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Facebook has become a leading news source for a number of people across the globe \u2014 which may be the actual problem here.<\/p>\n
Some even believe the sites are causing full-blown damage to society.<\/a> And, the evidence<\/a>, well, it speaks for itself.<\/p>\n Between its hand in global unrest from election tampering to full-blown violence, plus the lack of transparency surrounding data use \u2014 it\u2019s clear that something needs to change.<\/p>\n Which begs the question? Is Zuckerberg obligated to change the platform? Or are lawmakers the ones who must push for change?<\/p>\n We kicked off an eventful year with a Facebook algorithm change.<\/p>\n Zuckerberg announced the newsfeed would shift toward a more \u201csocial\u201d model, one built on connecting with real people and limiting the presence of paid ads.<\/p>\n Part of this initiative was to address political ads, too. Now, ads must be labeled as sponsored by \u201cX group.”<\/p>\n But 2018 was marred by scandal. Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and other execs were called to Congress.<\/p>\n Fake news hasn’t gone away, and there’s still no clear solution to the problem.<\/p>\n 10 Tricks for spotting \u201cfake news\u201d<\/p>\r\n Read Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n Facebook has built this testing and tracking machine \u2014 one that has made advertising more effective and specific. The company has explained this as a way to present users with ads that \u201crelate to things they care about.\u201d<\/p>\n Maybe most people don\u2019t mind seeing products they might actually buy. The issue comes when that data machine is used to wield influence by playing into users\u2019 fears or existing biases.<\/strong><\/p>\n As we saw in the Cambridge Analytica shakeout, social media has the power to manipulate people quite easily.<\/strong><\/p>\n The firm claims to have 5,000 data points on every American and used peoples\u2019 behavioral data to gently nudge them toward altering their behaviors.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Cambridge Analytica shared over 100 fake pro-Trump stories, as you may remember, which highlighted a major issue. It\u2019s not that users are dealing with ads, it\u2019s that efforts like these \u2014 manipulating voters \u2014 can eat into democracy and corrode trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n After destroying local news, Facebook throws $300 million at local news<\/p>\r\n Read Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n Senators Bob Corker and Chris Coons are pushing for new regulations <\/span><\/a>that address growing concerns about misinformation and privacy. Coons says that he expects Congress to come up with a solution comparable to the EU\u2019s GDPR which rolled out earlier this year.<\/p>\n The GDPR requires companies to ask for user consent<\/strong> and that they state when they will be collecting personal data.<\/strong><\/p>\n But if the government does get involved, there\u2019s a lot to consider. Facebook and Twitter have long been promoting their platforms as centers for free speech.<\/p>\n There’s no doubt that internet speech should be protected<\/strong> \u2014 and the idea of rules governing that space is not going to sit well with users from both sides of the aisle.<\/p>\n One of the biggest problems is, the existing setup limits competition.<\/strong><\/p>\n Last year, Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced a bill that would prevent corporations from acquiring up-and-coming startups.<\/p>\n So Facebook, moving forward, wouldn\u2019t be able to build up its empire by acquiring a whole bunch of future WhatsApps and Instagrams.<\/p>\n The idea is, we\u2019d eventually have new alternatives cropping up outside of the control of these relative few tech companies, thus giving customers more choice over where they take their business.<\/p>\nIt seems that FB is trying to change<\/h3>\n
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\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n Are regulations on the horizon?<\/h3>\n
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