What we can learn from @60Minutes with #facebookwhistleblower is that Facebook keeps trying to frame the question as freedom of expression vs public safety, but it's very clearly profit vs public safety. No society should allow "profit" to be the answer to that choice.
There's Zuck telling congress "We're doing the best that can be done while respecting our countries' values";
There's the statement "balance protecting the right of people to express themselves openly vs keep our platform a safe and positive place".
That's bullsh.
There's the statement "balance protecting the right of people to express themselves openly vs keep our platform a safe and positive place".
That's bullsh.
There's no such thing as a right to be amplified in misleading, lying to, hating, harming others. Much can be done - it's Facebook's own documents saying it - before we get to the difficult speech vs safety question. What stops Facebook? The money they'll lose. Simple.
It's very hard to argue for Facebook, really. Not only this is happening, but they know it's happening, and they're trying to keep it a secret - by not releasing their studies and by denying researchers access to the platforms' data
This - all this - is why we need regulation and enforcement! I have really high hopes for the Digital Services Act to help us start tackling the problems posed by giant online public spaces with little oversight and into which we have no insight.
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