EU demands a peek under the hood of X's recommendation algorithms The European Commission is stepping up its ongoing investigation of Elon Musk's X with a request to examine recent changes made to the platform's recommendation algorithms. Brussels today announced it is demanding internal documentation on the recommendation systems of the site formerly known as Twitter and any recent changes …
I am not on X, or Facebook, but what I would like is to choose my own recommendation algorithm. So, if I post, or 'like' a post, I would like to be able to ask for a recommendation for content to calm me down, or make me feel happier, than what I hear happens which is they go for something even more extreme. (Not just kittens behaving adorably videos, although sometimes that would do.). But maybe that wouldn't generate the squillions of advertising dollar revenue that fuels the space programmes.
(Icon, 'coz we're all kids at heart, aren't we?)
"Not just kittens behaving adorably videos, although sometimes that would do."
How about goats doing crazy things?
I find that sometimes I need a compilation of cats being absolute shits more than being .. Awwww.
A good dose of Robin Williams is a good alternate.
Its what the people in the open source world try to create. Its why Immich was created because the guys wife didn't want to pay for Google photos anymore. It doesn't suck up your data, you can self host it and its just amazing. Its possible and helped more if people pay for it.
Germany has sufficient electoral regulation to handle Musk, this investigation really is unrelated and is down to remarks from users (apparently there still are some) about recommendation. As a channel I think that Twitter may soon be too small to be relevant, but we do have to consider the actions and position of its owner, but this will likely be handled by electoral campaign financing legislation.
You think so? Just look at what happened in the US. Money in large quantities makes weak people fold completely
Or just look at what happened in Romania. Government screamed 'election inteference!' and overturned their election result. Then it transpired that it was self-interference by their government that resulted in them losing after a poorly thought out campaign to split the vote. So Romanians get to vote again, and maybe again until the right (or Left) candidate wins. And it's much the same in Germany with the fear that voters might prefer AfD. And of course the EU happily inteferes with national elections inside and outside the EU, and will punish anyone that interferes with their interference.
Sure the timing is "coincidental", just like Musk's flapping big mouth has nothing to do with the fact there is an election happening.
Yep. The election happening is as a result of this-
On 16 December 2024, Scholz lost a no-confidence vote in the Bundestag, paving the way for elections to be held on 23 February 2025
Which brought the German elections forward from September 2025, and with Scholz polling as the 2nd worst Chancellor in German history, it's not suprising many Germans might be looking for an alternative. Scholz, and his fellow travellers are also just looking for excuses. It's not their incompetence that's leading to a downfall of 'progressive' politicians across Europe, it was those 6 words from Musk.
I'm also curious if Musk should really be censored or sanctioned in Germany (or the EU) for expressing opinions. Telsa has invested billions in Germany, created thousands of jobs and is a 'corporate citizen' there. Musk is the voice of that 'citzen', even though he's not a citizen himself.
Unsurprisingly, Tesla is a net benefactor of the investment due to tax breaks. The company has benefitted from preferential treatment over the heads of local officials: it has a greater water allocation than others in an area of increasing water scarcity.
Scholz is rightly unpopular but that is really a matter for the German electorate. He is, of course, entitled to his personal opinion.
However, that is all by the by: it's not a pay to play system, ie. he has no right to an opinion just because his company is active in the country. But expressing this on a published medium that he owns is subject to the relevant laws of the country, as is providing a mouthpiece to the head of one of the parties. It wouldn't surprise me to see this considered as unpaid campaign advertising and the party being fined. This will give him exactly the kind of controversy he loves to troll with and he'll be hoping from help from his new BFF if any sanctions are imposed, and some of his published statements could be interpreted as slanderous in many countries.
However, that is all by the by: it's not a pay to play system, ie. he has no right to an opinion just because his company is active in the country. But expressing this on a published medium that he owns is subject to the relevant laws of the country, as is providing a mouthpiece to the head of one of the parties.
Nobody is saying it's a pay-to-play system, and there's no evidence that this is the case. Companies though are citizens, so can offer opinions that might affect them, or their employees. So in the UK as an example, plenty of companies are expressing opinions about the effect of the employers NI increases. Should that be illegal, if the company is a foreign owned/controlled subsidiary, or the spox is a foreign national?
(Which is also a bigger issue, ie all the fuss over Georgia implementing their version of FARA and requiring registration and disclosure of foreign agents lobbying. As is the problem of politicians and the media ranting about 'far right' political entities that might just get elected. Not exactly democratic, but such is politics.)
You seem confused because you wrote this: "Nobody is saying it's a pay-to-play system"
But you also wrote this "I'm also curious if Musk should really be censored or sanctioned in Germany (or the EU) for expressing opinions. Telsa has invested billions in Germany, " indicating that paying to play is just fine if you happen to be called Elon Musk.
Companies though are citizens
Nope, never ever nowhere.
You may mean "legal persons", but that's not the same and, more importantly, electoral law outside the US generally restricts their ability to act politically; with only political parties are eligible to wage electoral campaigns and their funding is restricted in an attempt to provide a level playing field. For example, in the UK the TUC and Unions are affiiliated with the Labour Party but their influence both on policy decisions and funding have been limited both by party decisions and legal requirements; the CBI has also occasionally made electoral recommendations. Both of the main political parties have been found guilty of accepting large funding from overseas donors, though the sums pale in comparison with what goes through the US political system.
In the US, SCOTUS did decide that being "legal persons" they were eligible to campaign and spend unlimited amounts as long as the money did not go directly to election campaigns. This gave rise to the SuperPACs and essentially a free for all, though recent elections suggest that money alone doesn't guarantee success, but I'd argue the very development has hollowed out what was already a fairly shallow political system, making it even more open to "financial influence": the smart money is spent on lobbying after the election, including drafting laws and earmarks and I think we're going to see several records for this broken soon: get your cheque book crypto wallets out!
You may mean "legal persons", but that's not the same and, more importantly, electoral law outside the US generally restricts their ability to act politically; with only political parties are eligible to wage electoral campaigns
It's why I put it in quotes, but you obviously got the point. So Tesla makes EVs. Germany & the EU is passing laws on EVs. Should any Tesla spox be forbidden from commenting because 'election interference'? The EU is quite willing and able to intefere in their members (or prospects) elections, yet when Musk tweets 6 words, they lose their collective shit and demonstrate their fascist nature. The only truth shall be from Minitruth..
"Should any Tesla spox be forbidden from commenting because 'election interference'? "
That's down to the nature of the commentary. Tesla is a company with it's headquarters in the US so it would be reasonable to consider it a foreign entity residing in Germany. This is regardless of the various business filings and requirements that are needed to be an operating business within the country. If I re-established residency in the UK, unless/until I gained citizenship, I could not vote and might be excluded from other political activities. That doesn't mean I can't express my views over a pint, but it does mean that if I were the owner of a large media firm and expressing my views there, the landscape changes. The dividing line between being a resident and a citizen is important.
That doesn't mean I can't express my views over a pint, but it does mean that if I were the owner of a large media firm and expressing my views there, the landscape changes.
Maybe, but it's not very clear. So for example the Bbc is running wall-wall Trump. Often negative, because the Bbc doesn't like Trump, or anything it perceives as 'right wing'. Does that constitute 'foreign interference', especially given the Bbc is the UK state broadcaster. It also runs articles attacking AfD, so is the Bbc also interfering in German elections? Especially as post-Brexit, the Bbc is now a foreign media company operating services in the EU. Despite the often dire quality of Bbc journalism, it's still popular and regarded as a 'reliable source' and its words carry more weight than the 6 words from Musk that made Schulz and the EU's heads explode.
If Elon Musk was just another business owner, there would be less of a problem. But the whole Tesla angle is a red herring. He is the owner of a publishing platform, which makes his pronouncements and use of such platform subject to laws of the countries in which it trades. Specifically, according to German law, the company can be held accountable for misinformation or slander. But his interview with Alice Weidel can also be interpreted as free commercial for the her party, which can lead to sanctions of the party.
Please put your strawmen away: the EU does not interfere in elections and no one is losing their shit.
Please put your strawmen away: the EU does not interfere in elections and no one is losing their shit.
You're kidding, right? Germany's been looking for any excuse to ban AfD because they might (shock, horror) win. Then there's Austria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Georgia and the list goes on.. If candidates aren't pro-EU, the EU goes on the offensive. But this is the threat of only permitting official misinformation.
"He is the owner of a publishing platform"
How many other rich people own publishing platforms? Lots of rich people own newspapers and TV/radio stations/networks.
Now does Twitter 'trade' in Germany?
"But his interview with Alice Weidel can also be interpreted as free commercial"
If you squint really hard, maybe. Does this also apply if a politician goes on German TV? Gets interviewed by a German newspaper? Or is just just applied to a politician you dislike being interviewed by a person you dislike?
"Musk is the voice of that 'citzen', even though he's not a citizen himself."
Elon is a user, not a "citizen of the world". He has a factory in Germany as he was able to find a crack to fit in a lever and a place for a fulcrum. That's the extent of his interest in the country or the people.
Yep, it's a bit rich, that a social media platform that stands accused of having the POTENTIAL to be influenced by state actors, to interfere with other's democracies, is being threatened with closure, but those social media platforms that have demonstrably interfered with and in some cases be behind some of the most sickening crimes against humanity will all be cosily sat in the Oval office discussing how to turn every country in the world into a goose-stepping image of America.
If the EU and the UK do not recognise the clear and present danger of allowing their people to be suckered by media shysters selling right-wing bilge, then you best get your own rocket to Mars sorted, as this planet will be toxic to all life.
But it was OK when people who had differing views were censored by so called "fact checkers"
So a platform is OK when its your point of view being spewed, but not when you don't agree?
The only influence on Facebook and Twitter (and YouTube) was as Zuckerberg put it "Bidens people literally screaming down the phone at my staff".
Just jog onto Bluesky and live in your own hate filled toxic bubble of full agreement. Sounds fun.
"The EU could take a leaf from the US book, and requires all such companies operating in Europe to be owned by Europeans..."
Plenty of companies in the US are under foreign ownership. Nippon Steel has been trying to buy US Steel. Given how little domestic ownership there is in US heavy industry, I hope that it doesn't go through.
China typically requires that foreign companies "partner" with a domestic company to do business in the country. Tesla was granted an exemption, but rumors are that it comes at a massive cost. Notice that Elon doesn't take a go at China, ever? Tesla doesn't own the factory and a serious violation would have him evicted if the talk is true.
Does anyone who actually uses Twitter call it X other than Elon 'Pedo guy' Musk and his fanbois?
I bet if you asked 1000 random people what is X you wouldn't get many people knowing it was a social media platform, but i suspect a large amount would have at least heard of Twitter even if they had never used it.
That's a hopelessly optimistic request, as it seems to assume that
a) there is kind of a fixed algorithm that reads, understands and recommends posts to begin with
b) X would provide a truthful representation of its algorithms
In reality. the algorithms are probably heavily managable at run time to be adapted to changing events, trends and moods of the owner.
Secondly, a certain documentation on this hypothetical algorithm can never be proven to be wrong as a reviewer from the EU never knows all of its input or all its output.
And get Trump to whine about how the EU is trying to harm the US.
Eventually it is going to come down to whether the EU is willing to get into a big fight with Trump (which who knows he might use as an excuse to pull out of NATO) over this or give up and let Musk do whatever he wants. In which case all the other tech companies will say "hey you're not enforcing your rules against Twitter, why should you enforce them against us?"
"Trump pulling out of the NATO would have major negative consequences for the US military."
If he doesn't want a repeat of Afghanistan, it will take time. There's also a load of treaty obligations that he'd have to walk all over which won't engender any goodwill going forward.
Who wants to place a bet about intelligence services using the bases as cover? Lose the bases and information channels get lost as well.
Without those bases the US is completely dependent on their very expensive and vulnerable aircraft carriers. All carriers are vulnerable now but have a use in providing a floating airfield you can park off someone else's coastline for low level issues. In an full on conflict where the nation that owns the carriers is one of the protagonists I cannot see carriers lasting long.
The UK got away with it in the Falklands but that is probably the last time they will be surviving a major conflict. Things have moved on and as the Taliban have proved., low tech works, knock out a few million pounds worth of helicopter with a £100 RPG.
You can shift some heavy equipment by air but you need somewhere to land and then put it together. You can use ships but it takes time and again, you need somewhere to dock and put it together.
"Don't forget they are also very useful for projecting power into adjacent regions faster and more effectively than from the USA itself."
Beyond that, the US has a different command, communications and control network (CCC, 3C or Triple C) than other countries so in order for the US to come in on the side of an ally, it's easier to do that with a presence nearby. To try and coordinate everything at the last minute while under fire would be a Charlie Foxtrot.
All of that said, the US should think about closing down some bases on foreign soil and dialing back others to be smaller operations. There's 7 US bases in Japan alone.
Well, for one, Ramstein AFB is the forward operating base for all US air force missions in that part of the world. Could the US operate without bases like that? Probably. They would lose a metric tonne of soft power, including airspace around the Baltics and Russia, and missions towards Israel and the wider Middle East.
Several American bases host nuclear attack capabilities in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Turkey. They did use to be at Lakenheath, but were withdrawn in 2008.
In the event of a nuclear war within Eastern Europe/the Middle East, you'd think they'd want to be able to attack quickly...
Not sure what the effects on the US military would be, but I don't think such a decision would save that much money. The US military burns through cash just by existing.
Real damage would be to America's ability to project power and thus impose its trade hegemony through the rules-based order. The US offers to guarantee the defence of its allies and, in return, they agree not to build up their own military (all the treaties since 1945 have been about ensuring the US is number one) and also help enforce things like free trade and freedom of navigation. Oh, and to trade in dollars and buy US bonds. Remove those guarantees and you will force those countries to reorientate the defence, foreign and monetary policies.
His Royal Slitheriness, Musk has a very thin skin. It might even be thinner than the incoming farter in chief.
This is very well shown when you look at the spat over Elon claiming that he is one of the best gamers in the world when all the evidence shows otherwise. His claims are debunked in Tatters 'Community Notes'.
Like the manchild that he is, he then removes the 'Blue' Check from someone who is a top gamer. That person dared call him out.
Elongated Muskrat (or his wannbe, Zuck) can't ban me as I'm not on any of the social media platforms (inc BlueSky)
People, just stop using Social Media unless you are deep in the Right Wing Conspiracy Theory MAGAsphere where Jewish Space Lasers created the California Fires.
Elon Musk is Lying About Being Good at Video Games
The thing is, why would a multi-billionaire even bother to pay people to level him up in the first place just so he can live stream himself blundering around like a noob? He is really really really desperate for approval.
"The thing is, why would a multi-billionaire even bother to pay people to level him up in the first place just so he can live stream himself blundering around like a noob? He is really really really desperate for approval.”
Because eventually having surrounded themselves with ‘yes’ men (and women), they start to genuinely believe their own hype, they become disconnected from reality, when everyone around them is saying “yes Mr Musk, you are the greatest player of this game ever...” and nobody is there to ‘speak truth unto power’; they loose the ability to see what is real and isn’t. They start to exist only in their own little bubble of truth, maintained by the sycophants and hangers on!
Eventually, of course, their version of reality crashes headlong in to actual reality - and there can be only one winner!
I think partly it comes from the fact that most billionaires started rich and got richer by screwing other people over. The skills it took to go from rich kid to billionaire tend not to be skills that people admire. There's some admiration in the US just for being rich of course. He desperately wants to be admired but he has no admirable qualities. That's why he pretends to be an ideas man who is a master of science and economics and politics. None of that is true, he just pays very talented people. The billionaires that appear in public all seem to be like this. He has taken delicate ego to new level though.
"why would a multi-billionaire even bother to pay people to level him up in the first place just so he can live stream himself blundering around like a noob?"
As a noob, you usually get killed every 5 minutes while getting a feel for the game's unpublished rules and the style of play it takes to actually do much. The problem is that if you don't do the upfront work, starting at a higher level means you are getting killed off every 5 minutes while you get a feel for the game's unpublished rules and the style of play it takes to do much.
Or who have 210 000 000 * followers reading their every word, quite a lot of who are trolls and bots who will echo whatever he posts (and a chunk more are lacking any critical thinking skills)?
*Roughly 43% of the entire population of the EU.
Or who have 210 000 000 * followers reading their every word,
And how many of those are in Germany, and might actually be influenced by anything Musk tweets? His comments certainly influence a lot of 'journalists', and those on the far-left.
"And how many of those are in Germany, and might actually be influenced by anything Musk tweets? His comments certainly influence a lot of 'journalists', and those on the far-left."
A lot of "journalism" these days is copy/paste of xits. XIXO
The reason that constantly repeating something until people think it's true is because it works often enough.
The one that repeatedly gets caught hanging out with swastika-wearing goons?
Are you referring to Zelensky, or Trudeau? One was caught in a selfie with a bodyguard standing behind him wearing the same insignia as Hitler's guards. The other was caught giving a standing ovation to an SS volunteer.. Which was a remarkable demonstration of just how clueless politicians can be when they didn't twig that a soldier who fought against the Russians during WW2 was.. on the wrong side of history.
He'll just say "I'll just cut off the EU from Twitter." and because people like to bend over, they'll let him get away with it. However, that probably won't work now as the likes of Bluesky exist. A decentrialised Twitter alternative that you can even host yourself.
Just like tiktok. Trump put in place the ban. The update from Biden meant just meant the app was to be removed from the Play store and Apple store, not a full ban. But most don't realise this. To prove a point Bytedance shut the servers down to cause the back lash and allow Trump to been seen as the white knight. And because of his supporters are brain washed, they don't see this.
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