How Elon Musk is Fighting Social Media Censorship by Fact Checking

Elon Musk, a renowned entrepreneur and technology visionary, has taken a stand against social media censorship by championing the practice of fact-checking. 

Trump's FCC Nominee Wants to Fight Social Media Censorship

In June, Trump issued an executive order designed to prevent online censorship. The order "requests that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) clarify that Section 230 does not permit social media companies that alter or editorialize users' speech to escape civil liability."

Trump nominates Nathan Simington to Federal CommunThe petition also requests the FCC to clarify when an online platform curates content in "good faith," and requests transparency requirements on their moderation practices.

Simington would take the place of FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who describes himself as "extremely dedicated to First Amendment" and—unlike some of his colleagues—has declined to be a total Trump bootlicker. Trump had nominated O'Rielly for a third term as an FCC commissioner until O'Rielly gave a speech critical of Trump administration tech and speech policy in July. The White House promptly announced that it was pulling O'Rielly's nomination.

But Thune wants Trump to renominate commissioner Michael O'Rielly, who has hinted he would go against the president's executive order. A bill currently before the FCC would give tech companies the right to censor its users with a small risk of facing legal consequences.

TikTok Uses Data on US Citizens to Censor Speech Deemed Sensitive by the Chinese government

The Trump administration expressed concerns that the hugely popular app could be used as a spying tool by Beijing. Authorities also fear that it could be leveraged to collect personal data on US citizens or to censor speech deemed sensitive by the Chinese government.

TikTok, the short-form video app that’s been downloaded 1.5 billion times, is one of the most exciting and goofiest places on the internet, and possibly the only truly fun social media network in 2019. It is also based in China — and that’s the part that has some users, and now, politicians, concerned.

The concern of US politicians about TikTok started with a Guardian investigation published on September 25, which revealed leaked documents that showed TikTok instructing its moderators to censor videos that listed subjects that were sensitive to the Communist Party of China: for example, Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, and the Falun Gong religious community. The Guardian's investigation came after the Washington Post reported that a search on TikTok for Hong Kong-related topics revealed virtually zero material about the ongoing and widely publicized pro-democracy demonstrations, which at the time had been a major subject on other social media sites.

“Security experts have voiced concerns that China’s vague patchwork of intelligence, national security, and cybersecurity laws compel Chinese companies to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party,” read the letter, addressed to acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire. “Without an independent judiciary to review requests made by the Chinese government for data or other actions, there is no legal mechanism for Chinese companies to appeal if they disagree with a request.”

Net Neutrality was a long-debated topic before the Coronavirus hit.   

Read more examples of how the Government and Big Tech are censoring free speech. 

5 Reasons Why You Must VPN for Private Web Browsing (VPN)

A Virtual Private Network is a secure tunnel established between your PC and a VPN server and all your web traffic is encrypted and sent through the tunnel. When you use a VPN connection, your actual IP address is masked and it becomes difficult for eavesdroppers to track your online activity since the entire traffic is encrypted through the VPN tunnel. Though using a VPN connection will slow down your bandwidth by 30-40%, there are several advantages of using a secured VPN tunnel for private web browsing as listed below.

1. Downloading and Uploading of P2P Files without Getting Tracked

Virtual private networks are essential if you wish to enjoy unrestricted access to the internet along with total protection. It is illegal in many countries to download pirated content such as movies, music, TV from Torrent sites. By using a VPN tunnel you can share files with your friends using a P2P (peer-to-peer) connection securely. You can hide your IP address and location using a VPN connection and it will be difficult to trace your online activities.

2. Using Public Wi-Fi Securely

We always feel uncomfortable while using free Wi-Fi available in hotels, airports, shopping malls, and coffee shops, etc. since we are doubtful whether it’s secure and if anyone will eavesdrop on us. Since these Wi-Fi connections are open and your web traffic is not encrypted, it can be easy for hackers to eavesdrop and steal all your confidential data. Any person with access to the same public Wi-Fi can intercept all your web traffic using a simple plugin Firefox tamper data and steal your passwords, contacts, credit card information, and all your confidential data. By using a secure VPN tunnel for browsing, you can make it impossible for hackers to eavesdrop since all your data will be encrypted.

3. Access Geo-Blocked Content and Bypass Content Censorship

When it comes to online streaming, every country has its own rules and regulations which make it difficult to watch your favorite TV shows and music broadcasted by companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, etc. outside the United States. Due to certain copyright agreements, even some videos on YouTube are blocked in certain countries. Using a VPN service helps to masquerade your IP address and change your location as if you are browsing from the US or a different country. This can help you bypass content censorship and watch your favorite videos online. Even some popular services like Gmail, Facebook, and other Google services are blocked in certain countries like China. By using a VPN connection, you can bypass such restrictions and access these services through a secure VPN tunnel.  

4. Search securely without your data being logged

All the popular search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo will log all your web search history which is linked to the IP address of your PC. By using a VPN service, you can hide your IP address and hence there won’t be logging related to your search history which allows you to maintain your privacy during web browsing.

5. Secure your VoIP calls

People use Skype, Google Duo, Lync, and other services for online chatting through VoIP calls. Hackers can eavesdrop on your Voice-over-IP calls easily using certain promiscuous monitoring tools. Hence, you should secure your VoIP calls using a VPN tunnel so that all your voice data will be encrypted and sent through the tunnel. This ensures greater privacy and protection of your sensitive information.

A VPN connection can also be used to bypass any restrictions made by the network administrator in your workplace or school. There are VPN products available in the market and you should compare the pros and cons of each product before you decide to purchase it. There are comparisons available for different products like the article Expressvpn vs Nordvpn which describes the performance, features, customer service, and pricing of both products.

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