SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
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
(Score: 5, Informative) by c0lo on Sunday November 05 2017, @10:52AM (3 children)
The "left and right" don't apply to US political spectrum, the correct terms would be "right and extreme right".
But, as you see, your argument still has the same validity without them.
(mmmmaybe there's something relevant in the fact that the "extremely antagonistic" is what matters, the rest are just details?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 05 2017, @05:15PM
Depending on where you start, America is "left and extreme left".
But I agree on the argument being valid either way.
(Full disclosure: not the GPP.)
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 05 2017, @07:20PM (1 child)
Wow, so original. Never heard that one before. The +5 for this comment would be at home on the green site. And I had high hopes for this place.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday November 06 2017, @07:09AM
Don't let the door hit ya where Big Bruty bit ya, pal...
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...