Page 21 - Facebook

Russia puts Facebook owner Meta's spokesman Andy Stone on a wanted list

Russia has added the spokesman of US technology company Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to a wanted list, according to an online database maintained by the country's interior ministry. Russian state agency Tass and independent news outlet Mediazona first reported that Meta communications director Andy Stone was included on the list Sunday, weeks after Russian authorities in October classified Meta as a "terrorist and extremist" organisation, opening the way for possible criminal proceedings against Russian residents using its platforms. The interior ministry's database doesn't give details of the case against Stone, stating only that he is wanted on criminal charges. Meta didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. According to Mediazona, an independent news website that covers Russia's opposition and prison system, Stone was put on the wanted list in February 2022, but authorities made no related statements at the time and no news media reported on the matter unti

At Meta, millions of underage users were an 'open secret,' say states

the social media giant "routinely continued to collect" children's personal information, like their locations and email addresses, without parental permission

German soccer fed limits Facebook comments after racial slurs at players

The German soccer federation has had to limit comments on the Facebook page of its junior teams following a slew of racist and discriminatory comments against its Under-17 players. The federation posted a picture of four players from the Germany U17 team, all Black, celebrating Tuesday's 3-2 win over the United States in the round of 16 at the U17 World Cup in Indonesia. But the post was met by a torrent of racist comments from a host of Facebook users about the players Charles Herrmann, Almugera Kabar, Paris Brunner (all from Borussia Dortmund) and Fayssal Harchaoui (Cologne). The federation responded by switching off comments and posting a statement of its own. We're proud of the diversity in our Under-17s, who are currently playing their hearts out in Indonesia, the federation said. The commitment to diversity is firmly anchored in the federation's statutes as are the values of tolerance and respect. If you don't share these values, please unfollow us. Discriminatory and racis

Meta lets users download Reels from public accounts on Instagram; check how

This feature was made available in the US earlier this year, but has started to roll out globally starting November 23

I-T department discovers Rs 10,000 crore tax evasion by online retailers

Several companies have received I-T notices for either not paying their taxes properly or for underreporting their revenue

WhatsApp channels cross 500 million monthly active users mark: Zuckerberg

Recently launched as a feature on WhatsApp, channels allow users to get updates from people, organisations, and teams that they follow on the messaging platform

Threads let users delete profile without wiping out linked Instagram

Users have the option to either deactivate their profile temporarily or delete permanently

Instagram testing personalised options for responding to Notes: Details

The feature will let users react to Notes using audios, photos and more apart from text responses

Threads rolls-out option to disable suggestions on other platforms: Report

The feature was intended to drive engagement on Threads but has faced criticism from users as Threads posts kept popping up on other users' Instagram and Facebook feeds

All global tech giants follow a warning policy for state sponsored hacking

Opposition MPs have accused the government of spying on them, an allegation that has been denied though it has prompted the government to start an inquiry

Amazon, Meta settle UK probe with pledges to refrain from unfair practices

Amazon and Meta settled separate UK antitrust investigations by agreeing to stop practices that give them an unfair advantage over merchants and customers using their platforms, the watchdog said Friday. The Competition and Markets Authority said it accepted the commitments from the US tech companies to close the investigations into their online marketplaces. The watchdog had been investigating whether Amazon was harming competition and hurting consumers by giving preference to merchants paying for extras like storage, packaging and delivery. It also looked into how Amazon chooses suppliers for the so-called buy box, which shows customers one-click buy now or add to basket options and the collection and use of data. The CMA said Amazon will no longer be able to use data from third-party sellers to give itself an edge. Sellers can negotiate their own delivery rates with independent delivery services and they'll get a fair shot at the buy box, it said. Amazon welcomed the deal, sayi

Engagement discontent

US lawsuits can change social-media functioning

Officials widen ban on Meta's behavioural advertising to most of Europe

European officials widened a ban on Meta's behavioural advertising practices to most of Europe on Wednesday, setting up a broader conflict between the continent's privacy-conscious institutions and an American technology giant. Behavioural advertising, used by Meta's Facebook and Instagram among many other tech companies, involves observing individual behaviour such as browsing habits, mouse clicks and app usage, then using that data to build profiles for targeting ads. The decision by the European Data Protection Board represents a sharp escalation of a tussle that began in Norway, where privacy officials imposed a daily fine of 1 million kroner - roughly $90,000 - on Meta for obtaining that data without adequate consent. Those fines have been piling up since August 14. Meta said it has cooperated with regulators and pointed to its announced plans to give Europeans the opportunity to consent to data collection and, later this month, to offer an ad-free subscription service in Europ

Behavioural ads: Meta faces EU crackdown on leveraging personal data

Regulators signed off on the new restrictions just as Meta announced its own plan to offer an ad-free version of the social media sites if users choose to pay a fee

Meta platform introduces ad-free plans for Instagram, Facebook in Europe

The EU regulations threaten to curb Meta's ability to personalize ads for users without their consent and hurt its major revenue source

'Addictive, manipulative': Here's why over 40 states in US are suing Meta

The lawsuit follows the release of documents in 2021 that showed that Meta had data showing that Instagram was addictive and worsened body image issues for some teen girls

Instagram linked to depression, anxiety, insomnia in kids, claims lawsuit

In a complaint filed in the Oakland, California, federal court on Tuesday, 33 states including California and Illinois said Meta, which also operates Facebook

Social media giants step up vigil as India gears up for election season

Experts also underline the importance of platforms maintaining internal capabilities for fact-checking through human reviewers

Meta to roll out broadcast channels to Facebook, Messenger after WhatsApp

Social media firms are bringing in more features to shore up engagement across apps in a highly competitive online environment

Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai get INDIA bloc letters seeking 'neutrality'

The letters, signed by 14 leaders of the Indian National Inclusive Developmental Alliance (INDIA), including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who posted these on X, and party leader Rahul Gandhi