Social media is too important to public discourse to let Facebook call the shots

Posted by & filed under Ethical issues, Facebook.

Source: Toronto Star Date: March 31st, 2022 Link: https://www.thestar.com/business/opinion/2022/04/02/social-media-is-too-important-to-public-discourse-to-let-facebook-call-the-shots.html Discussion Is it actually illegal for Facebook to pay a consulting firm to essentially make up stories about a rival, TikTok in this case, that put them in a bad light? The author suggests that Facebook should not be left to it’s own supervision. Which government… Read more »

Facebook’s Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses: Cool or creepy?

Posted by & filed under Consumer Technology, Facebook.

Google Glass debuted 10 years ago, and crashed-and-burned. Facebook has partnered with Ray Ban to create the latest incarnation of smart glasses. Source: CNet Date: Sept 9th, 2021 Link to 9 minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4k7oMPq1Cs Discussion What is it about tech like this that would make it successful or not successful Does it matter, and why… Read more »

Facebook launches Neighborhoods, a Nextdoor clone

Posted by & filed under Facebook.

Facebook is launching a new section of its app designed to connect neighbors and curate neighborhood-level news. The new feature, predictably called Neighborhoods, is available now in Canada and will be rolling out soon for U.S. users to test. As we reported previously, Neighborhoods has technically been around since at least October of last year, but that… Read more »

Facebook’s Trump ban upheld by Oversight Board but Facebook has to review the decision and “justify a proportionate response”

Posted by & filed under Facebook, IT and Politics, Politics.

Donald Trump’s ban from Facebook and Instagram has been upheld by Facebook’s Oversight Board. But it criticised the permanent nature of the ban as beyond the scope of Facebook’s normal penalties. It has ordered Facebook to review the decision and “justify a proportionate response” that is applied to everyone, including ordinary users. The former president… Read more »

The only way to control tech giants like Facebook may be for governments to gang up

Posted by & filed under Facebook, IT and Politics, Politics.

It used to be that the most influential media companies in Canada had to keep at least one eye on the Canadian public interest whether they wanted to or not. Broadcasters are regulated through the Broadcasting Act, and while newspapers face less oversight, a restriction on foreign ownership means there is always the potential that… Read more »

Trump will be gone. But Canada might not have a freer hand to regulate multinational internet giants under President Joe Biden

Posted by & filed under Facebook, Google, Internet Advertising, IT and Politics.

Navdeep Bains chooses his words carefully when asked what a Biden administration could mean for Canada’s approach to big tech regulation. Surely Canada would have a freer hand under President Joe Biden to regulate and tax multinational internet giants, without Donald Trump threatening trade sanctions and tariffs? “I would say there’s a broader understanding that protectionism… Read more »