Social Media

Nigeria Orders Arrest Of Any Citizen Who Uses Twitter

CNN reports: The Nigerian government has ordered federal prosecutors to arrest and prosecute users of the Twitter app, after a ban on the social media company took effect on Friday. Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, issued the directive Saturday in a statement signed on his behalf by his spokesman, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu. Nigeria’s Ministry of …

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Facebook Continues Trump Ban For At Least Two Years

The Washington Post reports: Facebook said Friday that it plans to suspend Trump for two years following his comments in the wake of the Capitol insurrection on January 6th, and will only reinstate him” if the risk to public safety has receded.” Since the 2016 election, the company has applied a test to political speech that weighs the newsworthiness of …

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Facebook To End Special Protections For Politicians

The Verge reports: Facebook plans to end its controversial policy that mostly shields politicians from the content moderation rules that apply to other users, a sharp reversal that could have global ramifications for how elected officials use the social network. The change, which Facebook is set to announce as soon as Friday, comes after the Oversight Board — an independent …

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Twitter Begins Rollout Of $3/Month Subscription Plan

The Verge reports: Twitter has officially announced Twitter Blue, a paid subscription service that offers access to new features like undoing tweets and viewing threads in an easier to digest “Reader Mode.” Starting Thursday, it will roll out first in Canada and Australia, where the subscription will cost $3.49 CAD or $4.49 AUD per month, respectively. A new undo send …

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Tech Orgs Sue Florida Over Law On Social Media Bans

Click Orlando reports: Two technology organizations have joined together to sue Florida over the legislation targeting social media companies Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law this week. NetChoice, a nonprofit, along with the Computer and Communications Industry Association filed suit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee. Under the new law that takes …

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Facebook Reverses Ban On “Man-Made” COVID Claims

The Washington Post reports: As the U.S. reopens a debate into the origins of the novel coronavirus, Facebook reversed course Thursday and said that it would no longer remove posts that claim the virus is man-made. The decision is notable because it shows, once again, how social media giants struggle to strike the right balance between protecting the public from …

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FB To Bury Posts By Users Who Often Share Fake News

From Facebook’s corporate blog: Today, we’re launching new ways to inform people if they’re interacting with content that’s been rated by a fact-checker as well as taking stronger action against people who repeatedly share misinformation on Facebook. Whether it’s false or misleading content about COVID-19 and vaccines, climate change, elections or other topics, we’re making sure fewer people see misinformation …

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Rand Paul Gets Twitter To Remove Richard Marx’s Tweet

Playbook reports: Twitter removed a tweet from ’80s pop singer Richard Marx for violating its rules after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said it encouraged violence against him. (The tweet came days before someone sent a suspicious package with white powder to the senator’s home in Kentucky.) But that hasn’t stopped Marx from spreading the message in his original tweet — …

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India Tries to Ban “Indian Variant” From Social Media

The BBC reports: India’s government has instructed social media companies to remove any content that refers to the “Indian variant” of Covid-19. The IT ministry said the World Health Organization (WHO) listed the variant as B.1.617 and any reference to “Indian” was false. Geographical terms have been used to describe a number of other variants, including the UK and Brazil. …

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Parler Blocks Hate Speech On Apple Devices Only

The Washington Post reports: When social media network Parler came back to life on Apple’s App Store Monday, it was designed to be a less offensive version than what users are able to see elsewhere. Posts that are labeled “hate” by Parler’s new artificial intelligence moderation system won’t be visible on iPhones. There’s a different standard for people who look …

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GLAAD Finds Social Media Sites “Unsafe” For LGBTQs

Axios reports: The leading social media sites — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube — are all “categorically unsafe” for LGBTQ people, according to a new study from GLAAD, the results of which were revealed Sunday on “Axios on HBO.” GLAAD had planned to give each of the sites a grade as part of its inaugural social media index, but …

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DHS Launches Warning System On Social Media Threats

NBC News reports: The Department of Homeland Security has begun implementing a strategy to gather and analyze intelligence about security threats from public social media posts, DHS officials said. The goal is to build a warning system to detect the sort of posts that appeared to predict an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 but were missed or …

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NBC Poll: 64% Say Social Media Divides Americans

NBC News reports: Most Americans admit they use social media at least once a day, but they also believe platforms like Facebook and Twitter are doing more to divide the nation than to bring it together, according to brand-new results from the latest national NBC News poll. Overall, 66 percent of adults say they use social media once a day …

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Geraldo Rivera Doesn’t Understand First Amendment

The New York Daily News reports: Fox News correspondent and law school graduate Geraldo Rivera is accusing Facebook of denying Donald Trump his constitutional rights. Twitter spoke freely about the mustached pundit’s understanding of the First Amendment. “Facebook is full of s–t,” Rivera tweeted after the social media platform decided to uphold its suspension of the 45th president’s account following …

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Facebook Oversight Board Upholds Trump Ban For Now

The Washington Post reports: Facebook’s Oversight Board on Wednesday upheld the social network’s decision to ban former president Trump four months after Capitol riot, but also gave Facebook six months to review the decision. The binding ruling by the 20-member Oversight Board, which is largely independent and funded by the social network, could set the stage for a new political …

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Facebook To Rule Wednesday On Reinstating Trump

Politico reports: Facebook’s oversight board will announce its ruling on whether former President Donald Trump’s account should be reinstated or remain suspended on Wednesday morning, the group said. An imminent decision on a blockbuster case: The ruling, which Facebook has said will be binding, could usher in Trump’s return to the world’s biggest social network — or cut him off …

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Hawley: Social Media Bans Are “Anti-First Amendment”

“That is anti-American. That is anti-free speech. It’s anti-First Amendment and make no mistake, the left is cheering them on. You hear the Democrats sometimes talk about these companies — they love the power that these companies have. “They love it. They love the power over speech that Facebook and Twitter have, and they want them to do more. The …

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Disney Gets Weird Carveout In FL Social Media Ban Bill

Florida lawmakers this week approved a bill that provides fines of up to $100,000 a day when a social media platform bans a political candidate. The bill goes back to the Florida House next week for reconciliation after the Florida Senate approved the item with a very curious amendment. TechDirt reports: Seeing as this is Florida, which (obviously) is a …

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FL Moves To Fine Social Media Companies For Bans

CBS News reports: In one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top priorities of the legislative session, the Florida Senate on Monday passed a measure to crackdown on social media companies that remove users from their platforms. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 22-17, along almost straight party lines, to approve the proposal, which now will go to the House. The bill, in part, …

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Twitter May Offer “Tipping Button” In User Profiles

The Verge reports: Twitter has said it’s exploring features like tipping to give people a way to pay other Twitter users, and now we have further evidence that a tip feature may be on the way. App researcher Jane Manchun Wong shared images on Thursday and Friday showing that Twitter could offer a tipping button right on user profiles. Twitter …

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