Another good conversation, thanks. It has been absolutely sicking to read about horrifying cases of online groomers who have, step by step, manipulated and blackmailed children into sending explicit content of themselves, engaging in self-harm, and doing awful things to their (beloved!) pets. I feel slightly less helpless knowing PERIL is finding solutions/early interventions into this monstrous pass-it-on abuse (as well as online misogyny, antisemitism, and other false and ultra-disturbing content that has sucked so many into the vortex).
Capitalism can offer no solution to our disinformation / abusive information problems. Truth isn't as profitable as algorithmically-targeted lies. How can we regulate media while rigorously protecting free speech?
I think the answer is very simple: disallow *anonymous* speech. People should be held accountable for lying simply by making it impossible for speech to appear publicly without certainty about the identity of the human being who is speaking. True, that's not easy, but it *is* possible. The technology exists. The necessary regulatory authority exists. The political will is currently lacking.
When someone needs to say something publicly that they can't allow to be identified with themselves, they can go to a special kind of person called a "journalist". The journalist can choose to publish the story under his/her own name, thus taking the risk of being identified as a source of disinformation, while protecting the anonymity of the source.
Everyone whose business or political model depends on lies and/or bots will bitterly oppose any such reform. That's a substantial fraction of the entire media industry, and a substantial fraction of the world economy. (No wonder there's a big problem!) Reform will take a long time. But it's the right way forward and there's no time like the present to get started.
If you're reading this, please restack this important video that everyone should see. It's frightening what our kids are up against. I'm so glad that PERIL is making this grandiose attempt to make a difference. We all need to be aware whether or not we have kids so we can spread the word about what the bad actors are doing and available resources like PERIL to combat it and make our online lives better.
I have blocked so many people and groups from social media over their content. Especially X formerly Twitter and Facebook. I rarely even go to there much anymore except to keep up with people I know. Just got sick of the garbage. Children and teens should be educated about the garbage that is out there on social media. I’m glad that an organization like PERIL is doing something about it. This is a very valuable public service for all of us. Thanks Jen for sharing all this useful information on The Contrarian. I am mentally better off not engaging much on social media. I am using Facebook more to keep up with social and civic activities in the community.
I am not around kids and didn’t let our child have a TV in her bedroom. How dangerous the world has become with this army of predators hiding in the tech shadows. What I don’t get is how this manipulation is monetized … through the sick distribution of juvenile content maybe?
Another good conversation, thanks. It has been absolutely sicking to read about horrifying cases of online groomers who have, step by step, manipulated and blackmailed children into sending explicit content of themselves, engaging in self-harm, and doing awful things to their (beloved!) pets. I feel slightly less helpless knowing PERIL is finding solutions/early interventions into this monstrous pass-it-on abuse (as well as online misogyny, antisemitism, and other false and ultra-disturbing content that has sucked so many into the vortex).
Is PERIL pursuing legislation to combat this evil use of social media?
Capitalism can offer no solution to our disinformation / abusive information problems. Truth isn't as profitable as algorithmically-targeted lies. How can we regulate media while rigorously protecting free speech?
I think the answer is very simple: disallow *anonymous* speech. People should be held accountable for lying simply by making it impossible for speech to appear publicly without certainty about the identity of the human being who is speaking. True, that's not easy, but it *is* possible. The technology exists. The necessary regulatory authority exists. The political will is currently lacking.
When someone needs to say something publicly that they can't allow to be identified with themselves, they can go to a special kind of person called a "journalist". The journalist can choose to publish the story under his/her own name, thus taking the risk of being identified as a source of disinformation, while protecting the anonymity of the source.
Everyone whose business or political model depends on lies and/or bots will bitterly oppose any such reform. That's a substantial fraction of the entire media industry, and a substantial fraction of the world economy. (No wonder there's a big problem!) Reform will take a long time. But it's the right way forward and there's no time like the present to get started.
If you're reading this, please restack this important video that everyone should see. It's frightening what our kids are up against. I'm so glad that PERIL is making this grandiose attempt to make a difference. We all need to be aware whether or not we have kids so we can spread the word about what the bad actors are doing and available resources like PERIL to combat it and make our online lives better.
I have blocked so many people and groups from social media over their content. Especially X formerly Twitter and Facebook. I rarely even go to there much anymore except to keep up with people I know. Just got sick of the garbage. Children and teens should be educated about the garbage that is out there on social media. I’m glad that an organization like PERIL is doing something about it. This is a very valuable public service for all of us. Thanks Jen for sharing all this useful information on The Contrarian. I am mentally better off not engaging much on social media. I am using Facebook more to keep up with social and civic activities in the community.
I am not around kids and didn’t let our child have a TV in her bedroom. How dangerous the world has become with this army of predators hiding in the tech shadows. What I don’t get is how this manipulation is monetized … through the sick distribution of juvenile content maybe?