Tag: social media platforms

How AI threatens free speech – and what must be done about it
19Jan By adminNo Comments
Technology

How AI threatens free speech – and what must be done about it

[ad_1] Headlines about the threats of artificial intelligence (AI) tend to be full of killer robots, or fears that when they're not on killing sprees, these same robots will be hoovering up human jobs. But a serious danger which gets surprisingly little media attention is the impact these new technologies are likely to have on freedom of expression.And, in particular, how they're able to undermine some of the most foundational legal tenets that protect free speech. Every time a new communications technology sweeps through society, it disrupts the balance that has previously been struck between social stability and individual liberty. We're currently living through this. Social media has made new forms of community networking, surveillance and public exposure possible, which have led to ...
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After dramatic twists, AI in 2023 goes mainstream; India sets user safety, privacy, guardrails
1Jan By adminNo Comments
Technology

After dramatic twists, AI in 2023 goes mainstream; India sets user safety, privacy, guardrails

[ad_1] India enacted new laws on data privacy and storage as it moved to a higher gear to safeguard users and define the compliance framework for BigTech in 2023 when technology galloped at an unprecedented pace.From excitement and awe around Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the virality of OpenAI's ChatGPT and India's crackdown on deepfakes to New Delhi's determined moves on digital sovereignty, dramatic twists and turns in the tech landscape defined an eventful 2023. The spotlight was clearly on the social media platforms and BigTech. India's resolve to safeguard netizens from new kinds of user harms emerging in the digital space was clear, as the government moved decisively to craft regulations and laws. It crafted a future-ready framework that would not just protect digital personal ...
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For large nation like India, deepfakes a problematic issue for conducting safe, fair polls: MoS IT
31Dec By adminNo Comments
Technology

For large nation like India, deepfakes a problematic issue for conducting safe, fair polls: MoS IT

[ad_1] Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said that for a large, connected nation like India, deepfakes and misinformation represent a "very problematic issue" for conducting safe, free and fair elections.With respect to tackling deepfakes and misinformation, he said social media platforms are under watch on remedial actions they take in next 7-10 days on 'advisories' issued by the government. The minister also promised that inaction on their part may prompt amendment to the IT Rules that will be more "prescriptive". In an interview with PTI, Chandrasekhar, who is Minister of State for IT and Electronics, counted the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) legislation, setting up of grievances appellate panels and tighter accountability enforced on digital platforms for user safety...
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Facebook, Instagram to X, social media firms made $11 bn in US ad revenue from minors: Study
29Dec By adminNo Comments
Technology

Facebook, Instagram to X, social media firms made $11 bn in US ad revenue from minors: Study

[ad_1] Social media companies collectively made over $11 billion in U.S. advertising revenue from minors last year, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published on Wednesday. The researchers say the findings show a need for government regulation of social media since the companies that stand to make money from children who use their platforms have failed to meaningfully self-regulate. They note such regulations, as well as greater transparency from tech companies, could help alleviate harms to youth mental health and curtail potentially harmful advertising practices that target children and adolescents.To come up with the revenue figure, the researchers estimated the number of users under 18 on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitt...
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Proposed US bill to charge fees from large apps should be adopted in India, says COAI
11Dec By adminNo Comments
Technology

Proposed US bill to charge fees from large apps should be adopted in India, says COAI

[ad_1] Telecom operators want the government to adopt a bill, similar to a proposal in the US Congress, that would make large internet apps contribute to infrastructure costs to help lower broadband costs for consumers, a senior industry official said.A bill sponsored by US Senators Markwayne Mullin, Mark Kelly and Mike Crapo in US Congress last month aimed at lowering broadband costs for consumers proposed a direction to telecom regulator Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to mandate social media platforms, streaming services apps, cloud computing service providers like WhatsApp, YouTube, Netflix, Google etc to contribute to universal fund that is used for building networks. The proposed bill named, Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act of 2023, has classified social media pl...
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Govt reviews social networks progress on curbing deepfakes; advisory on 100% compliance soon
5Dec By adminNo Comments
Technology

Govt reviews social networks progress on curbing deepfakes; advisory on 100% compliance soon

[ad_1] Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday met social media platforms to review progress made by them in tackling misinformation and deepfakes, and asserted that advisories will be issued in the next two days to ensure 100 per cent compliance by platforms.New, amended IT Rules to further ensure compliance of platforms, and the safety and trust of online users are actively under consideration, Chandrasekhar said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). "Held the 2nd #DigitalIndiaDialogues on Misinformation and #Deepfakes with intermediaries today, to review the progress made since the Nov 24 meeting. Many platforms are responding to the decisions taken last month and advisories on ensuring 100 per cent compliance will be issued in the next 2 days," Chandrasekhar, who is Minister of ...
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Social media has become ‘weapon of mass distraction’, says Bombay HC judge
1Oct By adminNo Comments
Technology

Social media has become ‘weapon of mass distraction’, says Bombay HC judge

[ad_1] Social media or mass media has become a weapon of mass distraction, but there are no concerted efforts yet to tackle them, Justice Mahesh Sonak of the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court said on Saturday. Addressing the students of G R Kare College of Law in Margao town during a lecture series 'GRK-Law Talks', Justice Sonak also said that he prefers to remain "uninformed" about several issues by not reading or seeing the news, which he thinks is "better than being misinformed"."Today, we live in an age where we adore and glorify machines like computers and smartphones that think. But we are extremely suspicious or even wary of the human beings that attempt to think," he said. "Artificial intelligence has its own merits, but it would be a sad day and sad world if we were to mortgag...
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DM support coming soon to ‘Threads’, says Adam Mosseri
30Jul By adminNo Comments
Technology

DM support coming soon to ‘Threads’, says Adam Mosseri

[ad_1] In a bid to enhance the capabilities of its latest microblogging platform and thereby compete in a much better way with Elon Musk's X, the former Twitter, the new Meta platform Threads is set to introduce the direct messaging (DMs) functionality, allowing users to engage in conversations with their friends and followers in a much more engaging way. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, confirmed this development in a recent statement to the Washington Post. With Facebook and Instagram, other social media platforms under Meta's umbrella, already equipped with DM options, the integration into Threads should be a relatively smooth process, positioning it to compete with X on a much better footing. According to the Washington Post report, Meta initially considered incorporating Twitte...
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TikTok rivals Twitter with new text format
25Jul By adminNo Comments
Technology

TikTok rivals Twitter with new text format

[ad_1] TikTok, the social platform known for its addictive video content, announced Monday that it will offer text-only posts, becoming the latest tech giant to offer an alternative to embattled Twitter.The text posts on TikTok will most closely resemble similar offerings on Instagram, which earlier this month also launched a challenge to Twitter -- which owner Elon Musk renamed X -- called Threads. Like Meta-owned Threads, TikTok benefits from its size, with around 1.4 billion monthly active users, according to specialist site Business of Apps. But unlike Facebook's parent company, it has chosen to integrate its new text-only feature into its app rather than launch a separate product, as Meta did with Threads.TikTok's version will remain more visual than a Twitter or Threads post, with...
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