Technologies

Facebook reportedly shelved report over fears it could make the company look bad

The report shows the most-viewed US content on Facebook in the first quarter.

Facebook decided not to publicize a report about its most-viewed content in the first three months of the year because of concerns the data could make the company look bad, The New York Times reported on Friday.

Citing internal emails, the Times said Alex Schultz, Facebook’s chief marketing officer and vice president of analytics, and other executives debated whether the results of the report would harm Facebook’s image. The report showed that the most-viewed link in the first quarter was a news article from The South Florida Sun Sentinel republished by The Chicago Tribune with the headline «A ‘healthy’ doctor died two weeks after getting a COVID-19 vaccine; CDC is investigating why.» The Epoch Times, a far-right media outlet, was also the 19th-most-popular page on the platform.

The revelation raises questions about whether Facebook is selectively publishing data that helps the company fight back against concerns that polarizing content spreads widely on the platform. The Biden administration and other politicians have also urged the social network to do more to combat COVID-19 misinformation that could make people hesitant to get vaccinated.

Facebook didn’t respond to a request for comment. Andy Stone, a spokesman for the company, tweeted that «we ultimately held it because there were fixes we needed to make.» He also pointed out that the most-viewed headline came from an authoritative news source. On Saturday, following the publication of the Times article, Facebook released the report.

Facebook executives have reportedly raised concerns before about information from a data analytics tool that Facebook owns called CrowdTangle that shows high engagement with right-wing sites. On Wednesday, Facebook published for the first time a report that included what domains, links, pages and posts were the most widely viewed in the US on Facebook during the second quarter, which is between April and June.

The most viewed domain in the second quarter was YouTube. The most viewed link was for Player Alumni Resources, and the top page was from Unicef. The most viewed post was an image from a motivational speaker that asked people about the first words they see in a block of letters.

Company executives said during a press call that Facebook released the data as part of its broader commitment around transparency. But some people, including former vice president of product marketing at Facebook Brian Boland, said the report «fails to deliver on the transparency it promises» because there are limitations to the data and he finds it «useless.»

«After reading through the press release and the report itself I came away believing that this entire effort is a PR stunt,» he said in a Medium post.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Smokes, informally
Answer: CIGS

5A clue: «Don’t have ___, man!» (Bart Simpson catchphrase)
Answer: ACOW

6A clue: What the vehicle in «lane one» of this crossword is winning?
Answer: RACE

7A clue: Pitt of Hollywood
Answer: BRAD

8A clue: «Yeah, whatever»
Answer: SURE

9A clue: Rd. crossers
Answer: STS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Things to «load» before a marathon
Answer: CARBS

2D clue: Mythical figure who inspired the idiom «fly too close to the sun»
Answer: ICARUS

3D clue: Zoomer around a small track
Answer: GOCART

4D clue: Neighbors of Norwegians
Answer: SWEDES

Technologies

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Technologies

New California Law Wants Companion Chatbots to Tell Kids to Take Breaks

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the new requirements on AI companions into law on Monday.

AI companion chatbots will have to remind users in California that they’re not human under a new law signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The law, SB 243, also requires companion chatbot companies to maintain protocols for identifying and addressing cases in which users express suicidal ideation or self-harm. For users under 18, chatbots will have to provide a notification at least every three hours that reminds users to take a break and that the bot is not human.

It’s one of several bills Newsom has signed in recent weeks dealing with social media, artificial intelligence and other consumer technology issues. Another bill signed Monday, AB 56, requires warning labels on social media platforms, similar to those required for tobacco products. Last week, Newsom signed measures requiring internet browsers to make it easy for people to tell websites they don’t want them to sell their data and banning loud advertisements on streaming platforms.

AI companion chatbots have drawn particular scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators in recent months. The Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into several companies in response to complaints by consumer groups and parents that the bots were harming children’s mental health. OpenAI introduced new parental controls and other guardrails in its popular ChatGPT platform after the company was sued by parents who allege ChatGPT contributed to their teen son’s suicide.

«We’ve seen some truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech, and we won’t stand by while companies continue without necessary limits and accountability,» Newsom said in a statement.

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One AI companion developer, Replika, told CNET that it already has protocols to detect self-harm as required by the new law, and that it is working with regulators and others to comply with requirements and protect consumers.

«As one of the pioneers in AI companionship, we recognize our profound responsibility to lead on safety,» Replika’s Minju Song said in an emailed statement. Song said Replika uses content-filtering systems, community guidelines and safety systems that refer users to crisis resources when needed.

A Character.ai spokesperson said the company «welcomes working with regulators and lawmakers as they develop regulations and legislation for this emerging space, and will comply with laws, including SB 243.» OpenAI spokesperson Jamie Radice called the bill a «meaningful move forward» for AI safety. «By setting clear guardrails, California is helping shape a more responsible approach to AI development and deployment across the country,» Radice said in an email.

One bill Newsom has yet to sign, AB 1064, would go further by prohibiting developers from making companion chatbots available to children unless the AI companion is «not foreseeably capable of» encouraging harmful activities or engaging in sexually explicit interactions, among other things.