Techdirt Podcast Episode 287: Regulating Amplification Is A Lot Harder Than You Think

from the signal-boost dept

Even among people who recognize the problems with holding platforms liable for user speech, there's an understandable temptation to treat the act of content amplification and recommendation differently, since that's something the platforms do themselves. While you can see the logic to this idea, the fact is it's just as difficult and fraught with problems as other intermediary liability proposals. This week, we're joined by frequent guest Daphne Keller, Director of the Program on Platform Regulation at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, to discuss her recent paper on the subject and why regulating amplification isn't the simple solution it might sound like.

Separately, this is the first time we've had a sponsor for the podcast! The Pessimists Aloud podcast is sponsoring today's episode. It's a new offering from the Pessimists Archive Twitter feed, which finds old articles that are skeptical of technology, which in retrospect turned out to be incorrect. The podcast takes those articles and has them artistically read (in an old-timey voice) aloud. We think fans of Techdirt will certainly enjoy the Pessimists Aloud podcast.

Follow the Techdirt Podcast on Soundcloud, subscribe via Apple Podcasts, or grab the RSS feed. You can also keep up with all the latest episodes right here on Techdirt.

Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: amplification, content moderation, daphne keller, podcast


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 23 Jun 2021 @ 1:39pm

    Distributor liability for defamation (amplification) is a well-established legal principle.

    Of course, someone who defames a person has just created a hostile working enivronment against the target, who can sue the employer and "cancel" the bully that way.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Samuel Abram (profile), 23 Jun 2021 @ 1:51pm

    Re:

    Distributor liability for defamation (amplification) is a well-established legal principle.

    Not in the US.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 23 Jun 2021 @ 1:51pm

    Re:

    Bless your heart

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. icon
    Stephen T. Stone (profile), 23 Jun 2021 @ 1:59pm

    saying it over and over doesn’t make it true, Jhon

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 23 Jun 2021 @ 2:46pm

    Just a note... in the RSS feed, the enclosure tag uses http URLs instead of https URLs.

    Is there a special reason for not going to HTTPS?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 Jun 2021 @ 7:04am

    Bullshit distinction

    Seriously "amplification" is just bullshit of the blatantly engineered "techlash" to imply that it is the new and scary tech that is hand tailored towards controlling our minds. Just stick with Wholesome Old Media(TM) who wouldn't lie to you*! Recommendation is what is it in reality.

    • Legalise to define lying to you in bullshit terms that are impossible to fulfill by design.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    fairuse (profile), 18 Jul 2021 @ 9:35am

    Re:

    RSS is text. http or https

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. icon
    fairuse (profile), 18 Jul 2021 @ 9:39am

    Re: Bullshit distinction

    It's marketing scheme. All that sponsored content stuff nobody reads.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. icon
    fairuse (profile), 18 Jul 2021 @ 10:36am

    What about podcasting with pumped up RSS

    Somehow all the social media bar fighting is allowing the podcast indexer like iTunes and the rest to quietly burn content at will. Change rules, kick out creators and claim "webcast" is their domain.

    No big deal. RSS is podcasting, itunes is webcasting. Only one serves the content creator, podcasting.

    Enter Adam Curry - index for free speech as in your 'cast is your business and I am here to help you make it work and money is the creators not the tool helping your "show" get heard.

    I am not good at all the platforms vs protocol thing but I think this is an example.

    https://schoolofpodcasting.com/preserving-podcasting-as-a-platform-for-free-speech-adam-cur ry-and-podcasting-2-0/

    The father of podcasting may be right for this time in history.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.