this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2024
79 points (97.6% liked)
Legal News
207 readers
17 users here now
International and local legal news.
Basic rules
1. English only
Title and associated content has to be in English.
2. Sensitive topics need NSFW flag
Some cases involve sensitive topics. Use common sense and if you think that the content might trigger someone, post it under NSFW flag.
3. Instance rules apply
All lemmy.zip instance rules listed in the sidebar will be enforced.
Icon attribution | Banner attribution
founded 5 months ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The distinction between a real person selecting works and an algorithm is significant in that the algorithm doesn't necessarily do so as a means of curating messages. An algorithm may just favor watch time, while a person choosing what to publish in a newspaper is making a cognitive choice regarding the message they want to send to their readers.
Someone decides what the algorithm is meant to do. It's not like it's wholly independent of human interaction. Just because you hide yourself behind layers of technology doesn't mean you're no longer liable for your decisions.
Depending on the algorithm I'd agree or disagree with you on that. A more complex designed one that was made to avoid certain words, prioritizes topics, and favor certain creators IMO is more indicative moderation and curation.
While a simple one that just highlights the best watchtime posts with weighting for most replies in the past hour wouldn't carry the same indicia of a choice being made, as in regards to any one upload.
That first example should probably qualify them as a publisher in Sec 230 IMO but the second example shouldn't be held to the same standard.
I mean... obviously context matters. But its just automation. A person can do the same thing, just taking more time.
Automation shouldn't shield one from the consequences of their choices.