IT & Technology News
Reporting on information technology, cybersecurity, and tech policy. The Daily Signal includes analysis, commentary, and opinion on technology’s impact.
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news
Google Employees Debated Burying Conservative Media in Search Results
Google employees debated whether to bury conservative media outlets in search results as a response to President Donald Trump’s election in 2016, internal Google communications obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation reveal. The Daily Caller and Breitbart were specifically singled out as outlets to potentially bury in search results, the communications reveal. Trump’s election… -
opinion
Twitter’s Initial Classification of ‘Illegal Alien,’ ‘Criminal Alien’ as Hateful Shows Social Media’s Censorship Potential
Twitter made headlines recently when it denied the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonpartisan group, the ability to promote four tweets that—according to Twitter—contained “hateful content.” What was that hateful content? The legally correct phrases “illegal alien” and “criminal alien.” To be clear, those who follow the Center for Immigration Studies on Twitter were able… -
news
6 Key Moments From Social Media Hearings
On Capitol Hill Wednesday, Facebook’s chief operating officer and Twitter’s CEO testified about foreign entities and the use of social media platforms to influence the United States’ elections. Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey answered questions from the Senate intelligence committee on topics including foreign influences and “fake news.” Dorsey also appeared before the… -
opinion
Why Government Shouldn’t Tell Facebook, Google, and Twitter What to Do
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has summoned the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter, and Google for a hearing Wednesday about online political mischief by foreign governments. As was the case in a hearing several months ago, committee members will question the executives on their efforts (or lack thereof) to stop Russia and other countries from… -
opinion
Media Misses: Trump Takes on CNN, Google
We break down the top media moments this week—and plenty of misses. President Donald Trump isn’t just taking on the mainstream media—this week he’s also dueling it out with tech conglomerate Google. It all started with a tweet when Trump called out Google for allegedly prioritizing search results for “national left-wing media.” Trump isn’t just going… -
opinion
Google’s Plan for a Censoring App for China Makes a Mockery of Its Mission of Information Access
Google plans to launch a pre-censored search engine app in China, tailored to fit China’s strict censorship laws, according to a report in The Intercept. A Google spokesperson declined to confirm the report regarding the tech titan’s plans, but if the app is developed, it would set a dangerous precedent. Access to China’s massive internet… -
opinion
Social Media Giants Shouldn’t Be Arbiters of Appropriate Speech
Of course, Facebook, YouTube, and other media are free to ban conspiracy-mongers such as Alex Jones from their platforms. They have a right to dictate the contours of permissible speech on their sites and to enforce those standards dutifully or hypocritically or ideologically, using any method they see fit. No one seriously disputes this. Twitter… -
opinion
Censorship of Infowars Exposes Larger Problem of Silicon Valley Bias
This week, the conspiracy website Infowars, which is run by Alex Jones, was either “banned” or had content stripped from most social media platforms. YouTube cited “hate speech and harassment” as reasons to remove Infowars from the platform, Apple explained that “hate speech” wouldn’t be tolerated, and Facebook announced: “Upon review, we have taken it down… -
news
Founder of Congress’ Media Fairness Caucus Has a Prescription for Curing Media Bias
The Daily Signal spoke last week with Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, about media bias. Smith discussed the House Media Fairness Caucus, which he founded, how Americans can combat media bias, and a new term he coined: mediacrats. This transcript of the interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Rob Bluey: Congressman, how bad… -
news
Facebook Says It Has Identified a Political Influence Campaign Aimed at Creating Left-Wing ‘Resistance’
Facebook announced Tuesday that it has removed 32 inauthentic Instagram and Facebook profiles and pages because the company believes they were part of a coordinated disinformation campaign. “We’re still in the very early stages of our investigation and don’t have all the facts—including who may be behind this. But we are sharing what we know… -
opinion
How Censorship by Facebook Reinforces This Writer’s Point on Liberals’ Intolerance
Less than a third of the way into his upcoming book on nationalism, Israeli philosopher and scholar Yoram Hazony warns about the growing censorship constricting debate in Western societies when the opinion in question runs counter to the views of politically correct liberalism. Facebook wasted no time in making his case for him. “There is… -
opinion
Facebook Recently Banned Dozens of Accounts in Brazil, and Conservatives Are Crying Foul
Conservative groups in Brazil are protesting against Facebook after it banned 196 pages and 87 individual profiles, many of them on the right side of the ideological spectrum. The Facebook purge has raised concerns that the platform may be pursuing a political agenda in the run-up to the Oct. 7 elections for a new president,… -
news
Facebook Removes Death Threats Toward Republicans After Lawmaker Calls It Out
Facebook removed a page Tuesday that posted incitements to violence and implied death threats after a Republican lawmaker called the company out. During a hearing Tuesday with representatives from Facebook, Twitter, and Google, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida asked Facebook’s head of global policy management, Monika Bickert, why the social media giant hasn’t removed… -
opinion
The Bias Problem Plaguing America’s Social Media Platforms
Americans deserve the facts, objectively reported. They know media bias is pervasive. A recent Morning Consult poll found that only a quarter of voters now trust the media to tell them the truth, a record low. The media savages President Donald Trump and portrays his administration in the worst possible light. Over 90 percent of… -
opinion
Facebook Censored a Post With the Declaration of Independence Text, Now Says Sorry
Facebook recently removed a post that featured the text from the Declaration of Independence, either showing that its algorithms are flawed, or its human content moderators find America’s founding document to be too politically incorrect for users. The tech giant reportedly apologized Tuesday. A small Texas newspaper called The Liberty County Vindicator was posting excerpts of the… -
news
Exclusive Interview: Mercedes Schlapp on Trump’s Expectations and ‘Fighting’ Media Bias
Mercedes Schlapp, assistant to the president and senior adviser for strategic communications at the White House, spoke exclusively to The Daily Signal’s Ginny Montalbano on Friday during the Young Women’s Leadership Summit organized by Turning Point USA in Dallas. Schlapp described the Trump administration’s successes, what the president expects from his team, and how the media… -
news
Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Twitter All Work With Left-Wing SPLC
Four of the world’s biggest tech platforms have working partnerships with a left-wing nonprofit that has a track record of inaccuracies and routinely labels conservative organizations as “hate groups.” Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Twitter all work with or consult the Southern Poverty Law Center in policing their platforms for “hate speech” or “hate groups,” a Daily… -
news
Google Changes ‘Couple in Love’ Emoji to Gender Neutral
Google temporarily changed its “couple in love” emoji to a gender-neutral default for Android phones, which is being tested Thursday. Users of Android’s newest update, Android P, will get a temporary change to their phones with the new emoji featuring a gender-neutral couple as the keyboard default, the Daily Mail reported. Google’s latest move to be more inclusive… -
news
Law Professor Alan Dershowitz Tells Mainstream Media to Stop Slamming Trump for Pardons
Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz criticized the media’s reaction to President Donald Trump’s recent pardons and accused them of blowing the story out of proportion. “It’s the most ridiculous thing to constantly say the president is saying is he’s above the law,” Dershowitz said on “Fox & Friends” Thursday. “The president’s spokesmen have said over…