#onlineplatforms (8 results)

Zuckerberg Makes Meta Worse to Please Trump

With his decision to gut moderation and fact-checking on Meta’s platforms, Instagram, Facebook and Threads, Mark Zuckerberg shows he cares more about the approval of Donald Trump than how his platforms can harm society.

Discrimination 2.0

How AI can have negative impacts on children

Artificial intelligence can have long-term impacts on the future prospects and living conditions of children and young people. Coinciding with World Children’s Day on November 20, AlgorithmWatch CH, humanrights.ch, Pro Juventute and UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein highlight how algorithms and AI can increase inequality and affect children.

The EU now has the means to rein in large platforms. It should start with Twitter.

The European Commission today announced the platforms that will have to comply with the strictest rules the Digital Services Act imposes on companies. Twitter has to be on top of its list in enforcing these rules.

Reels of Fortune: Instagram-shaped memories for a bigger reach

The algorithm used to do it for us, now we do it for the algorithm: Platforms seek data on what people think good memories are. One user tells us how she constructs an end-of-year Recap Reel on Instagram.

What does TikTok know about you? Data donations deliver answers!

Companies like Facebook, Instagram, Google, and TikTok often know about the harmful effects of their algorithmic systems and yet continue to prevent independent research on them. Data donations like DataSkop are one of the few ways to investigate opaque algorithms.

Facebook’s gutting of CrowdTangle: a step backward for platform transparency

Facebook is quietly dismantling CrowdTangle, a tool that academics, watchdog organizations and journalists rely on to expose disinformation and other problematic content on the platform. The move contradicts the company’s commitments to give researchers better access to data.

EU’s AI Act and DSA negotiations in full swing

Crucial digital policy bills are being negotiated in Brussels right now. These bills also have a relevance for Switzerland. While the European Parliament and the European Council are still busy shaping the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the Digital Services Act (DSA) is approaching the finish line. AlgorithmWatch has been intensely working on proposals regarding both regulations. We have clear demands what should flow into them so that they genuinely protect our fundamental rights as well as the public interest.

AlgorithmWatch forced to shut down Instagram monitoring project after threats from Facebook

Digital platforms play an ever-increasing role in structuring and influencing public debate. Civil society watchdogs, researchers and journalists need to be able to hold them to account. But Facebook is increasingly fighting those who try. It shut down New York University’s Ad Observatory in August, and went after AlgorithmWatch, too.