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Social Media Platforms are not Public Utility Companies

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Definition of Public Utility

As you may have recently heard, Twitter and Facebook are in the news due to their recent grilling on Capitol Hill. What is interesting to me about this, regardless of how you feel about the companies and the services they provide, is that not being public utilities they are not susceptible to government regulation.

Rather, they are private companies who have Terms of Service (ToS) people agree to when signing up that state they can ban or remove any content or users they find don’t meet their community standards. This is the same idea that companies all across the U.S. embody when they say they can refuse service to anyone. This is their freedom as a company and has nothing to do with individual rights. You do not have any first amendment rights except for in the presence of GOVERNMENT censorship. It has nothing to do with privately owned spaces including social media platforms. The fact is, social media platforms are for-profit companies who make money when people post their own opinions to them and they make a LOT of money when those opinions are contentious. It is in their own best interest NOT to censor their users when their users are operating within their ToS.

Thus, none of this makes sense for Congress to step into. There are several legal precedents for the government staying out of media-related industry censorship, which is why entities like the MPAA, CCA (now defunct), and ESRB exist – all being industry self-regulating bodies.  That said, maybe it’s time social media platforms establish their own so there are standards and regulations across them and content can be rated rather than completely removed. This would certainly help people avoid content they didn’t want to see and could allow for space where more objectionable content could exist within its own bubble that people could venture into at their own risk.

What SHOULD be of concern is personal data privacy. But, we all know that isn’t going to get anywhere. Those of us who do work in this space have been touting the issue of data privacy for several years to no avail. I don’t see it becoming a priority any time soon.

On the latest Facebook Scandal

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Techcrunch has a great rundown on the most recent Facebook scandal. If you haven’t heard of Cambridge Analytica before now, please take the time to read the full piece. One of the most interesting points to come out of it is Facebook stating that it’s “open to regulation”. If you’re a reader of this blog, then you know that I’m very interested in government regulation around our information and data. I’ll be keeping tabs on that as the story continues.

As always, you can read my multiple blog posts on Facebook for a better understanding of what you give up when you provide the company your data. Bottom line, if you don’t want others having your data without your permission, don’t post it on the web.

Lootboxes in the news again

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Lootboxes are in the news again and this time it is U.S. Senator Hassan who is challenging the ESRB. As I predicted last month, the new WHO classification of Gaming Disorder is already starting to make the rounds as a fabulous scapegoat.

“We should be doing all that we can to protect our children and to inform parents about their options when it comes to these types of games,” she says.

This comes right on the heels of 4 bills introduced in Hawaii to regulate games that utilize lootboxes as a game mechanic.

The issue is that though most parents give a cursory glance to the ESRB rating, many fail to recognize when descriptors are used or what they mean. This is a finding straight out of my dissertation. That’s not to say the ESRB shouldn’t note that these games utilize this type of microtransaction, simply that they should do more to inform people as to what exactly it is and how it works.

My prediction is that if any of those bills in Hawaii pass, they’ll be repealed at the appellate court as all previous gaming legislation has been. If you want to know more about gaming legislation, I have a nearly 300-page dissertation I’d be happy to share with you. 😉

Gambling for Loot

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Lootboxes are making the news. Ars Tech reports on how Belgium is calling them into question and how Chris Lee (state representative from Hawaii) calls them predatory. If you’re like me and have ever played Overwatch or Heroes of the Storm, you’re quite familiar with them as items you can win as you achieve levels within the game. The problem is you can also pay money for tokens that allow you to buy them. And, because they are randomized, some are considering this ‘pay to play for random odds’ a form of gambling. It will be interesting to see where this goes with the ESRB in the US as that is what my dissertation is on.

Backdoors again?

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Boing-Boing on Theresa May and Internet privacy.

“Use deliberately compromised cryptography, that has a back door that only the “good guys” are supposed to have the keys to, and you have effectively no security. You might as well skywrite it as encrypt it with pre-broken, sabotaged encryption… Theresa May doesn’t understand technology very well, so she doesn’t actually know what she’s asking for. For Theresa May’s proposal to work, she will need to stop Britons from installing software that comes from software creators who are out of her jurisdiction… any politician caught spouting off about back doors is unfit for office anywhere but Hogwarts, which is also the only educational institution whose computer science department believes in ‘golden keys’ that only let the right sort of people break your encryption.”

Net Neutrality on the Defense Again

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Ars Technica reports on the latest Net Neutrality news:

“The US Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 today to start the process of eliminating net neutrality rules and the classification of home and mobile Internet service providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposes eliminating the Title II classification and seeks comment on what, if anything, should replace the current net neutrality rules. But Chairman Ajit Pai is making no promises about reinstating the two-year-old net neutrality rules that forbid ISPs from blocking or throttling lawful Internet content or prioritizing content in exchange for payment. Pai’s proposal argues that throttling websites and applications might somehow help Internet users.”

You can find the docket and add a filing against it here.

Intercepting Traveler’s Tweets

Intercepting Traveler’s Tweets

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“SOON, FOREIGN VISITORS to the United States will be expected to tell U.S. authorities about their social media accounts.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection wants to start collecting ‘information associated with your online presence’ from travelers from countries eligible for a visa waiver, including much of Europe and a handful of other countries. Earlier this summer, the agency proposed including a field on certain customs forms for ‘provider/platform’ and ‘social media identifier,’ making headlines in the international press. If approved by the Office of Management and Budget, the change could take effect as soon as December.

Privacy groups in recent weeks have pushed back against the idea, saying it could chill online expression and gives DHS and CBP overbroad authority to determine what kind of online activity constitutes a ‘risk to the United States’ or ‘nefarious activity.'”

As a cyber anthropologist who, at times, uses social media for research – I find this highly disturbing. Twitter is turning into /b where nothing anyone says can really be taken seriously these days. This is ill-conceived and lacks critical understanding of the platform and the culture surrounding it.

Authority to Hack

Authority to Hack

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Opinion article on Wired concerning the expansion of government surveillance.

“That’s why it’s so concerning that the Justice Department is planning a vast expansion of government hacking. Under a new set of rules, the FBI would have the authority to secretly use malware to hack into thousands or hundreds of thousands of computers that belong to innocent third parties and even crime victims. The unintended consequences could be staggering.”

Texas Cyber Bullying Case

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Mashable did an extensive writeup of the case here. In summary, two 12 year old girls claim to be bullied by another girl through social media. This bullying then escalates to attacks via their very own phones, computers, and network as well as physical stalking.

It’s a chilling read. It becomes more than simple playground bullying when you are told what you are wearing and where you are located in your home by someone who is taunting you via social media.

A big issue is many law enforcement agencies, especially those in the more rural parts of the country, still have no idea how to handle these cases. There needs to be some sort of organization these people can turn to in order to educate themselves and understand how this type of bullying effects those involved. Additionally, they need to be able to have quick and reliable access to people with technical expertise than can attest to the level of effort the attackers have gone through to carry out their maliciousness.

Does any such program exist? If it does, who funds it and where is it located? If it doesn’t, why not?

A life lost, a legacy remembered…

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I do not have many words to add to the multiple that are already out there. What I do have to say is that about a year ago I was protesting SOPA with the rest of you. It was one of those things those of us who care so deeply about freedom and the Internet did in hopes that it would actually bring about change.

Internet and Information freedom are near and dear to my heart. My entire Masters research was on FOSS / Fedora. I’ve posted on this blog about many of the things that are threats to this freedom including cyber bullying, censorship, and net neutrality.

Though I have a few papers floating around on the Internet, you will not find any of them in a journal much to the dismay of many of you who have contacted me for copies and citations. Why? Because I refuse to have my research (especially that which I do of my own free will and with no outside funding) published in a journal that cannot be accessed by the public, even if this hurts me academically.

I am not the only one that has a problem with the journal system and there are a few journals out there that have risen up against the status quo. There are also a few people who have taken a stand against the privatization of publicly funded information. Aaron Swartz was one such person. While he should be remembered for the many awesome things he did for Internet and Information Freedom, it is the ending of his life over the weekend that is being talked about today.

All I can say is the world, especially those of us who feel the same way he did, lost a great mind and advocate. He has been an inspiration to many of us, and he will only continue to do so. It will be interesting now to see how he has changed the world through the ending of his own. I am just an academic and a wanna-be hacker, but I will always do what I can to fight many of the same fights he did.

In the words of famed anthropologist Margaret Mead:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

How are you changing the world today?

P.S. If you are reading this through an RSS feed – thank Aaron…

An update on the Cyberbullying case…

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Seems ABC has picked up the story focusing on the lady behind the hoax in the case. The Smoking Gun has the police report Lori Drew filed. There has also been a blog or two that has popped up since the case first broke national headlines. The first titled, “Megan Meier had it coming” assumes to tell the tale of someone who personally knew Megan as she tries to “set the record straight“. It now has 881 comments and counting. Slate has a pretty good rendition of what has gone down so far. And, to borrow a bit from them (since they posted exactly what I was going to post) – “Last week Dardenne Prairie aldermen passed a resolution making cyberstalking a misdemeanor within the city limits.”

Lastly for those who are as intrigued as I am with cyber-law, within the Resolution PDF they mention a US Department of Justice report on Cyber Stalking from 1999 which makes for an interesting read. I shall have to make it my hobby during the holiday break to look up more federal reports and articles on cyber issues. If I wasn’t already enamored with my major I might think about becoming a cyber law expert and possibly even going to law school because I truly enjoying learning about it all. If only I didn’t have to work! Then perhaps I’d have enough time in my life to educate myself and seek higher education in all the things that interest me!

Cyber Forensics…

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I wish I had known about this survey on cyber forensics done by Sydney Liles is a PhD student at Purdue University with the College of Technology and Marianne Hoebich is a MS student . They are both with Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) program at Purdue. I am not involved in cyber forensics, but I would have least liked to have seen what was on the survey, especially since it will be used to assist in the development of global standards on cyber law. I’ll have to see if I can find a way to keep up with this (it was hard to find in the first place) so that I can read the research when it comes out.

When cyberbullying goes too far…

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On the subject I broached last night on parent supervision of adolescents online, here comes a story where even parent supervision failed in the end. First the St. Charles Journal broke the story, then CNN and ABC News reported on the story of 13 year old girl who after being taunted and defamed online, committed suicide. It turns out that the person who everyone thought had taunted her, a 16 year old boy on MySpace, was really the mother of a girl that Megan Meier had once been friends with. This woman had created a fake account in order to befriend Megan just so that in the end she could be hurtful to her.

Megan’s parents knowing their daughter’s history of depression, ADD, and weight problems, kept a watchful eye on Megan while she was online. Only they knew the password to her account and her profile was set to private so that all friend requests had to first be approved before anyone could see it. Her parents allowed her to accept the ‘boy’s’ friend request and kept an eye on their conversation. At first he was friendly to her. Had he not been, her parents would have terminated the friendship immediately. However, it is likely that because this persona was at first a friendly one that Megan gradually trusted it and was even excited by the fact she gained the attention of a ‘hot’ boy online. This is also why it would have hurt so badly to have him turn on her in such a hateful and malicious way and why, for a girl that had already had problems, it drove her to suicide in the end.

It was a matter of chance that Megan’s mother had been pressed for time leaving with Megan’s younger sister for the orthodontist as Megan began reading the horrible things this boy was saying about her. During a phone call Megan made to her mom crying, her mom urged her to log off immediately. Her mother returned to find Megan having said some mean things back to those that were being cruel to her as she ran away from the computer and up to her room. It was there, in her closet, that Megan hung herself.

What may be the worst part of it all, after their daughter’s death, Megan’s parents let the girl with whom Megan had once been friends with know that Megan had really valued their friendship. This family offered their condolences, invited Megan’s parents to their daughter’s birthday, and even had the Meiers store a Christmas present for them. It was only after another neighborhood girl came forward as to having known about the fake account that the Meiers found out who was really the person behind the boy that was so hurtful to their daughter. Now they had not only lost their daughter, but had also been ‘played’ by the family who had instigated their loss in the first place. The county prosecutor is now looking at ways to try to press charges in the case, while others infuriated with news outlets for protecting the name of the family involved decided to search it out and publicly publish it for all to see.

As far as cyber anthropology goes, this incident could have far reaching effects as Megan’s parents are trying to get laws enacted to protect children from harassment online. It will be interesting to see where this goes and what the trickle down affects are. I’m interested to hear other opinions on this and will continue to follow this story as it unfolds in the press and in the law books.

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