Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Facebook Whistleblower Leaks Thousands of Pages of Incriminating Internal Docs

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

511–520 of 734 posts

Re: Facebook Whistleblower Leaks Thousands of Pages of Incriminating Internal Docs

#511

Post by discobot2 »

woeirua wrote: post #245
axguscbklp wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There should be no question, that what FB is doing here, while not illegal, is highly dubious ethically. Why, what exactly are they doing that is ethically dubious? So far based on what I have read of this whistleblower's revelations, I do not have a problem with Facebook doing any of it.

Really? You don’t have a problem with an app that causes 1% of teens that use it to develop suicidal thoughts? By the way, according to the leaked study these teens directly attributed their suicidal ideation to Instagram.

What number in question would be there if we evaluate schools or cinema or night clubs?

Re: Facebook Whistleblower Leaks Thousands of Pages of Incriminating Internal Docs

#512

Post by lr4444lr »

Heaven forbid parents be held responsible for their kids' mental health. We saw this with rock 'n roll, video games, and marijuana. Your kid saw someone possibly wearing a more expensive outfit on social media? Scarred for life, right? Imposing stricter age verification to clamp down on trafficking and the like is perfectly reasonable, but this social media demonization is the latest moral panic, and I hope it dies down before Congress does something stupid.

Re: Facebook Whistleblower Leaks Thousands of Pages of Incriminating Internal Docs

#513

Post by munk-a »

erosenbe0 wrote: post #464
hunterb123 wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uhm a cigarette you cannot change the base ingredient of, it's tobacco. A cig by definition burns the carcinogen tobacco. A site you can specify certain requirements like no doom scrolling or requirements like PUBLISH YOUR ALGORITHMS. Why go full California with another banner? People will ignore it and you will have done nothing of substance.

What is the appropriate middle though? Think about alcohol culture. Should we ban beer commercials on TV? Only allow beer commercials with talking frogs rather than attractive young people having fun?

I'm honestly baffled over why beer commercials are considered socially acceptable - but then again I think that advertising (in our modern interconnected world) only ever serves to drive overconsumption. If you want a beer - you go to the bevy and pick out a beer you'd enjoy... if I'm watching TV and the TV tries to make me want a beer - that's not a good thing.

Good advertising[1] is limited to making sure your product is visible in comparison to competitors - having shiny cereal boxes is something I find pretty meh, but in the cereal aisle you're dealing with someone who wants to buy some kind of cereal and you're trying to convince them to buy yours. TV Advertising drives up demand for products which, by definition, means we're consuming more of that product than we otherwise would... that's great for business... and it's also great for the obesity epidemic.

1. What I'd consider to be ethical advertising, but that's like my opinion man.

Re: Facebook Whistleblower Leaks Thousands of Pages of Incriminating Internal Docs

#514

Post by cratermoon »

nradov wrote: post #309
cratermoon wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which says more about the emasculated regulatory regime in the US than anything else. There are no penalties, or none of any real meaning, for causing to harm to consumers or the community, but violating the holy tenet of maximizing shareholder value is almost a cardinal sin.

Every single one of us has caused some harm to the community at some point in our lives. That doesn't mean it should be a criminal offense.

Perhaps, but no individual continually does it for years, harming millions if not billions of others, in pursuit of profits.

Re: Facebook Whistleblower Leaks Thousands of Pages of Incriminating Internal Docs

#515

Post by finfinfin »

Dracophoenix wrote: post #508
finfinfin wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you agree that it would be wrong for telephone companies to amplify sex slavery conversations? Like they would call you directly and just let you participate in the conversation because that would generate more engagement?

How are you defining "amplification"? Phones already operate by complex signal amplification over long distances. Why do you think burner phones are still prevalent for all manner of illicit activity? I don't think the phone company should be shut down because others can use it in a way that's considered devious. I don't think the phone company should play "morality police" either. I simply expect the phone company t…

Amplification not in the electrical signal amplification sense but rather in the sense of amplifying the message. Facebook is giving more visibility to content that it considers more engaging, even if that content leads to harmful outcomes (it’s own research proves that).

Re: Facebook Whistleblower Leaks Thousands of Pages of Incriminating Internal Docs

#516

Post by heartbreak »

CountDrewku wrote: post #463
notacoward wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If you don't like vaccines..." At first I thought that was a bit too facile, they have nothing to do with each other, but ... is that true? Other people using Facebook to spread hate and misinformation (including vaccine misinformation) does affect me. They affect who gets elected (or appointed) and what policies get enacted. We're already seeing real tangible effects at the state level, and with the 2022 elections…

Exactly how does it affect you if you're vaccinated?

Medical resources are finite, and there are people who need non-Covid medical care competing for those limited resources.

Getting pretty tired of having the same argument with people who are smart enough to figure this out on their own.

Re: Facebook Whistleblower Leaks Thousands of Pages of Incriminating Internal Docs

#517

Post by Dracophoenix »

cddotdot wrote: post #433
akudha wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem to be misunderstanding what I was saying (or I wasn't clear). I am not at all saying we shouldn't have laws - we absolutely should have laws and rules. I am not saying that we should sue companies based on unstated ethics or morals (how would that even work anyway?). All I am saying is we should, as a society, have a better attitude and higher standards than stuff like greed is good , the sole purpose of a b…

Humanity isn't that selfish. It is idealistic but to even have the conversation to know why is minimally ethical. Taking the converse argument of 0 ethics except THE LAW is infuriatingly common. Is it okay to murder so long as the act of murder is technically legal? Assuming perfect proof intent with direct action indefensible confession murder. But also 100% legal. Breaking no law. Would society find that acceptable…

>It seems like folks want to live in a 0 common ethical baseline reality.

We do live in a world zero common ethics except where these ethics pertain to the laws of physics. Anything else is determined by societal dictate by way of law or cultural fiat. If Facebook were in Saudi Arabia, there wouldn't a be a rainbow flag filter and accounts would be shadow banned for any mention of Khassogi's murder.

So who gets to determine what is ethical?

Re: Facebook Whistleblower Leaks Thousands of Pages of Incriminating Internal Docs

#518

Post by lr4444lr »

unethical_ban wrote: post #334
plandis wrote: post #282

If you don’t like Facebook just don’t use Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram. Don’t know why so many people here think parents and adults are not capable of regulating themselves and their kids. It’s honestly condescending to think you know better than your fellow citizens if you’re arguing for government intervention.

We haven't banned cigarettes or alcohol, but we have put labels, restrictions and public ad campaigns into place to govern the behavior of their sellers, and to inform the public of their dangers. I think it is a terrible place where government does not have a responsibility, as the union of the people, to help inform citizens of the dangers of addictive products and to regulate unethical behavior of the sellers of s…

There is no amount of tobacco, and probably no amount of alcohol, that has any health benefits. It's completely toxic.

What you're advocating is more like suggesting we might also consider putting labels on cheese about the risk of eating too much saturated fat, or heck, a warning on most green vegetables for people taking Coumadin and other blood thinners.

The warning labels anyway are not placed on these things you mention on the basis of addictive qualities.

Re: Facebook Whistleblower Leaks Thousands of Pages of Incriminating Internal Docs

#519

Post by bestcoder69 »

CountDrewku wrote: post #460
015a wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't like Oxycontin, just don't use Oxycontin, Dilaudid, or Fentanyl. Don't know why so many people here think adults are not capable of regulating themselves.

You realize ending the drug war is largely favorable to most people on here right?

I haven't polled HN, but I get the sense it's more about regulating formerly black market drugs, rather than deregulating pharmaceuticals.

Anyone on the 2nd side should do a deep dive on buying "clean" delta 8 THC.

Re: Facebook Whistleblower Leaks Thousands of Pages of Incriminating Internal Docs

#520

Post by lr4444lr »

impostervt wrote: post #17

What are the potential legal ramifications for the whistleblower?

What could come out in court if they shut her up could be much more damaging to FB's reputation than it's worth, and it'd probably be hard to find a jury likely to convict her when she hasn't directly gained financially from it.
Post reply on HN