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Instagram’s Recommendation Algorithms Are Promoting Pedophile Networks
Instagram’s algorithms are actively promoting networks of pedophiles who commission and sell child sexual abuse content on Meta’s popular image-sharing app.
A joint investigation from The Wall Street Journal and academics at Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst has revealed the extent to which Instagram’s recommendation systems “connects pedophiles and guides them to content sellers.”
Alex Stamos, head of Stanford’s Internet Observatory and former chief security officer for Meta, told the WSJ that the company can and should be doing more to tackle this issue. “That a team of three academics with limited access could find such a huge network should set off alarms at Meta,” said Stamos. “I hope the company reinvests in human investigators.”
In addition to problems with Instagram’s recommendation algorithms, the investigation also found that the site’s moderation practices frequently ignored or rejected reports of child abuse material.
WHO Plots to Use EU Vaccine Passport Tech to Form Global Digital Health Certificates
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced it will adopt the European Union’s digital COVID vaccine passport framework to create a global network of digital health certificates. What was long maligned as a conspiracy theory is coming to pass. The new initiative will be called the Global Digital Health Certification Network.
The WHO said it will “take up the European Union (EU) system of digital COVID-19 certification to establish a global system that will help facilitate global mobility and protect citizens across the world from ongoing and future health threats.”
The WHO’s new initiative comes at a time when the use of vaccine passports has reduced and after the global public health organization said that COVID was no longer a public health emergency.
Critics of vaccine passports argue that they could be used to discriminate and deny people access to public services. Others view them as an invasion of privacy by equipping governments with the power to spy on people’s health, as well as create a checkpoint society.
Ernst Bill Would Defund EcoHealth Alliance, Other Orgs That ‘Disregard the Law’
Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa aims to strip taxpayer funding from EcoHealth Alliance and other nonprofits that “disregard the law.”
Ernst will introduce the Stop the Outlay of Payments (STOP) Act Tuesday, which would cut off all federal funding to any organization that has had a federal award suspended or terminated by an agency of the federal government. Her office said the legislation targets EcoHealth, a controversial New York City-based nonprofit with ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).
“Like China, EcoHealth will not cooperate with scientific investigations into the origins of COVID-19, and, as a result, we may never know what was happening inside the Wuhan Institute and the possible connection to the pandemic. It makes me sick that Iowa taxpayers have been forced to foot the bill for organizations like EcoHealth that refuse to be accountable and transparent,” Ernst told Fox News Digital.
EcoHealth, an environmental group that works to prevent the outbreak of emerging diseases, is under intense scrutiny from Republican lawmakers for its relationship to WIV in Wuhan, China, which was the recipient of $600,000 in federal tax dollars sub awarded by EcoHealth to research coronaviruses in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Price We’ll Pay for Our AI Future: More Loneliness
Americans are trapped in a loneliness epidemic. Across the country, people are having fewer social interactions, spending more time alone, and reporting fewer close friends. These trends aren’t just a symptom of the COVID-19 pandemic — while the last few years may have accelerated the loneliness crisis, the shift toward a more solitary life has been happening for years.
A new report from the U.S. surgeon general finds that social activities of all kinds have declined, and it compared the health impact of this increasing loneliness to smoking 12 cigarettes a day. My own research found that Americans are in the throes of a “friendship recession” with people reporting smaller social circles and fewer close friends.
This rising tide of isolation is particularly acute among young people: The time that Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 spend with friends has declined considerably over the past two decades, according to the surgeon general’s report, from an average of 2.5 hours a day to just 40 minutes.
It seems as if everything in modern life is conspiring to perpetuate the loneliness problem — from the design of our technology to where we build our homes. We already know how addictive social media can be: Nearly one in three Americans reports being online “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center, while a 2018 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania showed that social media helps fuel feelings of loneliness.
DeSantis Signs Digital Bill of Rights for Florida
Seeking to give Floridians control over their own data, freedom from web censorship, and protection for their children online, Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 6 signed a bill creating a Digital Bill of Rights for the state.
“If a multibillion-dollar company is conspiring to take your data and sell it or use it against you, it is your right to be able to protect that data,” DeSantis said in a statement released by his office. “No longer will the Big Tech oligarchs be able to commandeer your personal information and deprive you of the right to access, confirm, or delete that data as you wish.”
The bill, Senate Bill 262, gives residents of the third most populous state several rights. They can confirm, access, and delete their data on a social media platform. They have the right to know their data won’t be used against them in buying a home, obtaining health insurance, or being hired. They have the right to opt out of having their personal data sold. They have the right to protect their children from personal data collection.
The bill adds biometric data and geolocation information to the definition of personal data, the governor’s office said, “ensuring that Big Tech companies are not collecting your personal identifying information or tracking your day-to-day movements.” The bill bans state or local government employees from coordinating with a Big Tech company to police or censor protected speech.
Like, Totally Orwellian: Nearly a Third of GenZ Favors ‘Government Surveillance Cameras in Every Household’
Nearly one-third of Generation Z says they’d be just fine with government-installed surveillance cameras in every household under the guise of reducing domestic violence and other illegal activity.
“Would you favor or oppose the government installing surveillance cameras in every household to reduce domestic violence, abuse, and other illegal activity?” asks a new survey from the Cato Institute. Of the responses, 29% of those aged 18-29 said yes.
The question was asked as part of the Cato Institute’s survey on American attitudes toward the prospect of a ‘central bank digital currency.’ What’s interesting about that is that 53% of Americans who support a CBDC also support in-home surveillance cameras.
Former ByteDance Exec Counters TikTok CEO’s Testimony, CCP Has ‘Backdoor’ Access to User Data Stored in U.S.
A former ByteDance executive is alleging in a California court filing that a “backdoor channel” in TikTok’s code allows the Chinese Community Party (CCP) access to user data, even if stored by a U.S. company.
In a May filing in San Francisco Superior Court, Yintao “Roger” Yu, who was the head of engineering of the U.S. offices of ByteDance, Inc. from August 2017 until he was fired in November 2018, said he was astounded by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s “misdirection” while testifying before Congress in March.
“The Committee maintained supreme access to all the company data, even data stored in the United States. Any engineer in Beijing could access U.S. user data located in the U.S. After receiving criticism about access from abroad, individual engineers in China were restricted from accessing U.S. user data, but the Committee continued to have access,” the lawsuit says.
Apple Could Be a $4 Trillion Company by the End of 2025 as the Tech Giant Is ‘Playing Chess While Others Play Checkers,’ Wedbush Says
Apple could become a $4 trillion company by the end of 2025, as the tech giant is “playing chess” with its next iPhone cycle and Vision Pro developments, according to Wedbush.
In a note on Wednesday, the research firm raised its 12-month price target on Apple stock to $220 from $205, implying 23% upside within the next year.
Apple dipped 0.2% early Wednesday, putting its market cap at about $2.8 trillion. Shares are up 43% for the year.
As part of its bullish view, Wedbush pointed to the expected launch of Apple’s iPhone 15 in September, which could boost profits as there are around 250 million iPhones that haven’t been upgraded in the past four years. Total iPhone unit sales in 2023 could notch 235 million, Wedbush estimated.
