Tag: big tech

YouTube Flags Tulsi Gabbard’s Criticism of “War Machine” as “Offensive” Content

YouTube flagged a Fox News interview in which former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard said war in Ukraine was good for the military industrial complex as “offensive” content.

Yes, really.

Apparently, upsetting war profiteering defense contractors is now grounds for censorship.

During the interview, host Laura Ingraham asked Gabbard why people were still demanding no fly zones, something that would likely cause World War III, when President Zelensky was “stepping back from his earlier NATO wishes and even demands?”

Gabbard responded by pointing out that Zelensky has said he’s willing to negotiate with Putin and “set this NATO membership thing aside.”

According to YouTube, such advocacy for peace is borderline content and needs to be hidden behind a warning screen. The video is also age-restricted.

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Vimeo bans “fake news” that creates “a serious risk of material harm”

Video sharing platform Vimeo has updated its terms of service to ban “fake news, deepfakes, propaganda, or unproven or debunked conspiracy theories” that create “a serious risk of material harm to a person, group, or the general public.”

Vimeo’s previous terms banned “conspiracy-related content where the underlying conspiracy theory makes claims that…a real-world tragedy did not occur” but didn’t reference fake news, deepfakes, propaganda, or unproven or debunked conspiracy theories.

These new terms also ban “false claims that a violent crime or catastrophe has occurred.”

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Firefox removes Yandex search, will auto-switch affected users to Google

Mozilla has pushed a new release of its Firefox browser with one notable change; it will no longer have Yandex, the Russian search engine, and Mail.ru as options.

“Yandex and Mail.ru have been removed as optional search providers in the drop-down search menu in Firefox,” Mozilla said.

“If you previously installed a customized version of Firefox with Yandex or Mail.ru, offered through partner distribution channels, this release removes those customizations, including add-ons and default bookmarks. Where applicable, your browser will revert to default settings, as offered by Mozilla.

“All other releases of Firefox remain unaffected by the change.”

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Another Tech Company Attacks “Health Misinformation”

Discord recently announced an update to its terms of service that prohibits “false or misleading health information that is likely to result in harm.” Through clouds of corporate-speak, the new rules go on to imply that criticism of the COVID-19 vaccines, disputing the guidance of health authorities, and advocating for unapproved treatments will be banned on the platform.

This is disappointing in part because Discord has largely remained decentralized, allowing users to form and regulate private servers, and has stayed out of meddling in what users can and cannot say except for broad, less-intrusive rules.

I’m in charge of moderating Out of Frame’s Discord server, and these rules put us in an awkward position. To comply and keep Discord from banning our server, we must play the role of justices of the Supreme Court, interpreting passages such as:

​​​​​”Discord users also may not post or promote content that attempts to sway opinion through the use of sensationalized, alarmist, or hyperbolic language, or any content that repeats widely-debunked health claims, unsubstantiated rumors, or conspiratorial narratives.”

and

“We allow the sharing of personal health experiences; opinions and commentary (so long as such views are based in fact and will not lead to harm); good-faith discussions about medical science and research […]”

Not only do these rules include numerous terms that are subject to interpretation (conspiratorial, good-faith, alarmist) and that would be ambiguous enough to enforce fairly if they didn’t require moderators to be experts in the current scientific consensus regarding any particular medical issue, but they also require us to know the unknowable. No one can be galaxy-brained enough to predict the future and calculate all the possible consequences of a piece of information being distributed. Not users, not moderators, not algorithms, or anything else can know for a fact whether a concept will “cause harm.”

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YouTube bans “denying, minimizing or trivializing well-documented violent events” about Russia-Ukraine war

YouTube has started removing content about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that violates its rules around “denying, minimizing or trivializing well-documented violent events.”

As part of this expanded enforcement of these rules, which were first introduced in February 2019, YouTube said it’s also “blocking access to YouTube channels associated with Russian state-funded media globally.”

Additionally, YouTube reported that it has censored over 1,000 channels and over 15,000 videos since March 1 for violating policies such as its “hate speech,” “misinformation,” and “graphic content” policies.

Not only has YouTube censored more than 15,000 videos in less than two weeks but it has also boosted “trusted sources” and its “breaking news and top news shelves” on its homepage have received more than 17 million views in Ukraine.

“Our teams continue to closely monitor the situation, and are ready to take further action,” YouTube tweeted. “We will continue to share updates as they become available.”

The ban follows YouTube blocking two Russian state-controlled media outlets, RT (Russia Today) and Sputnik, in Europe earlier this month after an order from the European Union (EU).

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French digital minister tells Big Tech platforms to scale up “fact-checking capabilities”

Telecom ministers from European countries have asked the major online platforms to ensure they have the adequate capacity to handle “misinformation” in Central and Eastern Europe, which they say are the major targets of Russian propaganda.

On March 8, officials from EU governments and representatives from the major online platforms met in France to discuss how to fight disinformation being spread by the Russian government. Initially, the agenda of the informal meeting was the Metaverse, how to bring more women to the technology sector, and environment. The agenda was changed in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In a joint statement, the ministers said: “The battles initiated by Russia in the current conflict are raging not only on the ground but also on the internet.”

France’s digital minister Cédric O said that online platforms had made some efforts to fight Russian propaganda, adding that the accounts of Russian state-controlled media outlets Sputnik and RT have been removed on the major platforms. However, O said it was important to put “pressure on the platforms to do even more.”

During the meeting, the ministers made two requests, according to a report by EURACTIV. They asked the platforms to respond to take down requests from governments more quickly. And, they asked them to increase their content moderation teams in the languages spoken in Central and Eastern Europe.

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Nightmare Voyeurism: Google Tech Can Read Your Body Language – Without Cameras

Wired reports that Google’s latest privacy-invading technology can read your body language without using cameras. One Google designer ominously commented, “We’re really just pushing the bounds of what we perceive to be possible for human-computer interaction.”

Wired reports that Google’s newest tech uses radar to detect users’ body language and then performs actions based on its analysis. Google’s Advanced Technology and Product division (ATAP) has reportedly spent over a year exploring how radar could be implemented in computers to understand humans based on their movements and to react to them.

Google has experimented with radar in its technology in the past. In 2015 the company released Soli, a sensor that can use radar’s electromagnetic waves to analyze gestures and movements. This was first utilized in the Google Pixel 4 smartphone which could detect user hand gestures to turn off alarms or pause music without actually touching the device.

Now, this Soli sensor is being used in further research. Google’s ATAP is reportedly investigating if radar sensor input can be used to directly control a computer. Leonardo Giusti, head of design at ATAP, commented: “We believe as technology becomes more present in our life, it’s fair to start asking technology itself to take a few more cues from us.”

A large part of the technology is based on proxemics, which is the study of how people utilize the space around them to mediate social interactions. For instance, getting closer to another person shows an increase in engagement and intimacy.

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Big Tech eagerly blocks virtually all content from Russia while completely refusing to address Chinese propaganda

Many of the major tech giants, including Google, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and even Netflix, are cutting off Russian content entirely in response to the Ukraine invasion.

China, meanwhile, is still allowed to spread as much propaganda as it wants via social media, despite the fact that it contributed to the creation of the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19).

Big Tech is basically colluding to censor all things Russia from their various platforms, and only allow a pro-Ukraine narrative.

The Russian news networks RT and Sputnik, for instance, can no longer share any content on the aforementioned platforms after European Union officials pressured the Silicon Valley giants into obeying and supporting the narrative.

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