Re: Calls mount for Facebook transparency

[Jorge P . de Morais Neto]

Em [2021-10-11 seg 10:47:08+0900], Akira Urushibata escreveu:

> Criticism is growing against Facebook after former worker Frances
> Haugen revealed internal documents and testified before the
> U.S. Security and Exchange Commission and U.S. Congress.
>
> For many years observers have been saying that social media platforms
> thrive on a business model which uses programs to amplify extreme
> views to maximize attention.  Facebook was considered a leader in this
> regard.
>
> There is growing consensus that some kind of regulation is necessary.
> Some suggest transparency in the form of making algorithms open to
> public view.  (See article linked below.)  While free software
> advocates have been campaigning for such things for decades, it seems
> that the calls for reform and regulation are coming from people
> without much knowledge of free software philosophy.

Good article, thank you again!  My understanding is that the business
model of Facebook and other proprietary social media giants is to profit
from anger, polarization, {mis,dis,mal}information, conspiracy theories
and other addictive poison.  Under public pressure, they then try to
tweak their content selection algorithms and rules to explicitly stifle
some particular kinds of such poison, like anti-vaccine or anti-mask
conspiracy theories.

They are unwilling, however, to fundamentally change their business
model.  They are afraid of reducing their profits.  I worry that
politicians will, with all likelihood, answer with regulation tweaks
that do not nearly solve the fundamental problem.

The fundamental problem is that these social networks are centralized,
concentrated on a small number of huge corporations, and proprietary.
The real solution is to break them up and also make them publicize their
content selection algorithms at the very least.

Please see "Cory Doctorow: Inaction is a Form of Action":
https://locusmag.com/2020/01/cory-doctorow-inaction-is-a-form-of-action/

I believe this is all part of the problem of capitalism.  The capitalist
system is fundamentally unfair, but, instead of changing the
fundamentals, we merely tweak the system to alleviate some particularly
shocking effects.

This reminds me that I need to organize myself and dedicate the time to
study politics with scientific rigor.  I have growing sympathies for
Marxism and liberation theology, but have not yet really studied them.

Regards!

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