The Future of the Internet Looks Bad as of Today

Meta and TikTok’s editing systems are not perfect and make mistakes all the time. Earlier this week, Taylor Lorenz said that Meta bans content with hashtags as “emotional,” including hashtags like #trans, #lesbianpride, and #bisexualpride. Soon OctoberTikTok has fired hundreds of content management workers, replacing them with AI.

But it’s Instagram, especially its Reels ad, that has a reputation for abuse. With Zuckerberg’s decision to abandon hate speech policies, he made it clear that diversity is necessary for political elections to take place on Inauguration Day.

There is a possibility that other platforms may follow suit. Elon Musk was the first to set a precedent for overturning trust and security when he bought X two years ago. After Meta’s announcement on Tuesday, YouTube declined to comment when asked by The Wall Street Journal if it can make similar observations and change the policy, that seems to leave the door open.

It seems, however, that TikTok’s parent company still has a vested interest in monitoring and controlling it. Talking to CNNA Meta analyst said it will be working with funding from, among others, Bytedance.

For US users, this only applies as long as TikTok is available in the US. Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case involving the government seeking to ban the popular program across the country. If SCOTUS does not keep TikTok by January 19, or the magic with its American owners is not removed from the ether, the program – which many users, who have the right to express themselves, see as a safer place than theirs. another way – it will go.

The Chatroom

X has seen at least two exits since Elon Musk took the platform in 2022. The first happened immediately after Musk closed the deal, and the second came not long after the most recent US election was called by Trump.

Based on this week’s news, are you planning to leave Meta platforms? Do you no longer feel safe on Facebook or Instagram? I’d love to hear how your social media habits are evolving.

Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send them to mail@wired.com.

WIRED Reads

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Some Things We’re Reading

🔗 Students Charged ‘To Catch Predator’ TikTok Scheme: A group of Massachusetts college students have been charged with robbery and conspiracy after colluding with Catching the Beast-as a “sting” project on the camp and send it to TikTok. (New York Times)

🔗 Facebook Fires Criticism From Internal Staff Over New Board Member Dana White: Meta is deflecting criticism of the staff over the hiring of UFC executive Dana White from the company’s internal channels. Some employees commented on the 2023 video of White beating his wife at a bar on New Year’s Eve. (404 Media)

🔗 Heritage Foundation Plans to ‘Identify and Track’ Wikipedia Editors: The Heritage Foundation, the publisher of Project 2025, recently told investors that it plans to use facial recognition software and steal garbage to identify Wikipedia authors. (Forward)

The Download

On Friday, I’ll be joining a few of my WIRED colleagues to cover the oral argument on TikTok v. US. Today’s blog posts will be available on our website before things start at 10 am ET. C-SPAN is streaming the controversy to be here.

Also, this is TikTok for very cold on January 6 gathering.

That’s it for today—thanks again for subscribing. You can contact me via email, Instagram, Xand Signal on makenakelly.32.