Is Facebook really this clever? Would lawmakers notice?
Facebook Deliberately Caused Havoc in Australia to Influence New Law, Whistleblowers Say
Last year when Facebook blocked news in Australia in response to potential legislation making platforms pay publishers for content, it also took down the pages of Australian hospitals, emergency services and charities. It publicly called the resulting chaos “inadvertent.”
Internally, the pre-emptive strike was hailed as a strategic masterstroke.
Facebook documents and testimony filed to U.S. and Australian authorities by whistleblowers allege that the social-media giant deliberately created an overly broad and sloppy process to take down pages—allowing swaths of the Australian government and health services to be caught in its web just as the country was launching Covid vaccinations.
A great summary.
https://www.gibsondunn.com/artificial-intelligence-and-automated-systems-legal-update-1q22/
Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems Legal Update (1Q22)
While news about any artificial intelligence-related legal development often remained buried among the more pressing news of other major world events in the first quarter of 2022, that is not to say that nothing notable occurred. Indeed, each of the three branches of the U.S. Government took a number of significant steps towards developing more focused AI strategies, legislation, regulations, and principles of governance. As highlighted below in this quarter’s update, Congress, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Intelligence directorates, NIST, the FTC, and the EEOC all were active players in early 2022 in matters relating to AI. In addition, the EU continued this quarter in advancing efforts toward a union-wide, general AI policy and regulation, which, if and when ultimately adopted, seems likely to have an influential impact on much of the debate that continues in the U.S. on the need for a national approach. Meanwhile, state and local governments in the U.S. continue to fill some of the perceived gaps left by the continued piecemeal regulatory approach taken to date by the federal government.
Must be something interesting here. You don’t have to read them, but you should have the right to read them.
https://www.bespacific.com/everylibrary-launches-the-banned-book-store/
EveryLibrary launches the Banned Book Store
“EveryLibrary is excited to launch the Banned Book Store at bannedbookstore.co as the most comprehensive list of currently banned and challenged books in the United States. Many of the book challenges come from individuals who have never read the books and who have been encouraged by national right wing organizations to present excerpts out of context to villainize and demonize librarians while building a case for horrific legislation that allows the government to bans books that don’t agree with their current political ideologies. According to a report by PEN America, book bans have targeted 1,145 unique book titles by 874 different authors, 198 illustrators, and 9 translators, impacting the literary, scholarly, and creative work of 1,081 people altogether. Among titles in PEN’s index:
467 titles (41%) included protagonists or prominent secondary characters who were people of color;
247 titles (22%) directly address issues of race and racism
379 titles (33%) explicitly address LGBTQ+ themes, or have protagonists or prominent secondary characters who are LGBTQ+
184 titles (16%) are history books or biographies. 107 have explicit or prominent themes related to rights and activism (9%).
42 children’s books were censored, including biographies of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Ruby Bridges, Duke Ellington, Katherine Johnson, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cesar Chavez, Sonia Sotomayor, Nelson Mandela, and Malala Yousafzai.
Many other censorship measures in several US states could keep you from being allowed to read some books in our Nation’s libraries. These books are being banned by government organizations in libraries across the country simply because a handful of extremists disagree with the content of the books. Some of these measures could also lead to the arrest of librarians as a result of their commitment to free speech and access to library materials. Some provide monetized incentives to ban books. Yet, we know that exposure to a wide range of developmentally appropriate reading materials has significant benefits on the health, livelihood, and well-being of our nation’s children. Books help develop empathy for others. They help children imagine lives and experiences that are new to them or different than their own. In fact, A 2014 study found that children became more empathetic toward LGBTQ+ folks, immigrants, and refugees after reading Harry Potter, a story of a child who is different than his peers.”
Tools & Techniques.
https://www.makeuseof.com/best-text-to-speech-firefox-add-ons/
The 5 Best Text-to-Speech Add-ons for Firefox
Whether you use text-to-speech for accessibility or convenience, it's hard to find the feature everywhere online. So, here are five Firefox add-ons.
Tools for when the worst happens.
https://www.makeuseof.com/apps-to-help-ukrainians/
5 Apps Ukrainians Are Relying on During War
With Ukraine undergoing foreign invasion, these are the vital Android and iOS apps that locals are using to stay informed and connected.
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