Related papers: Big Tech's Tightening Grip on Internet Speech
The information system (T.V., newspapers, blogs, social network platforms) and its inner dynamics play a fundamental role on the evolution of collective debates and thus on the public opinion. In this work we address such a process focusing…
The explosion of people networking in cyberspace, disseminating terabytes of information, is being promoted through the use of broadband, bluetooth technology, and wireless mobile computing facilities. New communities within such venues as…
In the hypertrophic and uncharted information world, recommender systems are gatekeepers of knowledge. The evolution of these algorithms is usually an opaque process, but in February 2023, the recommender system of X, formerly Twitter, was…
The proliferation of social media platforms and online communities has inadvertently catalyzed the spread of cyberbullying, hate speech, and other forms of online toxicity, making the effective governance of such harm a critical societal…
Communication plays a major role in social systems. Effective communications, which requires transmission of the messages between individuals without disruptions or noise, can be a powerful tool to deliver intended impact. Language and…
The 21st century has redefined the way we communicate, our concept of individual and group privacy, and the dynamics of acceptable behavioral norms. The messaging dynamics on Twitter, an internet social network, has opened new ways/modes of…
Social media platforms have transformed the dynamics of collective opinion formation, enabling rapid, large-scale interactions while simultaneously exposing online discourse to polarization and manipulation. Traditional models of opinion…
Personal communication using technical means is protected by telecommunications secrecy. Any interference with this fundamental right requires a legal basis, which has existed for many years for traditional communication services in the…
With the rapid growth of social media usage, a common trend has emerged where users often make sarcastic comments on posts. While sarcasm can sometimes be harmless, it can blur the line with cyberbullying, especially when used in negative…
Social media platforms increasingly employ proactive moderation techniques, such as detecting and curbing toxic and uncivil comments, to prevent the spread of harmful content. Despite these efforts, such approaches are often criticized for…
Online platforms play a relevant role in the creation and diffusion of false or misleading news. Concerningly, the COVID-19 pandemic is shaping a communication network - barely considered in the literature - which reflects the emergence of…
Social media have quickly become a prevalent channel to access information, spread ideas, and influence opinions. However, it has been suggested that social and algorithmic filtering may cause exposure to less diverse points of view, and…
Hateful comments are prevalent on social media platforms. Although tools for automatically detecting, flagging, and blocking such false, offensive, and harmful content online have lately matured, such reactive and brute force methods alone…
The amount of information available to the general public is enormous, and it is challenging to extract meaningful and reliable content. The availability of news sources and their trustability are the biggest problems for selecting the…
One of the hallmarks of a free and fair society is the ability to conduct a peaceful and seamless transfer of power from one leader to another. Democratically, this is measured in a citizen population's trust in the electoral system of…
Today, data and information have become overabundant resources within a global network of machines that exchange signals at speeds approaching that of light. In this highly saturated environment, communication has emerged as the most…
Online communities provide ample opportunities for user self-expression but generally lack the means for average users to exercise direct control over community policies. This paper sets out to identify a set of strategies and techniques…
Content moderation plays a critical role in shaping safe and inclusive online environments, balancing platform standards, user expectations, and regulatory frameworks. Traditionally, this process involves operationalising policies into…
Large Language Models (LLMs) are a powerful technology that augment human skill to create new opportunities, akin to the development of steam engines and the internet. However, LLMs come with a high cost. They require significant computing…
The online hate speech is proliferating with several organization and countries implementing laws to ban such harmful speech. While these restrictions might reduce the amount of such hateful content, it does so by restricting freedom of…