Social Media Communication News 1(2) #smc2021 #smm2020

Social Media Communication in the News: Real-Time Discussion Starters

Mark Zuckerberg last week at the Silicon Slopes Tech Summit in Utah said Facebook was “going to piss off a lot of people” and stand-up for free speech. “The last thing I want is for our products to be used to divide people or rip society apart in any kind of way,” he said. “But at some point, we’ve got to stand up and say, ‘No, we’re going to stand for free expression.’ Yeah, we’re going to take down the content that’s really harmful, but the line needs to be held at some point.”

“Increasingly, we’re getting called in to censor a lot of different kinds of content that makes me really uncomfortable” Zuckerberg added, “It kind of feels like the list of things that you’re not allowed to say socially keeps on growing ... And I’m not really OK with that” (@AP via @sltrib - 2020, February 1).

https://apnews.com/c3291531831d19ff0eaf8d91aa1415a0

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/02/01/free-expression-not/

Question: What is the balance that Facebook must strike in protecting free expression, but also guarding against propaganda, violence and obscenity?

#Election2020
While the Facebook CEO worried about protection of First Amendment freedom, "Twitter and Pinterest are taking new steps to root out voting misinformation designed to suppress participation in the November elections" (@AP - 2020, January 31).

https://apnews.com/fc644b692ab7d7888904b6da2fa60405

Question: How should we best protect core political free speech on social media sites?

In Case You Missed It
Crain's Chicago Business reported that Facebook's $550 million settlement with Illinois over violation of facial recognition bio-metrics state law means users may receive checks (@CrainsChicago - 2020, January 29).

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/john-pletz-technology/facebook-settles-illinois-internet-privacy-suit-550-million

Question: Why or why not is it fair to leave to state laws the data protection of social media users?

LinkedIn reported growth to 675 million members, and Social Media Today noted "record levels of engagement" (@socialmedia2day - 2020, January 31).
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/linkedin-reaches-675-million-members-continues-to-see-record-levels-of-en/571435/

Question: How will LinkedIn threaten the global dominance of Facebook, Inc. in the future? 

SMC news is curated for Social Media Communication: Concepts, Practices, Data, Law and Ethics, third edition (2021).