Newswise Breaking News Channel: Internet Policy

Social Media Platforms Aren't Doing Enough to Stop Harmful AI Bots, Research Finds

University of Notre Dame — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 13:40:28 EST

New research from the University of Notre Dame analyzed the AI bot policies and mechanisms of eight social media platforms: LinkedIn, Mastodon, Reddit, TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Meta platforms Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Then researchers attempted to launch bots to test bot policy enforcement processes.

Expert Available: More Than a Dozen States Sue TikTok, Alleging Platform's Harm to Youth Mental Health

George Washington University — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 12:00:01 EST

A coalition of over a dozen states and the District of Columbia has filed lawsuits against TikTok, claiming the platform's algorithm and design features intentionally addict children, causing mental... ...

Expert: TikTok Lawsuit May Spur New Battleground Over Kids' Privacy

Tulane University — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 11:05:16 EST

Expert Available: Second week of Google vs. DOJ Adtech Antitrust Trial

George Washington University — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 12:00:51 EST

The AP reports that the DOJ contends "Google built, acquired and maintains a monopoly over the technology that matches online publishers to advertisers." ...

TikTok Ban Could Set Precedent for Social Media Free Speech and Privacy, Experts Say

Virginia Tech — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 12:05:01 EST

The clock is ticking for TikTok, and questions of freedom of speech and national security are on the line. This week, representatives for the popular video-sharing app are arguing in a federal appeals court for its ability to operate in the United States. A federal law, which goes into effect in January, would ban the app for U.

Expert Available: TikTok Heads to Court Over U.S. Ban

George Washington University — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 12:00:08 EST

Lawyers for the popular social media platform TikTok are headed to court today for a key hearing where they're intending to block an upcoming ban of the app in the United States. ...

Research reveals huge volume of sports gambling advertising on social media in U.S.

University of Bristol — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 06:05:08 EST

Sports fans are being bombarded daily with gambling advertising via social media in the United States - and the majority of ads could be in breach of regulations, according to a new study.

Expert Available: House GOP Divisions Stall Progress on Child Online Safety Bill

George Washington University — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 12:00:13 EST

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bipartisan bill passed by the Senate to enhance online safety for children, is facing resistance in the House. ...

How do people use self-censorship to avoid having their content suppressed on sites like TikTok?

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 09:05:47 EST

Senate Passes Bills to Protect Kids Online

George Washington University — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 10:05:15 EST

New GW Study Finds Banning Fake News Traffickers Online Improved Public Discourse

George Washington University — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 12:05:55 EST

A new study co-authored by public policy and political science scholars from the George Washington University, University of California, Riverside, Duke University and Northeastern University found that the crackdown by Twitter/X also significantly reduced the number of misinformation posts by users who stayed on the platform but had been following those who were kicked off.

Lindke v. Freed: Many Social-Media-Blocking Cases Will Now Turn on Whether Public Official Possessed Authority to Speak on the State's Behalf

University of Georgia — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 09:05:42 EST

Expert explains how Congressional TikTok bill could impact users and the future of social media

Virginia Tech — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 10:05:36 EST

The vote this week by the U.S. House of Representatives, by an overwhelming 352-65 margin, could lead to a nationwide ban of the popular social media app TikTok.

GW Expert Available to Discuss TikTok Ban Legislation Making Its Way Through Congress

George Washington University — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 11:05:06 EST

Working Towards Toxic-Free AI

University of California San Diego — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:00:24 EST

Unlike existing work, which relies on training data from social media examples, a new benchmark, named ToxicChat, is based on examples gathered from real-world interactions between users and an AI-powered chatbot. ToxicChat is able to weed out queries that use seemingly harmless language but are actually harmful, which would pass muster with most current models.

Cybersecurity Leaders Launch New Online Platform to Close Gaps in Understanding Cyber Policy

American University — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 09:05:55 EST

The Shahal M. Khan Cyber and Economic Security Institute at AU, CrowdStrike and Wiley Rein launch a new online platform designed to help cybersecurity and privacy professionals, government officials, and students understand the fundamentals of key cybersecurity policy topics and stay up-to-speed on the context, players, history and issues underlying the key cyber public policy issues of the day.

AI among us: Social media users struggle to identify AI bots during political discourse

University of Notre Dame — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 14:05:31 EST

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame conducted a study using AI bots based on large language models and asked human and AI bot participants to engage in political discourse. Fifty-eight percent of the time, the participants could not identify who the AI bots were.

Anti-vaccine conspiracies fuel divisive political discourse

University of Tokyo — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 21:05:42 EST

Heightened use of social media during the coronavirus pandemic brought with it an unprecedented surge in the spread of misinformation.

Online Reviews: Filter the Fraud, But Don't Tell Us How

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 09:30:05 EST

When you try a new restaurant or book a hotel, do you consider the online reviews? Do you submit online reviews yourself? Do you pay attention if they are filtered and moderated? Does that impact your own online review submissions?

AI Could Make Cyber Threats Harder to Detect

Southern Methodist University — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 06:05:57 EST

Gone are the days when the tell-tale signs of a 'phishing' scam were fairly easy to spot, SMU cybersecurity experts warn: Hackers are increasingly using generative AI (artificial intelligence) to write more convincing emails and bogus advertisements.