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YouTube will address ‘egregious’ acts by creators in new policies
The massive backlash to Logan Paul's Aokigahara forest video pushed YouTube to make a few changes in how it handles the content it hosts. The company took some specific actions against Paul himself, putting his original projects on hold and pulling his Preferred status, but it has also begun to tweak its policies and regulations overall. Now, in a blog post, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says there are more changes to come. "We're also currently developing policies that would lead to consequences if a creator does something egregious that causes significant harm to our community as a whole," she wrote. "While these instances are rare, they can damage the reputation and revenue of your fellow creators, so we want to make sure we have policies in place that allow us to respond appropriately."
Now Twitter's quest to become a 'safer' place has a schedule
You no longer have to wonder when you'll see Twitter implement the new rules promised by its CEO and outlined in that leaked email. The social network has released a "Safety Calendar," which details when it will roll out a series of new rules to make the platform a safer place. As the internal email said, the company plans to crack down on hate and violence on its website: on November 3rd, it promises to start suspending accounts of "organizations that use violence to advance their cause."
Jack Dorsey responds to #WomenBoycottTwitter: New rules incoming
Last night #WomenBoycottTwitter spread among many high profile accounts that stood in solidarity with "victims of hate and harassment Twitter fails to support." The boycott itself wasn't without controversy and spawned responses including a push to highlight and appreciate women of color on the platform under the hashtag #WOCAffirmation. While many weren't sure it would have any impact, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded with a thread promising that after a day spent focusing on "making some critical decisions...We decided to take a more aggressive stance in our rules and how we enforce them." Changes that he says are coming in the next few weeks include "New rules around: unwanted sexual advances, non-consensual nudity, hate symbols, violent groups, and tweets that glorifies violence." Of course, we've heard these kinds of statements from Twitter before, and critics may note it only plans to deal with "violent" groups and overt symbols of hate. Will that be enough to make any real difference in the experiences so many people report on Twitter? Unfortunately, we're still waiting to find out.
Fear of the US government led me to censor myself on Twitter
The day I've been dreading for months is drawing near. On October 18th, the Department of Homeland Security's modified system of records is scheduled to go into effect. The updated policy would affect all US immigrants, whether they are new, existing or permanent residents or even naturalized citizens, and how they are identified by the government. More accurately, it would allow the DHS, Border Patrol and other immigration authorities to collect social media handles as part of an individual's official record. As someone who's working in the US on a visa, I was immediately worried about how it would affect my standing.
Twitter suspends Rose McGowan's account (updated)
Over the last week or so, rumors about movie executive Harvey Weinstein have turned into actual reports of sexual harassment and rape by The New York Times and The New Yorker. As a result of those public reports, he has been fired by the board of his own company, while many in Hollywood (and beyond) have come forward to talk more openly about incidents of sexual harassment and assault. One of the most notable voices has been that of actress Rose McGowan, who tweeted last year that her own assault has "been an open secret in Hollywood/Media & they shamed me while adulating my rapist." Tonight, Twitter temporarily pulled the plug on her account.
Apple at odds with Indian regulators over anti-spam app
In a classic case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, Apple's refusal to approve the Indian government's anti-spam iPhone app is causing uproar on both sides. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has been pushing unsuccessfully to get its "Do Not Disturb" software included in the App Store, and Apple refuses to budge on the matter, claiming it violates the company's privacy policy.
The internet needs us to save net neutrality
Today, thousands of websites and organizations are showing their support for net neutrality in hopes of preserving the open internet. Consider Engadget among them. The Federal Communication Commission, as chaired by former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai, is exploring ways to repeal the open internet rules put into effect by former chairman Tom Wheeler, and that's just not OK.
AT&T, Comcast and Verizon explain that they don't sell your browser history
Now that Congress has passed a rule rolling back FCC regulations that would explicitly prevent internet service providers from selling data like your browsing history, three of the biggest ones are trying to reassure customers. AT&T, Verizon (which owns AOL, the parent company of Engadget) and Comcast all published posts today about the event, with varying levels of explanation about what their privacy policies are.
New FCC chairman wants the agency to be more transparent
New FCC chairman Ajit Pai announced today that he wants the commission wants to be more transparent in how information on its proceedings is made available to the public. Pai detailed a new pilot program that will make documents relating to upcoming FCC Open Meetings available through the agency's website before those meetings take place. In the past, any documents circulated among members of the commission were kept under wraps until after the final vote on a matter.
New DoE guidelines stand for scientific integrity over politics
At a time when scientific facts are frequently disputed for political reasons, the Department of Energy is updating its policy to ensure the "protection of scientific integrity." That quote comes from a Medium post by US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz that lays out why we need accurate, unbiased science and three points for the department's policy going forward: Energy Department scientists are able to express their opinions. Energy Department scientists must get the opportunity to review Department statements about their work. Energy Department officials should not and will not ask scientists to tailor their work to particular conclusions.
Evernote defends access to your notes in its new privacy policy
Evernote raised hackles when it revealed a new privacy policy that would let it read your notes in certain circumstances, but it's not backing down. In a defense of the upcoming rules, Evernote's Chris O'Neill stresses that the company will anonymize any notes it reads when checking on its machine learning system. Human observers won't know who created the content, and the machine will automatically hide what personal info it recognizes. In other words, it's trusting that its scrubbing process will keep your data safe. And of course, you can decline to offer your data for this purpose in the first place.
Evernote's new privacy rules may let its employees read your notes
Evernote set off a minor fracas on Twitter Tuesday when it announced an upcoming change to its privacy policy that would enable company employees to "exercise oversight of machine learning technologies applied to account content" in order to improve the service. The changes, which will take effect January 23rd, 2017, did not sit well with some of the service's users despite the company's explanation that it was only as oversight for the machine learning process.
A new, compromise-friendly Airbnb makes nice with New Orleans
We knew Airbnb was working with more accommodating policies as it tries to improve relationships with the cities that don't love it, but it turns out the company really is willing to make some tough concessions. Case in point: New Orleans. Recently, the city and the company brokered a deal in which Airbnb would provide the municipal government with the names and addresses of hosts, as well as agreeing that hosts would have to register with the city and obtain permits.
Uber explains how you can lose access to its service
Uber already has publicly posted guidelines telling drivers what they're not allowed to do, and why they might get the boot. However, the same hasn't been true for passengers -- just what qualifies as crossing the line? You probably have a good idea, but Uber wants to erase whatever doubt is left. It's publishing a set of Community Guidelines that not only explain driver and passenger expectations in plain language, but publicly outline US policies for rider behavior for the first time. While they're largely logical rules that you'd expect, it's helpful to see them all the same.
Facebook disables 'ethnic affinity' ads for housing, jobs
Facebook will disable settings that let advertisers exclude racial and ethnic groups when buying ads for housing, employment or credit, the company wrote in a blog post. It first started allowing "ethnic affinity" marketing several years ago, letting advertisers target specific multicultural groups. However, Propublica noticed that it was able to place housing ads that excluded African Americans, Hispanics, and other groups. That caught the eye of the Congressional Black Caucus, which called it a violation of the Fair Housing Act.
Airbnb now requires that hosts accept anti-discrimination rules
Remember how Airbnb said it would ask you to agree to a non-discrimination policy if you wanted to host guests? That's now in effect. As of November 1st, hosts must abide by rules forbidding them from discriminating against guests. In the US, they're explicitly barred from discrimination based on factors such as race, nationality, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation. Hosts can label shared living spaces as open solely to same-gender guests (to discourage creeps) and warn disabled guests about accessibility problems, but those are the only major exceptions.
FCC adopts new rules for the foundation of 5G networks
We knew it was coming, and now the FCC has made it official. Today the commission voted to adopt new rules that would facilitate the development of 5G wireless networks in the US. More specifically, the guidelines relate to wireless spectrum above 24GHz and make the United States the first country in the world to make the spectrum available for so-called next-gen networks. The FCC said in a press release that its approaching 5G the way it has approached 4G (LTE) networks in the past, a strategy that will "set a strong foundation for the rapid advancement to next-generation 5G."
What you need to know about the FCC's 5G vote
Tomorrow morning, the five chairpeople of the Federal Communications Commission are expected to take their seats behind a long wooden table and vote on a foundation for a 5G future. That might sound a little dry, but consider the obvious: We demand richer, better content on our mobile devices by the moment, and we're demanding faster speeds than ever before. There's still room to grow with existing LTE and LTE-Advanced networks, but the push for fifth-generation wireless tech is a push for a future with faster data speeds, less latency and coverage for more people. And beyond just smartphones, 5G could prove to be the connective tissue that more firmly binds together the Internet of Things and power mass augmented reality experiences. Who doesn't want that? The FCC is due to deliver their thoughts at 10:30AM Eastern tomorrow, but here's a quick rundown of what's been going on from the beginning.
Facebook is making product endorsements more obvious
Ads have been a staple in your Facebook News Feed for quite sometime. Today, the social network announced changes to its branded content policy that will make it more obvious when a celebrity or other publisher posts about third-party goods and services. There's a new tagging feature that must be used by anyone posting something tied to a marketer. The tag will alert the company being referenced so that they can view analytics, share and boost the post. What's more, the original post from the publisher or "influencer" will get a "with" tag just like you see when you tag friends in updates. Adding "with" will help users identify brand posts, but the content still won't be obvious if you're only giving the News Feed a passing glance.
Twitter offers 20 weeks paid leave for all new parents
Twitter is joining social network rival Facebook by offering 20 weeks of gender-neutral parental leave starting May 1st. The company told Fortune it made the move both to set an example and assure adopting and birth parent employees ample time to bond with their new offspring. "We're a very watched industry because of the products and services we offer," says VP of inclusion and diversity Jeffrey Siminoff. "We want to lead by example and by doing so we can influence the decisions of others."
