Social Media - Your money and the internet: Don't rely on social media stock tips, EU watchdog warns retail investors - by Huw Jones

etail investors following the Reddit forum WallStreetBets in the United States piled into GameStop Corp last month, sending shares in the retailer rocketing at the expense of prominent investors who had bet against the stock, ringing alarm bells in Europe.

Although market rules and structures are different in the EU, it cannot be ruled out that similar circumstances may occur in the bloc as well, the European Securities and Markets Authority said in a statement.

Read more at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-markets-regulator/dont-rely-on-social-media-stock-tips-eu-watchdog-warns-retail-investors-idUSKBN2AH16A

Social Media Advertising : Zuckerberg said to say of Facebook ad boycott: ‘All these advertisers will be back’ soon enough Murphy

Hundreds of companies around the world have joined a temporary ad
boycott against Fcebook Inc., but Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg says
he’s not worried and has no intention of

changing its policies,
according to a new report.



Read more at:

Zuckerberg said to say of Facebook ad boycott: ‘All these advertisers will be back’ soon enough - MarketWatch

Britain-Trade tensions rise as US threatens car tariffs

US treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin has threatened new tariffs on UK carmakers after the chancellor defied pressure to cancel a new tax on tech firms.

Mr Javid said the UK would not back down over the tax which will hit US firms like Apple, Amazon and Facebook.

A trade deal with the EU would take priority over one with the US after the UK leaves the EU this month, he added.

Read more: Trade tensions rise as US threatens car tariffs - BBC News

Social Media:‘Facebook is the new cigarettes for our society,’ Marc Benioff says, calling for regulation

Salesforce founder rips Facebook and again calls for the social-network giant — which has been wracked by scandals in recent years — to be regulated or split..

Read more at:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-is-the-new-cigarettes-for-our-society-marc-benioff-says-calling-for-regulation-2019-12-29

White Supremacy banned: Facebook bans white nationalism from their platform after pressure from civil rights groups - by David Ingram and Ben Collins

Facebook is banning white nationalism and white supremacy from its social network following criticism that it had not done enough to eliminate hate speech on its platform

The social media giant said in a blog post Wednesday that conversations with academics and civil rights groups convinced the company to expand its policies around hate groups.

 “Today we’re announcing a ban on praise, support and representation of white nationalism and separatism on Facebook and Instagram, which we’ll start enforcing next week,” the company wrote in the post. “It’s clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have no place on our services.” Scrutiny of Facebook reached new heights in the past two weeks after a gunman in Christchurch, New Zealand, used Facebook to livestream his attacks on two mosques that killed 50 people.

 Note EU-Digest: Bravo, let's hope Twitter does the same, which would ban Donald Trump and his Populist buddies in Europe and other areas of the world from using both Facebook and Twitter, to spread their white supremacy nationalist ideology.

Read more at: Facebook bans white nationalism from platform after pressure from civil rights groups

Social Media: Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter cooperating data project

Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter partner for ambitious new data project

For the complete report go to:
http://flip.it/4aCQpi

Social Media: Apple jams Facebook's web tracking tools

I saw this on the BBC and thought you should see it: Apple jams Facebook's web-tracking tools -

For the complete report go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44360273

Social Media -Hate Speech: The EU gave an ultimatum to Facebook and Google about hate speech - by Jacob Kastrenakes

The European Union is once again asking Facebook, Google, Twitter, and other web companies to crack down on hate speech and speech inciting violence and terrorism — but this time, it’s taking things a step further. The European Commission has issued guidelines for web companies to follow, and it’s warning the companies that, if they don’t comply, the Commission may pass legislation. And that legislation, of course, could lead to some huge fines.

There are a handful of guidelines so far. The Commission recommends that web companies appoint a dedicated point of contact, who law enforcement can contact when illegal content is discovered. It wants web companies to allow third-party “trusted flaggers” with “specific expertise in identifying illegal content” to come in and monitor potentially illegal posts. And it asks web companies to invest in technologies that can automatically detect potentially illegal posts and speech.

The Commission would also like companies to do more to prevent illegal content from being reposted after it’s been taken down. And the Commission says time frames may need to be established for how quickly illegal content is taken down once it’s discovered. Web companies should issue public guidelines, the Commission says, so that users know how takedown requests are treated and what kind of content gets removed.

It sounds like a lot, but it mostly boils down to this: web companies should remove illegal content faster and invest in tools and employees to make it happen.

Web companies still take over a week to remove illegal content in more than a quarter of cases, says Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for the digital economy and society. “The situation is not sustainable,” Gabriel says in a statement. “Today we provide a clear signal to platforms to act more responsibly.”

And there’s a good chance web companies will take steps toward following what the European Commission suggests. 

For one, the European Union is known for levying enormous fines on tech companies — like the €2.4 billion fine on Google — and those companies would certainly like to avoid any new legislation coming down that they could one day be in violation of. But also, these companies have already been working with the EU toward reducing hate speech. 

And several European countries have already passed or considered passing their own laws on hate speech that web companies have to comply with.

A year ago, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Microsoft all agreed to hate speech rules, which required the companies to review “the majority of” hateful content within 24 hours of becoming aware of it. 

As a result of the partnership, the companies later teamed up on a new database of images and videos identified as promoting terrorism, helping the platforms quickly pull down content that had already been identified as illegal by another company.

In today’s announcement, Vera Jourová, commissioner for justice and consumers, refers back to that agreement saying it’s proof that asking web companies to more strictly regulate hate speech on their own can work. 

“The code of conduct I agreed with Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Microsoft shows that a self-regulatory approach can serve as a good example and can lead to results,” Jourová said. But she also warned that “if the tech companies don't deliver, we will do it."

The Commission says it plans to “carefully” monitor web companies’ progress in implementing these recommendations and assess whether further action needs to be taken. That’s supposed to be completed by next May. 

“Follow-up initiatives will depend on the online platforms' actions to proactively implement the guidelines,” the Commission writes. Further actions, the announcement says, include “possible legislative measures to complement the existing regulatory framework."

Read more: The EU gave an ultimatum to Facebook and Google about hate speech - The Verge

Social Media: Protect your privacy and ward off trolls on social media - by David Nield

On social media, you get to catch up with old friends, make new connections, and coo over cute baby photos. Although you're supposed to enjoy these visits to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, a persistent commenter or obnoxious "friend" can ruin your experience. That's why these services provide ways for you to fight back. Here are the steps you can take to protect your privacy and slay trolls on three of the world's biggest social networks.

Unlike Twitter and Instagram, which we discuss below, Facebook doesn't make your posts visible to the whole internet by default. So other users will only see your photos, links, and other information if you have chosen to friend them. You can adjust this extra layer of protection every time you post by choosing to make the update public or to restrict it to only a certain number of friends.

You can select who gets to see your own posts, but that doesn't stop your friends from tagging you in public posts. To prevent people from posting on your timeline or tagging you in photos, you can limit this activity from your Timeline and Tagging settings page. One of the options lets you review any tags you're mentioned in before they appear in your News Feed.

If you've friended someone, but they start giving you unwanted attention, you can easily cut off their access: Head to their profile page and clicking on the Friends button to find the Unfriend option. That person won't get an alert that they've been unfriended, but they might notice if they load up your profile and see the Add Friend option.

For the complete report go to: Read more Protect your privacy and ward off trolls on social media | Popular Science

Net Neutrality Rules: Tech firms protest proposed changes to U.S. net neutrality rules-by A. Moon and D. Shepardson

Facebook, Twitter, Alphabet Inc. and dozens of other major technology companies are participating in an online protest on Wednesday to oppose proposed changes to U.S. net neutrality rules that prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to certain internet services over others.

In support of the "Internet-Wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality," more than 80,000 websites are displaying alerts, ads and short videos to urge the public to oppose the overturn of the landmark 2015 net neutrality rules.

Net neutrality is a broad principle that prohibits broadband providers from giving or selling access to speedy internet, essentially a "fast lane," to certain internet services over others. The rule was implemented by the Obama administration in 2015.

Read more: Tech firms protest proposed changes to U.S. net neutrality rules