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☆ Judge’s stern rebuke of Elon Musk’s X gives critics fresh hope
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Brian Fung | Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A federal judge’s decision this week reprimanding Elon Musk’s X will have reverberating effects on efforts to hold influential online platforms accountable, legal experts and advocacy groups say. Breyer held that the reports were “unquestionably” protected by the group’s free speech rights. Now, that decision could embolden other research groups and Musk critics who have faced legal threats from the billionaire. Researchers face hurdles to studying on-platform behaviorResearchers from non-profits and academic institutions have had a harder time studying X since Musk’s takeover in 2022. But one of Musk’s first changes at X was to put access to platform data behind a steep paywall.

Persons: reprimanding Elon Musk’s, Charles Breyer, Breyer, CCDH, X, Northern District of California —, Musk, White, Elon, ”, Alex Abdo, ” Abdo, Angelo Carusone, Carusone, Andrew Bailey, “, ” Carusone, David Karpf, ” Karpf, Nora Benavidez, Benavidez Organizations: CNN, Center, Court, Northern, Northern District of, Columbia University, “ Society, Twitter, Anti, Defamation League, Microsoft, Meta, Media, AGs, School of Media, Public Affairs, George Washington University, ” Free Press, Free Press Locations: Northern District, Northern District of California, Texas, Missouri

☆ Leading tech firms pledge to address election risks posed by AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Now, a group of leading tech companies say they are teaming up to address that threat. More than a dozen tech firms involved in building or using AI technologies pledged on Friday to work together to detect and counter harmful AI content in elections, including deepfakes of political candidates. Tech companies generally have a less-than-stellar record of self-regulation and enforcing their own policies. “Every election cycle, tech companies pledge to a vague set of democratic standards and then fail to fully deliver on these promises. To address the real harms that AI poses in a busy election year … We need robust content moderation that involves human review, labeling and enforcement.”

Persons: Brad Smith, OpenAI, “, ”, Sam Altman, ” Nora Benavidez Organizations: New, New York CNN, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Adobe, “ Tech Accord, ”, Munich, Tech, Free Press Locations: New York

Police said Wednesday that they charged Justin Mohn, 32, with first-degree murder and abusing a corpse after he beheaded his father, Michael, in their Bucks County home and publicized it in a 14-minute YouTube video that anyone, anywhere could see. YouTube, which is owned by Google, did not attend the hearing despite its status as one of the most popular platforms among teens. Major social media companies moderate content with the help of powerful automated systems, which can often catch prohibited content before a human can. Despite the obstacles, social media companies need to be more vigilant about regulating violent content, said Jacob Ware, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “The reality is that social media has become a front line in extremism and terrorism,” Ware said.

Persons: Justin Mohn, Michael, —, Pete Feeney, ”, Alix Fraser, Brian Fishman, it’s, Mohn, Michael Jensen, Jacob Ware, ” Ware, “ That’s, ” Nora Benavidez, Beatrice Dupuy, Mike Balsamo, Mike Catalini Organizations: YouTube, . Police, Islamic State, Meta, Google, Buffalo , New York —, Halle . Middletown, Halle . Middletown Township Police, Council, Responsible Social Media, Global, Counter, Twitter, University of Maryland, Foreign Relations, Free Press, Associated Press, AP Locations: Pennsylvania, Bucks, Louisville , Kentucky, Memphis , Tennessee, Buffalo , New York, Christchurch , New Zealand, Halle ., Halle . Middletown Township, Gaza, Ukraine, U.S, New York, Levittown , Pennsylvania

☆ Legal experts blast Elon Musk filing lawsuit in Texas against Media Matters
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“The complaint admits that the thing Media Matters was making a big deal about actually happened,” Vladeck said. According to Musk, Media Matters established a test account following extremist material and then refreshed the feed until X’s ad system displayed an ad for major brands. “It’s one of those lawsuits that’s filed more for symbolism than for substance.”Media Matters’ responseIn a statement Monday evening, Media Matters President Angelo Carusone vowed to defend the group against the suit. “Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court.”Some legal experts suggested that Media Matters’ first course of action may be to try to move the case out of the Texas federal court. “Musk and his lawyers seek to isolate Media Matters’ investigation as the sole reason major advertisers have joined the exodus from X.

Persons: Elon, “, Ted Boutrous, Boutrous, Steve Vladeck, ” Vladeck, Mark Pittman, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, X, ’ ”, Joan Donovan, ” Akiva Cohen, Klein, Musk, ’ ” Cohen, ” Cohen, Ken Paxton, Andrew Bailey, ”, that’s, Angelo Carusone, ” Carusone, Ken White, “ X, ” White, Nora Benavidez, “ Musk, ” Benavidez, – CNN’s Oliver Darcy, Jon Passantino Organizations: CNN, Media, X, Twitter, University of Texas, Court, Northern, Northern District of, Nazi, Musk, Boston University, YouTube, Elon, Texas, ”, “, Washington , D.C, District of, Free Press Locations: Texas, Northern District, Northern District of Texas, Kamerman, New York, Missouri, California, Washington ,, District of Columbia, Los Angeles

☆ Mark Zuckerberg needs to better moderate Threads or it'll 'become as toxic as Twitter,' civil rights groups warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Civil rights groups warn that Threads will "become as toxic as Twitter" without better moderation. In a letter, the groups urged Mark Zuckerberg to implement more rigorous moderation standards. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg needs to better moderate his new Threads platform, or it could "become as toxic as Twitter," civil rights, digital justice, and pro-democracy groups warned in an open letter to Zuckerberg and the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri. "Meta must implement basic moderation safeguards on Threads now or the platform will become as toxic as Twitter," Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at Free Press, said in a press release about the letter. The civil rights groups also accused Meta of "purposefully not extending Instagram's fact-checking program to the platform and capitulating to bad actors."

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Instagram, Adam Mosseri, America —, Nora Benavidez Organizations: Free Press, Tech, Media Matters, America, Meta

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