I've seen lots of discussion about what the Gov't should be doing sbout regulating Facebook,Twitter,

[politicaljunkie41910]

and other social media sources to regulate these sources during our election cycle, and prevent what happened in 2016. Do we really want to create another government agency, or put the FCC, FTC, FEC, or anyone else in charge of monitoring social media and at what cost? How about this for an idea?

How about voting age people not getting their news and information from some fat cat who lives in his parents basement, be it in Wisconsin or Moscow? How about grown ass folks who wish to vote in a presidential election, read at least one national publication of that thing we call a "newspaper" once in a while during the primary season and during the time between the presidential conventions and election day? Is that asking too much of people in a free society, who want representative government. If it is then I suggest you spend some time in North Korea with Lil Kim's propaganda machine in order to develop a healthy dose of skepticism.

Democracies have rights and responsibilities. Our responsibility is to be an informed electorate. I will admit, that I didn't even know Facebook was a news source. I use it because my grandchildren's photos get posted their by their parents so everyone can see them in one place. Brilliant idea. I have a Facebook account because my 30th High School reunion committee created a Facebook Page for purchasing tickets. All information was disseminated through that one source on one page and it worked quite efficiently.

Facebook is an excellent source for pictures of grandbabies, disseminating class reunion information, and hiding the 40 lbs you've gained since high school. Other than that, it's Fantasyland at Disneyworld and anyone who counts on it as their primary source of news and information after 2016 perhaps should consider a newspaper subscription rather than insisting that the Government get into the business of regulating Facebook, and Twitter.

[shraby]

1. Do you really believe what you said?

If the social media isn't regulated in some way, who's to say it won't be used in exactly the same way in 2018 as it was in 2016.

[politicaljunkie41910]

3. Obviously, I do.

If every social media business with a website is now going to be responsible for every comment posted on it's website, then we are in trouble. That includes this one. Do we know for certain, Russian Bots didn't infiltrate this website? I read some strange things on this board during the 2016 campaign. What's next, lawsuits over content which wasn't pulled fast enough and someone's feelings were hurt?

As I said, I'm not big user of Facebook, and I certainly don't use it as a source of news and political information. But if the Government gets into the business of regulating free speech, outside of the realm of pornography, slander, physical threats of bodily harm, yelling fire in a crowded theater, etc than God help us all. Just because I said I don't have much use for it, doesn't mean I want to see a private business enterprise destroyed or regulated out of existence because a foreign country used it to disseminate bogus information during an election campaign. We live and we learn. If the government forces Facebook to monitor every utterance posted on it under the threat of fines or other penalties, it will will drive it out of business.

[bettyellen]

5. I think the phony but realistic newspaper sites that were linked to

Are dangerous and yeah, people have to be sacked about their sources. But no I don't think foreigners should be able to purchase politics ads. Or post blatantly false stories as news. Many at the FEC did want to regulate social media posts and it was republicans that fought the idea.

[Girard442]

2. I'm a First Amendment fanatic. I hear what you're saying.

Seems to me that there are tools like, say, registration of foreign agents, compelling full disclosure of funding of speech promulgated by commercial entities, and antitrust policies aimed at preventing concentration of media ownership in the hands a few companies that we can use.

In the meantime, it's up to all of us to push the idea that any social medium that can quickly, cheaply, and selectively deliver messages to large numbers of users should be suspect. (Shorter version: Facebook is a sewer.)

Also, it's important to remember that the channels have always been full of dreck, since before Gutenberg. What made election season 2016 uniquely vulnerable to junk flowing through social media was the sheer amount of hate out there. I witnessed a group of people cackling over anti-Hillary articles in the National Enquirer, for crying out loud. Seriously, would anyone who hasn't recently deplaned from a flying saucer be influenced by articles in the Enquirer if they weren't already in lynch-mob mode?

[procon]

4. As an avid news consumer, I am skeptical of most news sources.

It takes a lot of time and attention to ferret out which news venues are credible. I want to have some modicum of assurance that the news I am reading came from a legitimate news organization with credible journalists and ethical reporting standards. I don't want to be tricked, deceived or exploited by some Russian military infiltration or Republican propagandists.

Maybe news outfits could create some sort of an professional ethical board of standards where member organizations are vetted, giving the public some visible means of identifying real news from fake news. Something similar to how doctors belong to specialty boards attesting to their training and expertise.

[Captain Stern]

6. I'm ok with having what's posted on social media being strictly regulated..with one condition.

I get to be the one that regulates it.

Not the government, not some committee, not the majority....just me.

If that isn't doable, then I prefer to let people post whatever they want, regardless of whether or not it's true.

Like you said, the problem isn't that there is a means for people and/or agencies to easily disseminate misinformation. The problem is that we have too many people that are too lazy, confused, uneducated, or just willfully ignorant to bother to question what they read.

I believe that ultimately, all countries get the government that they deserve. That's what we have now...the government that we deserve. Of course, by 'we', I don't mean all of us.....I mean 'we' as in the United States.

[politicaljunkie41910]

7. With everyone calling for Zuckerburg's head on a platter, I think Congress will over-regulate before

they get it right. Too many calling for the Government to do something, and Congress will feel that they have a mandate and overreach and come up with some silly 'rules' which will mandate something like every post being reviewed and verified before officially published and it will take them days to accomplish this and people will just stop using the website because they don't get that instant feedback that they enjoy. I know someone will say that I'm being hysterical because they are only talking about ads, but what are 'posts' anyway if not a form of advertising your opinions, your viewpoints, your likes and dislikes. If the Government starts regulating it, it will cease to exist as we know it, and go the way of My Space. The government will overreach and a business enterprise which employs many decent people and pays very well will quickly dry up and disappear.

[crosinski]

8. Facebook placed those ads based on what they knew about you.

I think that gives it an extra creepy spin. So, what if Russia had trolls who friended you, posted things of interest to you and your friends, and worked in some anti-whatever propaganda now and then. Would that be ok with you?

[politicaljunkie41910]

9. As I mentioned from the outset, my Facebook experience is very limited. I use Facebook for

two purposes; to view pictures of my grandchildren, and to sign up for my 30th High School Reunion. I bought a pair of tickets to the Reunion. If Facebook wanted to build an ad about me based on that information, go for it. I think it would have been a waste of time myself. I don't get ANY news from Facebook because I didn't know that they even had any NEWS, so I doubt that either Facebook or the Russian Bots find me useful for any propaganda purposes.

[crosinski]

10. Ah, I see. Just wondering what your thoughts were on various scenarios.

Yeah, unfortunately, nearly everything we do publically has to have rules, or the bad guys find a way to take advantage every single time.

[politicaljunkie41910]

11. Just because I said I have limited Facebook experience, doesn't mean I don't know anything about

following rules. Quite the contrary. Actually the reason I don't spend a lot of time on Facebook is that I have a diverse lifestyle which is pretty full and I don't have time to spend hours on a social media website with a bunch of anonymous posters. In fact that's why I rely on this website to help keep me informed about what's going on in the world because I know I'll find out quickly what's leading the News, that I might have missed from my other sources. I don't use this website in place of the News but to supplement it since my days are full and my activities often interrupted so I don't get the luxury of reading a newspaper or watching a Cable News segment completely uninterrupted but I do watch the News, I do read the newspaper, and I listen to the News in my car, each and every day so I am more informed on any given day than the average person. Always have been. Always will be, until the day comes that I can no longer read, or watch, or listen to the news. I was taught to read the newspaper back in Catholic elementary school, and every day we had to come to school and know three current event and be prepared to discuss them. We had to know one local news item, one national news item, and one worldly news item. Prior to class starting the teacher would call on us to discuss one of our news items. She didn't call on everyone, everyday, but she called on as many as time permitted and she expected you to know one of each. Old habits die hard I guess.

[crosinski]

12. Of course. I was stating my opinion on why I think we need rules in certain situations.

Since your OP was about not wanting any regulation applied to Facebook, I was making a simple case for why I thought there should be. I wasn't making a comment on your ability to follow them. I come here to get opinions on news too, and that's all I've been trying to discuss with you. No ulterior motives. It's my bedtime, which is a good thing since I seem to be really bad at discussing things tonight. Goodnight. 😴