The Facebook Oversight Board’s decision to maintain the former president’s ban won’t change much (especially for the time being) On May 5, 2021, Facebook’s Oversight Board upheld Facebook’s January 2021 ban of former president Trump from Facebook and Instagram for encouraging violence following January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol siege, based on two posts Trump made…
Recent major investments prove that the Internet is not only about protocols and faster telecommunication infrastructures. Soon we are going to experience a totally new paradigm of the internet. Silicon Valley made a strong bet, that the next-generation Internet should be underpinned by Virtual Reality technologies and will be built by the gaming industry. Epic…
EU-funded (completed) projects on Convergence and Social Media The European Commission funded 27 projects on media convergence and social media (the projects are now completed). Their main focus is the use of intuitive and innovative ways of interacting with networked multimedia devices and with other services and applications. Anytime, anywhere and on any device. The…
What’s new about the new app club? Clubhouse, the social networking app, has gained popularity for letting people gather in audio chat rooms to talk about various issues. Hearing a lot about Clubhouse lately partially falls on the tech leaders of the day. For the greatest satisfaction of the tech exalted audience Elon Musk and…
WSIS Forum 2021 | ICTs for Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Societies and Economies (WSIS Action Lines for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals) Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are tools through which gender equality and women’s empowerment can be advanced, and are integral to the creation of societies in which both women and men can substantively…
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ): Take part in the revision of UNESCO’s Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media In 2012, UNESCO published its first Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media (GSIM) to “contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment in and through media of all forms, irrespective of the technology used”. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is in charge…
Clubhouse and Misinformation over voice? The new arrival in the social media scene – Clubhouse, iOS-exclusive all-voice app, has been gaining popularity recently. The increased interest is elevated by celebrities and big-tech representatives making apparitions on the platform. The limited availability (only iOS) and invited-only access policy give extra exclusivity to that novel platform. The…
Idols and virtual influencers – the future faces of advertising New technologies allow versatile advertising and promotional techniques to be used for capturing the attention of bigger audiences. More and more music industry relies on virtual idols which in some cases can be based on real people. In addition to this, the character of virtual…
In December 2020, more attention in media has been given to voices speaking against Tech Giants practices that are perceived to create closed, monopolised systems for advertising channels. Specifically, in the ad pipeline questioned, a large tech party is a representative for users as well as for businesses which try to sell their products. In…
Supporting Public Health Experts’ Vaccine Efforts – Facebook Facebook has announced that it will implement several protocols to support vaccination behaviour around the world. In particular, FB will launch a campaign encouraging Flu vaccination while we are awaiting for COVID-19 vaccine to be available. That move is to support the general health of the population…
Facebook’s Algorithm: A Major Threat to Public Health – AVAAZ Avaaz uncovers health misinformation spreading networks with an estimated 3.8 billion views in the last year – and shows how to quarantine this infodemic – AVAAZ AVAAZ calls for more transparency for Facebook reporting on COVID-19 disseminated materials. In particular, the report suggests that the…
Can democracies stand up to Facebook? Ireland may have the answer – The Guardian Last month, the Irish data protection commissioner (DPC) sent Facebook a preliminary order ordering it to stop sending the data of its European users to the US. This was a big deal, because in order to comply with the ruling, Facebook…
Twitter Will Turn Off Some Features to Fight Election Misinformation – NYT The platform is trying to address growing concern that falsehoods could lead to instability. Most of the changes will start on Oct. 20 – The New York Times The article elaborates upon the introduced limitations and features ensuring more informed sharing and fake-news…
The House Antitrust Report on Big Tech – NYT “In a report led by Democrats, lawmakers said Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook needed to be checked and recommended reforming antitrust laws” – The New York Times The report by SUBCOMMITTEE ON ANTITRUST, COMMERCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, published by NYT elaborates in detail on the tech…
Assessment of the Code of Practice on Disinformation. Achievements and areas for further improvement, Brussels, 11 September 2020 The Code of Practice on Disinformation provides a framework for a structured dialogue between relevant industry actors, the Commission, and ERGA authorities. The Code sets general policy objectives, identifies relevant requirements for appropriate measures, and enables public…
Recovery plan powers EU’s strategic autonomy The topic on rebooting the EU economy after coronavirus brought together at the online annual Brussels Economic Forum (BEF), high-level policymakers, opinion leaders, academics, civil society and business leaders from EU and beyond. They held a vibrant debate on the unprecedented economic and social situation in Europe emphasing the…
Digital Education: Public consultation: Digital education during the COVID-19 recovery period and beyond The European Commission has launched an EU-wide public consultation to collect the views of citizens and stakeholders on the future of digital education during the COVID-19 recovery period and beyond. According to Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth…
Open data and COVID crisis Following the spread of COVID-19 in early 2020, countries across the world have adapted to a new sense of normal. To continue combating the proliferation of the pandemic, societies have been utilising data to inform policy makers and create applications and services. In conformity with these efforts, the European Data…
Open data and COVID-19 crisis Following the spread of COVID-19 in early 2020, countries across the world have adapted to a new sense of normal. To continue combating the proliferation of the pandemic, societies have been utilising data to inform policy makers and create applications and services. In conformity with these efforts, the European Data…