SOCIAL MEDIA
From spreading misinformation to allowing scammers to thrive, social media platforms are facing intense scrutiny for being slow to take action, and in some cases, not at all.
SOCIAL media has come a long way since the days of Myspace and Friendster which were primarily used as a profile page for users to make friends or share photos.
Today, it’s entrenched in our lives, be it for business or personal use, which is why revelations about how it’s being managed and moderated have become one of the biggest topics to date.
People are worried that sexual harassment and hate speech go unchecked on these platforms, and are making themselves heard to bring about change.
Unfriending Facebook
While Facebook has its upside such as allowing people to reconnect with old friends and stay in touch virtually, especially during the pandemic, it has come under fire for not policing its platform enough.
A movement called Stop Hate For Profit posted a video directed at Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg, claiming that the social media network also has a “sinister side”.
The movement, led by US civil rights organisations such as the Anti Defamation League (ADL) and Color of Change, stated that Facebook allows groups promoting hate speech, racism and violence to thrive on the platform.
It claimed that Facebook has failed to take action to stop misinformation by extremist groups that could put the lives of others at risk.
In the wake of Black Lives Matter demonstrations where protestors rallied against police brutality after the death of George Floyd, Trump posted the racially-charged message “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” on his social media channels on May 29.
Reuters reported that Twitter flagged Trump’s message with a warning label saying that it promotes violence while Facebook left it untouched.
The platform’s decision over Trump’s message led to a public outcry among Facebook employees who staged a virtual protest, some wanting to quit their jobs due to Facebook’s inaction over the post.
Zuckerberg addressed the backlash in an open post, admitting that Trump’s message had a “troubling historical reference”.
“We decided to leave it up because the National Guard references meant we read it as a warning about state action, and we think people need to know if the government is planning to deploy force,” he said.
On June 17, Stop Hate For Profit called for companies to pause advertising on both Facebook and its other platform Instagram, as a way of getting Zuckerberg to take action against hate speech and misinformation on the social network.
It called for Facebook to implement 10 recommended steps such as to search and remove groups focused on white supremacy, militia and vaccine misinformation. It also wanted Facebook to help individuals facing severe hate and harassment to connect with a live employee.
Companies that have agreed to pause or cut back advertising to support the movement include Disney, Starbucks, Ford and Verizon.
Facebook responded by organising a meeting with Stop Hate For Profit but the organisation said it found the meeting to be disappointing because Zuckerberg and other executives failed to make any firm commitments to its list of recommended steps, according to a Verge report.
However, Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said the company will strive to make progress on minimising hate.
“Over many years, we’ve spent billions of dollars on teams and technology to find and remove hate – as well as protect the integrity of our platform more generally – and have become a pioneer in using artificial intelligence technology to remove hateful content at scale,” she said in a public post on the platform.
Twitching over sexual harassment claims
In June, the video game industry was hit by allegations of sexual misconduct, as more than 70 people – mostly women – shared their stories on platforms such as Twitter.
One of the first allegations was directed at a Twitch streamer known as Lono who runs the channel Saynotorage.
Lono who never reveals his real name is a Twitch partner who streams videos of himself playing the video game Destiny on the platform daily.
Three streamers posted allegations that Lono had behaved inappropriately by doing things such as “non-consensual touching, propositioning for sex and harassment”.
Lono posted a Youtube video titled An Apology on June 20 in which he said there is “no excuse for his behaviour”.
He also described his behaviour as “unacceptable”, saying it could have robbed people of their sense of security.
Lono’s Saynotorage channel on Twitch is now unavailable or offline though his Youtube account remains active.
Twitch, in a statement on June 22, said it is actively looking into allegations concerning its content creators and will work with law enforcement when necessary. It added that severe cases will be prioritised and permanent suspensions will be issued based on the result of its investigations.
However, BBC reported that streamers felt that Twitch didn’t act “quickly enough” when sexual assault claims about content creators emerged.
It also added that some believed that the platform has been “too lenient” on those accused of being racist or homophobic in their views.
As a result, some streamers called for a Twitch blackout on June 24, urging others not to post any content on the social network for one day to pressure the company to be more proactive towards addressing sexual assault claims by victims.
While the call for the blackout became a trending topic on Twitter, it wasn’t enough to pressure Twitch into making any major decisions about sexual harassment and hate speech on the platform.
In a statement to Polygon, the company merely said that it supports the streamers’ right to express themselves and bring attention to issues. It claimed it’s listening to feedback and working swiftly to make Twitch safer.
The organisers of the blackout are hoping to repeat the event but want to make it more effective by reaching out to more streamers first.
Twitch has now banned a number of lesser-known streamers over sexual abuse allegations, according to a report.
Though some of its bigger names like Tom “Syndicate” Cassell, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by two women, still have an active channel on the platform. Cassell has since denied all allegations.
Scams on Youtube
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is not too happy that his name is being used to promote bitcoin scams on Youtube, and is suing the platform for allowing it.
Wozniak and 17 other individuals claimed that Youtube is aware of the scams but has not acted to remove the videos despite repeated pleas.
The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court in San Mateo County, California, stated “Youtube has featured a steady stream of scam videos and promotions that falsely use images and videos of plaintiff Steve Wozniak, and other famous tech entrepreneurs, and that have defrauded Youtube users out of millions of dollars.
“Among other relief, Plaintiffs seek an order requiring Youtube to finally end its outrageous practice of hosting, promoting, and profiting from these criminally fraudulent videos and promotions.”
Wozniak claimed he “has suffered, and continues to suffer, irreparable harm to his reputation”.
Youtube responded to the lawsuit in a statement to The Verge saying, “We take
abuse of our platform seriously, and take action quickly when we detect violations of our policies, such as scams or impersonation.”
Just like Facebook, Youtube has also been accused of profiting from content with elements such as racism.
A group of Black Youtubers is suing the video streaming platform and parent company Google, claiming that both have discriminated against their content based on race.
The suit alleged that Youtube uses automated tools to restrict, censor and denigrate Black creators, affecting their subscribers and revenue. It also claimed that Youtube continues to host videos with racist hate speech and earn money from the content despite being flagged for violating Youtube’s rules.
Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki said in a report that the company will look into the complaint – which was filed in June – and “try to understand what concerns are there”.
Accounts abused
The date July 15 could go down in history as the day the Great Twitter Hack of 2020 took place. On that day, verified Twitter accounts belonging to famous personalities like Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former US President Barack Obama, as well as those belonging to companies such as Apple were hacked to promote bitcoin scams.
The tweets urged other users to send bitcoin, promising that they will get double the amount in return in just 30 minutes.
Twitter released a statement saying it believed it was a “coordinated social engineering attack” by individuals who targeted the company’s employees with access to internal systems and tools.
In a report, sources said the FBI – which is leading an investigation into the incident – is reviewing screenshots which supposedly contains information about Twitter’s internal account management software that was circulating on social media.
The report described the software as a “powerful tool” which gives a number of authorised Twitter employees the ability to manage accounts of high profile users such as viewing protected user information and changing email addresses linked to the accounts.
The hackers may have used the software to “access the accounts and then reset passwords”, it said.
They targeted 130 accounts but could only take control of 45 after resetting the password, but managed to net more than US$100,000 (RM427,000) from 300 people.
Dr Alexi Drew, a researcher at King’s College London, told BBC that the attack serves as a reminder for all major social media platforms to tighten security measures, particularly at a time when the United States is headed towards a presidential election in November.
“Social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook all have a duty to consider the damage and influence their platforms can have on the 2020 election, and I think some companies are taking that more seriously than others,” she said.
“Twitter actually has a good history of being forward-thinking and proactive in this space. But whatever the source of this attack (it seems they have) still not done enough.”
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, in a statement on July 27, said the company has taken additional steps to protect the platform against “targeted social engineering attempts” and implemented a number of safeguards for its internal systems.
Time’s up for Tiktok?
Tiktok has had a tumultuous year so far. In June, India announced that it has banned it along with 58 other mobile apps developed by firms based in China due to data security concerns.
In an online report back in November, a spokesperson said Tiktok is used by more than 200 million people in India monthly, making it one of its biggest markets.
More recently, US President Donald Trump said that his administration is considering a ban on Tiktok, claiming that the service is giving away private information to the Chinese government.
Tiktok has countered the claim saying, “We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users. We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, or would we do so if asked.”
However, Trump’s motives remain unclear, as CNET reported that his statement came after Tiktok users and K-pop fans sabotaged his presidential campaign rally by booking thousands of tickets online with no intention of attending the event.
Tiktok is also facing scrutiny in Australia – politicians such as Andrew Hastie cited the same concern as the US.
The Australian Defence Force, for instance, has banned the app from being used on its devices.
And the US Army has practised this since last year, even preventing its personnel from using the service on governmentowned phones.
Apart from privacy concerns, Tiktok has also come under fire for the way it handled children’s personal information.
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) fined Tiktok 186mil won (RM658,750) for collecting children’s data without getting consent from their legal guardians. BBC said KCC carried out an investigation last year and found that Tiktok had collected more than 6,000 records on children in just over six months.
Child advocacy groups in the US also filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alleging that Tiktok has violated a consent decree and law protecting children’s privacy online when it failed to remove videos made by children under the age of 13.
Tiktok, in a statement to Reuters, said, “we take privacy seriously and are committed to helping ensure that Tiktok continues to be a safe and entertaining community for our users.”