Digital Platform Policy Highlights - Digest 33
Q1 2024 to Q3 2024 policy changes: Major platforms are switching up their policies to tackle new challenges like AI manipulation, subscription models, and user content rights. 🔄
This post is part eight of a series documenting policy changes and feature improvements introduced by platforms in Q1 2024 to Q3 2024.
TL; DR→ Here are policy changes to curb bad behaviors on the platforms:
Meta’s experience with Labeling AI-Generated images on Its Social Platforms
Meta began labeling AI-generated photos on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads as the US election season approached. While Meta already watermarked images generated by its own AI systems, other services did not. Hence, Meta threatened to remove content from those who did not self-label their AI-generated images. Interestingly, it revisited its policy later in the summer when photographers complained about legitimate content being incorrectly flagged and removed. Of course, no one needs to tell Meta engineers that detecting AI generated content is very difficult. But we have to appreciate their decision to even try this prior to the US election. (link1) (link2)
Disney Plus Restricts Password Sharing
Disney Plus initiated its crackdown on password sharing in September 2024. Subscribers are now allowed to share their accounts by paying an additional fee, following Netflix’s lead. Disney also synchronized this change with price increases across all their streaming services. The CEO stated he was “not concerned” about losing subscribers - a sentiment that I find very pertinent about streaming platforms. When you realizes that “on demand” costs for content storage and distribution are not trivial, losing price-sensitive customers becomes less of a concern. (link)
YouTube Warns Viewers About AI-Manipulated Videos
In Preview since November 2023, YouTube started adding warnings to AI-manipulated videos and required creators to disclose such content in Spring 2024. The rule intends to increase transparency and trust by making it clear when a video is altered. However, it relies heavily on YouTube’s system to catch rule-breakers, leaving less-known creators with little incentive to actually comply. Of course, the timing of the implementation makes it looks like a checkbox that YouTube needed to tick before the US election. But I expect monetary and IP related policies, targeted at helping artists, to show up soon. (link)
Announced, not yet implemented: New Users on X Will Have to Pay to Post
Despite the announcement in April 2024, the implementation of the $1 for new users to post content (most likely) remains unimplemented in the US even in Jan 2025. The stated intent of this policy is to combat the "relentless" bots that flood the platform, although it conveniently comes as X scrambles to increase its revenue. The “Not-A-Bot” program, already implemented in the Philippines and New Zealand, aligns with X's broader attempts to increase revenue. While critics argue this conflicts with X’s “free” speech principle, it’s worth remembering the open source principle, “free” not as in “free beer” :) (link)
YouTube Cracks Down on Third-Party Apps and Ad Blockers
YouTube now blocks third-party apps that do not display ads, and users accessing YouTube through ad blocker apps may find their access restricted. This move aims to protect YouTube’s ad revenue and support content creators, but it could frustrate users, especially as ads get longer and more frequent. Of course, YouTube seems more concerned about native apps than browser-based ad blockers – likely because blocking millions of browser users would be far more disruptive than targeting third-party apps. (link 1 and link 2)
Steam Tightens Refund Policy for Played Games
Steam updated its refund policy, preventing refunds for games (including those in Early Access) if users have played them for more than two hours or have paid for it over 14 days ago. This change aims to curb abuse of the refund system while ensuring that players have enough time to evaluate their purchases. The new policy balances consumer protection with fair use, however, this may frustrate players who prefer to explore games more thoroughly before committing to a purchase. Of course, while there are still ways to get refunds beyond these limits through customer service, I suspect this leniency window might narrow as Steam tightens its policies.(link)
Stack Overflow Restores AI Protest Posts After Deletion
Stack Overflow has restored posts that were deleted in protest of the site's new AI policies and its deal with OpenAI. Users had altered or removed their answers to oppose the platform's decision to use their content to train AI models and to partner with OpenAI. Of course, while Stack Overflow's stance about posts being "part of collective efforts" sounds noble, their swift one-hour restoration and week-long suspension of protesters tells us a different story (don’t delete “my” content, though its yours.) And while they operate under Creative Commons 4.0 requiring attribution, I cannot help but wonder about the spirit of "open sharing" when user protests are met with suspensions rather than dialogue. (link)
Research help from Jennifer Xie, Angelina Wang, John Mai, Marshall Singer, Anantesh Mohapatra and Anna Li (Thanks a ton, folks!)
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