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Twitter offers more controls for muting abusers
Twitter's attempt at automatically fighting abuse hasn't worked flawlessly. However, you might not mind the missteps quite so much now that it's implementing some (arguably overdue) improvements to both mute controls and abuse report feedback in its mobile apps. You can now mute people based on account types, including those with unverified email addresses, unverified phone numbers and even default avatars -- finally, there's an official way to mute those notorious egg accounts trolls like to use. Twitter is also building on its previous mute upgrades by giving you options to mute both directly from your main timeline and to specify how long a mute lasts, whether it's permanent or just for a short while. This time-based muting isn't completely new (Tweetbot says hi), but it'll still be helpful if you want to avoid a nasty discussion for a day.
Tesla engineer sues over sexist workplace culture (updated)
If it wasn't already evident that Silicon Valley's issues with sexist culture extend beyond Uber, it is now. Tesla engineer AJ Vandermeyden has revealed that she's suing her employer over allegations that the electric car maker ignored complaints of discrimination and "pervasive harassment." She says she was paid less than men she replaced, and that she and fellow female engineers weren't given promotions even though they were at least as qualified as men. The harassment, meanwhile, included "inappropriate language, whistling and catcalls," according to the lawsuit.
Uber reportedly ignored repeated sexual harassment by manager
A former engineer at Uber wrote that she was sexually harassed and that her complaints were ignored by the human resources department, despite other harassment reports against the same manager. Furthermore, she says she was threatened with firing for reporting sexist emails and other issues. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has responded, calling what she describes as "abhorrent" and saying "anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is OK will be fired."
Twitter briefly stops notifying people when they're on lists
Twitter just made a big (if momentary) blunder when it comes to fighting abuse. The social network briefly stopped providing notifications whenever someone adds you to a list, ostensibly to make sure you only see the "notifications that matter." However, it quickly backtracked when users pointed out that this only made harassment easier. Hate groups could build their hit lists in secret, leaving targets woefully unaware until the threatening tweets were already on the way.
Reddit bans 'alt-right' community over harassment
Reddit isn't done cracking down on harmful communities. The social site has banned its r/altright subreddit for violating policies against "the proliferation of personal and confidential information." Members were doxxing people to harass or threaten them, in other words. Reddit didn't tell us exactly what prompted the move, but it clarifies that there were "repeated violations" of its doxxing policy. Moderators either couldn't or wouldn't police users' behavior, then. You can read the full statement below.
FBI releases redacted report of its GamerGate investigation
It's one thing to have read about (and reported on) the various threats of violence perpetrated by GamerGate, but seeing the FBI's collection of documents regarding the harassment campaign is entirely different. The Bureau recently released a 173-page document that compiles a plethora of emails and tweets received, seemingly, by targets including culture critic Anita Sarkeesian and game developer Brianna Wu. There are also internal reports, police reports and letters of request to various gaming and tech companies. I only say "seemingly" because names, email addresses and identifying information has been redacted throughout the report. But lining up the emails with dates and news stories, it's plainly obvious who the trolls were writing to.
Twitter suspends Martin Shkreli for harassment
Martin Shkreli is, to put it mildly, one of the most loathed people on the Internet. He's primarily known for jacking up HIV drug prices purely out of greed, but he also ducked fraud questions and drew the ire of music fans for buying Wu-Tang Clan's ultra-rare album. However, he hasn't done much that would get him kicked from social media services... until now. Twitter has suspended Shkreli after he conducted a short but sustained harassment campaign against freelance reporter Lauren Duca in retaliation for criticizing Donald Trump in a Teen Vogue piece.
The year's biggest loser was the American public
Even if we judge 2016 purely on the musical legends it stole from us, it would be an awful one. The truth is, this year has been rough by any standard. Our social networks, ostensibly designed to connect us, led us to turn on one another. Incidents of harassment and abuse came to define Twitter. Our already bitter and destructive discourse dissolved even further in the midst of a divisive election season. Meanwhile Facebook was flooded with an alarming number of fake news stories. And if that wasn't enough, we were constantly reminded that none of us are safe from the seemingly endless barrage of hackers. Yep, this year the American public lost, big league.
Celebs ask Twitter to tackle a specific harassment case
Twitter has frequently been accused of waiting until harassment campaigns are big enough to make the news before it responds to them -- just ask Leslie Jones. And unfortunately, it looks like history might just repeat itself. Comedians Patton Oswalt, Tim Heidecker and others are calling on Twitter to take action following allegations that "alt-right" figure Mike Cernovich is conducting a sustained harassment campaign against Tim & Eric collaborator Vic Berger IV in retaliation for jokes and videos making fun of Cernovich.
Facebook debuts a 'parent portal' to stop online harassment
Even ignoring the past few months' deluge of fake news or its ongoing inability to enforce its own community guidelines, Facebook has long had a problem with harassment, trolling and other unscrupulous behavior. Children have died due to the abuse they endure on the social network. That's why Facebook on Tuesday debuted its new Parents Portal, part of the site's Safety Center, to help adults help their kids not be complete tools while online.
Instagram finally lets users disable comments on posts
In recent months, Instagram has finally stated rolling out tools that let users combat abuse. First, Instagram added the ability to block specific words from your comments, and today it is adding a host of other tools to keep trolls out of your account. The company says all the new features will be available in the coming weeks. First up is a tool that'll let you remove comments entirely from your posts. When creating a new Instagram post, you'll find an "advanced settings" menu where you can turn off comments for that image. You can also reverse course and turn commenting back on if you so choose. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like you can shut off comments globally in your account; hopefully Instagram will add that option next.
Major advertising firm bans Breitbart for hate speech
The AppNexus advertising network drew a line in the sand today: Breitbart News has been indefinitely barred from using its ad-serving tools for violating hate speech standards. "This blacklist was solely about hate speech violation," AppNexus' Joshua Zeitz told Bloomberg. "We did a human audit of Breitbart and determined there were enough articles and headlines that cross that line." At a glance, the move seems similar to Facebook's pledge to gut advertising for "misleading, illegal and deceptive" fake news websites, but AppNexus says it isn't trying to police content -- it's just upholding its existing content standards.
'Alt-right' site plans a 'fake black person' Twitter campaign
The Daily Stormer, an alt-right website that regularly features racist, sexist and anti-semitic content, claims it has nearly 1,000 "fake black person" Twitter accounts that it plans to use in a "big," upcoming harassment campaign. This is a response to Twitter's recent ban of multiple accounts that distributed white supremacist content and ideas -- many of these banned users are prominent names in racist circles online. The bans are a result of Twitter's attempt to clean up its image with a new set of rules for reporting abuse. The company rolled out these safeguards on Tuesday.
'White' Twitter bots can help curb racism
Twitter is trying to curb the virulent racism on its platform by banning bigots and expanding reporting features, but it's like whack-a-mole -- two pop up for every one banned. However, a new research paper shows that calling out users who post racist and sexist slurs can heavily curb trolling. There's a catch, however: it's much more effective if the "white knight" is, well, white
Trump's newly-emboldened troll army poses problems for Twitter
Yesterday, the US woke up to discover it had elected Donald Trump as leader of the free world. As we've pointed out, the decision threatens net neutrality and probably the planet, though we perversely got a Wu-Tang album from it. In addition to 48% of the country's voting electorate, those celebrating also included a loose army of trolls who rampaged across the internet harassing journalists and Clinton supporters for over a year. But far from being content with their US victory, many pro-Trump marauders have been emboldened and seem to be re-mobilizing to support far-right candidates in European elections. In short: The online abuse will almost certainly continue.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 12: Surface Envy
Managing editor Dana Wollman and senior editor Devindra Hardawar join host Terrence O'Brien to talk about the value of the Esc key, the Nintendo Switch and the impeding Gilmore Girls resurrection. Then they'll relive Microsoft's big Surface event and dig in on future of Twitter... and whether or not it even has one.
Marvel writer chased off Twitter by pathetic misogynists
A year ago, Marvel announced that the character Mockingbird would be getting her first solo series helmed by author Chelsea Cain. The book ran from March until it was cancelled this month, with the final cover prominently displaying the message "Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda." Predictably, this provoked the vile side of Twitter, and after the trolls amped up their harassment, Cain deactivated her account this morning. Once again, the social platform's failure to combat harassment allowed a vocal minority to drive away a creative voice.
Twitter promises 'meaningful' safety updates next month
Twitter is a real time platform for news and conversation, but sometimes that conversation can get quite nasty. The company's laissez faire attitude toward freedom of expression has seen it develop a reputation for toxicity that's scared off several potential buyers, including Disney. That's why, Twitter is now pledging to deal with its cultural problems by making "meaningful" changes to its "safety policy, product, and enforcement strategy."
UK targets doxxing, hashtags and more in online troll crackdown
Over the course of the year, the UK government has attempted to crack down internet abuse by introducing new guidelines for prosecutors and forming a new troll-hunting police unit. Those updates ensured that anyone creating websites or fake online profiles with the intention to humiliate someone could be punished, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has today added a new list of offences aimed at bringing trolls to justice.
Report: Apple is a sexist, toxic work environment
Apple made improving its employee diversity a focal point in recent years -- but the company is still dominated by men. Women only make up 32 percent of its total workforce, and that imbalance has reportedly manifested itself in some very ugly ways. Mic has obtained a number of emails from female Apple employees and prospective employees, and their comments paint a picture of a sexist workplace in which women face discrimination, harassment and a "toxic" work environment.
