Content Policy

EU scrutiny of X could expand due to UK riots

The European Commission’s ongoing investigation into social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, could factor in the company’s handling of harmful content during the recent UK riots.

Charges against X were issued last month under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates stricter controls on illegal content and public security risks for large online platforms.

Although the UK is no longer part of the EU, content shared in Britain that violates DSA rules might still reach European users, potentially breaching the law. Recent events in Britain, where far-right and anti-Muslim groups exploited the fatal stabbing of three young girls to spread disinformation and incite violence, have raised concerns.

The European Commission acknowledged that while the DSA does not cover actions outside the EU, content visible in Europe from the UK could influence their proceedings against X. The company has yet to respond to these developments.

Maduro blocks X in Venezuela amid election dispute

President Nicolás Maduro has imposed a 10-day block on access to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in Venezuela, accusing its owner, Elon Musk, of using the platform to promote hatred following the country’s disputed presidential election. Reports from Caracas indicated that by Thursday night, posts on X were no longer loading on several major telephone services, including the state-owned Movilnet.

Maduro, in a speech after a pro-government march, claimed that Musk violated the platform’s own rules and incited hatred. He also accused X of being used by his political opponents to create unrest in Venezuela. As part of his response, Maduro signed a resolution from the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) to remove X from circulation in the country for ten days. However, he did not elaborate on the process involved.

The tension between Maduro and Musk escalated after the disputed 28 July presidential election, where Venezuelan electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner. However, opposition candidate Edmundo González claimed victory, citing records from 80% of the electronic voting machines. Musk criticised Maduro on X, calling him a dictator and accusing him of electoral fraud. Since the election, Maduro has expressed a desire to regulate social media in Venezuela, alleging that platforms like X are being used to threaten his supporters and create anxiety across the country.

AI tool Silvia improves Spanglish transcription

A new AI assistant is addressing a common frustration for bilingual speakers by accurately transcribing ‘Spanglish,’ a blend of Spanish and English that often confounds other language processing tools. Developed by Mansidak Singh, a product engineer at reAI, Silvia allows users to fluidly switch between languages in a single sentence without losing any context. Singh was inspired to create the app after a conversation highlighted the limitations of existing language assistants, which typically ignore or misinterpret mixed-language input.

Silvia integrates with your keyboard and supports both Spanish and English, with plans to expand to other languages such as French, German, and Dutch soon. Singh utilised iOS 18’s new Translation API and OpenAI’s Whisper technology to create a solution that is not only effective but also fast and secure, with no data storage involved. The app is designed to be used seamlessly in everyday conversations, making it easier for bilingual users to communicate without constantly switching settings or keyboards.

While the current version of Silvia is limited to languages that use the Roman alphabet, Singh’s approach reflects a practical and thoughtful application of AI to solve real-world problems. The app, which has been approved by Apple, will be available for download at the end of the month, offering a more accurate and user-friendly experience for those who speak in a mix of languages.

In an era where AI is often associated with grand promises, Silvia stands out for its simplicity and focus on improving everyday communication. As multilingual AI tools like Silvia and Nigeria’s new multilingual large language model continue to emerge, the future of AI in language processing looks increasingly inclusive and adaptable to the needs of diverse users.

Ireland takes legal action against X over data privacy

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has launched legal action against the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, in a case that revolves around processing user data to train Musk’s AI large language model called Grok. The AI tool or chatbot was developed by xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk, and is used as a search assistant for premium users on the platform.

The DPC is seeking a court order to stop or limit the processing of user data by X for training its AI systems, expressing concerns that this could violate the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The case may be referred to the European Data Protection Board for further review.

The legal dispute is part of a broader conflict between Big Tech companies and regulators over using personal data to develop AI technologies. Consumer organisations have accused X of breaching GDPR, a claim the company has vehemently denied, calling the DPC’s actions unwarranted and overly broad.

The Irish DPC has an important role in overseeing X’s compliance with the EU data protection laws since the platform’s operations in the EU are managed from Dublin. The current legal proceedings could significantly shift how Ireland enforces GDPR against large tech firms.

The DPC is also concerned about X’s plans to launch a new version of Grok, which is reportedly being trained using data from the EU and European Economic Area users. The privacy watchdog argues that this could worsen existing issues with data processing.

Despite X implementing some mitigation measures, such as offering users an opt-out option, these steps were not in place when the data processing began, leading to further scrutiny from the DPC. X has resisted the DPC’s requests to halt data processing or delay the release of the new Grok version, leading to an ongoing court battle.

The outcome of this case could set a precedent for how AI and data protection issues are handled across Europe.

YouTube faces widespread outage in Russia

YouTube experienced a mass outage in Russia on Thursday, with users reporting that the platform was inaccessible without using virtual private networks (VPNs). The outage comes amid increasing criticism from Russian authorities, who have been targeting the platform for its role in hosting content from Kremlin opponents, which has been largely removed from other social media sites within Russia. Reuters journalists in Russia confirmed the issue, with access only available through some mobile devices.

Russian internet monitoring services, including Sboi.rf, reported thousands of glitches affecting YouTube. Despite these issues, neither Google, the parent company of YouTube, nor Russia’s state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, provided immediate comments on the situation.

In recent weeks, YouTube’s download speeds in Russia have noticeably slowed, a development blamed by Russian lawmakers on Google’s alleged failure to invest in local infrastructure. Alexander Khinshtein, head of a parliamentary committee on information policy, warned that YouTube speeds could drop by as much as 70%, labelling it necessary to pressure the platform into complying with Russian legislation. YouTube, however, rejected these claims, maintaining that the issues were not due to any technical actions on its part.

Turkey blocks Roblox amid child protection concerns

Türkiye has blocked access to the popular kids’ gaming platform Roblox due to concerns over content that could potentially lead to child abuse. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc announced the decision on X, citing a legal ruling based on a law regulating internet broadcasting. He emphasised the state’s constitutional duty to protect children and condemned the harmful use of technology.

The ban on Roblox is the latest in a series of measures targeting internet platforms in Türkiye. Recently, Instagram faced similar restrictions after a senior aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the social media platform of censoring posts related to the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Roblox has not yet responded to the request for comment regarding the ban. The company has been grappling with challenges related to keeping inappropriate content off its platform, including issues involving paedophiles.

The development highlights the ongoing tension between the Turkish government and digital platforms as authorities enforce stringent measures to control online content and protect vulnerable users.

Elon Musk under fire as social media giant X implicated in fuelling UK riots

Elon Musk is under fire for his social media posts, which many believe have exacerbated the ongoing riots in Britain. Musk, known for his provocative online presence, has shared riot footage on his platform, X, and made controversial remarks, including predicting a ‘civil war’ and criticising Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the British government for prioritising speech policing over community safety.

The unrest began after a stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, England, resulted in the deaths of three young girls. Allegedly, false information spread online suggested the attacker was an illegal Muslim immigrant. However, the suspect, Axel Rudakubana, is a 17-year-old born in Cardiff, Wales, with unknown religious affiliation, though his parents are from predominantly Christian Rwanda.

Despite the facts, anti-immigrant protests have erupted in at least 15 cities across Britain, leading to the most significant civil disorder since 2011. Rioters have targeted mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers, with much violence directed at the police.

Prime Minister Starmer has criticised social media companies for allowing violent disinformation to spread. He specifically called out Musk for reinstating banned far-right figures, including activist Tommy Robinson. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has met with representatives from major tech companies like TikTok, Meta, Google, and X to stress their duty to curb the spread of harmful misinformation.

Publicly, Musk has argued that the government should focus on its duties, mocking Starmer and questioning the UK’s approach to policing speech.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has stated that social media has amplified disinformation, promising government action against tech giants and online criminality. However, Britain’s Online Safety Act, which mandates platforms to address illegal content, will be fully effective next year. Meanwhile, the EU’s Digital Services Act, which Britain is no longer part of, is already in effect.

AI writing tools in Apple’s iOS 18.1 come with content restrictions

Apple has introduced its new AI-powered Writing Tools in the iOS 18.1 developer beta, providing users with the ability to reformat or rewrite text using Apple’s AI models. However, the tool warns that AI-generated suggestions might not be of the highest quality when dealing with certain sensitive topics. Users will see a message alerting them when attempting to rewrite text containing swear words, references to drugs, or mentions of violence, indicating the tool wasn’t designed for such content.

Despite the warnings, the AI tool still offers suggestions even when encountering restricted words or phrases. During testing, replacing a swear word with a milder term resulted in the same AI-generated suggestion. Apple has been asked to clarify which specific topics the writing tools are not trained to handle, but no further details have been provided yet.

Apple appears to be exercising caution to avoid controversy by limiting the AI’s handling of certain terms and topics. The Writing Tools feature is not intended to generate new content from scratch but rather to assist in rewriting existing text. Apple’s cautious approach aligns with its history, as seen when it finally allowed autocorrect to learn swear words in iOS 17 after years of restrictions.

The release of these AI features also coincides with Apple’s alignment with OpenAI for future AI innovations and its support for the Biden administration’s AI safety initiatives. These steps underscore Apple’s commitment to responsible AI development while providing advanced tools to its users.

Zuckerberg apologises for Facebook photo error involving Trump

Former President Donald Trump revealed that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised to him after Facebook mistakenly labelled a photo of Trump as misinformation. The photo, which showed Trump raising a fist after surviving an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was initially flagged by Meta’s AI system. Trump disclosed the apology during an interview with FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo, stating that Zuckerberg called him twice to express regret and praise his response to the event.

Meta Vice President of Global Policy Joel Kaplan clarified that the error occurred due to similarities between a doctored image and the real photo, leading to an incorrect fact-check label. Kaplan explained that the AI system misapplied the label due to subtle differences between the two images. Meta’s spokesperson Andy Stone reiterated that Zuckerberg has not endorsed any candidate for the 2024 presidential election and that the labelling error was not due to bias.

The incident highlights ongoing challenges for Meta as it navigates content moderation and political neutrality, especially ahead of the 2024 United States election. Additionally, the assassination attempt on Trump has sparked various online conspiracy theories. Meta’s AI chatbot faced criticism for initially refusing to answer questions about the shooting, a decision attributed to the overwhelming influx of information during breaking news events. Google’s AI chatbot Gemini similarly refused to address the incident, sticking to its policy of avoiding responses on political figures and elections.

Both Meta and Google have faced scrutiny over their handling of politically sensitive content. Meta’s recent efforts to shift away from politics and focus on other areas, combined with Google’s cautious approach to AI responses, reflect the tech giants’ strategies to manage the complex dynamics of information dissemination and political neutrality in an increasingly charged environment.

Meta restores Malaysian PM’s posts after error

The company formerly known as Facebook apologised on Tuesday for removing content from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Facebook and Instagram accounts concerning the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. The posts, which expressed condolences over Haniyeh’s death, were removed, prompting Malaysia to seek an explanation from Meta.

A Meta spokesperson explained that the removal was an operational error and confirmed that the content had been restored with the correct newsworthy label. The apology followed a meeting on Monday between Malaysia‘s communications minister, members of the Prime Minister’s Office, and Meta representatives.

The Prime Minister’s Office condemned Meta’s actions as discriminatory, unjust, and a blatant suppression of free expression. The office issued a statement on Monday expressing their dissatisfaction with the removal of the posts and the need for an explanation from the tech company. Meta’s acknowledgement of the mistake and the restoration of the content aim to address the concerns raised by the Malaysian government.

This incident comes amid other challenges for Meta, including the exclusion of its AI models from the EU market due to regulatory concerns, and a significant fine imposed by Turkey for improper data sharing practices. These issues highlight the growing scrutiny Meta faces globally over content regulation, data privacy, and freedom of expression.