"Overblocking" is going around

How IT giants export the values of prudish Americans

It's not just Hollywood that exports US culture, norms and values: the IT giants of Silicon Valley are an equally effective instrument. Their algorithms and terms of use regulate what users see - regardless of where they are. The interesting phenomenon that can be observed here is that it is better to block too much than too little.

The internet is in a constant state of flux and in recent years there has been a debate about how platform operators - social networks, search engines, streaming services, AI tools - should deal with controversial content. Terms of use have been adapted, laws have been passed against unwanted content, debates have been held about freedom of expression and censorship - and algorithms have been developed that remove everything from feeds, timelines and apps that does not fit into the advertising customer-friendly network world that is being marketed. However, even completely harmless content is increasingly falling victim to the algorithm ...