1. Ice-Cream Lickin’ Good
Imagine buying an ice-cream carton that was licked by a stranger. Really gross, right? Yeah, the law thought so too. It all started with the #icecreamchallenge when a teenage girl licked a Blue Bell ice cream carton, put it back on the shelf and posted a video of the action online. Fast forward to Lenise Lloyd Martin III, a 36-year-old unemployed man, who was arrested this past Saturday committing the same crime.
He was charged with criminal mischief for tampering with a product. “His explanation was, ‘All I wanted to do was be famous. And I paid for the ice cream.” Due to immature actions of the viral hashtag, Franz Borghardt, a defense lawyer, said that the law is trying to make an effort to put a stop on this “flurry of ice cream licking incidents.”
People are questioning why Martin was arrested for licking a Blue Bell ice cream carton. For now, he “will spend at least four nights in jail awaiting his bail hearing.”
No, Martin was not placed into a Blue Cell.
(Source: The New York Times)
2. Instagram Combats Online Bullying
Whether online or in real life, bullying is disrespectful and mean. Instagram head, Adam Mosseri, announced two new features in an effort to continue preventing online bullying.
The 1st feature will be using AI (artificial intelligence) to flag comments that might be considered offensive. Users are asked, “Are you sure you want to post this?” and then given the option button to “undo” their comment before posting. Mosseri and his team found in earlier tests that the prompt “encourages some people to undo their comment and share something less hurtful once they have had a chance to reflect.”
The 2nd feature is the ability to restrict users looking at your account. “If you restrict someone, their comments on your posts will only be visible to them, unless you approve a comment.” This feature is meant for people who have to interact with the bully in real life because they don’t want to block, unfollow or report, which could lead to an escalation of the situation.
(Source: Tech Crunch)
3. Twitter Trump
Trump uses Twitter and his nearly 62 million followers to communicate with the general public, announce, and engage in various political views. If he doesn’t agree with an opinion or view in response, he simply blocks that account. According to federal court rules, Trump can’t block haters on Twitter and will have to keep his presidential social media account available to everyone. “The First Amendment prohibits an official who uses a social media account for government purposes from excluding people from an “otherwise open online dialogue because they say things the official disagrees with.” According to Judge Parker, “the best response to disfavored speech on matters of public concern is more speech, not less.”
(Source: The New York Times, CNET)
