CRS in Focus – Data Protection and PrivacyLaw: An Introduction, Updated October 12, 2022 – “Recent controversy surrounding how third parties protect the privacy of individuals in the digital age has raised national concerns over legal protections of Americans’ electronic data. The current legislative paradigms governing cybersecurity and data privacy are complex and technical and… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Social Media
How TikTok ate the internet
Washington Post: “If you have not used TikTok, you are rapidly becoming the global exception. In five years, the app, once written off as a silly dance-video fad, has become one of the most prominent, discussed, distrusted, technically sophisticated and geopolitically complicated juggernauts on the internet — a phenomenon that has secured an unrivaled grasp… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court and social media platform liability
Brookings: “Over a quarter of a century after its 1996 enactment, the liability shield known as Section 230 is heading to the Supreme Court. Section 230(c)(1) provides, with some exceptions, that “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information… Continue Reading
Threats to the US Midterm Elections Have Been Building for Years
Freedom House – The festering problems that erupted after the last presidential election are still unresolved. “As the United States heads toward midterm elections on November 8, the political environment remains haunted by the coup attempt that culminated in a violent attack on the Capitol in January 2021. Social and mainstream media are overrun with… Continue Reading
A guide to giving your child their first phone
Washington Post: “The biggest milestone for teenagers used to be getting their driver’s license, opening them up to a new world of freedom and danger. For many, it’s now getting their first smartphone. Unlike with a car — which comes with driving lessons, a learner’s permit and a big test to ensure road readiness —… Continue Reading
Misinformation Swirls in Non-English Languages Ahead of Midterms
The New York Times: ” More multilingual fact-checking groups are pushing back against misleading translations, manipulated images and outright lies that jump platforms and cross borders… Unsubstantiated rumors and outright falsehoods spread widely in immigrant communities ahead of the presidential election in 2020. That is happening again in the run-up to this year’s midterm elections,… Continue Reading
TikTok’s infinite scroll spotlights a growing media literacy crisis
Mashable: “”It’s not an uncommon occurrence these days for a friend to tell you they read some article, about something, somewhere, only to have seen a TikTok about it the night before. TikTok insists that it’s “first and foremost an entertainment platform,” but people aren’t necessarily using it that way. It’s increasingly becoming an alternative… Continue Reading
TikTokers, Tokers and Terminations
American Bar Association (ABA): “The exploding use of social media can sometimes put employers and employees at odds. Employers must decide how to respond when employees express political and social opinions in the workplace, in conversation or through apparel. Other outside-of-work activities, including lawful drug use, increasingly have employment implications as well. While private employers… Continue Reading
The Role of Alternative Social Media in the News and Information Environment
“In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – especially by opposing free speech restrictions they say are rife at those sites. These newer sites have created a small but… Continue Reading
The Most Visited Website in Every Country (That Isn’t A Search Engine)
Hostinger -“The World Wide Web has connected people and cultures from nearly every part of the globe. It’s given us instant access to news and media from every country and the tools to translate content from one language to another. But while it has introduced new forms and ideas on a global scale, the web… Continue Reading
A new Supreme Court case could fundamentally change the internet
Vox: “Gonzalez v. Google, an extraordinarily high-stakes tech policy case that the Supreme Court announced it will hear on Monday, emerged from a horrible act of mass murder. Nohemi Gonzalez was a 23-year-old American studying in Paris, who was killed after individuals affiliated with the terrorist group ISIS opened fire on a café where she… Continue Reading
Political spam is out of control. Now Gmail is about to make it worse.
Washington Post: “Brace for a potential midterm meltdown in your inbox. Emails from certain federal candidates, parties and political action committees will soon be allowed to bypass the spam filters on Gmail and go straight into your inbox. To banish them, you’ll need to click a new unsubscribe button on each and every sender. (I’ll… Continue Reading
