Social Media 📍

A look at social media and the issues surrounding this technology.

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NPR

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Why Is Facebook Going All-Out To Stop Apple’s iPhone Update? : NPR

Two titans of Silicon Valley, Facebook and Apple, are in a bitter fight that centers on the iPhone data of millions of people and whether companies should be able to track that data as easily as they do now.

Facebook believes the answer is yes. On Wednesday, it even unveiled a video voiced by Grace Jones aimed at currying the public's favor.

Apple says not so fast. CEO Tim Cook tweeted last month about the need for greater control over data privacy "from safeguarding your health & financial data to guarding against algorithms that perpetuate rampant misinformation. We need transparency and reform."

The radical right’s voice on social media – Investigative Post

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The radical right’s voice on social media – Investigative Post

Western New York is home to a number of radical-right organizations that are active on social media. Of late they’ve been posting on the inauguration of Joseph Biden as president. Before that they shared conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol — antifa did it! — and to express their support for Donald Trump.

An Investigative Post review of the right’s social media activity also found that a wide range of right-wing organizations have started to consolidate and coordinate their activities since the summer under the banner of “FREE New York.”?

Fixing Social Media for Good

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The use of peer-to-peer social media networking that is highly decentralized might become the future, especially if censorship becomes a real problem on Twitter and Facebook.

SVGZ Graphic: Population of Albany County

Tech Under Pressure After Parler Goes Dark, Twitter Drops

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Tech Under Pressure After Parler Goes Dark, Twitter Drops

The bans were strongly criticized by senior lawmakers in Germany and rance. Chancellor Angela Merkel argued lawmakers should set the rules governing free speech, not technology companies, while rench inance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that the state should be responsible for regulations, rather than “the digital oligarchy,ȁ and called big tech “one of the threatsȁ to democracy.

The big tech companies justified their actions by citing posts stoking riots in the U.S. capital last week and sought to avoid further incitements to violence. The bans underscore the power these companies hold over how information is disseminated and the impact their decisions have. Before, it was their stance to allow incendiary speech from Trump and his allies that drew heavy criticism from the left.

Regulatory risks for social media companies will persist even though emocrats will control the Congress and White House, Bank of America analyst Justin Post wrote in a note to clients. Twitter is also likely to see some usage decline as a result of dismissing the president, he wrote.