Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by mrpg on Sunday November 05 2017, @04:29AM   Printer-friendly
from the I-refrain-from-commenting dept.

Submitted via IRC for takyon

This week, representatives from Google, Facebook, and Twitter are appearing before House and Senate subcommittees to answer for their role in Russian manipulation during the 2016 election, and so far, the questioning has been brutal. Facebook has taken the bulk of the heat, being publicly called out by members of Congress for missing a wave of Russian activity until months after the election.

[...] The point is clear enough: if you're fighting Russian interference on social media, anonymity is a big problem. In some ways, it's the original sin, creating space for that first lie that lets trolls enter the conversation unnoticed. "Account anonymity in public provides some benefits to society, but social media companies must work immediately to confirm real humans operate accounts," Watts told the committee. "The negative effects of social bots far outweigh any benefits." It's a common insight among bot-hunters, and one that's become particularly popular amid this week's hearings.

[...] The problem is social. We're used to anonymity on the internet, particularly on the services where it's still available. It's hard to know what an anonymity backlash would mean for services like Twitter, Reddit, and 4chan — all of which are named in Watts' testimony as playing a role in Russian disinformation.

In the background, there's an even harder question: is anonymity still worth saving? It's foundational to many people's idea of the internet, but amid widespread online harassment and Facebook itself, it's come to mean less and less. Even without Russian influence campaigns, the web's online spaces are largely associated with the ugliest parts of humanity. (4chan is a prime example.) With new pressure from Congress, bot analysts, and the public, online anonymity may not have any defenders left. In the face of that, Twitter, Reddit, and others might decide a real name policy is a small price to pay for forestalling federal regulation.

Source: Russia's Social Media Meddling Could Spell the End of Online Anonymity

Previously: Russia Bans VPNs and Tor, Effective November 1


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by jmorris on Sunday November 05 2017, @10:08AM (1 child)

    by jmorris (4844) on Sunday November 05 2017, @10:08AM (#592451)

    Isn't it cute you still believe the rule of law applies in America. Show me ONE person on the Right who has had a twitter rage mob descend on their real ID or one who gets doxed at one of those dumb alt-right rallies who hasn't lost their job. They fired a Nobel Prize holding scientist, they fired a Google Talosian (with a big throbbing brain) for crimethink, they fired the CEO of Moz Corp for a lousy $1000 donation to an initiative that WON in California! And ain't a one of em got a penny. Oh hell ya they will fire thee or me.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by cubancigar11 on Sunday November 05 2017, @05:19PM

    by cubancigar11 (330) on Sunday November 05 2017, @05:19PM (#592572) Homepage Journal

    Rule of law has never been about ruling by the law.

    In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread. - Anatole France

    The "they" who fired nobel laureate are rich fuckers who live in a world where they can't become richer by working hard, and can't actually be bothered to take a real loss to help the poor. In that way they are closer to the dark age when witch hunts were common, apart of the witch hunts these SJWs so dearly love.

    In that sense I see the web as that technological innovation that ushered the age of enlightenment. I am sure even the power brokers see it that way, at least they have been forced to see it that way, and are hellbent on keeping it under their control. Trump hasn't actually drained the swamp as much as I had hoped he would, but imagine if someone with real knack gets in and throws these "intellectual" hacks off the government teet. They can't take that risk.

    And yes, anybody who thinks they have legal protection against doxxing, needs to check the fate of boys who have been falsely accused of rape and actually found innocent in the court of law (HINT: They are still not allowed to enter the college.)