Summary
Meta’s Instagram faced criticism after searches for “Democrat” or “Democrats” displayed a “results hidden” message, while “Republican” returned 3.3 million posts.
The issue emerged after Donald Trump’s inauguration, which Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg attended.
Meta attributed the problem to a technical error affecting political hashtags and promised a quick fix.
Critics, however, flagged concerns over perceived political bias, especially as Meta has recently shifted content moderation policies and aligned closer to the Republican administration, including donations to Trump and appointing a Republican as global affairs chief.
Ditch all meta ‘products’
Just travelled through Chile. All bus schedules in the south are exclusively on Facebook and Instagram, and literally the only way to book a ticket is Whatsapp.
I wish I was exaggerating.
What! Bus schedules on Facebook exclusively? Facebook does not scream “repository of information”, that’s never, ever, been the purpose of the site.
That sounds awful
Yeah, they usually have a jpeg with the time schedule, and put that on their facebook or instagram.
One of the results of the extreme deregulation and privatization of everything in the country –
Now every bus connection is serviced by a different company, which usually consists of one bus and 2 self employed people.
For the major connections there’s a privately run service that tries to keep track of what company drives where, and puts that on a website where you can buy tickets – for a slightly higher price of course.
But for the minor connections, your only chance is phyiscally going to the bus stop, where QR codes for the Meta accounts and Whatsapp Nr are posted, or you can ask at the nearest empanadas stand.
Just need the rest of the world to ditch WhatsApp and that will be the last meta app that I use
And block or (better) poison all their trackers. Just because you’re not using a Meta product doesn’t mean they’re not spying on you.
Tip of the iceberg. Even if this was a mistake, we don’t know what any engines are hiding if they don’t display results.
“Back to our roots around free expression”
Ah yes, the censoring.
Meanwhile in another thread, I am attempting to explain to someone who wants Signal to be able to directly interface with WhatsApp, someone who has no understanding of why metadata security is a big deal… why purely on technical, privacy / security level, that’s not workable.
Well, here’s another arrow in my quiver if that discussion continues, jesus fucking christ.
Is Signal legally required to interface with WhatsApp by the EU?
I… don’t think so?
Why would it?
Neither Signal nor WhatsApp are specifically mandated by the EU to be interoperable as far as I know.
If you mean: Doesn’t GDPR require mobile/pc apps to not gather or store metadata?
Then also, no, not really?
Mobile apps must process personal data in a lawful and transparent manner. Users should be informed clearly about how their data is collected, what it will be used for, and who it will be shared with.
Lawfulness: Data processing must have a lawful basis, such as user consent, performance of a contract, or legitimate interest.
Did you accept the WhatsApp Terms of Service?
Congrats, Meta(Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp) will argue you consented to having your metadata harvested.
Do you see the cheekiness of why Facebook renamed itself to Meta?
Their core business model is trafficking, hoarding and selling ‘meta’ data, its right in the name.
Yes, the EU required apps to be interoperable. It was after GDPR. It became law in April 2024 iirc
