International Media

Stopping Teen Social Media

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Article in TechXplore by Lara Chuung, 11/29/24

Headline:  “Social media companies slam Australia’s under-16 ban”

“Social media giants on Friday hit out at a landmark Australian law banning them from signing up under-16s, describing it as a rush job littered with “many unanswered questions”.”

“. . .One of the biggest issues will be privacy—what age-verification information is used, how it is collected and by whom.”

“. . .Social media companies remain adamant that age verification should be the job of app stores, but the government believes tech platforms should be responsible.”

“. . . The legislation will be closely monitored by other countries, with many weighing whether to implement similar bans.”

https://techxplore.com/news/2024-11-social-media-companies-slam-australia.html

Another Journalist Abduction

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Article in Common Dreams by Jessica Corbett, 11/28/24

Headline:  ” Rights Groups Alarmed by Arrest of Pakistani Journalist Matiullah Jan”

Subhhead:  “Amnesty International said that his arbitrary detention ‘on trumped up charges after he was abducted in the late hours of November 27 is an affront on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom.’ “

” Human rights and press freedom groups on Thursday expressed concern after Pakistani journalist Matiullah Jan’s family said he was “abducted,” and then a judge placed him in police custody for a terrorism and narcotics case that critics call “bogus.”

” ‘Matiullah Jan has been abducted from the parking of PIMS tonight at around [11:00 pm] by unmarked abductors in an unmarked vehicle ‘ Jan’s son, Abdul Razzaq, said on the journalist’s X account . . .”

” ‘This follows his courageous coverage of the protests in Islamabad. I demand that my father be let go immediately and his family immediately be informed of his whereabouts,’ added the son, who later posted a video on social media.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/matiullah-jan

No More Social Media for Kids

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Update in UPI by Alasdair Pal and Cordelia Hus, 11/29/24

Headline:  “Australia’s under-16 social media ban sparks anger and relief”

“Australians reacted on Friday with a mixture of anger and relief to a social media ban on children under 16 that the government says is world-leading, but which tech giants like TikTok argue could push young people to ‘darker corners of the internet’

“Australia approved the social media ban for children late on Thursday after an emotive debate that has gripped the nation, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.”

 

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Article in New York Times by Victorieia Kim, 11/28/24

Headline:  “Australia Has Barred Everyone Under 16 From Social Media. Will It Work?”

Subhead:  “The law sets a minimum age for users of platforms like TikTok, Instagram and X. How the restriction will be enforced online remains an open question.”

“Australia has imposed a sweeping ban on social media for children under 16, one of the worlds most comprehensive measures aimed at safeguarding young people from potential hazards online. But many details were still unclear, such as how it will be enforced and what platforms will be covered.

“After sailing through Parliaments lower house on Wednesday, the bill passed the Senate on Thursday with bipartisan support. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that it puts Australia at the vanguard of efforts to protect the mental health and well-being of children from detrimental effects of social media, such as online hate or bullying.

“The law, he has said, puts the onus on social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent anyone under 16 from having an account. Corporations could be fined up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (about $32 million) for ‘systemic’ failures to implement age requirements.

“Neither underage users nor their parents will face punishment for violations. And whether children find ways to get past the restrictions is beside the point, Mr. Albanese said.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/28/world/asia/australia-social-media-ban-law.html

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AP article by By ROD MCGUIRK, 11/28/24

Headline:  “Social media ban for under-16s passes the Australian Senate and will soon be a world-first law”

“The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.”

https://apnews.com/article/australia-social-media-children-ban-safeguarding-harm-accounts-d0cde2603bdbc7167801da1d00ecd056

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Article in Al Jazeera by staff 11/28/24

“Australia’s Parliament has passed a law banning children aged under 16 from using social media, one of the strictest regulations targeting the platforms in the world.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/28/australia-passes-legislation-banning-under-16s-from-social-media

What ?! – Chinese Media News Sites Are Fake?

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Article in Forbes by Emma Woolacott, 11/25/24

Headline:  “Hundreds Of Fake News Sites Pulled From Google Search”

“Google has blocked hundreds of fake news services and websites from its search results on the grounds that they were serving up Chinese propaganda.

The firm’s Threat Analysis Group said that an umbrella group of four companies, dubbed Glassbridge, has been creating and operating hundreds of domains that pose as independent news websites from dozens of countries.

In fact, though, the content involves narratives aligned to the political interests of the People’s Republic of China — and the company has now blocked more than a thousand Glassbridge-operated websites from appearing in Google News features and Google Discover.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2024/11/25/hundreds-of-fake-news-sites-pulled-from-google-search/

Turkey and Press Freedom

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Photo form CPJ

Article in Committee to Project Journalists by Staff, 11/27/24

Headline:  “Turkish authorities should stop treating journalists like terrorists by raiding their homes and detaining them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.”

” ‘Turkish authorities once more raided the homes of multiple journalists in the middle of the night, in order to portray them as dangerous criminals, and detained them without offering any justification. CPJ has monitored similar secretive operations in the past decade, and not one journalist has been proven to be involved with actual terrorism,’ said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. ‘The authorities should immediately release the journalists in custody and stop this systematic harassment of the media.’ ”

https://cpj.org/2024/11/police-detained-multiple-journalists-in-house-raids-across-turkey/

 

Actual facts and Social Media Don’t Mix

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Alronso Bedoya in “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”

Article in The Guardian by Dan Milmo 11/26/24

Headline:  “Online influencers need ‘urgent’ fact-checking training, warns Unesco”

Subhead:  “Research shows six in 10 social media content creators do not verify accuracy of information before posting it”

“According to a report by the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural organisation, two-thirds of content creators fail to check the accuracy of their material, making them and their followers vulnerable to misinformation.

“A smartphone user’s finger hovers over icons for various social media apps Social media owners top global survey of misinformation concerns.

“Unesco said its findings, which come from a survey of influencers, underlined the need for media and literacy teaching to help shape their work.

“ ‘The low prevalence of factchecking highlights their vulnerability to misinformation, which can have far-reaching consequences for public discourse and trust in media,’ the report said.”

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/nov/26/online-influencers-need-urgent-fact-checking-training-warns-unesco

Is Banning Internet Speech “Censorship”

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Article in AP by Staff 11/24/24

Headline:  “Australia withdraws a misinformation bill after critics compare it to censorship”

Subhead:  “In Australia legislation to regulate Internet content failed.”

“The bill would have granted the Australian Communications and Media Authority power over digital platforms by approving an enforceable code of conduct or standards for social media companies if self-regulation fell short.”

“This bill would have had the effect of suppressing the free speech of everyday Australians, as platforms would have censored online content to avoid the threat of big fines,” Coleman said said in a statement.

https://apnews.com/article/australia-misinformation-bill-tech-1625518609bcc407c63c9934b6a2a848

Conservative Media Extremists in Ascendance

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Article in Media Matters by Staff, 11/19/24

Headline: “On MSNBC’s Deadline: White House, Angelo Carusone explains the role extremists in conservative media are playing in the Trump transition”

“ICOLLE WALLACE (HOST): At a time when global tensions are high, the war in Ukraine is intensifying, Donald Trump’s decision to tap Tulsi Gabbard as his incoming Director of National Intelligence is raising alarms, as you heard there. New reporting uncovers how she has become a favorite among the state media, of one of America’s adversaries, Russia.

“That’s according to The New York Times, which reports, “In Russia, the reaction to her potential appointed has been gleeful, even if Putin’s government remains weary of American policies, even under a second Trump administration. ‘The CIA and the FBI are trembling,’ a Russian newspaper wrote on Friday in a glowing profile of Ms. Gabbard, noting positively, that Ukrainians consider ‘an agent of the Russian state.”

https://www.mediamatters.org/angelo-carusone/msnbcs-deadline-white-house-angelo-carusone-explains-role-extremists-conservative

Prediction for US Journalists from Nation of Georgia?

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Article in Citizens to Protect Journalism by Staff 11/20/24

Headline:  “Georgian police obstruct, detain journalists covering election protests”

“Local rights groups recorded at least four incidents of police assaulting or obstructing journalists covering a November 19 election protest in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

“Georgian opposition parties have alleged fraud and are protesting the results of the October 26 parliamentary election, in which the ruling Georgian Dream party was declared winner.”

https://cpj.org/2024/11/georgian-police-obstruct-detain-journalists-covering-election-protests/

Media Group in India Sues OpenAI

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Posted in Slashdot by msmash on Tuesday 1/19/024

Headline:  “Indian News Agency Sues OpenAI Alleging Copyright Infringement (techcrunch.com)”

“One of India’s largest news agencies, Asian News International, has sued OpenAI in a case that could set a precedent for how AI companies use copyrighted news content in the world’s most populous nation.

“From a report: Asian News International filed a 287-page lawsuit in the Delhi High Court on Monday, alleging the AI company illegally used its content to train its AI models and generated false information attributed to the news agency. The case marks the first time an Indian media organization has taken legal action against OpenAI over copyright claims.”

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/11/19/1718229/indian-news-agency-sues-openai-alleging-copyright-infringement