hubba_bubba93May 31, 2024
Meredith Whittaker

IMO we need to dismantle the surveillance advertising biz model & the surveillance and centralized control at its heart.

But this doesn't do that. Instead, it advocates for 'transparency' w/o accountability + inexplicably ONLY names e2ee encryption as a "risk" to children.

What's clear here, broadly, are the sharp limits of shareholder-driven activism when it comes to curtailing a toxic-yet-profitable business model.

May 30, 2024 at 10:42amWeb
Show threadMeredith WhittakerMay 30, 2024

Ceasing targeted ads, killing the "find a friend" feature, curbing engagement driven objective functions...all would actually work to curb the harms to children/democracy/etc.

A transparency report + eliminating the small refuge of privacy that Meta provides will not make a dent. Indeed, the implication that the ability to communicate privately is dangerous is itself a v dangerous claim.

Show threadMeredith WhittakerMay 30, 2024

Esp now, in 2024 when Jessica Burgess is living in prison bc Facebook turned over messages detailing her accessing reproductive care in a state where this had been made illegal.

I'd love to work w Francis + others on REAL solutions. & I'm frustrated that so much of the purported "solution space" is occupied by toothless, even dangerous proposals that are implicitly limited by unwillingness to touch the (profitable) business models core to these harms.

Show threadGuillaume RossoliniMay 30, 2024

@Mer__edith this proposal has nothing to do with legal pressure, of course

https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/@EUCommission/112450713934392384

European Commission (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image We've opened formal proceedings against Meta regarding the protection of minors on Facebook and Instagram. The systems of both platforms, including their algorithms, may stimulate behavioural addictions in children, as well as create so-called 'rabbit-hole effects’. More: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_2664 #DSA #EU

European Commission on Mastodon
Show threadDerick RethansMay 30, 2024
@Mer__edith Are you basically suggesting placing the output of recommendation engines outside S230? Because that would IMO be a real good start.
Show threadferricoxideMay 30, 2024
@Mer__edith

Well, we do need to know what vulnerable audiences are experiencing, but that vulnerability shouldn't be being exacerbated by the "experience" auditors.
Show threadfeldMay 30, 2024
@Mer__edith tell us more about how you need to focus on the "European market" for Signal
Show threadAndrejMay 30, 2024
@Mer__edith While you certainly have more experience in these matters, my gut tells me the only two ways to dismantle them are by dismantling meta itself or undercutting them by actually giving people a share of the profit and paying them to use a social media plattform. Like imagine mastodon would pay you if you agreed to sell your data or parts of it ...