Metaverse

Meta plans $35 billion in stock offerings and a further $60 billion share sale programme to finance AI expansion, as heavy infrastructure spending strains its free cash flow

Mark Zuckerberg made a deal with Meta's board to help him pay a proposed California tax on billionaires without losing his ownership stake in the company he founded, according to regulatory filings published this week. If passed by voters in the November 3 election, the measure would levy a one-time 5 per cent tax on the wealth of Californians whose net worth exceeds USD 1 billion. Zuckerberg is the sixth-richest person in the world with a net worth estimated at more than USD 220 billion, according to Forbes. That would put his tax liability at more than USD 11 billion. Actions announced by the tech giant on Wednesday will keep Zuckerberg as the majority owner of the company -- and also give him the ability to sell some of a new class of non-voting shares "for any reason", including to pay potential bills from the wealth tax. The compromise came after Zuckerberg told the board he was considering selling his Palo Alto home last month in anticipation of the proposed tax. But he later

The government has asked Meta, owner of Instagram and Facebook, to ensure that its recommendation systems do not result in "disproportionate exposure of users to a single or limited set of narratives", and to step up checks on content that could cause public disorder or incite violence or other unlawful activity. The advisory by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), dated October 10, asked Meta to undertake appropriate measures to provide adequate context in relation to photographs, videos, graphics, or other content depicting ongoing public events, particularly where the authenticity, date, location or circumstances of such content may not be readily apparent to users. Although the advisory does not identify any specific incident that prompted its issuance, it comes amid protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and opposition parties in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision ..

The move marks an escalation in the long-running rivalry between Meta and ByteDance, whose video-sharing app TikTok has emerged as one of Meta's most formidable competitors for user engagement

Government officials made the comments a day after Meta agreed to report child safety-related matters directly to the cybercrime portal managed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)

The move follows multiple rounds of government talks with Meta, which until now reported instances of child sexual abuse material only to a US-based organisation

Meta launched on Tuesday a personal artificial intelligence agent, Muse, for people 18 and over who are looking for help with day-to-day tasks like schedules, shopping and, in the company's words, turning "long-term goals into action plans." The parent company of Instagram and Facebook is stressing the safety and privacy features of the agent, which for now is only available in the US Muse, Meta said, runs on a dedicated, secure virtual machine that houses both the agent and the user's data. People can message the agent in a separate app, called Muse, or message it in WhatsApp. It can handle simple tasks like sending an email or booking travel, or bigger, long-term goals like creating a yearlong exercise plan or setting up a new business. "Once a person shares a goal with Muse, it helps them develop a personalised plan and coordinate their time and resources, then advances the work on its own. It can open a browser, fill out forms, and negotiate on their behalf," Meta said in a blog

Devanathan will be based in Singapore and oversee consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement and operations across Southeast Asia and Australia

The new protections will first apply in participating US states and territories, subject to judicial approval. Meta has not announced these measures as a global rollout

In a public callout to TikTok and YouTube that included a plan to publish open letters in newspapers, Meta said it's seeking to set a 'new industry standard'

Of the overall amount, the company has pledged to shell out about $12.7 billion in installments to states over the next 10 years as a starting point

Meta's automated systems do not send every flagged post to a human reviewer at the same stage. Its technology helps determine which content should be reviewed by people and in what order

The government has asked Meta to ensure human review in AI-led content moderation, warning that keyword-based takedowns can remove legitimate posts without context

4 lead states - California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey - accused Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram to hook young users

The government's hard talk with Meta has led to action and increased sensitivity on the issue of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), IT Ministry sources said on Tuesday, adding that the Centre has been unequivocal that such content is a clear violation and there is no safe harbour when law is violated in this manner. Sources said the government's intent is not about censorship or restricting coverage in any way, but ensuring Indian laws and norms are followed and that social media harms are mitigated. "The message has gone home," they said. During discussions, Meta explained how its algorithms and systems work, ministry sources said, noting that discussions are on and such matters involve "judgment calls, and tweaks". On the WhatsApp username row, sources said the matter is under examination as it doesn't involve just that particular platform, but other messaging apps as well. Sources said concerns over social media harms is not something specific only to India, it is a concern sha

Of the thousands of lawsuits Meta faces over child safety on its platforms, none may be more consequential than one going to trial this week in California. US states are seeking extensive financial damages that could, in theory, total as much as USD 1.4 trillion, plus changes to how the company operates Facebook and Instagram. The lawsuit accuses the social media giant of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features that get children addicted to its platforms. It also claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents' consent, in violation of federal law. "Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens. Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximise its financial gains," the lawsuit says. Dozens of states filed the lawsuit three years ago. The trial set to begin Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, California, features four of

Meta said Rights Manager allows copyright owners to upload and maintain a reference library of content they want to monitor and protect

Zuckerberg's letter is the latest entry in the broader genre of manifestos from AI executives laying out their visions for the emerging technology

A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay USD 567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial the social media giant lost in March. In a ruling late Thursday, Judge Bryan Biedcheid said the bulk of the money - USD 420 million - will be used for treatment services for young people. The rest will go toward awareness and prevention, screening services and other costs over the next five years. In the first phase, jurors had ordered USD 375 million in civil penalties against Meta, determining that it knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. In the second phase, prosecutors had asked the judge to impose fundamental changes at Meta aimed at reining in addictive features, improving age verification and preventing child sexual exploitation through default privacy settings and closer oversight. The court said federal ...

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted interim relief to Union minister Nitin Gadkari, ordering Meta, X and Google to immediately remove all the "vile, abusive, obscene and defamatory" social media posts targeting him. A single-judge bench of Justice Arif Doctor issued the direction while hearing a civil defamation suit filed by the Minister for Road Transport and Highways challenging a series of AI-generated deepfake videos and manipulated digital posts that falsely alleged Gadkari and his family received illegal financial benefits from the Centre's ethanol-blended petrol (E20) initiative. "These posts, on the face of it, are abusive, vile, and obscene," Justice Doctor said, adding, "The material on the face of it is absolutely vile and abusive. Such material should have no place on a public platform, which is accessible to everyone, including the younger generation." The bench directed Meta, X Corp and Google LLC to ensure forthwith that the posts are taken down. Justice Doct