> But what responsibilities do megacorps have? Right now, everyone seems to avoid this question
Clear, simple, direct: Whatever was required of The Bell Telephone Company and nothing more.
Clear, simple, direct: Whatever was required of The Bell Telephone Company and nothing more.
It's a good thing those human operators couldn't listen in to whichever conversation they wanted.
(Reconsider my post. I'm arguing for no regulation.)
Ideally, users should be able to modify the algorithm, so they can get just what they want, while simultaneously maximizing free speech. If something isn't illegal, it shouldn't be hidden or removed.
Hypothetically speaking: What if it's a neural network in which each user has his/her own unique weights which are undergoing frequent retraining?
Would it not be an undue burden to necessitate the release of the weights every time they change?
Also, what value would the weights have? We haven't yet hit the point of having neural networks with interpretability.
Wouldn't enforcing algorithmic interpretability additionally be an undue burden?
> They must be able to know why a content was served to them.
What if the authors of the code are unable to tell you why?
Who defines what a black box is? Like, is it not alright to write all of your code in a hex editor targeting one specific ISA?
Is not alright to lose your code and have only the binaries to run?
I think this is the real issue. We should free ourselves from "social networks" such as Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and others. Even with direct messages truly E2EE, they create countless other privacy problems. They enable surveillance of people at scale and should be completely shunned for that reason alone.
The apples to oranges in this comparison is probably top five on HN ever.
This is because the telephone system was regulated with wiretapping laws, among others.
> I don’t remember reading about ads in phone calls
See above, but also: Junk Faxes & Telemarketing/Robocalls.
> The apples to oranges in this comparison is probably top five on HN ever.
It all comes down to whether you view social media as a communications platform or a publishing platform.
The strict regulations governing the telephone system (see above) would adequately cover both with deliciously-antique turns of phrase like "wiretap" and "pen register".
If the NYT publishes and advert or editorial, it's held accountable for the contents.
The question is: Are social media services more similar to communications platforms or publishing platforms?
My reply obviously treats them like the former and yours like the latter.
Personally I argue they are more like a newspaper as they are providing a platform. Your ISP is more like a phone company or postal service as they just transport packets from one person to another.
Cloudflare and similar are more arguable, but to my mind if you host a computer you are responsible for the contents stored on that computer.