Apple Update Requires Apps to Get Permission to Track Users

August 27th, 2020 5:25 PM

After Apple snuck COVID-19 contract tracing software onto its iPhone updates in May, the company is now at least pretending to care about user privacy.  

One feature of Apple’s iOS 14 update, originally announced in June, is intended to help protect…

Report: Google Engineers Confused by Platform's Privacy Settings

August 26th, 2020 5:05 PM

Google doesn’t seem to understand privacy. Perhaps its employees need to Google it. A recent lawsuit against Google included emails from employees claiming that the company’s privacy settings are so complicated, even its own engineers don’t fully understand them.

 

YouTube AI Censors Twice as Many Videos in Second Quarter

August 26th, 2020 3:03 PM

When faced with the choice earlier this year, YouTube chose to censor more content on its platform during its second quarter than it had in any previous quarter.


YouTube reported that it removed twice as many videos in its second quarter than its first after sending its content moderators home during the COVID-19 shutdowns earlier this year in its…

House Judiciary Committee Republicans Call Out Amazon for Using SPLC

August 25th, 2020 3:36 PM

Several Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee took a big step in holding Amazon accountable for discriminating against conservatives.


Republicans on the House Committee on the Judiciary…

TikTok Filing Complaint that Challenges Trump EO Banning App in US

August 24th, 2020 4:57 PM

TikTok is reeling after two executive orders have threatened the Chinese-owned apps existence in the U.S. Now it has decided to take to the U.S. courts.

Today, TikTok filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government after President Donald Trump…

NYT: Facebook Prepares for Possible Crackdown on Trump after Election

August 24th, 2020 1:17 PM

Months before the presidential election, Facebook has already made plans to crack down on President Donald Trump’s posts in case he attempts to use the platform to contest the election’s legitimacy.


An August 21…

Reddit Censored Nearly 7,000 Subreddits for ‘Hate’

August 21st, 2020 2:43 PM

Despite recent news that the social media platform Reddit would allow President Donald Trump’s campaign to run ads on the platform, the company still squashes free speech on the platform.

Reddit has banned nearly 7,000 subreddits since enacting its new…

Pew: 73% of Americans Think Social Media Sites Censor Political Views

August 20th, 2020 3:58 PM

A recent Pew Research Center (Pew) study found that most Americans are, at least to some extent, concerned about online censorship and the ability of social media companies to handle misinformation. 

The Pew study, published on August 19, found that 73…

Report: Facebook Blocks, Twitter Warns About Plandemic Sequel Video

August 20th, 2020 11:49 AM

In their campaigns to censor opposing viewpoints, Facebook has blocked and Twitter has provided warning labels to the Plandemic: Indoctrination video. NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny tweeted on August 18, “Facebook not allowing users to post new plandemic link.” 

Facebook COO: We’ll Remove Trump Speech When It Violates Our Standards

August 19th, 2020 2:39 PM

With only a few months left before the presidential election, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg claimed that the platform is prepared to remove posts from President Donald Trump to fight what the platform has deemed misinformation and hate speech. 

Pro-Trump Radio Host Bill Mitchell Banned by Twitter

August 18th, 2020 11:29 AM

Bill Mitchell, host of a popular online radio show “YourVoice America,” equated Twitter with “the Devil” and said his ban from the site was a “pure political hit job.”


 

Finally! YouTube Drops Ad Restrictions Against Steven Crowder

August 14th, 2020 3:19 PM

It’s a win for free speech. Conservative comedian and political commentator Steven Crowder will once again be allowed to draw ad revenue on his YouTube channel. YouTube lifted the restrictions against Crowder on August 12, more than a year after he was originally demonetized.

Facebook Gives Even More Power to Its Leftist Fact-Checkers

August 12th, 2020 4:35 PM

Two massive announcements from Facebook have revealed just how much Facebook has given up all pretense at being fair to conservatives. Facebook announced new rules this week clarifying its hate speech policy and stating that it may even fact-check opinion pieces on the platform. Facebook sent a statement to the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) Monday night, declaring that opinion…

WSJ: TikTok Exploits Google Privacy Loophole to Track Users Online

August 12th, 2020 3:10 PM

New information came to light about TikTok’s aggressive data collection just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning the app in the United States. The Wall Street Journal released a report on August 11 detailing how TikTok was able to collect user data by exploiting a privacy loophole in Google’s android system. This loophole enabled the app to track users…