Bipartisan bill would force Big Tech to offer algorithm-free feeds, search results

[Ohio Joe]

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced a bill that would force social media platforms to allow people to use the site without algorithms that filter or prioritize the content that users see. The bill joins a similar act proposed in the Senate, and together, the bills suggest that lawmaker animus toward social media companies isn’t going away.

“Consumers should have the option to engage with Internet platforms without being manipulated by secret algorithms driven by user-specific data,” Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) said in a statement to Ars. Buck introduced the bill with three cosponsors, Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), and Burgess Owens (R-Utah).

“Facebook and other dominant platforms manipulate their users through opaque algorithms that prioritize growth and profit over everything else,” Rep. Cicilline said in a statement. “And due to these platforms’ monopoly power and dominance, users are stuck with few alternatives to this exploitative business model, whether it is in their social media feed, on paid advertisements, or in their search results.”

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/11/bill-proposes-algorithm-free-option-on-big-tech-platforms-may-portend-bigger-steps/

ahhhh sheesh... Nobody would actually like this once they tried a google search with it... They would probably like it even less if they tried the same search a second time. I get it, I get it... Completely. I understand what they want to get to but... Words have meaning and this is worded really shitty and any website you use now would simply be unusable and useless. Well... At least they are on the right track, we'll have to see how the final bill is worded.

[Hoyt]

1. Not sure about that, but would like to see how final bill comes out.

[Rocknation]

2. Actually, it's "Corporate Media animus toward social media via the lawmakers"

"...(F)or social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, where people have amassed hundreds of “friends” and followers who collectively post thousands of pieces of content daily, the (law) would make the sites almost unusable. Maybe that’s the idea?"

You don't think that a Fox News would jump at the chance to "manipulate by secret algorithms driven by user-specific data"? If you can't beat them, ban them.


Rocknation

[unblock]

3. I like duck duck go just fine.

[Scrivener7]

4. Me to. Prefer it to google.

[Klaralven]

5. Without algorithms a computer is just a useless lump of metal