Europe's race to rearm is pointless if its adversaries are waging war online | Johnny Ryan
www.theguardian.com
Ireland holds the algorithm off-switch. Ursula von der Leyen must force Dublin to use it says civil liberties campaigner Johnny Ryan

This opinion piece argues that Europe should “shut down recommender algorithms” of the big US social media platforms - Facebook, X, Instagram, etc. - because the author believes that these algorithms are undermining European democracy.

The most obvious example of such an algorithm is on X, where Musk can manipulate the algorithm to boost European far-right parties, like AfD. But the author argues that other social media CEOs, like Zuck, are beholden to Trump’s anti-liberal agenda - for example, Trump “openly threatened to throw Mark Zuckerberg in jail for the rest of his life”. Therefore: “It is reasonable to assume that tech oligarchs will do what [Trump] tells them”, which may include the Trump administration pressuring US social media companies to recommend more right-wing content.

So the author says: “The EU must immediately switch off the tech companies’ algorithms on its soil, at least until they are proven safe for democracy”. Do you agree with that?

  • Saleh@feddit.orgEnglish
    1·
    5 days ago

    Well, seeing some politicians lie blatantly on TV with cameras and audios and the other politicans and moderators and studio guests that are physically there seeing it live, is not causing the liers to be not elected.

    These politicians are real people talking to real people all day and it does not stop them from lieing and representing inhumane and criminal policies and ideologies, while getting elected for it.

    • SleafordMod@feddit.ukOPEnglish
      2·
      4 days ago

      Fair points. At least with real life politicians you can find out about their past behaviour though, if you do some reading.

      On the internet people can just easily lie about who they are. There might be a propagandist on social media who has a strong foreign accent, so in real life you’d know they’re from a foreign country, but on the internet you can’t hear their accent, so they can easily lie about where they’re from.

      Also even just for casual interactions on social media (e.g. Reddit), I think one of the reasons that people get so angry in discussions/arguments is because they don’t have to see the face of the other person. I guess it’s like a dehumanising interaction.