Social Media: A Glimpse of What Ignorance Fosters
September 27, 2024
This essay is the work of a dumb dinobaby. No smart software required.
The US Federal Trade Commission has published a free report. “A Look Behind the Screens Examining the Data Practices of Social Media and Video Streaming Services” is about 80 pages comprising the actual report. The document covers:
- A legal framework for social media and streaming services
- Some basic information about the companies mentioned in the report
- The data “practices” of the companies (I would have preferred the phrase “procedures and exploitation”)
- Advertising practices (my suggestion is to name the section “revenue generation and maximization”)
- Algorithms, Data Analytics, or AI
- Children and teens
The document includes comments about competition (er, what?), some conclusions, and FTC staff recommendations.
From the git-go, the document uses an acronym: SMVSSs which represents Social Media and Video Streaming Services. The section headings summarize the scope of the document. The findings are ones which struck me as fairly obvious; specifically:
- People have no idea how much data are collected, analyzed, and monetized
- Revenue is generated by selling ad which hook to the user data
- Lots of software (dumb and smart) are required to make the cost of operations as efficient as possible
- Children’s system use and their data are part of the game plan.
The report presents assorted “should do” and “must do.” These too are obvious; for example, “Companies should implement policies that would ensure greater protection of children and teens.”
I am a dinobaby. Commercial enterprises are going to do what produces revenue and market reach. “Should” and “would” are nice verbs. Without rules and regulations the companies just do what companies do. Consequences were needed more than two decades ago. Now the idea of “fixing up” social media is an idea which begs for reasonable solutions. Some countries just block US social media outfits; others infiltrate the organizations and use them and the data as an extension of a regime’s capabilities. A few countries think that revenue and growth are just dandy. Do you live in one of these nation states?
Net net: Worth reading. I want a T shirt that says SMVSSs.
Stephen E Arnold, September 27, 2024
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