US - Instagram is to warn users when their captions on a photo or video could be considered offensive. The Facebook-owned company says it has trained an AI system to detect offensive captions. The idea is to give users “a chance to pause and reconsider their words”. Instagram announced the feature in a blog on Monday, saying it would be rolled out immediately to some countries. The tool is designed to help combat online bullying, which has become a major problem for platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Instagram was ranked as the worst online platform in a cyber-bullying study in July 2017. If a user with access to the tool types an offensive caption on Instagram, they will receive a prompt informing them it is similar to others reported for bullying. Users will then be given the option to edit their caption before it is published. “In addition to limiting the reach of bullying, this warning helps educate people on what we don’t allow on Instagram and when an account may be at risk of breaking our rules,” Instagram wrote in the post. Earlier this year, Instagram launched a similar feature that notified people when their comments on other people’s Instagram posts could be considered offensive.
Twitch sued for £2.1bn over Premier League by Russian firm
MOSCOW - Russia’s third-largest internet company is suing streaming service Twitch for 180bn roubles (£2.1bn) over pirate broadcasts of English Premier League games. Rambler Group alleges its exclusive broadcasting rights were breached by the service more than 36,000 times between August and November. It is seeking to permanently ban the Amazon-owned platform in Russia. Twitch’s lawyer has called Rambler’s case “unfounded”. Russia is the third-largest user of Twitch, which has more than 15 million daily active users worldwide. Its terms and conditions state users cannot share content without permission from the copyright owners, including films, television programmes and sports matches. The streaming giant’s lawyer, Julianna Tabastaeva, told Russian-language news website Kommersant Twitch “only provides users with access to the platform and is unable to change the content posted by users, or track possible violations”. She added the company took “all necessary measures to eliminate the violations, despite not receiving any official notification from Rambler”. The Moscow City Court will hear the case on 20 December. It has ordered a temporary suspension of English Premier League streams on Twitch pending the outcome.
