Should Congress Force Social Media To Investigate Foreign Propaganda Trolls?

[DEAD7]

The bureau is now faced with huge private companies, like Facebook and Twitter, which are ostensibly neutral and have no professional or ethical obligation to vet the material they distribute. Further, foreign intelligence service propaganda agents are no longer human operatives on American soil -- they are invisible "trolls," often operating from a foreign country and behind social media accounts that make them impossible for the FBI to approach directly. Or, in the case of so-called bots -- software programs designed to simulate humans -- they might not even be people at all...Social media platforms can reach an almost limitless audience, often within days or hours, more or less for free: Russia's Facebook ads alone reached between 23 million and 70 million viewers.

Without any direct way to investigate and identify the source of the private accounts that generate this "fake news," there's literally nothing the FBI can do to stop a propaganda operation that can occur on such a massive scale... But Congress could pass legislation that requires social media companies to cooperate with counterintelligence in the same ways they do with law enforcement. For example, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act requires telecommunications companies to design their digital networks in such a way that would permit wiretaps for criminal cases. Similarly, requiring social media platforms to develop ways to vet and authenticate foreign users and proactively report potential bots to the FBI would enable the FBI to identify perception management operations as they are occurring. In addition to monitoring these specific FIS-based accounts, the FBI could publicly expose the source of particular accounts, ads or news...



How Facebook Changed the Spy Game

 

[mc_brew]

No. The American people know far better than any government ever could what is and what isn't foreign propaganda. If the government got out of the way and let people make their own decisions there wouldn't even be foreign propaganda. It is our government, through intervention and trying to be a nanny, that actually grow this foreign intervention. Tell the government to get all the way out of American life.

 

[Pressure]

Illegal immigrants can't vote.

Why should foreign nationals be allowed to influence our elections.


If you're being honest on your position regarding illegal immigrants this is a no brained.

 

[jj23]

It's a slippery slope, but it is bound to happen. The restrictions will come. Also to note, that these companies already subscribe to certain professional and moral obligations, and can get content off their site at tremendous speeds when the right person complains.

Ultimately I think Facebook knew full well what was going on. The ad buys were significant enough monetarily for them to pay attention and for whatever reason they chose not to. Whether the reason for them allowing the ads to run were more sinister, we will soon find out. Either way, social media is tv on steroids. The psychological planning and manipulation that goes into keeping people hooked is mind boggling. To sway people to an opinion with subtle suggestion was already being done. It was only a matter of time before it was weaponised.

 

[southpawstyle]

Open source everything. Including borders. No private property. Completely transparent propaganda with representation is the only way.










I'm drunk and football season started. I'm gonna ban myself from life if I get second place in my league again.

 

[BigMoneyGrip]

Why leave it to social media? That Jew Zuckerberg already showed you he was looking past any Troll as long as they lined his pockets..

 

[Eddy Gordo]

So Facebook got the time to scan their site for nipples but too busy to know a massive amount ads were bought from Russia during last year's election.

Let's be serious though. This is the same ballpark as law enforcement required to get a warrant from a judge before searching private property. Does anyone truly believe that if the FBI were running this investigation, that they would not be able to obtain a warrant after Facebook underrepresented the number of ads and cash they received prior to this.

Somebody give Mueller his warrant and let's keep it moving.

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

If international money laundering is under the umbrella of national security, this absolutely should be.

 

[tru_m.a.c]

"should congress force"

Love the conservative republican spin

#problack

 

[Shogun]

Sad state of affairs when Americans have become so lazy as to allow Facebook posts to influence their civic responsiblities....so much so that it's hard to argue against the need for the government to protect them against themselves.

Seems we just keep putting bandaids over severed arteries.

 

[jj23]

Th

Sad state of affairs when Americans have become so lazy as to allow Facebook posts to influence their civic responsiblities....so much so that it's hard to argue against the need for the government to protect them against themselves.

Seems we just keep putting bandaids over severed arteries.

The laceration started when the MSM decided to put ratings over delivering the news, and the arteries severed when Fox News was introduced, so they have been like that for a while.

 

[Shogun]

Th


The laceration started when the MSM decided to put ratings over delivering the news, and the arteries severed when Fox News was introduced, so they have been like that for a while.

I think it runs deeper than that. I hate to come off as anti-capitalist because I think it's a great system for providing us with the wealth and luxuries most of us have grown to take for granted, but I also think it fosters a completely selfish, almost narcissistic culture where our individual comfort, our individual entertainment, our individual happiness is what matters most. Researching politicians and elections just isn't very fun, and when fun is what matters most...there's a lot better options to occupy your time. BREAKING NEWS! and memes bridge the gap.

It's also a system that puts the majority of people to work for the majority of their time, so you can't blame them for not having the energy/will to stay informed during what little free time they do have. "Lazy" might not have been the best word in my first post.

 

[newworldafro]

How about people think for themselves. They still looking for an excuse to why Hillary lost.

This is not about Russian propanda, this is about providing an excuse to attack the alt/indy media. They will say or actually have said because some domestic alt/indy media outlet espouses the same view as some foreign government or foreign media outlet then that domestic outlet is foreign propaganda.



That's how they manipulate Americans.

Here's an example, and I've used it before. Russian government is anti-GMO food. They have huge fields with organic crops and are selling them at a premium to foreign buyers, because people don't want GMO, while American regulators support GMO wholeheartely. NOW, a domestic alt/indy media outlet also is anti-GMO, and brings on guests, writes articles, promotes organic this and that right. Under the trajectory of this potential law, a future administration or regulator can say "Russian propaganda has colluded with domestic alt/indy media....see they both are against GMO food".



That's how it plays out, and actually last year, when BHO signed a that is now in effect, which "counters" foreign dusinformation, really meaning domestic viewpoints that don't agree with a particular official policy or viewpoints.

Their using the Russian Collusion fairytale as a springboard to censor or enable companies to censor. People don't see it.

Made a thread on the law last year. EU, Congress, and Silicon Valley Caught Political/Ideological Fade, Now Censoring Alt/Indy Media