Spotify’s new hate policy and Twitter’s behavior policy seem like good things at first glance, but what they suggest about the companies’s power is worrisome. Plus, YouTube’s subscription plans are as confusing as ever.
Facebook Content Guidelines, Facebook Video, Amazon Prime Video on Apple TV
Facebook faces a daunting challenge when it comes to policing content, but it is a challenge the company brought on itself. Then, Facebook’s video tab is competing against YouTube, not Amazon or Netflix, and business models explain why — and probably explain the Amazon-Apple truce.
Tech Morality, Facebook and the BBC, Wikileaks’ CIA Trove
The analysis of technology cannot escape questions of morality, and certainty is dangerous. Plus, the CIA leak, and the difference between exploits and encryption.
Fake News and Facebook, Filter Bubbles and People, Google’s Featured Snippets Problem
Research says truly fake news isn’t much of a problem; filter bubbles are, but algorithms are less responsible than it seems. That, though, is why Google in particular has a responsibility to do better.
Fake News
Facebook is under fire for fake news and filter bubbles; they are a problem, but most of the proposed solutions are far worse.
Curation and Algorithms
More and more companies are announcing new products based on human curation, even as the most important content players — Google and Facebook — rely on algorithms. When does curation make sense, and when are algorithms better? And ultimately, who is responsible for both?