X's and Ads and Moderation
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
[SEE ALSO: X sues Calif. to avoid revealing how it makes "controversial" content decisions]
X Seems To Be Slipping Unlabeled Ads Into People's FeedsX, the social media company previously known as Twitter, is suing the state of California over a law that requires companies to disclose details about their content moderation practices. The law, known as AB 587, requires social media companies to publish information about their handling of hate speech, extremism, misinformation and other issues, as well as details about internal moderation processes.
Lawyers for X argue that the law is unconstitutional and will lead to censorship. It has both the purpose and likely effect of pressuring companies such as X Corp. to remove, demonetize, or deprioritize constitutionally-protected speech," the company wrote in the lawsuit. The true intent of AB 587 is to pressure social media platforms to eliminate' certain constitutionally-protected content viewed by the State as problematic."
[...] At the same time, AB 587's backers have said it's necessary to increase the transparency of major platforms. If @X has nothing to hide, then they should have no objection to this bill," Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, who wrote AB 587, said in response to X's lawsuit.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
X, the company formerly known as Twitter, may not be labeling its ads properly, putting it at risk of - once again - running afoul of the FTC. There have been numerous reports over the last several days of ads appearing in users' timelines without being labeled as such, according to TechCrunch, which was first to report on the stealth ads.
[...] While the unlabeled ads have irked users, who may mistakenly believe the platform is showing posts from accounts they don't follow in their following timeline, the issue also risks stirring up more regulatory trouble with the FTC. Nandini Jammi, co-founder of watchdog group Check My Ads, has been sharing examples on her Twitter account over the past couple days. The nonprofit group is tracking the issue and encouraging X users to report any examples they find.
It's unclear if the unlabeled ads are the result of a bug or an intentional change by the company. X, which no longer has a functioning communications department, didn't respond to a request for comment.
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