sang-hoon, who was convicted and jailed for sabotaging union activities, has resigned. Samsung says Lee’s successor will be appointed in the near future and could be picked from remaining members of its board.
- Google announced it will begin shutdown of Google Station, which provided free Wi-Fi to more than 400 railway stations in India, as well as service in Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, Nigeria, Philippines, Brazil, and Vietnam. Google Station started in 2015. VP of Payments and Next Billion Users Caesar Sengupta cited the rise of more affordable mobile data plans and difficulty building a business model for the shutdown. RailTel, which provides Wi-Fi to over 5000 railway stations, confirmed to TechCrunch it will offer free WiFi at Google Station serviced locations in India after it shuts down.
- Redbox launched Redbox Free Live TV, as the name implies, a free ad-supported live TV service. Users can view content from Redbox's website or app without a sign in, with plans to bring dedicated apps to Roku, Apple TV, and smart TVs. Channels at launch include TMZ, USA Today, Failarmy, as well as two Redbox-branded movie channels.
- App researcher Jane Manchun Wong spotted an option in Instagram's code, offering users to "get caught up" on the latest posts from select users. This doesn't appear to be a true reverse chronological feed, and it is unclear if users or Instagram's algorithm would determine what users to show. A member of Instagram's comms team confirmed the feature was created as part of a recent Facebook hack-a-thon, but that Instagram had "no plans to test or launch it at this time."
- A blog post from Google's Project Zero security researcher Jann Horn claims that smartphone makers are creating more vulnerabilities in Android by creating downstream custom drivers for direct hardware access to Android's Linux kernel, even when these drivers are created to add security to the device. The code for these changes aren't reviewed by upstream kernel developers, and Horn warns that modifying how core parts of the Linux kernel work undermines efforts to "lock down the attack surface." Horn specifically mentions a memory bug found in the Samsung Galaxy A50, which was reported by Project Zero in November and patched this month. Rather than customizing code, Horn suggests phone makers use direct hardware access features already supported in Linux.
- The Met Office, the weather service in the UK, announced it will invest £1.2 billion over the next 10 years to acquire and operate the world's most powerful climate supercomputer, which will be over 20 times faster than the Cray XC40 it purchased in 2014. The new computer will be able to create forecasts down to an area of 1000 meters, with select areas like airports down to 300 meters, compared to the currently available 10km forecast area. Overall detailed weather predictions will take place every hour with the new computer, currently done every 3 hours.
- HQ Trivia CEO and founder Rus Yusupov announced the company ceased operations on Friday, laying off 25 staffers and shutting the once viral trivia app. In a statement, Yusupov claimed that the company had a "definitive offer" for an acquisition in place, but fell through at the last minute. In February 2018, the app had a peak of 2 million installs, but by July 2019, downloads were down to 8% of the previous year's figure.
Links
| Preceded by: "Week in Review for the Week of 2/10/20" |
Zuckerberg Discusses Framework for Regulating Social Media Content |
Followed by: "Apple Will Miss Revenue Expectations Due To Coronavirus" |