Social Media as we know it today, websites and applications that a person uses to communicate with other users, started twenty years ago in 1997 with a site called Six Degrees. Since then a lot has changed and social media has become an hourly activity for its many users. With such widespread use it was only a matter of time before the law would get involved with social media. Now major applications, like Facebook, are facing controversial choices about how their sites should be used and policed and not just by their local state or even their national governments but internationally as well. Many social media sites are being asked to crack down on fake profiles for a variety of reasons such as: the spreading of fake news and hoaxes up to more personal reason such as the use of fake profiles to harass a person or revenge porn. Some social media companies are willingly complying but others are worried about the cost both of implementing the software an their users privacy and 1st Amendment rights. While the law is trying to catch up to technology the question remains should social media companies be doing more to protect their users? Let us know your thoughts on What Do You Think?
Technology
This category encompasses articles involving artificial intelligence, computers, smartphones, software, coding, hacking, other electronic products, companies that create these technologies, and any other article topic related to technology. Write an article with your thoughts on current or past technology!
If you're 16 right now, you may already have your driver license; but chances are the generation after you may never need one. In the past, learning the laws in the drivers manual and getting your driver license was an important step that was craved by teenagers for the freedom and autonomy driving provided. It allowed you to get from point A to point B without having to rely on someone else; hop in the car, turn the key (another thing that has gone by the wayside) and off you went. However, technology, has changed that by providing us apps like Uber and Lyft that allow you the ability to summon a driver on a whim and now it has gone another step further with Waymo and Tesla leading the way in automated self driving technology. Waymo announced in an email to its Phoenix Metro users that they soon, "may experience one of it's driverless rides!" Tesla also recently launched its "Smart Summon" technology which allows the vehicle to drive without a driver up to 200 feet on private property. Thanks to Executive Order 2018-04, Arizona is allowed to have driverless vehicles as long as they are in, "full compliance with all the applicable traffic and motor vehicle safety...laws and regulations of both the Federal Government and the State of Arizona". It is estimated that by 2021 this type of artificial intelligence (AI) will make driving yourself a thing of the past. Find out more about AI and its possibilities in Artificial Intelligence: Will it be a Boon for Mankind or a Disaster?
TikTok, formerly Musical.ly, may be in trouble with the law again. TikTok is an app that allows users to create short videos with special effects, filters, music. etcetera and then upload them to their app for the public to view. Recently, TikTok settled a case for $5.7 million in response to allegations that they violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Now, they could be in trouble for copyright theft according to the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA). According to Music Business Worldwide, the NMPA president sent a letter to Sen. Marco Rubio; in it he stated, “We hope that if Congress looks further into matters relating to TikTok that copyright theft is included in the scope of its examination." TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, which is why the NMPA needs Congress to intervene in the situation. A spokesperson from TikTok responded to the allegations stating, "TikTok has broad licensing coverage across the music publishing industry covering many thousands of publishers and songwriters and millions of copyrights, and has paid royalties since its inception." If you want to know more about copyright law, how it effects you and why its important read "Copyright" or you can read a real case in "Copyright Law and the Fair Use Doctrine" (Don't worry its not as dry as it sounds.)