The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Ridgewood NJ, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is making waves in the tech and political worlds with its decision to replace its third-party fact-checking program with a community-driven system inspired by Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter). CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the change in a video early Tuesday, signaling a shift in Meta’s approach to content moderation and free speech as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
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Ridgewood NJ, President-elect Donald Trump has taken a significant step in the ongoing battle over TikTok’s future in the United States. With a potential ban on the popular social media platform looming, Trump has asked the Supreme Court to delay the enforcement deadline, currently set for the day before his inauguration.
Continue reading TikTok Ban in Limbo: President-Elect Trump Requests Supreme Court Delay
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Ridgewood NJ, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, acknowledged challenges in enforcing its content moderation policies, admitting its error rates remain “too high.” The statement, made by Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, comes as the company faces scrutiny over balancing free expression with safety on its platforms.
Continue reading Meta Admits to Content Moderation Errors, Downplays Censorship
Continue reading Village of Ridgewood Mayor Stifles Public Comments
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Ridgewood NJ, in a Facebook post a poster commented on the on going antics of a Ridgewood resident who’s self-styled, self indulgent bloviating has become a mainstay of the public comment portion of Village council meetings. The poster raised concerns as to whether the commentor had gone “too far” ? Whether a commentor goes “too far” or not is something the Ridgewood blog deals with on a daily basis . Sometimes we come in a little over and sometimes a little under , the balance is often difficult to get just right.
Continue reading So How Far is “Too Far” in Public Comments, Blog Comments ?
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Ridgewood NJ, in a significant ruling, a five-member panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court unanimously voted to uphold a nationwide ban on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The decision came after Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the ban on Friday due to the platform’s failure to appoint a local legal representative, as required by Brazilian law. This ruling extends the ban, which will remain in place until X complies with the legal requirement and pays over $3 million in outstanding fines.
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Ridgewood NJ, in a significant move, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has distanced himself from the controversial relationship between his company and the Biden-Harris administration. In a letter addressed to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Zuckerberg candidly revealed the intense pressure Meta faced from the government to censor content related to COVID-19, including satire, humor, and the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Continue reading Zuckerberg’s Fallout: Meta CEO Distances Himself from Biden-Harris Administration
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Ridgewood NJ, Tim Wu, the former Biden White House “antitrust expert” known for coining the term “net neutrality,” has sparked a heated debate with his recent op-ed in the New York Times. The piece, headlined in a way that underscores the apprehensions of the progressive left, addresses what Wu sees as the judiciary’s mismanagement of the First Amendment.
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Englewood Cliffs NJ, this story is about a lawyer who works for a New Jersey municipality Englewood Cliffs ,suing the newly elected mayor and his two council running mates who won the Nov 2023 election.
Continue reading New Jersey’s ANTI-SLAPP Law Gets Major Test in Englewood Cliffs
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Ridgewood NJ, the landscape of content moderation underwent significant changes in 2023, signaling the evolving dynamics of online platforms. Twitter, particularly under the influence of Elon Musk, broke content moderation norms, foreshadowing broader shifts in the industry. Major tech companies, including Meta Platforms Inc., Google, Amazon.com Inc., and Microsoft Corp., downsized their workforces amid economic challenges, impacting content moderation (Censorship) efforts. The trend toward utilizing artificial intelligence for moderation increased, with companies like Meta and Twitter embracing AI solutions.
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Trenton NJ, Governor Phil Murphy today signed the ‘Uniform Public Expression Protection Act’ to protect people from meritless lawsuits intended to intimidate them for exercising their free speech rights. Powerful entities and individuals often use lawsuits and litigation threats to punish and silence those who might speak unfavorably about them. The bipartisan legislation will enable defendants to seek the expedited dismissal of such lawsuits, commonly referred to as ‘Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation’ (SLAPP), which have historically been used against journalists, academics, advocates, and whistleblowers – among others.
Continue reading New Bipartisan Bill Protecting Against Lawsuits Designed to Suppress Free Speech
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Ridgewood NJ, in a ruling handed down fittingly on the Fourth of July, a federal judge Terry Doughty ordered a litany of Biden administration officials to stop encouraging social media companies to block or remove content they disliked.
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Ridgewood NJ, Plans to enact a ban on the display of signs during public meetings of the Ridgewood Village Council are no longer in play. This was confirmed on Thursday night by Village Attorney Matthew Rogers.
Continue reading Sanity prevails – Ridgewood Village Council drops plan to ban signs from meetings
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Ridgewood NJ, the bad news very simply is that our mayor controls who gets the opportunity to speak. If he sees a name on the queue list that he doesn’t like, he can bypass that individual. The public doesn’t get to see who is waiting in queue; only the mayor and his IT support employee can see the list. We suppose if you’re booted and complain, a mysterious technical difficulty will be offered up as an explanation.
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Ridgewood NJ, While the Ridgewood blog thrives on “comments ” and at times comments have been criticized for being highly controversial in nature , but the exchange of information has had a net positive effect in the Village . The debate often centers around the balance between what is appropriate , politically correct and whats just too far .
Continue reading The Ridgewood Blog Loves Your Comments , but We Won’t Feed the Trolls
