 |
| Twitter obsession with auto cropping |
Twitter is running a contest in the hope that hackers and researchers will be able to detect auto-cropping algorithm bias and offer cash rewards to the winning team.
The platform hopes that the team's access to their code and templates for cropping the images will allow them to find ways the algorithms can be malicious.
Participants must provide a description of the result and a set of data that an algorithm can run to prove the problem.
Then, Twitter awards points based on the type of damage found and the likelihood of people being affected.
The winning team will receive $3,500, and the most innovative and popular results will receive a separate prize of $1,000.
This number caused quite a stir on the platform and some users said it should include an extra zero.
If you find a bug that allows you to use cross-site scripts to take action with others (like posting tweets or photos), Twitter's General Error Bounty pays you $2,940.
If you find an OAuth issue that allows you to take control of someone else's Twitter account, you can earn $7,700.
The platform previously conducted its own research on automatic image cropping algorithms. In May this year, he published a research paper on how algorithms skew. Someone had previously been accused of being racist.
Twitter auto-cut is annoying
Little by little, Twitter has stopped algorithms that automatically clip previews. But it's still used on the desktop, and better automatic image cropping algorithms are useful for companies like Twitter.
Open competition allows companies to get feedback from a broader perspective.
The committee team had an audio chat and discussed the competition. One team member said he received questions about the algorithm's social class bias. California software developers may not be aware of this.
The platform clarified that contests and bug bounty programs are separate. If the company reports out-of-competition algorithm bias, your report will be closed and flagged as inapplicable.
If you would like to register, you can visit the HackerOne competition page to learn more about the rules, standards, and more.