Social Media & Big Tech news and discussions

[firestar464]

New Investigation Uncovers Monetized Extremist Material On Roblox

https://globalextremism.org/post/new-in ... on-roblox/

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Spotify launches a messaging feature in a bid to become more social
Ivan Mehta
4:00 AM PDT · August 26, 2025

Spotify on Tuesday introduced a way for you to chat with your friends in a bid to become a more social app.

Users have shared Spotify links for music and podcasts with others outside the platform for years. With its new feature, Spotify is pushing users to do more within the app while also keeping the history of shared content, so users don’t have to search for a song.

At launch, messages are one-on-one, and you can only start a chat with someone with whom you’ve previously shared content. That means if you have a collaborative playlist with someone, or have joined a jam or a blend, you can start a conversation with them.

This also applies to people on a Family or Duo plan with you. Once you send a request, they will have to approve it to start a conversation.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/26/spoti ... re-social/

[zzz]

French streamer dies live online after months of apparent mistreatment

French authorities are investigating the death of a man during a live video stream on the Kick platform, where he had regularly been shown enduring violence and humiliation.

Prosecutors ordered an autopsy and opened an investigation into the death of the man, 46, in the village of Contes, north of Nice, on Monday.

France’s junior minister for AI and digital technology, Clara Chappaz, said Raphael Graven, known online as Jean Pormanove, had featured regularly in videos on Kick, where he was physically assaulted or humiliated by co-streamers as viewers watched live.

“The death of Jean Pormanove and the violence he suffered are absolutely horrific,” Chappaz wrote on X.

[firestar464]

France fines Google, Shein record sums over cookie law violations

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/france-fines- ... 29252.html

A drop in the bucket.

[firestar464]

EU Commission hits Google with hefty €2.95 billion fine

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025 ... llion-fine

[firestar464]

Wikipedia loses challenge against Online Safety Act verification rules

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr11qqvvwlo

In the end, the court rejected Wikimedia's arguments.

But Phil Bradley-Schmieg, Lead Counsel at the Wikimedia Foundation, said the judgment did not give Ofcom and the Secretary of State, in Mr Justice Johnson's words, "a green light to implement a regime that would significantly impede Wikipedia's operations".

And the judgement makes it clear other legal challenges could be possible.

Wikimedia could potentially challenge Ofcom's decision making if the regulator did ultimately decide to classify the site as Category 1.

And if the effect of making Wikipedia Category 1 meant it could not continue to operate, then other legal challenges could follow.

[firestar464]

Excellent Verge article on WP

https://archive.ph/Wz5Gw

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YouTube Introduces New AI-Powered Creator Tools
Most help YouTubers make videos more efficiently, while another helps creators control how their likeness is used online.
By Devesh Beri September 19, 2025

https://www.extremetech.com/internet/yo ... ator-tools
YouTube introduced new AI-powered tools to creators this week, purportedly making it easier to create off-the-cuff Shorts and better control how a person's likeness is used online.

One of the big changes is the arrival of Veo 3 Fast, a custom version of Google's video-generation model. This tool is so named because it runs quicker and generates low-latency 480p clips with sound. It's made for mobile use within YouTube Shorts, Gizmodo reports. Creators can access it within the YouTube app by pressing the create button and tapping the sparkle icon. The company has made the tool available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with more countries coming later. YouTube says new options will soon follow, letting users animate photos, add visual styles, and place objects into clips.

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YouTube will reinstate accounts banned for spreading misinformation
Amanda Silberling
7:51 AM PDT · September 24, 2025

YouTube will allow creators whose accounts were terminated for repeated violations of COVID-19 and election integrity policies to rejoin the platform, according to a letter that YouTube parent company Alphabet sent to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Tuesday.

“Reflecting the Company’s commitment to free expression, YouTube will provide an opportunity for all creators to rejoin the platform if the Company terminated their channels for repeated violations of COVID-19 and elections integrity policies that are no longer in effect,” Alphabet’s legal counsel Daniel F. Donovan wrote. “YouTube values conservative voices on its platform and recognizes that these creators have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse.”

This letter was a response to a subpoena from Rep. Jordan, who sought to investigate if the Biden-Harris administration had “coerced or colluded” with companies like Alphabet to censor speech.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/24/youtu ... formation/

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[wjfox]

[wjfox]

ICE wants to build a 24/7 social media surveillance team

4 Oct 2025 14:21

United States immigration authorities are moving to dramatically expand their social media surveillance, with plans to hire nearly 30 contractors to sift through posts, photos, and messages—raw material to be transformed into intelligence for deportation raids and arrests.

Federal contracting records reviewed by WIRED show that the agency is seeking private vendors to run a multiyear surveillance program out of two of its little-known targeting centers. The program envisions stationing nearly 30 private analysts at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in Vermont and Southern California. Their job: Scour Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms, converting posts and profiles into fresh leads for enforcement raids.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/1 ... ance-team/


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As we predicted...

In addition to immigration reform, Project 2025 includes a series of measures aimed at expanding federal surveillance and tightening control over civil liberties. Under the guise of "national security," Trump's administration proposes enhanced monitoring tools for tracking suspected threats – targeting political opponents, activists, and minority communities. The programme extends to online spaces, where authorities implement intensified monitoring of social media platforms, forums, and independent news websites to detect and flag "subversive" content. These expanded surveillance capabilities raise concerns about the potential targeting of individuals who openly criticise the administration or express dissenting views.

[firestar464]

California Bans Loud Streaming Commercials

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/california-ba ... 37448.html

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