Simplyput

[Simplyput @2simplyput4]

Without US diplomacy the Iran war will remain the next endless war! This administration is following the same playbook as George W. Bush.

[Simplyput @2simplyput4]

WHY do taxpayers subsidize the Fossil Fuel Industry? Stop fleecing the taxpayers. End the subsiding the Fossil Fuel Industry

[Simplyput @2simplyput4]

END corrupt welfare!
https://t.co/RtLTbkfqyN

[Simplyput @2simplyput4]

@GOP -The Iran war is a complete failure thanks to a clueless administration operating without a plan. Iran has played tRUMP like a fiddle.

[Simplyput @2simplyput4]

YES

[Proud Native Americans @proud_native_am]

History should never be forgotten or rewritten. Remembering the struggle, resilience, and tragic past of Native Americans. Let us learn from history to build a more just world.

[Proud Native Americans @proud_native_am]

History should never be forgotten or rewritten. Remembering the struggle, resilience, and tragic past of Native Americans. Let us learn from history to build a more just world.

[Simplyput @2simplyput4]

YES

[Rich From CA @therichfromca]

With the growing number or recalls and breakouts do you agree it's finally time to remove RFK Jr. from office?

Yes or No?

[Simplyput @2simplyput4]

YES

[Janice Gindel @jgindel]

Yesssssssss!!!

[Janice Gindel @jgindel]

Yesssssssss!!!

[A @bluhue123]

Who stands with Sen. Mark Kelly against Trump?

Raise your hand ✋ if you do

[Simplyput @2simplyput4]

Bassent is another example of complete incopetancy in this administration. Tax the rich, stupid.

[Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump]

BREAKING: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blames Biden for the national debt hitting $40 trillion:

“We were left with a mess.”

[Simplyput @2simplyput4]

Meta is clearly an example of WHY Techbros need to lose the 1996, "Good Samaritan" classification- ain't to Good Samaritan when MONEY & POWER are in the equation- Tech needs regulations

[On A Trump Bender 3-Times A Charm! @TrumpBender_3]

"You just cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with kids."
👇🤨
REUTERS - 19-Aug-20266:08:00 AM ET
By Kenrick Cai, Diana Novak Jones and Jonathan Stempel
OAKLAND, California, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A former engineering director at Meta Platforms (META.NaE) testified on Wednesday that CEO Mark Zuckerberg fostered a culture that treated child safety as secondary to growth and engagement on Facebook and Instagram.

Arturo Bejar, a vocal Meta critic, made the allegation during his second day of testimony in a landmark trial over claims brought by a coalition of states that could reshape Facebook and Instagram, some of the most popular apps on the planet.

California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey accuse Meta of designing the platforms to hook young users, fueling anxiety, depression and even suicide, and misleading consumers about their safety.

Those states and 25 others also accuse Meta of violating federal law by improperly collecting and using personal data of children under 13 while they used its platforms. The trial began on Tuesday and is expected to last six weeks. Zuckerberg is expected to testify.

Bejar, the states' first witness, said Zuckerberg was closely involved in much decision-making, and the company's top-down culture ensured that product design changes would occur only if he ordered them.

"If Mark makes something a priority, mountains move in months," Bejar said.

Bejar also disputed an October 2021 response Zuckerberg made to allegations by whistleblower Frances Haugen that Meta knew its ⁠products were unsafe ​for children and knew how to make them safe, but did nothing in order to pursue higher profits. Zuckerberg said at the time that Meta constantly used research to improve its products.

"It's so false, every part of it," Bejar said. "You just cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with kids."

MISOGYNISTIC COMMENTS TOWARD DAUGHTER

Bejar worked at Meta from 2009 to 2015, and helped examine the well-being of teenage Instagram users while employed as an independent contractor from 2019 to 2021. He said he was not working directly with Zuckerberg at the time, and as an outside contractor lacked access to some resources.

Bejar has been outspoken in criticizing Meta's safety record for children, and testified before a U.S. Senate committee in 2023 that Meta was aware of harassment and other harms facing teenagers on its platforms but failed to address them.

Under cross-examination from Meta's lawyer Brian Stekloff, Bejar acknowledged he was unaware of the risks his daughter would face in 2021 when he helped her set up an Instagram account she still has.

Bejar said his daughter was 16 at the time, and wanted a space where women could discuss cars, but came to experience misogynistic comments, including about her breasts.

"I kept an eye on how distressing it was for her," Bejar said. "She got a good following, at the price of harm."

PROFIT OVER SAFETY

Earlier, Bejar told a lawyer for the states that Meta prioritized user engagement - and profit - over safety.

He said a tool Meta uses that encourages users to take a break, a key feature Meta has cited in its defense, was "designed to fail" because it is not the default setting and reminders are easy to ignore.

Bejar also said Meta had technology to flag and require verification from users, potentially in the millions, suspected to be under age 13, but turned a blind eye through a "don't ask, don't tell" policy because it was financially profitable over the longer term.

"Where the youngest kids are is where the users are going to be in the future," he said.

Experts have said the trial is the biggest legal test yet of social media's effects on young users.

Meta faces thousands of similar lawsuits over alleged harm to children. Bejar has been a key witness against the company in three of the cases that have gone to trial so ​far. One of those cases, brought by New Mexico, resulted in $942 million in damages and penalties and an order requiring Meta to change its platforms in the state.

[On A Trump Bender 3-Times A Charm! @TrumpBender_3]

"You just cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with kids."
👇🤨
REUTERS - 19-Aug-20266:08:00 AM ET
By Kenrick Cai, Diana Novak Jones and Jonathan Stempel
OAKLAND, California, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A former engineering director at Meta Platforms (META.NaE) testified on Wednesday that CEO Mark Zuckerberg fostered a culture that treated child safety as secondary to growth and engagement on Facebook and Instagram.

Arturo Bejar, a vocal Meta critic, made the allegation during his second day of testimony in a landmark trial over claims brought by a coalition of states that could reshape Facebook and Instagram, some of the most popular apps on the planet.

California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey accuse Meta of designing the platforms to hook young users, fueling anxiety, depression and even suicide, and misleading consumers about their safety.

Those states and 25 others also accuse Meta of violating federal law by improperly collecting and using personal data of children under 13 while they used its platforms. The trial began on Tuesday and is expected to last six weeks. Zuckerberg is expected to testify.

Bejar, the states' first witness, said Zuckerberg was closely involved in much decision-making, and the company's top-down culture ensured that product design changes would occur only if he ordered them.

"If Mark makes something a priority, mountains move in months," Bejar said.

Bejar also disputed an October 2021 response Zuckerberg made to allegations by whistleblower Frances Haugen that Meta knew its ⁠products were unsafe ​for children and knew how to make them safe, but did nothing in order to pursue higher profits. Zuckerberg said at the time that Meta constantly used research to improve its products.

"It's so false, every part of it," Bejar said. "You just cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with kids."

MISOGYNISTIC COMMENTS TOWARD DAUGHTER

Bejar worked at Meta from 2009 to 2015, and helped examine the well-being of teenage Instagram users while employed as an independent contractor from 2019 to 2021. He said he was not working directly with Zuckerberg at the time, and as an outside contractor lacked access to some resources.

Bejar has been outspoken in criticizing Meta's safety record for children, and testified before a U.S. Senate committee in 2023 that Meta was aware of harassment and other harms facing teenagers on its platforms but failed to address them.

Under cross-examination from Meta's lawyer Brian Stekloff, Bejar acknowledged he was unaware of the risks his daughter would face in 2021 when he helped her set up an Instagram account she still has.

Bejar said his daughter was 16 at the time, and wanted a space where women could discuss cars, but came to experience misogynistic comments, including about her breasts.

"I kept an eye on how distressing it was for her," Bejar said. "She got a good following, at the price of harm."

PROFIT OVER SAFETY

Earlier, Bejar told a lawyer for the states that Meta prioritized user engagement - and profit - over safety.

He said a tool Meta uses that encourages users to take a break, a key feature Meta has cited in its defense, was "designed to fail" because it is not the default setting and reminders are easy to ignore.

Bejar also said Meta had technology to flag and require verification from users, potentially in the millions, suspected to be under age 13, but turned a blind eye through a "don't ask, don't tell" policy because it was financially profitable over the longer term.

"Where the youngest kids are is where the users are going to be in the future," he said.

Experts have said the trial is the biggest legal test yet of social media's effects on young users.

Meta faces thousands of similar lawsuits over alleged harm to children. Bejar has been a key witness against the company in three of the cases that have gone to trial so ​far. One of those cases, brought by New Mexico, resulted in $942 million in damages and penalties and an order requiring Meta to change its platforms in the state.

[Squawk Box @SquawkCNBC]

"No one disputes that Apple is a great company. The law is not a popularity contest," says Tim Wu on the DOJ's antitrust lawsuit against $AAPL. "They got where they are and now built a moat to prevent anyone else from getting in there. The idea is in favor of more innovation."

[Ed Krassenstein @EdKrassen]

Dear all Republicans who suddenly claim that Trump's Prescription Drug Price Controls are no longer "socialism."

You are hypocrites. Look at all the things you said when Democrats tried to do this.

- Republican Senator Mitch McConnell on Biden's Drug Price Negotiations, called the idea "Prescription drug socialism."

- Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith on Biden's Medicare Drug Price plan: “However the scheme is written is unconstitutional… It is a Godfather, mafia style negotiation where Bureaucrats at CMS make companies an offer they can not refuse.”

- House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy on H.R. 3 which limited how much Medicare would pay for drugs: “the Democrats’ socialist prescription drug plan gives the government full control over prices.”

- Rep. Tom McClintock on the same bill: “This bill is nothing but classic price controls … shortages always follow.”

- Conservative American Action Network ad buy: It’s a “socialist prescription drug bill that will inch us closer to government-run medicine.”

- Republican Senator Mike Crapo on Biden’s plan to allow Medicare to negotiate prices: “These drug price controls would hand a competitive edge to our global rivals, including the Chinese Communist Party.”

- Republican Rep Devin Nunes called the government telling companies how much they can charge for drugs “Socialist policies”.

- Republican Rep. Buddy Carter on Biden’s Medicare Drug Negotiation: “This will destroy R&D in our country.”

- Just last year, House Republicans released an “ideal budget plan” that called for the banning of Medicare being able to negotiate drug prices..

[Simplyput @2simplyput4]

YES

[Jamison Daniel @AntiquarianMuse]

Any Ideas?

[Jamison Daniel @AntiquarianMuse]

Any Ideas?

[💙Brittney💙 @AZ_Brittney]

TALARICO IS ON FIRE 🔥

The Texas Senate race between James Talarico and Ken Paxton is neck and neck.

I'm Team Talarico! We need fresh leadership and his momentum in this race is hot!

Who's your pick? ✋