Social Media

YouTube Requires Disclosure Of AI Usage In Videos

Ars Technica reports: YouTube is rolling out a new requirement for content creators: You must disclose when you’re using AI-generated content in your videos. The disclosure appears in the video upload UI and will be used to power an “altered content” warning on videos. Google previewed the “misleading AI content” policy in November, but the questionnaire is now going live. …

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SCOTUS Likely To Reject Social Media “Censorship” Claims Brought By Republican AGs And Anti-Vaxxers

The Washington Post reports: The Supreme Court seems likely to reject a Republican-led effort that could reshape how politicians communicate with major social media companies — with sweeping consequences for government efforts to secure elections and combat health misinformation. A majority of justices from across the ideological spectrum expressed concern about hamstringing federal government communications with social media platforms on …

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Musk: “Moderation Is Propaganda Word For Censorship”

Mediaite has the transcript: Lemon: They’re not illegal, but they’re hateful. And they can, they can lead to violence. As I just read to you, the shooters, you know, in all of these mass shootings, attributed social media to radicalizing. Musk: So, Don, you love censorship, is what you’re saying? Lemon: No, I don’t love censorship. Musk: Then why, why …

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Tomorrow: SCOTUS Hears Social Media “Censorship” Case Brought By Anti-Vaxxers, GOP Attorneys General

USA Today reports: After Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested without evidence that baseball legend Hank Aaron’s death in 2021 was caused by a COVID-19 vaccine, the Biden administration pounced. “Wanted to flag the below tweet and am wondering if we can get moving on the process for having it removed ASAP,” the digital director for the White House’s COVID response …

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SCOTUS Limits Social Media Blocks By Govt Officials

USA Today reports: A unanimous Supreme Court on Friday defined when the personal social media account of a public official is a government action, trying to settle whether constituents can be blocked from commenting or from following those accounts. A public official may block constituents, the court said, unless the official had the power to speak on the government’s behalf …

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Mnuchin: “I’m Putting Together A Group To Buy TikTok”

CNBC reports: Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is building an investor group to acquire ByteDance’s TikTok, as a bipartisan piece of legislation winding its way through Congress threatens its continued existence in the U.S. “I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday. “It’s a great business and I’m …

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Musk “Could Care Less” About Hate Speech Criticisms

Mediaite has the transcript: LEMON: Hate speech on the platform is up. Do you believe that X and you have some responsibility to moderate hate speech on the platform, that you wouldn’t have to answer these questions from reporters about the great replacement theory as it relates to– MUSK: I don’t have to answer these questions. LEMON: –great replacement theory …

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SEC Accuses Musk Of “Distorting” Twitter Investigation

Engadget reports: The SEC officials investigating Elon Musk over his handling of the Twitter takeover seem to be growing more and more impatient with his legal antics. The two sides have been locked in a dispute over Musk’s refusal to testify in the investigation. Now, in a new filing, the SEC accuses Musk of trying to “misrepresent” the regulator’s investigation. …

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Musk Axes Lemon’s X Show Over Drug Use Questions

Axios reports: Former CNN anchor Don Lemon said on Wednesday Elon Musk canceled his new show on X, formerly Twitter, after he interviewed the multi-billionaire last week. Lemon claimed Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech “absolutist,” was “mad” at him over the “tense” interview, which will be included in the premier episode of “The Don Lemon Show” next week. “Apparently, free …

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Megadonor Likely Behind Trump’s Flip-Flop On TikTok

Bloomberg News reports: The prospect that the app will be banned has thrust Jeff Yass, the trading mastermind behind market-maker Susquehanna International Group, into an uncomfortable spotlight. That’s because he owns a stake in TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, that’s worth $15 billion. Yass has used that wealth to become the biggest donor in the 2024 election cycle, with $46.4 million …

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House Lawmakers Pass Ban On TikTok In 352-65 Vote

CNN reports: The bill’s fate is less than clear in the US Senate, where there is no companion bill. The Democratic chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Maria Cantwell, has made no firm commitment to advance the proposal. “I will be talking to my Senate and House colleagues to try to find a path forward that is constitutional and …

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LIVE VIDEO: House Votes On Bill That Could Ban TikTok

The Hill reports: The House is expected to pass a bill Wednesday presenting an ultimatum to the ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok. Under the measure, the company would have to sell the popular video platform or else face a ban in the U.S. Former President Trump, who attempted to ban TikTok in 2020, has nonetheless come out against …

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WaPo: Trump Tried To Sell Truth Social To Elon Musk

The Washington Post reports: Former president Donald Trump asked Elon Musk last summer whether the billionaire industrialist would be interested in buying Trump’s social network Truth Social, according to two people with knowledge of the conversation. The overture to Musk, whose business empire includes SpaceX, Tesla and the social networking site X, did not lead to a deal. But the …

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TODAY: House Votes On Bill To Ban TikTok Nationwide

CNN reports: The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a bill that could lead to a nationwide ban against TikTok, a major challenge to one of the world’s most popular social media apps that comes as former President Donald Trump has signaled opposition to a ban. The bill would prohibit TikTok from US app stores unless the social media …

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Judge Disqualifies Himself In Ex-Twitter Execs Lawsuit

Bloomberg Law reports: A California federal district court judge has recused himself from hearing a lawsuit four former Twitter Inc. executives brought against Elon Musk for allegedly refusing to pay them severance. Judge Gilliam Haywood said he is “disqualified” from the case led by Parag Agrawal, who served as the chief executive officer of the social media site that Musk …

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Trump Ally Claims He’ll Buy TikTok If It Gets Banned

The Hill reports: “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary suggested that he will buy social media platform TikTok if a proposed ban goes ahead. “Not going to get banned, ‘cause I’m gonna buy it,” O’Leary said on Fox News. “Somebody’s going to buy it, it won’t be Meta and it won’t be Google, ‘cause…regulator [will] stop that.” “This is worth billions, …

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House Advances Bill That Could Result In TikTok Ban

The Hill reports: The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously advanced a bill Thursday that would require TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to divest the app or face a U.S. ban. The bill advanced out of committee with overwhelming bipartisan support just two days after it was introduced by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the top lawmakers …

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GOP AGs To YouTube: Drop Abortion Pill Fact-Check

The Christian Post reports: A coalition of 16 attorneys general has demanded that YouTube remove information labels attached to videos discussing chemical abortions that they argue are “misleading” to viewers. In a letter sent to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan on Monday, the attorneys general argued that the information panels the company included below videos on the popular video-sharing platform “misleads …

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Kansas AG Sues TikTok For “Promoting Filth To Kids”

Topeka’s ABC affiliate reports: The Kansas Attorney General’s Office announced his office has filed a lawsuit on Wednesday, March 6 in Shawnee County District Court against social media company TikTok for misrepresenting its age-appropriateness in app stores, deceiving parents about the effectiveness of its parental tools and creating and aggressively promoting an addictive app that erodes the mental health of …

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Fired Twitter Execs Sue For $128 Million In Severance

Ars Technica reports: Elon Musk and X Corp. were sued yesterday by four former Twitter executives who say they were cheated out of more than $128 million in severance when Musk bought the social network and fired them. Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, former CFO Ned Segal, former Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde, and former General Counsel Sean Edgett filed …

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