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Facebook 2020

Mark Zuckerberg bans 'fakes'

Moving the Market: Mark Zuckerberg has banned users from posting manipulated videos known as "deepfakes" amid heightened concern over their ability to mislead people and erode public trust in online media.

• The big picture: The policy is a significant step in Facebook's attempt to curb misinformation while upholding free speech, and comes as the social media giant faces scrutiny over its political content.

What's new: Monika Bickert, Facebook global policy management chief, says the policy will apply to media that is edited to mislead people about what a person said or to make inauthentic content appear authentic.

• But the policy does not prohibit all manipulations. For instance, Bickert said the policy will not apply to "parody or satire, or video that has been edited solely to omit or change the order of words."

• For instance, The Washington Post, which first reported the ban, notes that the policy wouldn't address the "deceptively edited clip of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that went viral... last year."

The upshot: The gray area between misleading content and parody is likely to invite further scrutiny from Facebook critics who will parse the company's decision to ban some videos while allowing others to remain on the site.

• What's next: Bickert will testify before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce this week in a hearing entitled “Americans at Risk: Manipulation and Deception in the Digital Age.”

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Future of Privacy

Tim Cook faces new FBI test

Big in the Bay, big in the Beltway: "The FBI is asking Apple to help unlock two iPhones that investigators think were owned by Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, the man believed to have carried out the shooting attack... last month at Naval Air Station Pensacola," my colleague Pete Williams reports.

• What's next: Apple has indicated that it will deny the request, citing a 2016 letter — published in the wake of the San Bernardino shooting — in which the company warned of giving government "a backdoor" that would enable them to access anyone’s data.

The big picture: Tim Cook's stand against the FBI is part of a larger fight between Silicon Valley and Washington over how to balance consumer privacy with safety and security. As I wrote last month, a similar fight is being fought between Mark Zuckerberg and Attorney General William Barr.

🇹🇼 Postcard from Tapei 🇹🇼

Rock the vote dept.: "As Taiwan gears up for a major election this week, officials and researchers worry that China is experimenting with social media manipulation to sway the vote," NYT's Raymond Zhong reports.

• "Doing so would be easy, they fear, in the island’s rowdy democracy, where the news cycle is fast and voters are already awash in false or highly partisan information."

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The #MeToo Era

New Harvey Weinstein charges

Down at the Courthouse: "Harvey Weinstein, the former film mogul whose alleged pattern of sexual abuse fueled the #MeToo movement, was charged in Los Angeles on Monday with sexually assaulting two women," my colleagues Andrew Blankstein, Diana Dasrath and Daniel Arkin report.

• "The charges come on the eve of jury selection in a criminal trial against Weinstein in New York, where he has been charged with felony sexual assault."

• "Weinstein is being charged in Los Angeles with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in separate incidents on two consecutive days in February 2013, the district attorney's office said."

• "If convicted as charged [in Los Angeles], Weinstein faces up to 28 years in state prison. He has denied all accusations of nonconsensual sexual activity." Weinstein has also pled not guilty.

The big picture: "Many supporters of the #MeToo movement that Mr. Weinstein’s accusers helped ignite are looking to see whether the legal system can deliver justice for victims," NYT's Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor write.

• But while more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, the cases in both New York and Los Angeles will rest on the claims of just a few women.

Market Links

• Masa Son starts to walk away from startups (Axios)

• Mike Bloomberg makes gains on China summit (FT)

• Rupert Murdoch will sell Unruly at a discount (Sky)

• Stephanie Ruhle expands role at NBC News (Variety)

• Gwyneth Paltrow teases her new Netflix show (LAT)

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🏆 The Awards Race

BAFTA unveils nominees

Talk of Tinseltown: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has unveiled its nominees for this year's upcoming awards ceremony, the next big stop on Hollywood's awards tour.

Top talkers, via THR's Alex Ritman:

• "'Joker' led the pack with 11 [nominations], closely followed by 'The Irishman' and 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' with 10 and Sam Mendes' '1917' just behind with nine."

• The nominees for Best Picture are "1917," which won top honor at the Golden Globes, as well as "The Irishman," "Joker," "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and "Parasite."

• In a fun twist, Margot Robbie "will compete against herself in the best supporting actress category, nominated for both 'Bombshell' and 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.'"

What's next: The BAFTAs will take place on Feb. 2 in London.

• Meanwhile, voting for the Oscars nominations closes today.

🐈 What's next: "Let’s do edibles and watch 'Cats.'" "People are seeing ‘Cats’ while high out of their minds," WaPo's Maura Judkis reports. "These are their stories."

See you tomorrow from Vegas.