Is an ethical social media platform even possible?

FarraigePlaisteach
2024-02-25T23:23:51Z

I've long been uncomfortable using platforms that have a bad reputation with respect to:

1. Human rights / genocide

2. Disinformation

3. Privacy

All three of those can be connected with advertising revenue, among other things. When I use platforms that are shady in this regard, I know I'm colluding with them and contributing to the problems they create. So it's been a relief to see new platforms like Tildes emerge, as well as those based on ActivityPub.

But even platforms that don't have overt advertising (Telegram?) do have a problem with hate groups that go unchallenged. And I know that if I was running an instance of an ActivityPub compatible platform such as KBin, I mightn't be able to keep on top of moderating things like disinformation.

So I suppose my question is, where do you draw the line? I've deleted my Twitter and Meta accounts and I'm exploring alternatives, but I'm not sure if I'm going from the darkness to the light, or just into shades of grey.

Comments URL: https://tildes.net/~tech/1ehm/is_an_ethical_social_media_platform_even_possible

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