Page 24 - AT

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Tuesday 9 april 2019
Facebook, Google face widening crackdown over online content

By DANICA KIRKA and KEL- vices to EU citizens, whether
VIN CHAN or not those businesses are
Associated Press based in the EU's 28 mem-
LONDON (AP) — Social me- ber countries. It still needs
dia giants like Facebook further approval, including
and Google came under from the full European Par-
increasing pressure in Eu- liament.
rope on Monday when It faces heavy opposition
countries proposed stricter from digital rights organiza-
rules to force them to block tions, tech industry groups
extreme material such as and some lawmakers, who
terrorist propaganda and said the 60-minute dead-
child porn. line is impractical and
Britain called for a first-of- would lead companies
its-kind watchdog for so- to go too far and remove
cial media that could fine even lawful material.
executives and even ban "Instead, we call for a more
companies. And a Euro- pragmatic approach with
pean Union parliamentary removals happening 'as
committee approved a bill soon as possible,' to protect
giving internet companies citizens' rights and com-
an hour to remove terror- In this April 18, 2017 file photo, conference workers speak in front of a demo booth at Facebook's petitiveness," said EDIMA,
related material or face annual F8 developer conference, in San Jose, Calif. a European trade group
fines that could reach into Associated Press for new media and internet
the billions. companies.
"We are forcing these videos of the attacks in the The British plan would re- ment to ensure new regu- Opponents said the mea-
firms to clean up their act 24 hours afterward. quire social media compa- lations are effective," she sure also places a bigger
once and for all," said Brit- The U.S., where govern- nies such as Facebook and said. burden on smaller internet
ish Home Secretary Sajid ment action is constrained Twitter to protect people Britain will consider impos- companies than on giants
Javid, whose department by the First Amendment who use their sites from ing financial penalties simi- like Facebook and Google,
collaborated on Britain's right to free speech and "harmful content." The plan, lar to those under the EU's which already have auto-
proposal. freedom of the press, has which includes the creation online data privacy law, mated content filters. To
Opponents warned the taken a more hands-off of an independent regula- which permits fines of up to help smaller web compa-
British and EU measures approach, though on Tues- tor funded by a tax on in- 4% of a company's annual nies, the bill was modified
could stifle innovation and day, a House committee ternet companies, will be worldwide revenue, Wright to give them an extra 12
strengthen the dominance will press Google and Face- subject to public comment said. In extreme cases, the hours for their first offense,
of technology giants be- book executives on wheth- for three months before the government may also seek a measure opponents said
cause smaller companies er they are doing enough government publishes draft to fine individual company didn't go far enough.
won't have the money to to curb the spread of hate legislation. directors and prevent com- Mark Skilton, a professor at
comply. That, in turn, could crimes and white national- "No one in the world has panies from operating in England's Warwick Business
turn Google and Facebook ism. done this before, and it's im- Britain. School, urged regulators to
into the web's censors, they Australia last week made portant that we get it right," Under the EU legislation that pursue new methods such
said. it a crime for social media Culture Secretary Jeremy cleared an initial hurdle in as artificial intelligence that
The push to make big social platforms not to quickly Wright told the BBC. Brussels, any internet com- could do a better job of
media companies respon- remove "abhorrent vio- Facebook's head of public panies that fail to remove tackling the problem.
sible for the torrent of ma- lent material." The offense policy in Britain, Rebecca terrorist content within an "Issuing large fines and hit-
terial they carry has largely would be punishable by Stimson, said the goal of hour of being notified by ting companies with big-
been driven by Europeans. three years in prison and a the new rules should be to authorities would face simi- ger legal threats is taking
But it picked up momen- fine of 10.5 million Austra- protect society while also lar 4% penalties. EU authori- a 20th-century bullwhip
tum after the March 15 lian dollars ($7.5 million), or supporting innovation and ties came up with the idea approach to a problem
mosque shootings in New 10% of the platform's an- freedom of speech. last year after attacks high- that requires a nuanced
Zealand that killed 50 peo- nual revenue, whichever is "These are complex issues lighted the growing trend solution," he said. "It needs
ple and were livestreamed larger. New Zealand's Pri- to get right, and we look of online radicalization. machine learning tools to
for 17 minutes. Facebook vacy Commissioner wants forward to working with the The bill would apply to manage the 21st-century
said it removed 1.5 million his country to so the same. government and Parlia- companies providing ser- problems of the internet."q

3D technology being used to locate new Alaska oil pockets

PRUDHOE BAY, Alaska Bay in northern Alaska, the (42,185 kilograms) that faster. And a softer layer, it sweep over 450 square
(AP) — New technology is Fairbanks Daily News-Miner cause the ground to vi- goes through slower." miles (about 1,166 square
being used to search for reported Saturday. brate with sonic energy, Receivers pick up the re- kilometers), the company
untapped oil in an Alaska The area has been an oil officials said. turning sound waves and said. Environmental groups
bay that is already an es- source for more than four "As the energy wave goes convert the data into a have voiced strong op-
tablished source of fossil decades, but in recent through the subsurface, the three-dimensional "cube" position to prospective 3D
fuel, according to officials. years its flow has slowed, rocks are in layers, and the depicting the geology seismic work in the Arctic
Oil and gas company BP the newspaper reported. layers are based in hard- below, including the loca- National Wildlife Refuge,
is employing "3D seismic" The technology involves ness," said Robert Pool, a tion of hidden pockets of but they have not op-
technology to locate small metal platforms mounted BP seismic acquisition spe- oil, officials said. The 3D posed BP's use of the tech-
pockets of previously un- to "vibe trucks" weigh- cialist. "A harder layer, the seismic survey from Janu- nology in Prudhoe Bay, the
discovered oil in Prudhoe ing about 93,000 pounds sound wave goes through ary through mid-April will newspaper reported.q