16 Matching Annotations
  1. Last 7 days
    1. What incentives do social media companies have to protect privacy?

      At the moment there are still a good amount of legal protections that restrict companies from being too flagrant with your privacy but over the lat few decades that has become more and more of a market is companies actually selling people's information. I also think that people don't like the idea of a company having all their information so maybe another thing stopping them is the public sentiment toward private companies doing these massive privacy violations. But there is a lot of money on the other side of that fence and more and more and more companies are deciding that they want to take that leap and violate privacy.

    1. [i6]

      In cryptography, salt is random information fed into a type of function called a one way function to get an effect called hashing. This apparently helps with security and solves some logistical problems of having a lot of passwords all in one database.

    1. Do you think there is information that could be discovered through data mining that social media companies should seek out (e.g., they can’t make their platform treat people fairly without knowing this)?

      Hate speech and misinformation simply because they are able of doing material harm. Although beyond that I find it pretty appealing that people can profit of of the business of peoples information. I don't think that any private actor weather it be an individual or a corporation should have the right to any of your information unless you gve them consent to it.

  2. social-media-ethics-automation.github.io social-media-ethics-automation.github.io
    1. h2]

      Facebook makes things called "shadow profiles" of people who don't even have Facebook accounts. An amalgamation of collected information that could be used to make a facebook account for someone immediately upon entering the app. Though, facebook ceo denies that is the purpose of the data. They track things like your browsing history and information from your friends who already have accounts. Als they say its for things like security, and there are some other app features that are improved with access to the data but don't need it.

  3. Oct 2025
    1. 7.3.5. Flooding Police app with K-pop videos

      Damn I did not know the kpop stans had our back like that. It's so messed up that they were encouraging vigilante justice like this during those protests. Very red scare "tell the government if you think your neighbor is a communist" type of reality where the govenmnet has their own group of loyalists amoungst the masses that are just a massive organized snitching operation. I believe that this has spawned a new type of influencer. Weather on the left or the right someone will go to the opposing side's protest or event either undercover or purposefully disruptively in order to get clips to post on their accounts. But this is a very good example of trolling for good, I would have rather the trolls uploaded something meaningful to the cause on mass but I guess thats part of the appeal of it is that its silly and unserious.

  4. social-media-ethics-automation.github.io social-media-ethics-automation.github.io
    1. [g7]

      This wikipedia article talks about what a troll is online. Basically it is someone being intentionally inflammatory online. Another defining factor is that they often are off topic and insincere. Ultimately with the goal of getting a reaction out of someone or to manipulate. Trolling at the end of the day is in the eye of the beholder because you could believe that someone is making a really good point and the original poster could perceive that as trolling if they fail to see sincerity in the reply.

    1. In this activity, you will be looking at Facebook’s name policy, and thinking through who this version of authenticity works for, and who it doesn’t[1].

      This does not work for anyone trying to maintain anonymity online because you have to put your name thats on your ID or something really close to it. This could remove an aspect of authenticity for these people because if they feel exposed online they may be less authentic because they fear the consequences of that authenticity due to it being linked to their real name. This does however work for people who believe that accountability is the way to get authenticity this works because it holds people accountable for things they post by having their name tied to it.

  5. social-media-ethics-automation.github.io social-media-ethics-automation.github.io
    1. [f14]

      This wikipedia page goes into an engraved tablet meant for Ea-nasir. It's a complaint from a customer about the bad quality of his goods. This was in the ancient mesipotamian culture and Ea-nasir was selling copper. They complained about the quality of the copper and the treatment they got from the delivery guy making it the oldest written complaint.

    1. Graffiti and other notes left on walls were used for sharing updates, spreading rumors, and tracking accounts

      Cool that graffiti has kind of changed in a way where people will tag pretty much whatever just with their name when it used to be more informative. That informative part of street art I think it has been taken by flyers or posters that will have updates or messages. But more and more these days I am seeing explicitly politic graffiti around witch seems a bit closer to it's original use.

  6. social-media-ethics-automation.github.io social-media-ethics-automation.github.io
    1. Federal Trade Commission. FTC Alleges Facebook Resorted to Illegal Buy-or-Bury Scheme to Crush Competition After String of Failed Attempts to Innovate. August 2021. URL:

      There is a complaint from the FTC alleges that Facebook has not developed innovative mobile features for its network, Facebook instead resorted to an illegal buy-or-bury scheme to maintain its dominance over the market. It unlawfully acquired innovative competitors with popular mobile features that succeeded where Facebook’s own offerings fell flat or fell apart witch is illegal. And so the FTC goes after Facebook

  7. social-media-ethics-automation.github.io social-media-ethics-automation.github.io
    1. [d11]

      Describes the kind of computer graphics called vector graphics. Basically vector graphics are special because they are shapes constructed on a cartesian plain as opposed to a raster model where pixels are assigned a color value and then a ton of those squares make up the image. Some use cases include graphic design, GIS, and CAD.

    1. Now it’s your turn, choose some data that you might want to store on a social media type, and think through the storage types and constraints you might want to use:

      For relationship status I would make a user choose from a list of options being taken, complicated, single, and single (not seeking). This would include not only people who's relationship status is complicated meaning they are not in a committed relationship but have some kind of relationship that is extra-platonic that they want to inform their followers about. This would also account for folks who either do not desire non-platonic relationships, are in a transitionary period, or for whatever reason do not want to be approached or perceived non platonically. I guess something this system does not account for is polyamorous and or open relationships, as storing data in the list format would be quite limiting because relationships like that are hard to pin down. The list of options would have to be miles long to account for everyone's situations.

  8. Sep 2025
    1. Why do you think social media platforms allow bots to operate?

      Couple reasons, one is that bots tend to be good for engagement if they are deployed in the right way. These companies make their money advertising so upping that engagement is exactly what they want. Another is that usually to make a bot you need to buy the rights to edit the code of the app unless the company's software is open sourced.

  9. social-media-ethics-automation.github.io social-media-ethics-automation.github.io
    1. Steven Tweedie. This disturbing image of a Chinese worker with close to 100 iPhones reveals how App Store rankings can be manipulated. February 2015. URL:

      This article explores the potential for the app store rankings to be manipulated. Focusing on how the lack of transparency by apple in how their ranking process works makes worse the ability of rumors like this to spread off of this picture. Because ultimately it is still a rumor because it is not confirmed if that is what the person is actually doing in the photo. But it highlights the real problem of these services that offer to app developers the opportunity to boost their rating on the app store.

    1. Scenario: A Parent With Alzheimer’s

      In this scenario I would let my parents live out the remainder of their lives. I have seen a family member go through the process of developing Alzheimer’s and its absolutely heartbreaking because you know the person you are speaking to but slowly that person begins to fade and there is really nothing you can do about it. But I always said to myself after seeing that that If It happens to me I don't want to have any extra care. I want to live out whatever time I have left doing what I love and being with the people that I love. If you institutionalize someone you rip that final opportunity of normalcy away.

    1. Trying to force something to happen will likely backfire.

      I fundamentally disagree with this aspect. While "going with the flow" is a great way to not ruffle any feathers, it is also the best way to get complacent. I'll give a basic example. Do you think that the Civil Rights Act would have eventually been passed if Dr. King, Rosa Parks, or Malcolm X just "went with the flow". Was it wrong of Nelson Mandela to "force" the end of apartheid in South Africa? Every single advancement in the field of ethics and human rights has been made by someone unwilling to be satisfied with the status quo and "forcing" it to change. If we resign ourselves to what the world around us wants us to do then we would live in a society far bleaker than our own.