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  2. October 2015

October 2015

SXSW will hold all-day summit about online harassment in partnership with leading women advocates

In the wake of a week-long controversy over its cancellation of an anti-harassment panel, the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival has announced that it will not only reinstate the panel but also hold a day-long summit on the topic of online harassment.

The summit, scheduled for March 12, will include speakers such as Monica Bickert, Facebook’s head of product policy; Brianna Wu, a prominent developer and Gamergate target; Mary Anne Franks, and anti-revenge porn advocate; and Rep Katherine Clark (D-MA), the congresswoman who criticized SXSW’s decision to cancel the panel. “Earlier this week we made a mistake,” the festival said in a statement. “By canceling two sessions we sent an unintended message that SXSW not only tolerates online harassment but condones it, and for that we are truly sorry.”

Facebook to test tweaks to real name policy again after more criticism

Facebook announced that it plants to test alterations to its controversial real name policy to allow users more room to explain their name choices. The company will also require more explanation from users who report others for violating the real name rule to prevent it from being used as a silencing or harassment tactic on the social network.

Alex Schultz, Facebook's vice president of growth, explained the changes after the company received an organized complaint from members of the LGBT community, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and other activist and advocacy groups who say the real name policy is still overly simplified and technically flawed. "We want to reduce the number of people who are asked to verify their name on Facebook, when they are already using the name people know them by," Schultz wrote. "We want to make it easier for people to confirm their name if necessary."

What We Know About the Computer Formulas Making Decisions in Your Life

Software formulas influence far more than your Google search results or Facebook newsfeed. Sophisticated algorithms are now being used to make decisions in everything from criminal justice to education. But when big data uses bad data, discrimination can result. Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez recently called for “algorithmic transparency,” since algorithms can contain “embedded assumptions that lead to adverse impacts that reinforce inequality.” Here are a few good stories that have contributed to our understanding of this relatively new field.

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