policies
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YouTube removes Pornhub channel over 'multiple violations'
YouTube has removed PornHub's official channel over what it called "multiple violations" of its community guidelines.
Pinterest employees are staging a walkout after discrimination allegations
Pinterest employees are planning a walkout today at 1PM PST following discrimination allegations by several former employees. In a Medium post and NY Times article, former COO Françoise Brougher said she was fired over issues over gender discrimination and has filed a lawsuit against the the company. That’s after two Black female Pinterest employees quit after tweeting that they were underpaid and faced racist comments and retaliation from managers.
Facebook will label ads from politically connected publications
The new policy builds on rules Facebook has been tweaking since 2018 in response to the 2016 presidential election.
Facebook slams Apple's restrictive policies as its gaming app arrives on iOS
As promised, Facebook has released its Gaming app on iOS, but it sure isn’t happy about it. In fact, the app has no games at all on iPhones and iPads, meaning functionality is limited to game streams and social functions. That’s because Apple wouldn’t approve the app with any games, for some of the same reasons that it has denied approval to Google’s Stadia and Microsoft’s xCloud, among other services.
Twitter won't remove Trump's Joe Scarborough conspiracy tweets
Twitter apologizes for the "pain" caused by Trump's tweets regarding a long-debunked murder conspiracy theory.
Google makes it easier to find COVID-19 travel advisories
As the coronavirus continues to spread and countries introduce various travel restrictions, Google has seen an uptick in searches for travel advisories and cancellation policies. In response, it's making some changes to help users find that information even faster.
Amazon employees say they were threatened for climate change criticism
Two Amazon employees who spoke out against the company's environmental policies say they were threatened with termination if they continue to violate the company's external communications policy, The Washington Post reports.
YouTube is making its terms of service easier to read
If you visit YouTube today, you'll see a pop-up window alerting you that the platform's Terms of Service will be updated on December 10th. The new terms do not change the way YouTube treats your info, and YouTube isn't changing how it uses creators' content, but it is clarifying a few of its policies.
An independent report on Facebook’s alleged liberal bias tells us nothing
Conservatives have long lamented that Facebook has a liberal, or anti-conservative, bias. Since the 2016 election, the company has been grilled on the issue by the White House more than once. In an attempt to clear the air, Facebook enlisted an independent third-party to decide once and for all if it does indeed have an anti-conservative bias. Last year, it asked former Republican Senator Jon Kyl and his team at Covington & Burling LLP to conduct a review of the company's policies. The results are in, and for the most part, they tell us nothing.
Facebook will offer more info on the ads you see
There's a good chance some strange ads have popped up in your Facebook News Feed. Now, the company wants to give users more clarity about why they're seeing specific ads. In the past, users could click "Why am I seeing this ad?" But the answers were fairly vague. Now, Facebook will share more detailed reasoning, like which of your interests matched you with a specific ad.
Google will work with LGBTQ+ groups on harassment policies
In the wake of YouTube's controversial decision not to pull videos containing homophobic and racist attacks, Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote an internal email acknowledging that "the LGBTQ+ community has felt a lot of pain and frustration over recent events." While a few Google execs have already apologized for YouTube's decision, Pichai's email carries more weight given his position. The email, obtained by The Verge, also suggests that Google plans to conduct more internal discussions aimed at addressing its harassment policies.
Instagram is working on new rules for banning accounts
Less than a week after banning Alex Jones and other far-right extremists, Instagram has revealed that it is working on a new policy for account removals. These upcoming guidelines, which the company told Engadget will start rolling out "soon," are going to change how Instagram determines when an account should be removed from its app. Right now, it relies on a policy that allows "a certain percentage" of violations within a window of time before it decides to ban someone, but Instagram says this can create leniency for users who post often. Basically, the more an account posts, the higher the number of violations they're allowed. You can see why that would be problematic.
Instagram will soon let you appeal post takedowns
While Instagram has made it easy for users to report posts that may violate its policies, there hasn't been a way for people to contest those decisions. But that will be changing soon. In a media briefing in New York City, the company said it is going to start rolling out a new appeals feature over the next few months. This will give users the chance to request a review of content that was taken down, all from inside the app. Instagram says that, if it realizes it made a mistake, it'll restore posts. Any appeal will be sent to a completely different reviewer than the one who made the original decision, in order to ensure that the posts are thoroughly inspected.
Microsoft knows password-expiration policies are useless
Microsoft admitted today that password-expiration policies are a pointless security measure. Such requirements are "an ancient and obsolete mitigation of very low value," the company wrote in a blog post on draft security baseline settings for Windows 10 v1903 and Windows Server v1903. Microsoft isn't doing away with its password-expiration policies across the board, but the blog post makes the company's stance clear: expiring passwords does little good.
Twitter: InfoWars isn't currently violating our policies
After YouTube pulled several of Alex Jones' videos two weeks ago for violating its hate speech policies, more and more services similarly removed content uploaded by him and his InfoWars network, culminating today in bans on Facebook and Apple's audio platforms. But amid the top media providers and social networks, one was notably silent: Twitter. As of today, the company's official position remains that Jones, InfoWars and associated accounts are not currently violating its rules, a Twitter spokesperson told Engadget.
Facebook’s new political ad policies have problems of their own
Last month, Facebook launched its new political ad policies, which require ads to say who paid for them and those purchasing ads to go through a verification process. The rules are meant to prevent some of the problems that occurred during the 2016 US presidential election, during which Russian groups purchased Facebook ads with the intent of sowing political discord. But while the more rigorous process seems like a step in the right direction, it has come with a few issues of its own.
Twitter is making excuses for allowing hate speech
Twitter sure is having a hard time explaining and enforcing its policies around hate speech. Earlier this week, the company responded to Trump's retweet of violent anti-Muslim propaganda, telling Engadget that some videos may remain up if they are newsworthy or of public interest. Today, Twitter changed that position, saying that, instead, the tweets in question are still on the service because they are permitted based on the company's current media policy.
Twitter's new hate and violence policies go into effect November 22nd
Just a couple of weeks ago, Twitter's CEO Jack Dorsey responded to the #WomenBoycotTwitter movement on his company's microblogging platform with a promise to help Twitter "take a more aggressive stance" toward hate speech and sexual harassment. A few days after that, an internal email showed that the company was taking the promises seriously and widening its crackdown on violent groups and abusive content. The company just tweeted that its new policies will launch on November 22nd.
Google revises app review process following phishing attacks
In the wake of the Google Docs phishing debacle last week, Google has added a few new safeguards to better protect us from these types of attacks. The Gmail app for Android scans for suspect links and Google has tightened up its policies on third party authentication to help keep phishing scams from even getting to you. Today, the company has come out with more guidelines and systems at the developer level that should help prevent even more of these attempts.
Elder Scrolls Online, free-to-play games still require Xbox Live Gold
One of Microsoft's big announcements today was the restructuring of Xbox Live Gold; the company will now allow Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners to use entertainment apps like Netflix and HBO Go without requiring a paid Xbox Live subscription. As Microsoft's Phil Spencer clarified to Joystiq today, the latest in a series of "Xbox One-80s" doesn't apply to free-to-play and subscription-based online games. "Right now we haven't changed the policy on MMOs and free-to-play games," Spencer said. While not getting into specifics, he noted that with some games there are "engineering constraints, policy constraints and partner constraints in each one of these scenarios," so the decision to keep games behind the Xbox Live paywall reportedly doesn't rest solely in Microsoft's hands. Bethesda's latest MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online, will still require a Gold subscription on top of the developer's own monthly fees. For the time being, at least; Microsoft has "about six months" to consider changing its policies, as the game was recently delayed for consoles. The developer was in talks with Microsoft back in August to cut the extra fees for The Elder Scrolls Online, which won't be enforced by Sony via PlayStation Plus for PS4.
