Facebook remains the most popular social network among Americans but faces a growing challenge from Snapchat for young audiences, a survey showed Thursday.

The Pew Research Center survey showed Facebook holding the dominant platform with 68 per cent of Americans using the world&#39;s biggest social network.

While Facebook leads the other social networks in all age groups, the gap has narrowed in the key 18-24 segment, where 78 per cent use Snapchat compared with 80 per cent for Facebook, Pew researchers found.

Facebook-owned Instagram, which emphasises pictures and video, is also popular with some 71 per cent of that age segment, Pew found.

The study is the latest highlighting Facebook&#39;s challenge of keeping its core youth audience, while adding older users, amid growth in newer social networks like Snapchat, known for its disappearing messages and media snippets.

&quot;As was true in previous years, Facebook remains the entry point to the world of social media for a majority of Americans,&quot; said Pew research associate director Aaron Smith.

&quot;At the same time, Americans today utilize a diverse range of online social platforms in addition to Facebook. And this is especially true of the youngest adults, many of whom have fully incorporated platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram into their social media diets.&quot;

Pew found the median American uses three social platforms with considerable overlap among Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

Twitter, meanwhile, continues to lag other platforms with 24 per cent of Americans using the short messaging service.

Twitter recently reported its first-ever quarterly profit even though its global user base remained unchanged at 330 million compared with more than two billion for Facebook.

Pew said YouTube, which it does not consider a social network even though it has &quot;social elements,&quot; is used by 73 per cent of US adults.

The report is based on a survey via mobile or landline telephone of 2,002 US adults from January 3-10 with a margin of error estimated a 2.4 percentage points for the full sample.

Two weeks ago, a report by eMarketer said Facebook is losing youths at a faster-than-expected pace and that many are turning to Snapchat.

Facebook has launched a Messenger Kids application for users under 12, with parental controls, saying many children already use messaging applications on their own.

Snapchat has faced problems of its own recently amid complaints about an application redesign which separates friends and media content, with a tweet from reality star Kylie Jenner causing a stock plunge.

While Facebook leads the other social networks in all age groups, the gap has narrowed in the key 18-24 segment, where 78 per cent use Snapchat compared with 80 per cent for Facebook, Pew researchers found

Facebook remains the most popular social network among Americans but faces a growing challenge from Snapchat for young audiences, a survey showed Thursday. The Pew Research Center survey showed Facebook holding the dominant platform with 68 per cent of Americans using the world's biggest social network. While Facebook leads the other social networks in all age groups, the gap has narrowed in the key 18-24 segment, where 78 per cent use Snapchat compared with 80 per cent for Facebook, Pew researchers found. Facebook-owned Instagram, which emphasises pictures and video, is also popular with some 71 per cent of that age segment, Pew found. The study is the latest highlighting Facebook's challenge of keeping its core youth audience, while adding older users, amid growth in newer social networks like Snapchat, known for its disappearing messages and media snippets. "As was true in previous years, Facebook remains the entry point to the world of social media for a majority of Americans," said Pew research associate director Aaron Smith. "At the same time, Americans today utilize a diverse range of online social platforms in addition to Facebook. And this is especially true of the youngest adults, many of whom have fully incorporated platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram into their social media diets." Pew found the median American uses three social platforms with considerable overlap among Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Twitter, meanwhile, continues to lag other platforms with 24 per cent of Americans using the short messaging service. Twitter recently reported its first-ever quarterly profit even though its global user base remained unchanged at 330 million compared with more than two billion for Facebook. Pew said YouTube, which it does not consider a social network even though it has "social elements," is used by 73 per cent of US adults. The report is based on a survey via mobile or landline telephone of 2,002 US adults from January 3-10 with a margin of error estimated a 2.4 percentage points for the full sample. Two weeks ago, a report by eMarketer said Facebook is losing youths at a faster-than-expected pace and that many are turning to Snapchat. Facebook has launched a Messenger Kids application for users under 12, with parental controls, saying many children already use messaging applications on their own. Snapchat has faced problems of its own recently amid complaints about an application redesign which separates friends and media content, with a tweet from reality star Kylie Jenner causing a stock plunge.

Snapchat challenging Facebook among US youth: Survey

A North Carolina man who routinely broadcast his daily life on Facebook Live was fatally shot on Monday while walking through a neighborhood just outside Wingate University.&nbsp;

Prentis Robinson, 55, was shot just near North Carolina&#39;s police headquarters, where he had just reported a stolen cell phone.&nbsp;Investigators believe the shocking murder was retaliation from area drug dealer, reports said.&nbsp;

The suspect, 65-year-old Douglas Cleveland Colson, surrendered Tuesday to the Union County Sheriff&#39;s Office, reports said. Reports further quoted a lifelong Wingate resident informing that has been arrested before.

&quot;The Wingate Police Department in conjunction with the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) and the Union County Sheriff&rsquo;s Office worked a death investigation until they had a suspect, this morning they made an arrest and he is in custody,&quot; police said in a statement on Facebook.

In the live footage, which Facebook has since removed, Robinson was seen walking down a street in a neighborhood with a cell phone attached to a selfie stick, or a monopod device used to take photos or videos. He was talking to viewers.

Robinson then said &quot;you on Live&quot; repeatedly to someone off-camera. The person, who was not visible, then appears to have fired four gunshots at Robinson until he fell to the ground.

Facebook said in a statement that it removed the video because it had no way of knowing whether the victim would have wanted &quot;this horrific act&quot; to be broadcast on social media.

&quot;We will apply a warning screen to future uploads of the video intended to raise awareness or condemn this tragedy, and limit accessibility to people over the age of 18,&quot; said a Facebook spokesperson in a statement on Tuesday.

Prentis Robinson, 55, was shot just near North Carolina's police headquarters, where he had just reported a stolen cell phone. Investigators believe the shocking murder was retaliation from area drug dealer, reports say

A North Carolina man who routinely broadcast his daily life on Facebook Live was fatally shot on Monday while walking through a neighborhood just outside Wingate University. Prentis Robinson, 55, was shot just near North Carolina's police headquarters, where he had just reported a stolen cell phone. Investigators believe the shocking murder was retaliation from area drug dealer, reports said. The suspect, 65-year-old Douglas Cleveland Colson, surrendered Tuesday to the Union County Sheriff's Office, reports said. Reports further quoted a lifelong Wingate resident informing that has been arrested before. "The Wingate Police Department in conjunction with the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) and the Union County Sheriff’s Office worked a death investigation until they had a suspect, this morning they made an arrest and he is in custody," police said in a statement on Facebook. In the live footage, which Facebook has since removed, Robinson was seen walking down a street in a neighborhood with a cell phone attached to a selfie stick, or a monopod device used to take photos or videos. He was talking to viewers. Robinson then said "you on Live" repeatedly to someone off-camera. The person, who was not visible, then appears to have fired four gunshots at Robinson until he fell to the ground. Facebook said in a statement that it removed the video because it had no way of knowing whether the victim would have wanted "this horrific act" to be broadcast on social media. "We will apply a warning screen to future uploads of the video intended to raise awareness or condemn this tragedy, and limit accessibility to people over the age of 18," said a Facebook spokesperson in a statement on Tuesday.

Man shot dead while filming Facebook Live video, suspect arrested

Assamese singer Angarag Papon Mahanta or Papon as he is popularly known has come under the radar after a case was registered against him for &quot;inappropriately kissing&quot; a contestant in a children&#39;s reality show.&nbsp;

Papon, who had earlier said that he was being &quot;victimised&quot; for no fault of his as he would &quot;never commit an indecent act&quot;,&nbsp;took to Twitter to make the announcement that he is stepping down as judge from the show.

&quot;Since I am in no mental state to fulfill most of my professional obligations, I have decided to step down as a judge on the show till the matter in which I have been falsely implicated is fully resolved and the investigations are over.

&quot;I have full faith in the judicial system and eventually the truth will prevail. In the interim I would appreciate that my privacy is respected,&quot; Papon tweeted.

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<a href="https://t.co/EWGgg775ZH">pic.twitter.com/EWGgg775ZH</a>
&mdash; papon angaraag (@paponmusic) <a href="https://twitter.com/paponmusic/status/967354981673250816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

In a detailed Facebook post yesterday, Papon apologised and said that it was &quot;just a case of faulty camera angles and an accidental move. And now finally, the minor girl in question and other contestants along with their parents are defending the whole act.

On Friday, a Supreme Court lawyer filed a complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) alleging &quot;sexual assault&quot; after the singer uploaded a video on his Facebook page where he is seen kissing the minor contestant of the show, &quot;Voice of India Kids&quot;.

Also, Minister of State Women and Child Welfare Vidya Thakur on Saturday directed the Mumbai police to investigate the matter. The Maharashtra government took cognizance of the Papon issue, where Thakur talked to Mumbai&#39;s Commissioner of Police (CP) about the incident, directing him to investigate the incident.

The channel, and&nbsp;TV, which airs the show, also released a statement saying that Papon will not be shooting for any further episodes &quot;till the issue is resolved&quot;.

In a video, the minor girl says that Papon didn&#39;t do anything with wrong with her, reports said.&nbsp;

The girl&#39;s father issued a statement which said that Papon is a father figure to his daughter and that there was nothing objectionable in the video that has come under the scanner.

Papon was one of the judges on the show along with fellow singers Shaan and Himmesh Reshammiya.

On Friday, the Supreme Court lawyer filed a complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Right (NCPCR) alleging 'sexual assault' after the singer uploaded a video on his Facebook page where he is seen kissing the minor contestant of the show, "Voice of India Kids".

Assamese singer Angarag Papon Mahanta or Papon as he is popularly known has come under the radar after a case was registered against him for "inappropriately kissing" a contestant in a children's reality show. Papon, who had earlier said that he was being "victimised" for no fault of his as he would "never commit an indecent act", took to Twitter to make the announcement that he is stepping down as judge from the show. "Since I am in no mental state to fulfill most of my professional obligations, I have decided to step down as a judge on the show till the matter in which I have been falsely implicated is fully resolved and the investigations are over. "I have full faith in the judicial system and eventually the truth will prevail. In the interim I would appreciate that my privacy is respected," Papon tweeted. pic.twitter.com/EWGgg775ZH — papon angaraag (@paponmusic) February 24, 2018 × In a detailed Facebook post yesterday, Papon apologised and said that it was "just a case of faulty camera angles and an accidental move. And now finally, the minor girl in question and other contestants along with their parents are defending the whole act. On Friday, a Supreme Court lawyer filed a complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) alleging "sexual assault" after the singer uploaded a video on his Facebook page where he is seen kissing the minor contestant of the show, "Voice of India Kids". Also, Minister of State Women and Child Welfare Vidya Thakur on Saturday directed the Mumbai police to investigate the matter. The Maharashtra government took cognizance of the Papon issue, where Thakur talked to Mumbai's Commissioner of Police (CP) about the incident, directing him to investigate the incident. The channel, and TV, which airs the show, also released a statement saying that Papon will not be shooting for any further episodes "till the issue is resolved". In a video, the minor girl says that Papon didn't do anything with wrong with her, reports said. The girl's father issued a statement which said that Papon is a father figure to his daughter and that there was nothing objectionable in the video that has come under the scanner. Papon was one of the judges on the show along with fellow singers Shaan and Himmesh Reshammiya.

Singer Papon walks out as reality show judge following sexual assault complaint

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/singer-papon-walks-out-as-reality-show-judge-following-sexual-assault-complaint-33943">Singer Papon</a> has landed in trouble after a complaint was filed against him for allegedly harassing a minor contestant of a reality TV show.

A video has gone viral in which Papon is seen celebrating Holi with the contestants of &ldquo;Voice India Kids&rdquo; and planting a kiss on the girl&rsquo;s face. Papon is one of the judges on the show along with fellow singers Shaan and Himmesh Reshammiya.

Calling himself an &ldquo;extremely affectionate and expressive&rdquo; person, Papon claimed that &ldquo;both of our families are being destroyed forever&rdquo; because of the controversy surrounding the matter.

Papon, who had earlier said that he was being &quot;victimised&quot; for no fault of his as he would &quot;never commit an indecent act&quot;,&nbsp;took to Twitter to make the announcement that he is stepping down as judge from the show.

Reacting to the incident, many prominent Bollywood celebrities took to Twitter to condemn the singer&rsquo;s behaviour.

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Disgusting! Shameful!Perverse! This man Papon should be arrested ! The girls parents succumbing to pressure ! The explanations given are ridiculous! Haven&rsquo;t felt such anger and shame to see this happen and some on tv debates actually defending the act !
&mdash; Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) <a href="https://twitter.com/TandonRaveena/status/967098132059316224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Whatever the situation,accidental,unintentional,affection,love, though it is sad the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/papon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#papon</a> controversy happened. But will be an eye opener and lesson for all to not getting carried away,and not crossing a line which can be seen as inappropriate.
&mdash; Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) <a href="https://twitter.com/TandonRaveena/status/967321106398023680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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Wasn&#39;t smothering a child&#39;s face with your palm rubbing color all over it for 4 secs enough as fatherly love, that u had to pull the child&#39;s face then to strategically peck her on the lip??? There was no wrong camera angle or the child moving her face mistakenly BTW ????????<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/papon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#papon</a>????
&mdash; Gauahar Khan (@GAUAHAR_KHAN) <a href="https://twitter.com/GAUAHAR_KHAN/status/967102673878245376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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If a father doesn&rsquo;t stand against his daughter&rsquo;s abuse by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Papon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Papon</a> in d name of &ldquo;fatherly love&rdquo;, then the father also should be tried for being an accomplice to wrong touch.
&mdash; Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) <a href="https://twitter.com/ashokepandit/status/967072233544978432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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While talking to the media Farha Khan said &quot;I know Papon he is good guy. But there is no doubt that when I saw the video it made me feel uncomfortable. I think he didn&#39;t mean to do it but if it was my daughter I would not like it. I think people should not touch other people&#39;s children, just to show affection.&quot;

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I know <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Papon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Papon</a> he is good guy. But there is no doubt that when I saw the video it made me feel uncomfortable. I think he didn&#39;t mean to do it but if it was my daughter I would not like it. I think people should not touch other people&#39;s children, just to show affection: Farah Khan <a href="https://t.co/dKGzPWRrpC">pic.twitter.com/dKGzPWRrpC</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/967297200052092930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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You&#39;re a celebrity. 
The child is a contestant who&#39;s looking to get a toehold in your industry. 
You CAN&#39;T grab and kiss her. 
EVEN if that&#39;s your idea of affection <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Papon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Papon</a>
&mdash; Padmaja joshi (@PadmajaJoshi) <a href="https://twitter.com/PadmajaJoshi/status/967002623944679429?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Papon, who had earlier said that he was being 'victimised' for no fault of his as he would 'never commit an indecent act', took to Twitter to make the announcement that he is stepping down as judge from the show

Singer Papon has landed in trouble after a complaint was filed against him for allegedly harassing a minor contestant of a reality TV show. A video has gone viral in which Papon is seen celebrating Holi with the contestants of “Voice India Kids” and planting a kiss on the girl’s face. Papon is one of the judges on the show along with fellow singers Shaan and Himmesh Reshammiya. Calling himself an “extremely affectionate and expressive” person, Papon claimed that “both of our families are being destroyed forever” because of the controversy surrounding the matter. Papon, who had earlier said that he was being "victimised" for no fault of his as he would "never commit an indecent act", took to Twitter to make the announcement that he is stepping down as judge from the show. Reacting to the incident, many prominent Bollywood celebrities took to Twitter to condemn the singer’s behaviour. Disgusting! Shameful!Perverse! This man Papon should be arrested ! The girls parents succumbing to pressure ! The explanations given are ridiculous! Haven’t felt such anger and shame to see this happen and some on tv debates actually defending the act ! — Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) February 23, 2018 × Whatever the situation,accidental,unintentional,affection,love, though it is sad the #papon controversy happened. But will be an eye opener and lesson for all to not getting carried away,and not crossing a line which can be seen as inappropriate. — Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) February 24, 2018 × Wasn't smothering a child's face with your palm rubbing color all over it for 4 secs enough as fatherly love, that u had to pull the child's face then to strategically peck her on the lip??? There was no wrong camera angle or the child moving her face mistakenly BTW ????????#papon???? — Gauahar Khan (@GAUAHAR_KHAN) February 23, 2018 × If a father doesn’t stand against his daughter’s abuse by #Papon in d name of “fatherly love”, then the father also should be tried for being an accomplice to wrong touch. — Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) February 23, 2018 × While talking to the media Farha Khan said "I know Papon he is good guy. But there is no doubt that when I saw the video it made me feel uncomfortable. I think he didn't mean to do it but if it was my daughter I would not like it. I think people should not touch other people's children, just to show affection." I know #Papon he is good guy. But there is no doubt that when I saw the video it made me feel uncomfortable. I think he didn't mean to do it but if it was my daughter I would not like it. I think people should not touch other people's children, just to show affection: Farah Khan pic.twitter.com/dKGzPWRrpC — ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2018 × You're a celebrity. The child is a contestant who's looking to get a toehold in your industry. You CAN'T grab and kiss her. EVEN if that's your idea of affection #Papon — Padmaja joshi (@PadmajaJoshi) February 23, 2018 ×

Bollywood celebrities react to Papon controversy, express fury

By: Akanksha Swarup

Sridevi&rsquo;s untimely demise arrives as 2018&rsquo;s early shockers but also as a grim reminder of a shallow, materialistic urban society that&rsquo;s diminishing in its core values.

I was out on a road trip from Mumbai to Delhi and a relaxing breather at Udaipur was brought to a disturbing halt as I woke up to the shocking news of Sri&rsquo;s sudden demise.

As a journalist with a keen eye for entertainment news, I couldn&rsquo;t help but ask myself if Sridevi&rsquo;s untimely death had anything to do with the constant societal pressure to look a certain way by defying age?

The constant surgeries, implants and botox shots that most heroines are succumbing to across the globe is a harsh reality that we need to address as a society, every time we hit a like on an age-defying face in a picture going viral on Facebook. &nbsp; &nbsp;

That Sridevi and her daughter Jhanvi were a regular at Dr Raj Kanodia, a Hollywood celebrity cosmetic surgeon based in California is no secret. His Instagram account is a testimony to their visits along with SRK and wife Gauri Khan.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BXJzIUCDTeS/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Jhanvi Kapoor and I. She always looks so stunning! Thank you for joining me at my home ❤️</a>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/drkanodia90210/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Dr. Raj Kanodia- Doc Hollywood</a> (@drkanodia90210) on <time datetime="2017-07-30T01:58:15+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Jul 29, 2017 at 6:58pm PDT</time>
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Do we need yet another hashtag movement to curb the constant stress of being a certain body type; fit a bracket of beauty where wrinkles, sagging breasts, and grey hair are a definite no-no?

Sri&rsquo;s flamboyant sartorial sense wowed millions of followers on social media but playing mannequin to celebrity designers like Manish Malhotra or Sabyasachi Mukherjee takes its own toll. The price you pay to the bludgeoning compulsion of patriarchal expectations is the news that India woke up to on Sunday morning.

A part of me wonders if husband Boney Kapoor could have resurrected Sridevi&rsquo;s faith in her looks instead of having her play his arm candy.

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BW-k1UFjRfS/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">I love spending time with my dear friends and some of the Bollywood greats including King Khan himself Shah Rukh Khan @iamsrk, the lovely @gaurikhan, the fabulous @sridevi.kapoor and magic man @boneykapoor. @iamsrk best of luck on your newest project @jabharrymetsejalthefilm!</a>

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A prolific painter and a doting mother apart from being a multilingual superstar, there were dimensions to Sri&rsquo;s personality that we almost forgot to focus on because probably the tragedy of being a woman is to look good even if you are fifty and above. Well India, it&rsquo;s time to rediscover the meaning of &ldquo;ageing gracefully&rdquo;.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The constant surgeries, implants and botox shots that most heroines are succumbing to across the globe is a harsh reality that we need to address as a society, every time we hit a like on an age-defying face in a picture going viral on Facebook

By: Akanksha Swarup Sridevi’s untimely demise arrives as 2018’s early shockers but also as a grim reminder of a shallow, materialistic urban society that’s diminishing in its core values. I was out on a road trip from Mumbai to Delhi and a relaxing breather at Udaipur was brought to a disturbing halt as I woke up to the shocking news of Sri’s sudden demise. As a journalist with a keen eye for entertainment news, I couldn’t help but ask myself if Sridevi’s untimely death had anything to do with the constant societal pressure to look a certain way by defying age? The constant surgeries, implants and botox shots that most heroines are succumbing to across the globe is a harsh reality that we need to address as a society, every time we hit a like on an age-defying face in a picture going viral on Facebook. That Sridevi and her daughter Jhanvi were a regular at Dr Raj Kanodia, a Hollywood celebrity cosmetic surgeon based in California is no secret. His Instagram account is a testimony to their visits along with SRK and wife Gauri Khan. Jhanvi Kapoor and I. She always looks so stunning! Thank you for joining me at my home ❤️ A post shared by Dr. Raj Kanodia- Doc Hollywood (@drkanodia90210) on Jul 29, 2017 at 6:58pm PDT × Do we need yet another hashtag movement to curb the constant stress of being a certain body type; fit a bracket of beauty where wrinkles, sagging breasts, and grey hair are a definite no-no? Sri’s flamboyant sartorial sense wowed millions of followers on social media but playing mannequin to celebrity designers like Manish Malhotra or Sabyasachi Mukherjee takes its own toll. The price you pay to the bludgeoning compulsion of patriarchal expectations is the news that India woke up to on Sunday morning. A part of me wonders if husband Boney Kapoor could have resurrected Sridevi’s faith in her looks instead of having her play his arm candy. I love spending time with my dear friends and some of the Bollywood greats including King Khan himself Shah Rukh Khan @iamsrk, the lovely @gaurikhan, the fabulous @sridevi.kapoor and magic man @boneykapoor. @iamsrk best of luck on your newest project @jabharrymetsejalthefilm! A post shared by Dr. Raj Kanodia- Doc Hollywood (@drkanodia90210) on Jul 25, 2017 at 10:21am PDT × A prolific painter and a doting mother apart from being a multilingual superstar, there were dimensions to Sri’s personality that we almost forgot to focus on because probably the tragedy of being a woman is to look good even if you are fifty and above. Well India, it’s time to rediscover the meaning of “ageing gracefully”. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Sridevi, the tragedy of a diva

By&nbsp;Jon Roozenbeek* and Sander van der Linden**

The term &ldquo;fake news&rdquo; is everywhere these days. After gaining steam during the 2016 US election, it&rsquo;s become a catch-all phrase used by people from across the political spectrum. Yet &ldquo;fake&rdquo; stories &ndash; or stories that have been entirely made up &ndash; have been around since the dawn of man. And on top of that, stories don&rsquo;t have to be completely fake to be misleading. Terms such as &ldquo;propaganda&rdquo;, &ldquo;disinformation&rdquo;, &ldquo;misinformation&rdquo; and &ldquo;post-truth&rdquo; are used by many people, as though they mean the same thing.

In practice, most people are concerned about &ldquo;disinformation&rdquo;: that is, misinformation coupled with the intent to deceive. Today, it&rsquo;s easier than ever to mislead people. In the online world, posing as a credible news producer requires a bit of money and dedication &ndash; but it&rsquo;s not hard.

Meanwhile, people&rsquo;s trust in the media is declining, and a majority of Americans say that fake news has left them confused about basic facts. Add to that the growing problem of computational propaganda &ndash; where Twitter bots or other social media tools amplify certain hashtags or messages to influence what&rsquo;s trending &ndash; and the current landscape becomes very difficult for people to navigate.

Fighting back

There are many ways companies and governments are trying to combat this growing threat. Google and Facebook are tweaking their algorithms to stop promoting &ldquo;fake news&rdquo;. France is in the process of passing a controversial &ldquo;fake news law&rdquo;, which limits media activity during election time. And the UK government has announced it&rsquo;s setting up an &ldquo;anti-fake news&rdquo; unit. Yet each of these efforts comes with its own problems.

From our perspective, as researchers studying the fake news phenomenon, we think the best way to fight the bad effects is at the individual level. So, we&rsquo;re experimenting by combining psychology with technology in a new area of research, which some scholars are calling &ldquo;technocognition&rdquo;.

So far, one of us found that it&rsquo;s possible to &ldquo;inoculate&rdquo; people against misinformation by warning and exposing them to a weakened version of the &ldquo;real&rdquo; misleading argument, and then revealing to them why it&rsquo;s misleading. In other words, a small dose of fake news can inoculate you against it &ndash; just like a real vaccination would protect you against a disease.

Tricks of the trade

There are many reasons why people produce disinformation: they can be financial, political, personal and even &ldquo;just for fun&rdquo;. But the techniques that are being used to mislead people are remarkably similar across the board.

One of the simplest is impersonation: imitating a public figure or organisation with the intent of misleading the public. They might also create &ldquo;emotional content&rdquo;, which deliberately plays on people&rsquo;s basic emotions &ndash; such as fear or anger &ndash; to get a response. Next, there&rsquo;s &ldquo;polarisation&rdquo; &ndash; when fake news merchants stir up existing political tensions, to drive people further apart.&nbsp;

Then there are conspiracies: misleading theories, which often hold a large organisation responsible for some kind of covert agenda &ndash; like saying NASA faked the moon landing to win the space race. Then, people whose credibility is under attack will often try to discredit their opponents by engaging in &ldquo;whataboutism&rdquo; or personal attacks. And lastly we have trolling, which involves disrupting discussions and provoking reactions from people, combining all of the techniques mentioned above.

Good news, bad news

When people use these techniques themselves, it really improves their ability to recognise them in other contexts. So, together with DROG (a Dutch organisation working against the spread of disinformation), we developed an online game called Bad News (click here to play it), where players use misleading tactics to build their own fake news empire.

The game is free to play in any browser and on any device and takes about 15 minutes to complete. You start as an anonymous Twitter user who goes professional by starting their own news site, and gradually becomes a fake news tycoon. On the way, you earn badges and learn how the techniques mentioned earlier can be used to suit your purposes.

We figured that once you know how the magic trick works, you won&rsquo;t be fooled by it again. So we put our ideas to the test by doing a pilot study in a high school in the Netherlands. Some classes were assigned to the treatment group and played our game. Others were assigned to the control group, and didn&rsquo;t play the game.

Although our study was only a starting point, the results so far have been positive: students who played the game thought the fake news articles they read afterwards were less reliable. We hope that our game will play a role in stopping the spread of misleading information: just as misinformation replicates, vaccines can spread, too. The more people that play the game, the further the vaccine spreads &ndash; until one day, we may achieve societal resistance against fake news.

*Jon Roozenbeek is a PhD Candidate in Slavonic Studies, University of Cambridge

**Sander van der Linden is the Director of Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab, University of Cambridge

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Researchers have developed a game to 'vaccinate' people against fake news – by showing them how to become a fake news mogul.

By Jon Roozenbeek* and Sander van der Linden** The term “fake news” is everywhere these days. After gaining steam during the 2016 US election, it’s become a catch-all phrase used by people from across the political spectrum. Yet “fake” stories – or stories that have been entirely made up – have been around since the dawn of man. And on top of that, stories don’t have to be completely fake to be misleading. Terms such as “propaganda”, “disinformation”, “misinformation” and “post-truth” are used by many people, as though they mean the same thing. In practice, most people are concerned about “disinformation”: that is, misinformation coupled with the intent to deceive. Today, it’s easier than ever to mislead people. In the online world, posing as a credible news producer requires a bit of money and dedication – but it’s not hard. Meanwhile, people’s trust in the media is declining, and a majority of Americans say that fake news has left them confused about basic facts. Add to that the growing problem of computational propaganda – where Twitter bots or other social media tools amplify certain hashtags or messages to influence what’s trending – and the current landscape becomes very difficult for people to navigate. Fighting back There are many ways companies and governments are trying to combat this growing threat. Google and Facebook are tweaking their algorithms to stop promoting “fake news”. France is in the process of passing a controversial “fake news law”, which limits media activity during election time. And the UK government has announced it’s setting up an “anti-fake news” unit. Yet each of these efforts comes with its own problems. From our perspective, as researchers studying the fake news phenomenon, we think the best way to fight the bad effects is at the individual level. So, we’re experimenting by combining psychology with technology in a new area of research, which some scholars are calling “technocognition”. So far, one of us found that it’s possible to “inoculate” people against misinformation by warning and exposing them to a weakened version of the “real” misleading argument, and then revealing to them why it’s misleading. In other words, a small dose of fake news can inoculate you against it – just like a real vaccination would protect you against a disease. Tricks of the trade There are many reasons why people produce disinformation: they can be financial, political, personal and even “just for fun”. But the techniques that are being used to mislead people are remarkably similar across the board. One of the simplest is impersonation: imitating a public figure or organisation with the intent of misleading the public. They might also create “emotional content”, which deliberately plays on people’s basic emotions – such as fear or anger – to get a response. Next, there’s “polarisation” – when fake news merchants stir up existing political tensions, to drive people further apart. Then there are conspiracies: misleading theories, which often hold a large organisation responsible for some kind of covert agenda – like saying NASA faked the moon landing to win the space race. Then, people whose credibility is under attack will often try to discredit their opponents by engaging in “whataboutism” or personal attacks. And lastly we have trolling, which involves disrupting discussions and provoking reactions from people, combining all of the techniques mentioned above. Good news, bad news When people use these techniques themselves, it really improves their ability to recognise them in other contexts. So, together with DROG (a Dutch organisation working against the spread of disinformation), we developed an online game called Bad News (click here to play it), where players use misleading tactics to build their own fake news empire. The game is free to play in any browser and on any device and takes about 15 minutes to complete. You start as an anonymous Twitter user who goes professional by starting their own news site, and gradually becomes a fake news tycoon. On the way, you earn badges and learn how the techniques mentioned earlier can be used to suit your purposes. We figured that once you know how the magic trick works, you won’t be fooled by it again. So we put our ideas to the test by doing a pilot study in a high school in the Netherlands. Some classes were assigned to the treatment group and played our game. Others were assigned to the control group, and didn’t play the game. Although our study was only a starting point, the results so far have been positive: students who played the game thought the fake news articles they read afterwards were less reliable. We hope that our game will play a role in stopping the spread of misleading information: just as misinformation replicates, vaccines can spread, too. The more people that play the game, the further the vaccine spreads – until one day, we may achieve societal resistance against fake news. *Jon Roozenbeek is a PhD Candidate in Slavonic Studies, University of Cambridge **Sander van der Linden is the Director of Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab, University of Cambridge (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Here is a game to protect you from fake news

A Belgian court has asked Facebook to stop tracking internet users in the country without their consent. According to a report, the social media giant may face a fine up to 100 million euros if it fails to adhere to the directive.

The US firm must &quot;stop following and recording internet use by people surfing in Belgium until it complies with Belgian privacy laws,&quot; the Brussels court said in a statement.&nbsp;

The Mark Zuckerberg-led company may also face a daily penalty of 250,000 euros. According to the court, the social media site was found guilty of breaching Belgium`s privacy laws.&nbsp;

Social media platforms track their users and their activities with the help of &#39;social-plugins&#39;, &#39;cookies&#39; and &#39;pixels&#39;.

Facebook is likely to appeal against the verdict.

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Facebook is likely to appeal against the verdict

A Belgian court has asked Facebook to stop tracking internet users in the country without their consent. According to a report, the social media giant may face a fine up to 100 million euros if it fails to adhere to the directive. The US firm must "stop following and recording internet use by people surfing in Belgium until it complies with Belgian privacy laws," the Brussels court said in a statement. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company may also face a daily penalty of 250,000 euros. According to the court, the social media site was found guilty of breaching Belgium`s privacy laws. Social media platforms track their users and their activities with the help of 'social-plugins', 'cookies' and 'pixels'. Facebook is likely to appeal against the verdict. (With inputs from agencies)

Belgium: Facebook has been asked to stop tracking internet users

The European Commission said Thursday that US social media giants have made an effort to comply with EU consumer protection rules, but that Facebook and Twitter have not made all the required changes.

&quot;While Google&#39;s latest proposals appear to be in line with the requests made by consumer authorities, Facebook and, more significantly, Twitter, have only partially addressed important issues about their liability and about how users are informed of possible content removal or contract termination,&quot; the Commission, the EU&#39;s executive arm, said in a statement.

The three major internet companies had published on Thursday the changes they are making to comply with the demands of European regulators, which must be implemented in all languages &nbsp;by spring.

Some of those changes include having the right to withdraw from an online purchase; being able to lodge complaints in Europe rather than in California where the companies are based; and the platforms being responsible towards EU consumers in the same way as off-line services.

&quot;I am pleased that the enforcement of EU rules to protect consumers by national authorities is bearing fruit, as some companies are now making their platforms safer for consumers; however, it is unacceptable that this is still not complete and it is taking so much time,&quot; said Vera Jourova, European commissioner for justice, consumers and gender equality.

The European Union&#39;s demands to the US internet giants were made in November 2016 following numerous complaints by consumers in Europe about being hit with fraud and scams when using their websites.

There were also concerns by consumer protection authorities about requesting the removal of illegal content.

The Commission said unlike Google, Facebook and Twitter have not set up deadlines to deal with the requests of national authorities.

Monique Goyens, director general of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), said the situation with the social media companies showed that the EU needs to update consumer law to strengthen sanction powers.

&quot;What this shows is that there is a need for real sanction powers when a company does not respect EU law,&quot; she said in a statement.

&quot;The incentive for companies to comply with the law is rather low. These fines should not be symbolic but a real deterrent, going up to a percentage of the company&rsquo;s annual worldwide turnover,&rdquo; she added.

The three major internet companies had published on Thursday the changes they are making to comply with the demands of European regulators, which must be implemented in all languages by spring

The European Commission said Thursday that US social media giants have made an effort to comply with EU consumer protection rules, but that Facebook and Twitter have not made all the required changes. "While Google's latest proposals appear to be in line with the requests made by consumer authorities, Facebook and, more significantly, Twitter, have only partially addressed important issues about their liability and about how users are informed of possible content removal or contract termination," the Commission, the EU's executive arm, said in a statement. The three major internet companies had published on Thursday the changes they are making to comply with the demands of European regulators, which must be implemented in all languages by spring. Some of those changes include having the right to withdraw from an online purchase; being able to lodge complaints in Europe rather than in California where the companies are based; and the platforms being responsible towards EU consumers in the same way as off-line services. "I am pleased that the enforcement of EU rules to protect consumers by national authorities is bearing fruit, as some companies are now making their platforms safer for consumers; however, it is unacceptable that this is still not complete and it is taking so much time," said Vera Jourova, European commissioner for justice, consumers and gender equality. The European Union's demands to the US internet giants were made in November 2016 following numerous complaints by consumers in Europe about being hit with fraud and scams when using their websites. There were also concerns by consumer protection authorities about requesting the removal of illegal content. The Commission said unlike Google, Facebook and Twitter have not set up deadlines to deal with the requests of national authorities. Monique Goyens, director general of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), said the situation with the social media companies showed that the EU needs to update consumer law to strengthen sanction powers. "What this shows is that there is a need for real sanction powers when a company does not respect EU law," she said in a statement. "The incentive for companies to comply with the law is rather low. These fines should not be symbolic but a real deterrent, going up to a percentage of the company’s annual worldwide turnover,” she added.

Facebook, Twitter not fully complying with consumer rules: European Commission

Social networking service, Facebook is introducing a wireless networking app, Onavo Protect, to some of its mobile app users.&nbsp;

The new wireless networking app is designed to protect users with the virtual private network or VPN.

Facebook offers the security feature in a tab in its mobile app marked &quot;Protect&quot;

The feature makes the app more secure when it is working on a public Wi-fi.

Though the social media giant has not disclosed it to its users that it owns the wireless networking app, the users can find the information on Onavo website. They can even expand the &quot;description&quot; on the Apple App Store and read till the bottom to find out that the app is owned by Facebook.&nbsp;

The app keeps a track of the applications installed on the device, use of those applications, websites visited by a user and the amount of data used by the user.&nbsp;

It will enable Facebook to keep a track of the apps and other social media platforms even when the users are not using the Facebook app, helping the social media to keep a track on the apps made by rivals.

The app will enable Facebook to keep a track of the apps and other social media platforms even when the users are not using the Facebook app, helping the social media to keep a track on the apps made by rivals

Social networking service, Facebook is introducing a wireless networking app, Onavo Protect, to some of its mobile app users. The new wireless networking app is designed to protect users with the virtual private network or VPN. Facebook offers the security feature in a tab in its mobile app marked "Protect" The feature makes the app more secure when it is working on a public Wi-fi. Though the social media giant has not disclosed it to its users that it owns the wireless networking app, the users can find the information on Onavo website. They can even expand the "description" on the Apple App Store and read till the bottom to find out that the app is owned by Facebook. The app keeps a track of the applications installed on the device, use of those applications, websites visited by a user and the amount of data used by the user. It will enable Facebook to keep a track of the apps and other social media platforms even when the users are not using the Facebook app, helping the social media to keep a track on the apps made by rivals.

New Facebook app to secure users' data will also track their data usage

Facebook Inc said Russian agents created 129 events on the social media network during the 2016 U.S. election campaign, according to testimony to Congress, shedding more light on Russia&#39;s purported disinformation drive aimed at voters.

Facebook, in a written statement to U.S. lawmakers released on Thursday and dated Jan. 8, said that 338,300 different Facebook accounts viewed the events and that 62,500 marked that they would attend. The company said it did not have data about which of the events took place.

Facebook, the world&#39;s largest social media network, said in September only that Russians had created &quot;several promoted events.&quot;

Copies of the event pages that have surfaced since then show that at least some of them were political rallies centered on divisive subjects, such as immigration. Russia denies the conclusions of U.S. intelligence agencies that it tried to meddle in American democracy.

Facebook delivered the details to Congress this month in response to written questions from the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-banned-in-china-but-it-uses-it-elsewhere-to-spread-state-produced-propaganda-nyt-23817" target="_blank">Facebook banned in China but it uses it elsewhere to spread &#39;state-produced propaganda&#39;</a>

Facebook said that it had found &quot;overlap&quot; between the online marketing done in 2016 by Russian agents and by President Donald Trump&#39;s campaign and called it &quot;insignificant.&quot; The company said it was not in a position to either substantiate or disprove allegations of collusion between the two camps.

Trump denies any collusion and has described investigations by congressional panels and a special counsel as a witch hunt.

Facebook has previously said some 126 million Americans may have seen Russian-backed political content on Facebook over a two-year period, and that 16 million may have been exposed to Russian information on Instagram.

Facebook, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc&#39;s Google testified about misuse of their services before three congressional committees in October and November.

Also in its written response to follow up questions, Facebook said that last year it removed Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab from its list of free anti-virus offerings to users who go to the social media site from a computer that may be infected with malicious code.

Facebook said it no longer provided Kaspersky Lab as a recommended anti-virus option but that it was &quot;unable to easily reconstruct how many Facebook users downloaded Kaspersky software.&quot;

Kaspersky Lab has repeatedly denied allegations by U.S. security officials that its software could enable Russian espionage, a fear that led to the U.S. government last year to ban the use of its products in federal computer networks.

A Kaspersky spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the testimony.

Facebook said it was also in the process of &quot;phasing out internal use of a different Kaspersky antivirus product&quot; that does not transmit data back to Kaspersky Lab. It did not name the product.

In separate written responses, Google said Kaspersky Lab had not been approved for use in its corporate systems and that a review had not found any installation of its products. Twitter also said it did not use Kaspersky Lab.

Facebook also said it would take &quot;significant steps&quot; in the coming weeks to notify users of an online tool it released last month that allows them to check whether they have followed or liked Facebook pages or Instagram accounts associated with the Internet Research Agency, a suspected Russian troll farm.

Facebook said 338,300 different Facebook accounts viewed the events and that 62,500 said they would attend

Facebook Inc said Russian agents created 129 events on the social media network during the 2016 U.S. election campaign, according to testimony to Congress, shedding more light on Russia's purported disinformation drive aimed at voters. Facebook, in a written statement to U.S. lawmakers released on Thursday and dated Jan. 8, said that 338,300 different Facebook accounts viewed the events and that 62,500 marked that they would attend. The company said it did not have data about which of the events took place. Facebook, the world's largest social media network, said in September only that Russians had created "several promoted events." Copies of the event pages that have surfaced since then show that at least some of them were political rallies centered on divisive subjects, such as immigration. Russia denies the conclusions of U.S. intelligence agencies that it tried to meddle in American democracy. Facebook delivered the details to Congress this month in response to written questions from the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. Also read: Facebook banned in China but it uses it elsewhere to spread 'state-produced propaganda' Facebook said that it had found "overlap" between the online marketing done in 2016 by Russian agents and by President Donald Trump's campaign and called it "insignificant." The company said it was not in a position to either substantiate or disprove allegations of collusion between the two camps. Trump denies any collusion and has described investigations by congressional panels and a special counsel as a witch hunt. Facebook has previously said some 126 million Americans may have seen Russian-backed political content on Facebook over a two-year period, and that 16 million may have been exposed to Russian information on Instagram. Facebook, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google testified about misuse of their services before three congressional committees in October and November. Also in its written response to follow up questions, Facebook said that last year it removed Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab from its list of free anti-virus offerings to users who go to the social media site from a computer that may be infected with malicious code. Facebook said it no longer provided Kaspersky Lab as a recommended anti-virus option but that it was "unable to easily reconstruct how many Facebook users downloaded Kaspersky software." Kaspersky Lab has repeatedly denied allegations by U.S. security officials that its software could enable Russian espionage, a fear that led to the U.S. government last year to ban the use of its products in federal computer networks. A Kaspersky spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the testimony. Facebook said it was also in the process of "phasing out internal use of a different Kaspersky antivirus product" that does not transmit data back to Kaspersky Lab. It did not name the product. In separate written responses, Google said Kaspersky Lab had not been approved for use in its corporate systems and that a review had not found any installation of its products. Twitter also said it did not use Kaspersky Lab. Facebook also said it would take "significant steps" in the coming weeks to notify users of an online tool it released last month that allows them to check whether they have followed or liked Facebook pages or Instagram accounts associated with the Internet Research Agency, a suspected Russian troll farm.

Facebook: Russian agents created 129 US election events

Billionaire investor George Soros launched a scathing attack on tech giants at the Davos summit on Thursday, calling them monopolies that could be manipulated by authoritarians to subvert democracy.

During an annual dinner he hosts at the World Economic Forum, held this week in the Swiss alpine resort, Soros turned his sights on a host of subjects including US President Donald Trump and the speculation frenzy surrounding the bitcoin cryptocurrency.

But much of the Hungarian-born financier&#39;s ire was reserved for the tech giants of Silicon Valley who, he argued, needed to be more strictly regulated.&nbsp;

&quot;Facebook and Google effectively control over half of all internet advertising revenue,&quot; the 87-year-old told diners during a speech.&nbsp;

&quot;They claim that they are merely distributors of information. The fact that they are near-monopoly distributors makes them public utilities and should subject them to more stringent regulations, aimed at preserving competition, innovation, and fair and open universal access.&quot;

He predicted that tech giants would &quot;compromise themselves&quot; to access key markets like China, creating an &quot;alliance between authoritarian states and these large, data rich IT monopolies.&quot;

&quot;This may well result in a web of totalitarian control the likes of which not even Aldous Huxley or George Orwell could have imagined,&quot; he warned.

Predicting governments would start to more heavily regulate the sector he said: &quot;Davos is a good place to announce that their days are numbered.&quot;

Known for his legendarily successful currency trading, Soros dismissed bitcoin as a &quot;typical bubble&quot;.&nbsp;

But he said the cryptocurrency would likely avoid a full crash because authoritarians would still use it to make secret investments abroad.

He described Russia&#39;s Vladimir Putin as presiding over a &quot;mafia state&quot; and called Trump a &quot;danger to the world&quot;.

But he predicted that the US president&#39;s appeal would not last.&nbsp;

&quot;I regard it as a purely temporary phenomenon that will disappear in 2020 or even sooner.&quot;

But the investor&#39;s traditional Davos predictions do not always pan out. Last year in Switzerland he warned that the stock market rally would end after Trump&#39;s election and that China&#39;s growth rate was unsustainable.

China&#39;s growth has continued while US stocks are regularly hitting record highs.

"Facebook and Google effectively control over half of all internet advertising revenue," the 87-year-old told diners during a speech.

Billionaire investor George Soros launched a scathing attack on tech giants at the Davos summit on Thursday, calling them monopolies that could be manipulated by authoritarians to subvert democracy. During an annual dinner he hosts at the World Economic Forum, held this week in the Swiss alpine resort, Soros turned his sights on a host of subjects including US President Donald Trump and the speculation frenzy surrounding the bitcoin cryptocurrency. But much of the Hungarian-born financier's ire was reserved for the tech giants of Silicon Valley who, he argued, needed to be more strictly regulated. "Facebook and Google effectively control over half of all internet advertising revenue," the 87-year-old told diners during a speech. "They claim that they are merely distributors of information. The fact that they are near-monopoly distributors makes them public utilities and should subject them to more stringent regulations, aimed at preserving competition, innovation, and fair and open universal access." He predicted that tech giants would "compromise themselves" to access key markets like China, creating an "alliance between authoritarian states and these large, data rich IT monopolies." "This may well result in a web of totalitarian control the likes of which not even Aldous Huxley or George Orwell could have imagined," he warned. Predicting governments would start to more heavily regulate the sector he said: "Davos is a good place to announce that their days are numbered." Known for his legendarily successful currency trading, Soros dismissed bitcoin as a "typical bubble". But he said the cryptocurrency would likely avoid a full crash because authoritarians would still use it to make secret investments abroad. He described Russia's Vladimir Putin as presiding over a "mafia state" and called Trump a "danger to the world". But he predicted that the US president's appeal would not last. "I regard it as a purely temporary phenomenon that will disappear in 2020 or even sooner." But the investor's traditional Davos predictions do not always pan out. Last year in Switzerland he warned that the stock market rally would end after Trump's election and that China's growth rate was unsustainable. China's growth has continued while US stocks are regularly hitting record highs.

George Soros to Google and Facebook: Your days are numbered

According to media reports, Google is the first tech-giant to have spent a huge sum of money for corporate lobbying efforts in the United States in two decades.&nbsp;

While Jeff Bezos-led Amazon spent over&nbsp;$12.8 million over lobbying US politicians the past year, rival Google invested a whopping $18 million.&nbsp;

The two companies were followed by Mark Zuckerberg&#39;s Facebook ($11.5), Bill Gates&#39; Microsoft ($8.5 million) and Tim Cook-led Apple ($7 million).

Reportedly, the companies used the money to press the US lawmakers on issues like advertising regulations, free trade, cybersecurity and immigration.&nbsp;

Facebook is reported to have upped its spending on lobbying activities by around $3 million.&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

Facebook is reported to have upped its spending on lobbying activities by around $3 million

According to media reports, Google is the first tech-giant to have spent a huge sum of money for corporate lobbying efforts in the United States in two decades. While Jeff Bezos-led Amazon spent over $12.8 million over lobbying US politicians the past year, rival Google invested a whopping $18 million. The two companies were followed by Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook ($11.5), Bill Gates' Microsoft ($8.5 million) and Tim Cook-led Apple ($7 million). Reportedly, the companies used the money to press the US lawmakers on issues like advertising regulations, free trade, cybersecurity and immigration. Facebook is reported to have upped its spending on lobbying activities by around $3 million.

US: Google becomes the biggest tech spender on lobbying politicians

Now, Instagram users will be able to search GIFS and add them as stickers to their &#39;Insta Stories&#39;

The social media platform has rolled out a new feature wherein users will also get a GIF option when they try to add stickers to their Instagram &#39;stories&#39;.&nbsp;

The Facebook-owned app will also let users upload videos and pictures irrespective of their size. Instagram will provide gifs powered by GIPHY.&nbsp;

The GIF feature will be available on Instagram version 29 for iOS and Android devices.

 
&nbsp;

The Facebook-owned app will also let users upload videos and pictures irrespective of their size

Now, Instagram users will be able to search GIFS and add them as stickers to their 'Insta Stories' The social media platform has rolled out a new feature wherein users will also get a GIF option when they try to add stickers to their Instagram 'stories'. The Facebook-owned app will also let users upload videos and pictures irrespective of their size. Instagram will provide gifs powered by GIPHY. The GIF feature will be available on Instagram version 29 for iOS and Android devices.

Instagram rolls out GIF option for 'Insta Stories'

Facebook Inc is buying a software firm that specializes in authenticating government-issued identification cards, the two companies said on Tuesday, a step that may help the social media giant learn more about the people who buy ads on its network.

US&nbsp;lawmakers have expressed alarm at Facebook&#39;s limited ability to know who is buying advertisements, including election-related ads, on the world&#39;s largest social network.&nbsp;

Boston-based Confirm Inc, which is privately held, said on its website that the acquisition was the culmination of three years of work to build technology to keep people safe online.&nbsp;

Facebook said in a statement that Confirm`s &quot;technology and expertise will support our ongoing efforts to keep our community safe.&quot;

Terms of the deal and how Facebook would apply Confirm&#39;s software were not revealed.

Confirm will wind down its operations and its employees will join Facebook in Boston, a person familiar with the acquisition told Reuters.

Confirm&#39;s website listed 26 employees earlier this month, according to a version archived by the Google search engine. It says on its website that it has more than 750 clients.

Last year, Facebook said that suspected Russian agents had been paying to boost Facebook posts in the United States in an attempt to divide the electorate around the 2016 presidential election. Moscow denies the allegations.

The company later said that it would begin requiring organizations running election-related ads to confirm their identities.&nbsp;

Facebook has more than 6 million different advertisers, and buying ads has historically required little more than a Facebook page and a credit card.&nbsp;

Confirm says that its software allows for proof of identity for online transactions, allowing users to detect potentially fraudulent activity.

US lawmakers have expressed alarm at Facebook's limited ability to know who is buying advertisements, including election-related ads, on the world's largest social network

Facebook Inc is buying a software firm that specializes in authenticating government-issued identification cards, the two companies said on Tuesday, a step that may help the social media giant learn more about the people who buy ads on its network. US lawmakers have expressed alarm at Facebook's limited ability to know who is buying advertisements, including election-related ads, on the world's largest social network. Boston-based Confirm Inc, which is privately held, said on its website that the acquisition was the culmination of three years of work to build technology to keep people safe online. Facebook said in a statement that Confirm`s "technology and expertise will support our ongoing efforts to keep our community safe." Terms of the deal and how Facebook would apply Confirm's software were not revealed. Confirm will wind down its operations and its employees will join Facebook in Boston, a person familiar with the acquisition told Reuters. Confirm's website listed 26 employees earlier this month, according to a version archived by the Google search engine. It says on its website that it has more than 750 clients. Last year, Facebook said that suspected Russian agents had been paying to boost Facebook posts in the United States in an attempt to divide the electorate around the 2016 presidential election. Moscow denies the allegations. The company later said that it would begin requiring organizations running election-related ads to confirm their identities. Facebook has more than 6 million different advertisers, and buying ads has historically required little more than a Facebook page and a credit card. Confirm says that its software allows for proof of identity for online transactions, allowing users to detect potentially fraudulent activity.

Facebook buys Boston software company that authenticates IDs

Facebook&#39;s civic engagement chief Samidh Chakrabarti recently identified social media as a &#39;potential threat&#39;.&nbsp;

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In a blog post, Chakrabarti noted that he was &quot;not blind to the damage that the internet can do to even a well-functioning democracy.&quot;

He spoke about Facebook&#39;s inability to recognise and tackle issues related to eminent personalities abusing the social media platform previously.&nbsp;

&quot;We&#39;re working diligently to neutralize these risks now,&quot; he noted.&nbsp;

&quot;We&#39;re as determined as ever to fight the negative influences and ensure that our platform is unquestionably a source for democratic good,&quot; said Katie Harbath, Facebook&#39;s head of global politics and government outreach, in an accompanying statement.

&quot;This was a new kind of threat that we couldn&#39;t easily predict, but we should have done better. Now we&#39;re making up for lost time,&quot; Chakrabarti noted on instances where social media platforms were used to spread fake news or events where Facebook posts were created against events like the Brexit, US Presidential elections 2017, et cetera.&nbsp;

&quot;It&#39;s abhorrent to us that a nation-state used our platform to wage a cyberwar intended to divide society,&quot; Chakrabarti said noting instances where over 80,000 Russian posts reached to around 126 million people in the US&nbsp;over a couple of years.

&quot;We don&#39;t want to be the arbiters of truth, nor do we imagine this is a role the world would want for us,&quot; Chakrabarti noted saying that Facebook&#39;s trustworthiness should purely be determined by its users.

(With inputs from AFP)&nbsp;

'We're working diligently to neutralize these risks now,' Facebook

Facebook's civic engagement chief Samidh Chakrabarti recently identified social media as a 'potential threat'. × In a blog post, Chakrabarti noted that he was "not blind to the damage that the internet can do to even a well-functioning democracy." He spoke about Facebook's inability to recognise and tackle issues related to eminent personalities abusing the social media platform previously. "We're working diligently to neutralize these risks now," he noted. "We're as determined as ever to fight the negative influences and ensure that our platform is unquestionably a source for democratic good," said Katie Harbath, Facebook's head of global politics and government outreach, in an accompanying statement. "This was a new kind of threat that we couldn't easily predict, but we should have done better. Now we're making up for lost time," Chakrabarti noted on instances where social media platforms were used to spread fake news or events where Facebook posts were created against events like the Brexit, US Presidential elections 2017, et cetera. "It's abhorrent to us that a nation-state used our platform to wage a cyberwar intended to divide society," Chakrabarti said noting instances where over 80,000 Russian posts reached to around 126 million people in the US over a couple of years. "We don't want to be the arbiters of truth, nor do we imagine this is a role the world would want for us," Chakrabarti noted saying that Facebook's trustworthiness should purely be determined by its users. (With inputs from AFP)

Social media a threat to democracy: Facebook

Amid efforts by the Facebook&nbsp;to fight misinformation on its platform, media mogul Rupert Murdoch recently called on the social media giant to pay &quot;trusted&quot; news publishers a carriage fee, similar to the model used by cable companies,&nbsp;

&quot;Facebook and Google have popularized scurrilous news sources through algorithms that are profitable for these platforms but inherently unreliable,&quot; Murdoch, who controls the Wall Street Journal as executive chairman of News Corp, said in a statement.

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Friday his company would fight misinformation and sensationalism on its platform by using member surveys to identify &quot;trustworthy&quot; outlets.

&quot;There has been much discussion about subscription models but I have yet to see a proposal that truly recognises the investment in and the social value of professional journalism,&quot; Murdoch said.

The quality of news on Facebook has been called into question after alleged Russian operatives and spammers spread false reports on the site, including during the 2016 US&nbsp;election campaign.

Facebook and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Friday his company would fight misinformation and sensationalism on its platform by using member surveys to identify "trustworthy" outlets.

Amid efforts by the Facebook to fight misinformation on its platform, media mogul Rupert Murdoch recently called on the social media giant to pay "trusted" news publishers a carriage fee, similar to the model used by cable companies, "Facebook and Google have popularized scurrilous news sources through algorithms that are profitable for these platforms but inherently unreliable," Murdoch, who controls the Wall Street Journal as executive chairman of News Corp, said in a statement. Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Friday his company would fight misinformation and sensationalism on its platform by using member surveys to identify "trustworthy" outlets. "There has been much discussion about subscription models but I have yet to see a proposal that truly recognises the investment in and the social value of professional journalism," Murdoch said. The quality of news on Facebook has been called into question after alleged Russian operatives and spammers spread false reports on the site, including during the 2016 US election campaign. Facebook and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Facebook should pay 'trusted' news publishers carriage fee: Murdoch

Sanjay Leela Bhansali&#39;s controversial Padmaavat released in theatres today amid tight security. <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/entertainment-padmaavat-out-today-no-show-in-4-big-states-30703">While four states</a>- Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh - have decided not to release the film in their states, heavy security could be seen in almost every cinema hall in cities where the film released.&nbsp; 
 
Most morning shows saw 40-60% occupancy and trade analysts have predicted that the long weekend ahead will see more footfall.&nbsp; 
 
Incidentally, the first day also saw the film being live streamed on Facebook. A page on Facebook called the &#39;Jaaton Ka Adda&#39; streamed the entire movie on their Facebook, reported India Today.&nbsp; 
 
The live video was shared by nearly 1500 people and got 3.5 lakh views.&nbsp;The page, though, later deleted the video.&nbsp;&quot; Uploading again soon,&quot; said one post on the page.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/entertainment-padmaavat-releases-amid-high-security-viewers-wonder-whats-the-fuss-about-30748">Also </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/entertainment-padmaavat-releases-amid-high-security-viewers-wonder-whats-the-fuss-about-30748">see:</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/entertainment-padmaavat-releases-amid-high-security-viewers-wonder-whats-the-fuss-about-30748">&nbsp;Padmaavat releases amid high security; viewers wonder what&#39;s the fuss about</a> 
 
Bhansali&#39;s Padmaavat has been mired in controversy since the time the film began shooting in January 2017. The film was earlier scheduled to release on December 1 but owing to protests and opposition from state governments and fringe groups, the film was cleared by CBFC for a January release.&nbsp;

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's controversial Padmaavat released in theatres today amid tight security.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's controversial Padmaavat released in theatres today amid tight security. While four states- Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh - have decided not to release the film in their states, heavy security could be seen in almost every cinema hall in cities where the film released. Most morning shows saw 40-60% occupancy and trade analysts have predicted that the long weekend ahead will see more footfall. Incidentally, the first day also saw the film being live streamed on Facebook. A page on Facebook called the 'Jaaton Ka Adda' streamed the entire movie on their Facebook, reported India Today. The live video was shared by nearly 1500 people and got 3.5 lakh views. The page, though, later deleted the video. " Uploading again soon," said one post on the page. Also see: Padmaavat releases amid high security; viewers wonder what's the fuss about Bhansali's Padmaavat has been mired in controversy since the time the film began shooting in January 2017. The film was earlier scheduled to release on December 1 but owing to protests and opposition from state governments and fringe groups, the film was cleared by CBFC for a January release.

Padmaavat live-streamed on Facebook on the first day of its release

With mom, dad and grandma signing up in increasing numbers, Facebook is losing younger users in the United States at a faster pace than previously estimated, researchers said Monday.

A report by eMarketer said Snapchat is drawing youths away from Facebook at a quicker clip than Facebook-owned Instagram.

Facebook is still growing in the US market, according to research firm, mainly due to increases in usage by older age groups.

The report is the latest to highlight Facebook&#39;s problem with attracting and keeping young people, who have long been a core user base for the world&#39;s biggest social network.

The research firm said it expected the first-ever decline in the 18-24 age group in the US, a drop of 5.8 per cent this year.

It also said that for the first time since its research began, less than half of the 12-17 age group in the United States would be on Facebook, with a 5.6 percent drop in that segment.&nbsp;

The under-12 age group meanwhile will see a decline of 9.3 percent this year, eMarketer said.

The same trend is expected to continue into 2019 and 2020, with declines in all segments of US users under 25, the report added.

Facebook will lose an estimated two million users under 25 this year, with Snapchat and Instagram the main beneficiaries.

The report said Snapchat will add 1.9 million users under 25 in 2018 and Instagram will add 1.6 million.

Snapchat, which is known for its disappearing messages, will continue to have more users aged 12 to 24 than Instagram, the researchers said.

But Snapchat could end up facing a similar problem as it seeks to increase its user base and reach all ages.

&quot;Snapchat could eventually experience more growth in older age groups, since it&#39;s redesigning its platform to be easier to use,&quot; eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson said.&nbsp;

&quot;The question will be whether younger users will still find Snapchat cool if more of their parents and grandparents are on it. That&#39;s the predicament Facebook is in.&quot;

Facebook remains the most popular social network in the US market with an estimated 169.5 million users this year, according to eMarketer.

But faster-growing Instagram will be used by 104.7 million Americans and Snapchat will reach 86.5 million users, according to the forecast.

Last year, eMarketer predicted Facebook would see declines among some youths for the first time in its history.

A report last year by investment firm Piper Jaffray showed Snapchat is the preferred social network for US teens, with 47 percent using the platform. 
&nbsp;

A report by eMarketer said Snapchat is drawing youths away from Facebook at a quicker clip than Facebook-owned Instagram

With mom, dad and grandma signing up in increasing numbers, Facebook is losing younger users in the United States at a faster pace than previously estimated, researchers said Monday. A report by eMarketer said Snapchat is drawing youths away from Facebook at a quicker clip than Facebook-owned Instagram. Facebook is still growing in the US market, according to research firm, mainly due to increases in usage by older age groups. The report is the latest to highlight Facebook's problem with attracting and keeping young people, who have long been a core user base for the world's biggest social network. The research firm said it expected the first-ever decline in the 18-24 age group in the US, a drop of 5.8 per cent this year. It also said that for the first time since its research began, less than half of the 12-17 age group in the United States would be on Facebook, with a 5.6 percent drop in that segment. The under-12 age group meanwhile will see a decline of 9.3 percent this year, eMarketer said. The same trend is expected to continue into 2019 and 2020, with declines in all segments of US users under 25, the report added. Facebook will lose an estimated two million users under 25 this year, with Snapchat and Instagram the main beneficiaries. The report said Snapchat will add 1.9 million users under 25 in 2018 and Instagram will add 1.6 million. Snapchat, which is known for its disappearing messages, will continue to have more users aged 12 to 24 than Instagram, the researchers said. But Snapchat could end up facing a similar problem as it seeks to increase its user base and reach all ages. "Snapchat could eventually experience more growth in older age groups, since it's redesigning its platform to be easier to use," eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson said. "The question will be whether younger users will still find Snapchat cool if more of their parents and grandparents are on it. That's the predicament Facebook is in." Facebook remains the most popular social network in the US market with an estimated 169.5 million users this year, according to eMarketer. But faster-growing Instagram will be used by 104.7 million Americans and Snapchat will reach 86.5 million users, according to the forecast. Last year, eMarketer predicted Facebook would see declines among some youths for the first time in its history. A report last year by investment firm Piper Jaffray showed Snapchat is the preferred social network for US teens, with 47 percent using the platform.

Less-cool Facebook losing youth at fast pace: Survey

Twitter shares surged 22 per cent at the market open on Thursday after it reported its first quarterly profit and better-than-expected revenue, helped by ads that better-targeted users and sales growth outside the United States.

Investors shrugged off zero growth in Twitter&#39;s users from a quarter earlier, which the company blamed in part on seasonal weakness and its purge of fake and spam accounts.

Shares hit $35 in morning trading, their highest level since July 2015. Twitter debuted as a public company in 2013 at $26 a share.

&quot;The revenue number was up year-over-year for the first time in several quarters, which is a good sign,&quot; analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said, adding that flat growth in monthly users from a quarter earlier was nonetheless a warning sign.

Twitter&#39;s previous inability to turn a profit or turn out consistent revenue growth had confounded investors given the company&#39;s ubiquitous presence in the media and popularity among celebrities, athletes and politicians such as US President Donald Trump

In October Twitter had signaled it could turn a quarterly profit as it slashed expenses. Revenue and adjusted fourth-quarter profit both topped analysts&#39; targets.

Overall revenue rose 2 per cent year-over-year to $731.6 million, the first increase since the fourth quarter of 2016, beating Wall Street&#39;s target of $686.1 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

US revenue fell 8 per cent from a year earlier, but sales elsewhere rose 17 per cent. Revenue from Japan was a particular strength, rising 34 per cent to $106 million.

Twitter said revenue was helped by better ad targeting that raised clickthrough rates, or the ratio of users who click on a specific ad to the number that view it, and higher video ad sales.

The company also continued a push to grow its non-advertising revenue. It reported $87 million in data licensing and other revenue, up 10 per cent from a year earlier, outpacing advertising revenue which rose 1 per cent to $644 million.

Twitter reported a net profit of $91.1 million, or 12 cents per share, compared to a loss of $167.1 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier.

Adjusted profit was 19 cents per share, topping analysts expectations of 14 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company said it expects &quot;to be GAAP profitable for the full year 2018,&quot; referring to generally accepted accounting principles.

Twitter reported 330 million monthly active users for the quarter, a 4 per cent increase from a year earlier but flat from the third quarter.

Analysts on average had expected 332.5 million monthly active users, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.

San Francisco-based Twitter said usage was hurt by seasonal weakness and a change that Apple made to its Safari web browser that reduced the tally of users by 2 million. Twitter had warned investors about the factors in October.

Twitter also said in a shareholder letter it had stepped up efforts to reduce spam and automated and fake accounts.

Chief Executive Jack Dorsey has focused for the past year on tweaking the product he co-founded to attract more users.

Dorsey doubled the number of characters allowed in each tweet in most languages and tried to limit user harassment on the site. Twitter has also struck deals with media companies for live news and entertainment shows.

Facebook has 2.1 billion monthly users, while Snapchat owner Snap, which does not report a monthly figure, has 187 million daily users.

Dorsey told analysts on a conference call that he was not planning a search to replace Anthony Noto, who is leaving as chief operating officer to become CEO of online lender Social Finance Inc and whose duties have been absorbed by others.

&quot;We&#39;re not going to have to do any backfilling,&quot; Dorsey said.

Shares in Twitter had already surged 47 per cent over the past 12 months as of Wednesday&#39;s close, outpacing a 17 per cent rise in the S&amp;P 500 Index.

Social media companies are grappling with a regulatory backlash in Europe and the United States over privacy, possible user addiction, hate speech and alleged abuse of by Russia to sway foreign elections.

The first quarterly profit and better-than-expected revenue of the social networking site were helped by ads that better-targeted users and sales growth outside the United States

Twitter shares surged 22 per cent at the market open on Thursday after it reported its first quarterly profit and better-than-expected revenue, helped by ads that better-targeted users and sales growth outside the United States. Investors shrugged off zero growth in Twitter's users from a quarter earlier, which the company blamed in part on seasonal weakness and its purge of fake and spam accounts. Shares hit $35 in morning trading, their highest level since July 2015. Twitter debuted as a public company in 2013 at $26 a share. "The revenue number was up year-over-year for the first time in several quarters, which is a good sign," analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said, adding that flat growth in monthly users from a quarter earlier was nonetheless a warning sign. Twitter's previous inability to turn a profit or turn out consistent revenue growth had confounded investors given the company's ubiquitous presence in the media and popularity among celebrities, athletes and politicians such as US President Donald Trump In October Twitter had signaled it could turn a quarterly profit as it slashed expenses. Revenue and adjusted fourth-quarter profit both topped analysts' targets. Overall revenue rose 2 per cent year-over-year to $731.6 million, the first increase since the fourth quarter of 2016, beating Wall Street's target of $686.1 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. US revenue fell 8 per cent from a year earlier, but sales elsewhere rose 17 per cent. Revenue from Japan was a particular strength, rising 34 per cent to $106 million. Twitter said revenue was helped by better ad targeting that raised clickthrough rates, or the ratio of users who click on a specific ad to the number that view it, and higher video ad sales. The company also continued a push to grow its non-advertising revenue. It reported $87 million in data licensing and other revenue, up 10 per cent from a year earlier, outpacing advertising revenue which rose 1 per cent to $644 million. Twitter reported a net profit of $91.1 million, or 12 cents per share, compared to a loss of $167.1 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted profit was 19 cents per share, topping analysts expectations of 14 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company said it expects "to be GAAP profitable for the full year 2018," referring to generally accepted accounting principles. Twitter reported 330 million monthly active users for the quarter, a 4 per cent increase from a year earlier but flat from the third quarter. Analysts on average had expected 332.5 million monthly active users, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet. San Francisco-based Twitter said usage was hurt by seasonal weakness and a change that Apple made to its Safari web browser that reduced the tally of users by 2 million. Twitter had warned investors about the factors in October. Twitter also said in a shareholder letter it had stepped up efforts to reduce spam and automated and fake accounts. Chief Executive Jack Dorsey has focused for the past year on tweaking the product he co-founded to attract more users. Dorsey doubled the number of characters allowed in each tweet in most languages and tried to limit user harassment on the site. Twitter has also struck deals with media companies for live news and entertainment shows. Facebook has 2.1 billion monthly users, while Snapchat owner Snap, which does not report a monthly figure, has 187 million daily users. Dorsey told analysts on a conference call that he was not planning a search to replace Anthony Noto, who is leaving as chief operating officer to become CEO of online lender Social Finance Inc and whose duties have been absorbed by others. "We're not going to have to do any backfilling," Dorsey said. Shares in Twitter had already surged 47 per cent over the past 12 months as of Wednesday's close, outpacing a 17 per cent rise in the S&P 500 Index. Social media companies are grappling with a regulatory backlash in Europe and the United States over privacy, possible user addiction, hate speech and alleged abuse of by Russia to sway foreign elections.

Twitter delivers first profit, shares surge 22%

Facebook offered reassurances to investors on Wednesday that its digital ad business would remain highly profitable, despite a dip in usage on the social media network and an overhaul of its flagship News Feed.

The company said in an earnings report that quarterly revenue jumped 47 per cent from a year earlier, and executives said on a conference call that they saw more chances to make money even if people spend less time on Facebook.

Analysts had wondered about the resilience of the world&#39;s largest social media network, which is making changes to its products to deter foreign influence campaigns like ones that it says Russia has carried out and to stem the spread of sensationalism.

Facebook added to jitters after the bell on Wednesday when, in its earnings report, it said that at the end of last year time spent by users had fallen by about 50 million hours a day. Shares fell more than 4 per cent in after-hours trading.

Shortly afterward, though, Facebook executives expressed optimism on the call with analysts, saying the changes they were making in response to criticism would be healthy for the business in the long term and might not even hurt much in the short term.

&quot;I want to be clear: The most important driver of our business has never been time spent by itself. It&#39;s the quality of the conversations and connections,&quot; Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on the call.

The upbeat forecast led to a rebound in shares, which in late after-hours trading were up 1.4 per cent at $189.50.

Facebook management &quot;acknowledged things that maybe most investors weren&#39;t thinking about before - the reduction of users and usage - but at the same time they pointed to a lot of positive trends on their other platforms,&quot; Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser said.

Although Facebook usage is down, he said, &quot;One shouldn&#39;t be reflectively negative on this.&quot;

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts that recent changes to reduce disinformation on Facebook could create &quot;more monetization opportunities.&quot;

Sandberg said she was optimistic about potential revenue from ads on &quot;stories&quot; on Facebook and Instagram, while Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said the average price per ad increased 43 per cent in quarter.

&quot;They said average revenue per ad was up a lot, that quality of ads has improved, and that the engagement declines were not meaningful,&quot; Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said.

&quot;In other words, better quality engagement and better ability to target ads. The street probably likes that,&quot; he said.

Facebook said that time spent was falling at the end of last year by about 50 million hours a day due to changes that it said reduced viral videos, even before the company announced a series of changes to the News Feed that may further reduce user engagement.

Facebook&#39;s 1.40 billion daily active users was up 14 per cent from a year earlier, but below analysts&#39; estimate of 1.41 billion for the fourth quarter, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.

The number of daily users in the United States and Canada fell for the first time in Facebook&#39;s history, dipping in the company&#39;s home market by 700,000 from a quarter earlier to 184 million. Wehner said the number would &quot;fluctuate&quot; in the future.

Total revenue, though, showed little impact, rising 47 per cent to $12.97 billion and beating analysts&#39; estimate of $12.55 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Wehner reiterated Facebook&#39;s earlier guidance on expenses, telling analysts on the call that expenses would likely grow 45 per cent to 60 percent during 2018. The spending spree includes thousands of new workers to review content posted by users.

The overhaul of Facebook&#39;s New Feed was prompted in part by its disclosure last year that Russian agents used Facebook to try to sway American voters from 2015 to 2017, an allegation that Moscow denies. Facebook said 126 million Americans may have seen Russian-backed political ads and posts.

In the fourth quarter, net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose to $4.27 billion, or $1.44 per share, in the fourth quarter ended December 31 from $3.56 billion, or $1.21 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding a tax provision, the company earned $2.21 per share, topping analysts&#39; estimates of $1.95, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Facebook said it increased its provision for 2017 income taxes by $2.27 billion, citing US tax changes.

Facebook offered reassurances to investors on Wednesday that its digital ad business would remain highly profitable, despite a dip in usage on the social media network and an overhaul of its flagship News Feed

Facebook offered reassurances to investors on Wednesday that its digital ad business would remain highly profitable, despite a dip in usage on the social media network and an overhaul of its flagship News Feed. The company said in an earnings report that quarterly revenue jumped 47 per cent from a year earlier, and executives said on a conference call that they saw more chances to make money even if people spend less time on Facebook. Analysts had wondered about the resilience of the world's largest social media network, which is making changes to its products to deter foreign influence campaigns like ones that it says Russia has carried out and to stem the spread of sensationalism. Facebook added to jitters after the bell on Wednesday when, in its earnings report, it said that at the end of last year time spent by users had fallen by about 50 million hours a day. Shares fell more than 4 per cent in after-hours trading. Shortly afterward, though, Facebook executives expressed optimism on the call with analysts, saying the changes they were making in response to criticism would be healthy for the business in the long term and might not even hurt much in the short term. "I want to be clear: The most important driver of our business has never been time spent by itself. It's the quality of the conversations and connections," Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on the call. The upbeat forecast led to a rebound in shares, which in late after-hours trading were up 1.4 per cent at $189.50. Facebook management "acknowledged things that maybe most investors weren't thinking about before - the reduction of users and usage - but at the same time they pointed to a lot of positive trends on their other platforms," Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser said. Although Facebook usage is down, he said, "One shouldn't be reflectively negative on this." Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts that recent changes to reduce disinformation on Facebook could create "more monetization opportunities." Sandberg said she was optimistic about potential revenue from ads on "stories" on Facebook and Instagram, while Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said the average price per ad increased 43 per cent in quarter. "They said average revenue per ad was up a lot, that quality of ads has improved, and that the engagement declines were not meaningful," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said. "In other words, better quality engagement and better ability to target ads. The street probably likes that," he said. Facebook said that time spent was falling at the end of last year by about 50 million hours a day due to changes that it said reduced viral videos, even before the company announced a series of changes to the News Feed that may further reduce user engagement. Facebook's 1.40 billion daily active users was up 14 per cent from a year earlier, but below analysts' estimate of 1.41 billion for the fourth quarter, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet. The number of daily users in the United States and Canada fell for the first time in Facebook's history, dipping in the company's home market by 700,000 from a quarter earlier to 184 million. Wehner said the number would "fluctuate" in the future. Total revenue, though, showed little impact, rising 47 per cent to $12.97 billion and beating analysts' estimate of $12.55 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Wehner reiterated Facebook's earlier guidance on expenses, telling analysts on the call that expenses would likely grow 45 per cent to 60 percent during 2018. The spending spree includes thousands of new workers to review content posted by users. The overhaul of Facebook's New Feed was prompted in part by its disclosure last year that Russian agents used Facebook to try to sway American voters from 2015 to 2017, an allegation that Moscow denies. Facebook said 126 million Americans may have seen Russian-backed political ads and posts. In the fourth quarter, net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose to $4.27 billion, or $1.44 per share, in the fourth quarter ended December 31 from $3.56 billion, or $1.21 per share, a year earlier. Excluding a tax provision, the company earned $2.21 per share, topping analysts' estimates of $1.95, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Facebook said it increased its provision for 2017 income taxes by $2.27 billion, citing US tax changes.

Facebook forecasts rising ad sales despite dip in usage

Facebook Inc shares rose after hours on Wednesday after the social media network said that fewer hours spent on its flagship News Feed might would not necessarily hurt its highly profitable digital advertising business.

Shares of the company were up 1 percent at $188.64 after reporting quarterly results after the bell, reversing an earlier decline.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts on a conference call that recent changes to stem the spread of disinformation and sensational media on Facebook could be good for its advertising business.&nbsp;

&quot;The impact it has on monetization is certainly not clearly negative,&quot; Sandberg said on the call.

The comments from her and other executives appeared to reassure investors about the financial consequences of people spending less time on Facebook.

Sandberg said she was optimistic about potential revenue from ads on &quot;stories&quot; on Facebook and Instagram, while Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said the average price per ad increased 43 percent in the quarter.

&quot;They said average revenue per ad was up a lot, that quality of ads has improved, and that the engagement declines were not meaningful,&quot; Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said.

&quot;In other words, better quality engagement and better ability to target ads. The street probably likes that,&quot; he said.

Facebook said that time spent was falling at the end of last year by about 50 million hours a day, even before the company announced a series of changes to the News Feed that may further reduce user engagement.

Facebook`s 1.40 billion daily active users were up 14 percent from a year earlier, but below analysts&#39; estimate of 1.41 billion for the fourth quarter, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.

The number of daily users in the United States and Canada fell for the first time in Facebook`s history, dipping in the company`s home market by 700,000 from a quarter earlier to 184 million. Wehner said the number would &quot;fluctuate&quot; in the future.

Total revenue, though, showed little impact, rising 47 percent to $12.97 billion, while full-year revenue was also up 47 percent at $40.65 billion.

Total advertising revenue was $12.78 billion, compared with analysts` estimate of $12.30 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Wehner reiterated Facebook`s earlier guidance on expenses, telling analysts on the call that expenses would likely grow 45 percent to 60 percent during 2018. The spending spree includes new warehouses full of servers and thousands of new workers to review content posted by users.

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg this month described Facebook as being at a crossroads, as the world`s largest social media network seeks to stem the spread of disinformation in elections and in daily life.

Facebook sent a tremor through U.S. politics last year when it said that Russian agents used Facebook to try to sway American voters from 2015 to 2017, an allegation that Moscow denies. Facebook said 126 million Americans may have seen Russian-backed political ads and posts.

Facebook, founded in a college dormitory in 2004, has become one of the world`s most valuable corporations by selling internet ads that it puts in front of people on Facebook and on its Instagram unit.

Facebook shares were up 43 percent during the past year as of Tuesday`s close. The S&amp;P 500 Index rose 24 percent during the same period.

In the fourth quarter, net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose to $4.27 billion, or $1.44 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from $3.56 billion, or $1.21 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding a tax provision, the company earned $2.21 per share, topping analysts` estimates of $1.95, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Facebook said it increased its provision for 2017 income taxes by $2.27 billion, citing U.S. tax changes.

Mobile ad revenue accounted for 89 percent of the total ad sales, up from 84 percent a year earlier.

Facebook is expected to take 18.4 percent of internet advertising worldwide during 2018, second to Alphabet Inc`s 31.3 percent, according to research firm eMarketer.

&nbsp;

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts on a conference call that recent changes to stem the spread of disinformation and sensational media on Facebook could be good for its advertising business

Facebook Inc shares rose after hours on Wednesday after the social media network said that fewer hours spent on its flagship News Feed might would not necessarily hurt its highly profitable digital advertising business. Shares of the company were up 1 percent at $188.64 after reporting quarterly results after the bell, reversing an earlier decline. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts on a conference call that recent changes to stem the spread of disinformation and sensational media on Facebook could be good for its advertising business. "The impact it has on monetization is certainly not clearly negative," Sandberg said on the call. The comments from her and other executives appeared to reassure investors about the financial consequences of people spending less time on Facebook. Sandberg said she was optimistic about potential revenue from ads on "stories" on Facebook and Instagram, while Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said the average price per ad increased 43 percent in the quarter. "They said average revenue per ad was up a lot, that quality of ads has improved, and that the engagement declines were not meaningful," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said. "In other words, better quality engagement and better ability to target ads. The street probably likes that," he said. Facebook said that time spent was falling at the end of last year by about 50 million hours a day, even before the company announced a series of changes to the News Feed that may further reduce user engagement. Facebook`s 1.40 billion daily active users were up 14 percent from a year earlier, but below analysts' estimate of 1.41 billion for the fourth quarter, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet. The number of daily users in the United States and Canada fell for the first time in Facebook`s history, dipping in the company`s home market by 700,000 from a quarter earlier to 184 million. Wehner said the number would "fluctuate" in the future. Total revenue, though, showed little impact, rising 47 percent to $12.97 billion, while full-year revenue was also up 47 percent at $40.65 billion. Total advertising revenue was $12.78 billion, compared with analysts` estimate of $12.30 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Wehner reiterated Facebook`s earlier guidance on expenses, telling analysts on the call that expenses would likely grow 45 percent to 60 percent during 2018. The spending spree includes new warehouses full of servers and thousands of new workers to review content posted by users. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg this month described Facebook as being at a crossroads, as the world`s largest social media network seeks to stem the spread of disinformation in elections and in daily life. Facebook sent a tremor through U.S. politics last year when it said that Russian agents used Facebook to try to sway American voters from 2015 to 2017, an allegation that Moscow denies. Facebook said 126 million Americans may have seen Russian-backed political ads and posts. Facebook, founded in a college dormitory in 2004, has become one of the world`s most valuable corporations by selling internet ads that it puts in front of people on Facebook and on its Instagram unit. Facebook shares were up 43 percent during the past year as of Tuesday`s close. The S&P 500 Index rose 24 percent during the same period. In the fourth quarter, net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose to $4.27 billion, or $1.44 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from $3.56 billion, or $1.21 per share, a year earlier. Excluding a tax provision, the company earned $2.21 per share, topping analysts` estimates of $1.95, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Facebook said it increased its provision for 2017 income taxes by $2.27 billion, citing U.S. tax changes. Mobile ad revenue accounted for 89 percent of the total ad sales, up from 84 percent a year earlier. Facebook is expected to take 18.4 percent of internet advertising worldwide during 2018, second to Alphabet Inc`s 31.3 percent, according to research firm eMarketer.

Facebook shares rebound after optimism about ad revenue

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/state-of-the-union-address-us-president-donald-trump-bids-for-safe-strong-and-united-america-31271">State of the Union address: US President Donald Trump bids for &#39;safe, strong and united America&#39;</a>

Broadcast live across the country, the address serves as a platform for the President to directly communicate to the people of America.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-active-in-70-per-cent-of-afghanistan-bbc-study-finds-31274">Taliban active in 70 </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-active-in-70-per-cent-of-afghanistan-bbc-study-finds-31274">per cent</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-active-in-70-per-cent-of-afghanistan-bbc-study-finds-31274"> of Afghanistan, BBC study finds</a>

The BBC study said the Afghan government controlled 122 districts, or about 30 percent of the country. Still, it noted that did not mean that they were free from Taliban attacks.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/president-donald-trump-urges-us-parties-set-aside-differences-31272">President Donald Trump urges US parties set aside differences</a>

President Donald Trump gives his first official State of the Union Address from the United States Capitol in front of a joint session of Congress.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/im-not-a-quitter-says-uks-may-as-leadership-questions-stack-up-31270">I&#39;m not a quitter, says UK&#39;s May as leadership questions stack up</a>

May has come under fire in recent days from several factions within her own party.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/facebook-to-ban-cryptocurrency-related-ads-31275">Facebook to ban cryptocurrency-related ads</a>

The new policy will be implemented across its platforms, including Facebook, Audience Network, and Instagram, the company said.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

State of the Union address: US President Donald Trump bids for 'safe, strong and united America' Broadcast live across the country, the address serves as a platform for the President to directly communicate to the people of America. Taliban active in 70 per cent of Afghanistan, BBC study finds The BBC study said the Afghan government controlled 122 districts, or about 30 percent of the country. Still, it noted that did not mean that they were free from Taliban attacks. President Donald Trump urges US parties set aside differences President Donald Trump gives his first official State of the Union Address from the United States Capitol in front of a joint session of Congress. I'm not a quitter, says UK's May as leadership questions stack up May has come under fire in recent days from several factions within her own party. Facebook to ban cryptocurrency-related ads The new policy will be implemented across its platforms, including Facebook, Audience Network, and Instagram, the company said.

WION Morning News Brief, January 31, 2018

An Indonesian teenager was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for &quot;insulting&quot; President Joko Widodo on Facebook.

The 18-year-old high school student from Medan on the island of Sumatra, identified by the initials MFB, was found guilty of violating the country&#39;s internet law by making defamatory and slanderous comments online.

Judges also ordered him to pay 10 million rupiah ($700) in fines.

&quot;If the fines are not paid, the jail term is extended by one month,&quot; the presiding judge told the Medan court.

The teenager accepted the verdict and did not file an appeal.

MFB was arrested in August last year after he posted numerous inflammatory messages and memes against Widodo and police chief Tito Karnavian using fake accounts.

In July, he made a post challenging the police to arrest him. And they did, a month later.

The government of Indonesia, the world&#39;s largest Muslim majority country, has received criticism following a string of arrests of people accused of insulting the president, making slanderous comments and posting fake information on social media.

Democracy and rights activisits have branded the internet law draconian and a threat to free speech.

Last week a court in Jambi province, also on Sumatra, sentenced a local politician to one year in jail after he made a Facebook post considered to be insulting Islam. The judges found him guilty of violating the law and &quot;inciting hatred&quot;.

In November last year, a man was charged for posting on Instagram images of Widodo&#39;s wife, Iriana, with texts considered offensive to the first lady.

The 18-year-old high school student from Medan on the island of Sumatra, identified by the initials MFB, was found guilty of violating the country's internet law

An Indonesian teenager was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for "insulting" President Joko Widodo on Facebook. The 18-year-old high school student from Medan on the island of Sumatra, identified by the initials MFB, was found guilty of violating the country's internet law by making defamatory and slanderous comments online. Judges also ordered him to pay 10 million rupiah ($700) in fines. "If the fines are not paid, the jail term is extended by one month," the presiding judge told the Medan court. The teenager accepted the verdict and did not file an appeal. MFB was arrested in August last year after he posted numerous inflammatory messages and memes against Widodo and police chief Tito Karnavian using fake accounts. In July, he made a post challenging the police to arrest him. And they did, a month later. The government of Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority country, has received criticism following a string of arrests of people accused of insulting the president, making slanderous comments and posting fake information on social media. Democracy and rights activisits have branded the internet law draconian and a threat to free speech. Last week a court in Jambi province, also on Sumatra, sentenced a local politician to one year in jail after he made a Facebook post considered to be insulting Islam. The judges found him guilty of violating the law and "inciting hatred". In November last year, a man was charged for posting on Instagram images of Widodo's wife, Iriana, with texts considered offensive to the first lady.

Indonesian teen jailed for insulting President on Facebook

Facebook Inc Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter Inc Chief Executive Jack Dorsey will not seek re-election to Walt Disney Co&#39;s board because of growing conflicts of interest between the media giant and the technology companies, Disney said on Friday.

Disney is moving heavily into online delivery of its TV shows and movies as viewers abandon traditional cable, and at one point had explored an acquisition of Twitter. At the same time, Twitter and Facebook are trying to attract audiences to video content on their platforms.

&quot;Given our evolving business and the businesses Ms. Sandberg and Mr. Dorsey are in, it has become increasingly difficult for them to avoid conflicts relating to board matters, and they are not standing for re-election,&quot; Disney said in a statement.

Lead independent director Orin Smith, former CEO of Starbucks Corp, also will leave Disney&#39;s board, due to rules that specify retirement at age 74, the company said. Former Seagram Company vice chairman Robert Matschullat will depart because of a 15-year term limit.

The departures take effect in March at the time of Disney&#39;s annual meeting, when shareholders will be asked to re-elect 10 other board members. They include General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Nike Inc CEO Mark Parker and Oracle CEO Safra Catz, whose election in December to the board takes effect on Feb. 1.

The board will select a new lead independent director when it meets after the annual meeting, Disney said.

Representatives for Facebook and Twitter had no comment.

Disney also disclosed on Friday that compensation for its chief executive, Robert Iger, declined by 17 per cent in fiscal 2017 to $36.3 million. Iger was awarded a smaller cash bonus due to the &quot;absence of growth&quot; in the year that ended Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing.

The board will select a new lead independent director when it meets after the annual meeting, Disney said

Facebook Inc Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter Inc Chief Executive Jack Dorsey will not seek re-election to Walt Disney Co's board because of growing conflicts of interest between the media giant and the technology companies, Disney said on Friday. Disney is moving heavily into online delivery of its TV shows and movies as viewers abandon traditional cable, and at one point had explored an acquisition of Twitter. At the same time, Twitter and Facebook are trying to attract audiences to video content on their platforms. "Given our evolving business and the businesses Ms. Sandberg and Mr. Dorsey are in, it has become increasingly difficult for them to avoid conflicts relating to board matters, and they are not standing for re-election," Disney said in a statement. Lead independent director Orin Smith, former CEO of Starbucks Corp, also will leave Disney's board, due to rules that specify retirement at age 74, the company said. Former Seagram Company vice chairman Robert Matschullat will depart because of a 15-year term limit. The departures take effect in March at the time of Disney's annual meeting, when shareholders will be asked to re-elect 10 other board members. They include General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Nike Inc CEO Mark Parker and Oracle CEO Safra Catz, whose election in December to the board takes effect on Feb. 1. The board will select a new lead independent director when it meets after the annual meeting, Disney said. Representatives for Facebook and Twitter had no comment. Disney also disclosed on Friday that compensation for its chief executive, Robert Iger, declined by 17 per cent in fiscal 2017 to $36.3 million. Iger was awarded a smaller cash bonus due to the "absence of growth" in the year that ended Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing.

Facebook's Sandberg, Twitter's Dorsey to leave Disney board

Meghan Markle has been making many changes as she prepares to enter the royal family.&nbsp;

The Hollywood actress recently deleted all her social media accounts - Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - the&nbsp;Kensington Palace confirmed.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Ms. Markle is grateful to everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years, however as she has not used them for some time, she has taken the decision to close them,&rdquo; Kensington Palace told media.&nbsp;

The professionally managed Kensington Palace pages document the appearances and news of both her fianc&eacute; and soon-to-be in-laws, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Markle&rsquo;s Twitter page (@meghanmarkle), where she had about 475,000 followers and had posted nearly 5,000 tweets, is now gone.&nbsp;

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Meghan Markle&#39;s Twitter (Twitter)
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Markle&rsquo;s Instagram page (@meghanmarkle), where she had about 3 million followers and more than 2,000 posts has also been deleted.&nbsp;

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Meghan Markle&#39;s Instagram (Instagram)
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Markle and Prince Harry visited the London radio station Reprezent for their second official event as an engaged couple earlier this week.&nbsp;

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Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle arrive at POP Brixton to visit <a href="https://twitter.com/ReprezentRadio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ReprezentRadio</a> ???? <a href="https://t.co/NsxphnLDod">pic.twitter.com/NsxphnLDod</a>
&mdash; Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) <a href="https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/950746354795630593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle will this afternoon visit <a href="https://twitter.com/ReprezentRadio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ReprezentRadio</a> in POP Brixton, to see their work supporting young people through creative training in radio and broadcasting. <a href="https://t.co/QzBUr7MMXA">pic.twitter.com/QzBUr7MMXA</a>
&mdash; Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) <a href="https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/950714001138290688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Markle also shut her lifestyle blog The Tig nine months back after she had stopped posting anything on it for a long time.&nbsp;

Prince Harry and Markle will be getting married on May 19 this year. &nbsp;

'Ms. Markle is grateful to everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years, however as she has not used them for some time, she has taken the decision to close them,' Kensington Palace told media

Meghan Markle has been making many changes as she prepares to enter the royal family. The Hollywood actress recently deleted all her social media accounts - Twitter, Instagram and Facebook - the Kensington Palace confirmed. “Ms. Markle is grateful to everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years, however as she has not used them for some time, she has taken the decision to close them,” Kensington Palace told media. The professionally managed Kensington Palace pages document the appearances and news of both her fiancé and soon-to-be in-laws, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Markle’s Twitter page (@meghanmarkle), where she had about 475,000 followers and had posted nearly 5,000 tweets, is now gone. Meghan Markle's Twitter (Twitter) × Markle’s Instagram page (@meghanmarkle), where she had about 3 million followers and more than 2,000 posts has also been deleted. Meghan Markle's Instagram (Instagram) × Markle and Prince Harry visited the London radio station Reprezent for their second official event as an engaged couple earlier this week. Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle arrive at POP Brixton to visit @ReprezentRadio ???? pic.twitter.com/NsxphnLDod — Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) January 9, 2018 × Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle will this afternoon visit @ReprezentRadio in POP Brixton, to see their work supporting young people through creative training in radio and broadcasting. pic.twitter.com/QzBUr7MMXA — Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) January 9, 2018 × Markle also shut her lifestyle blog The Tig nine months back after she had stopped posting anything on it for a long time. Prince Harry and Markle will be getting married on May 19 this year.

Meghan Markle deletes all social media accounts ahead of marriage to Prince Harry

Facebook Inc&#39;s Oculus said on Monday it is partnering with Chinese phone maker Xiaomi Technology Co to make its new standalone virtual reality headset and also revealed that it will launch a version of the product exclusively for the Chinese market.

Oculus said Xiaomi would be its hardware partner for the new Oculus Go headset, announced last October, and would also make the China-specific &quot;Mi VR Standalone&quot; using Oculus technology.

Oculus, which social networking giant Facebook acquired in 2014, also said it is working closely with Qualcomm Inc and would use the company&#39;s Snapdragon 821 chipsets to power the mobile VR headsets.&nbsp;

The Oculus Go is set to release in early 2018, starting at a price of $199.

Oculus said Xiaomi would be its hardware partner for the new Oculus Go headset, announced last October

Facebook Inc's Oculus said on Monday it is partnering with Chinese phone maker Xiaomi Technology Co to make its new standalone virtual reality headset and also revealed that it will launch a version of the product exclusively for the Chinese market. Oculus said Xiaomi would be its hardware partner for the new Oculus Go headset, announced last October, and would also make the China-specific "Mi VR Standalone" using Oculus technology. Oculus, which social networking giant Facebook acquired in 2014, also said it is working closely with Qualcomm Inc and would use the company's Snapdragon 821 chipsets to power the mobile VR headsets. The Oculus Go is set to release in early 2018, starting at a price of $199.

Facebook's Oculus to partner with Xiaomi to build VR headsets

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Tuesday estimated a 64 per cent jump in fourth-quarter operating profit to a new record, but the guidance fell short of market expectations as the strong won and year-end bonuses dented profits.&nbsp;

The global memory chip leader and Apple Inc smartphone rival said its October-December profit was likely 15.1 trillion won ($14.1 billion), compared with a 15.9 trillion won average estimate from 17 analysts surveyed in a Thomson Reuters poll.&nbsp;

Based on the guidance, Samsung&#39;s 2017 operating profit is likely 53.6 trillion won, compared to the previous year&#39;s 29.2 trillion won, putting the South Korean tech giant on course for a record annual profit as strong DRAM memory chip prices continued to fatten margins.&nbsp;

Revenue was estimated to have increased 24 percent to 66 trillion won, versus the analysts&#39;&nbsp;average forecast of 66.8 trillion won.&nbsp;

Samsung did not elaborate on its October-December performance and will disclose detailed results at the end of January.&nbsp;

The continued rise in the price of DRAM chips, in especially hot demand for data centre servers, more than made up for a drop in NAND chip prices and a stronger won, analysts said.&nbsp;

But the outlook for semiconductors in 2018 is mixed, and Samsung shares have fallen 9.6 percent from their all-time high in early November as some investors bet on an end to the memory chip boom.

NAND flash memory chips, used in things like digital cameras and USB drives, have entered a down-cycle and some analysts say DRAM market conditions also will soften later this year.&nbsp;

Others, however, expect DRAM supply to remain tight throughout 2018 as Google, Amazon and Facebook expand data centres used for cloud storage and computing.&nbsp;

The outlook for smartphones and other mobile devices, which analysts expect to contribute about 17 percent to Samsung&#39;s fourth-quarter earnings, is also uncertain due to competition from Chinese rivals in markets like Europe and Asia, analysts said.

Tom Kang, research director at data provider Counterpoint, said Samsung&#39;s mobile division should show &quot;moderate&quot; shipment growth of about 1-2 percent in 2018.&nbsp;

Analysts expect Samsung&#39;s display profits to grow this year thanks to sales of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens for Apple iPhones as well as Samsung`s own handsets.

South Korean exporters like Samsung will be keeping a close eye on the won in 2018. The currency traded as high as 1,058.8 against the dollar on Monday, its highest in more than three years.&nbsp;

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Tuesday estimated a 64 per cent jump in fourth-quarter operating profit to a new record

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Tuesday estimated a 64 per cent jump in fourth-quarter operating profit to a new record, but the guidance fell short of market expectations as the strong won and year-end bonuses dented profits. The global memory chip leader and Apple Inc smartphone rival said its October-December profit was likely 15.1 trillion won ($14.1 billion), compared with a 15.9 trillion won average estimate from 17 analysts surveyed in a Thomson Reuters poll. Based on the guidance, Samsung's 2017 operating profit is likely 53.6 trillion won, compared to the previous year's 29.2 trillion won, putting the South Korean tech giant on course for a record annual profit as strong DRAM memory chip prices continued to fatten margins. Revenue was estimated to have increased 24 percent to 66 trillion won, versus the analysts' average forecast of 66.8 trillion won. Samsung did not elaborate on its October-December performance and will disclose detailed results at the end of January. The continued rise in the price of DRAM chips, in especially hot demand for data centre servers, more than made up for a drop in NAND chip prices and a stronger won, analysts said. But the outlook for semiconductors in 2018 is mixed, and Samsung shares have fallen 9.6 percent from their all-time high in early November as some investors bet on an end to the memory chip boom. NAND flash memory chips, used in things like digital cameras and USB drives, have entered a down-cycle and some analysts say DRAM market conditions also will soften later this year. Others, however, expect DRAM supply to remain tight throughout 2018 as Google, Amazon and Facebook expand data centres used for cloud storage and computing. The outlook for smartphones and other mobile devices, which analysts expect to contribute about 17 percent to Samsung's fourth-quarter earnings, is also uncertain due to competition from Chinese rivals in markets like Europe and Asia, analysts said. Tom Kang, research director at data provider Counterpoint, said Samsung's mobile division should show "moderate" shipment growth of about 1-2 percent in 2018. Analysts expect Samsung's display profits to grow this year thanks to sales of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens for Apple iPhones as well as Samsung`s own handsets. South Korean exporters like Samsung will be keeping a close eye on the won in 2018. The currency traded as high as 1,058.8 against the dollar on Monday, its highest in more than three years.

Samsung Electronics tips record fourth-quarter profit misses expectations on strong won

&nbsp;

By Robert Huish &amp; Patrick Balazo*

New technology can have profound impacts on society in ways never intended.

The radio <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-27894944">carried codes</a> during the First World War, but later became a household fixture. <a href="https://bebusinessed.com/history/history-of-the-telephone/">Early telephones</a> were leased in pairs but after Western Union, a telegraph company, adopted &ldquo;exchanges,&rdquo; it led to rapid long-distance communication. Likewise, mobile phones have evolved from bulky &ldquo;walkie-talkies&rdquo; to small supercomputers.

And now Facebook, originally a connection platform for university students, conjoins one in four people. But today, in Myanmar, Facebook is helping fuel a genocide against the Rohingya people.

Based on our research in Myanmar and in Cuba, we argue that internet usage in Myanmar is dangerous. Unbridled connection to Facebook creates what we call a &ldquo;virtual coercive,&rdquo; a digital space that bolsters coercion. We suggest that Cuba&rsquo;s internet model may provide lessons to manage social media amid political chaos.

The utility of inventions can be unpredictable, and so too can the social impacts be catastrophic.

<a href="https://bebusinessed.com/history/history-of-the-telephone/">Distracted driving</a> is an unforeseen consequence of mobile phones that kills or maims thousands each year. Dealing with distracted driving involves better driver education, curbing usage behind the wheel and penalties for stupidity.

<a href="http://www.rwandanstories.org/genocide/hate_radio.html">Radio enabled unimaginable horrors</a> during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

&lsquo;Blood on hands&rsquo;

But in conditions of genocide, can a technology like radio be limited or restricted? It&rsquo;s an essential service, but with blood on its hands. That&rsquo;s a burden Facebook now shares.

In 2010, Myanmar had 130,000 heavily restricted internet users. In seven years, SIM card prices plunged from more than US$3,000 to $1. The government also relaxed censorship laws, allowing Facebook to attract 30 million Burmese users. Many of them view Facebook as the internet.

Beginning in late August, Burmese security forces pursued a scorched-earth campaign against the Rohingya. Some 6,700 were killed and 645,000 were forced to seek refuge in Bangladesh.

Along with ultra-nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu, a host of Facebook pages spread hate speech. This vitriolic propaganda further vilifies the already marginalized and much-maligned Rohingya.

<figure class="align-right "><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200499/original/file-20171229-96263-vt2qmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" />
<figcaption>
Myanmar&rsquo;s radical Buddhist monk, the anti-Muslim Ashin Wirathu, is seen here in Sri Lanka in 2014. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

&nbsp;

Anti-Rohingya content includes explicitly racist political cartoons, falsified images and staged news reports. This content goes viral, normalizing hate speech and shaping public perception. Violence against Rohingya people is increasingly welcomed, and then celebrated online. This virtual coercive serves the Myanmar military&rsquo;s interests.

The military junta&rsquo;s monopoly on information has provided little arena to foster media literacy. Such propaganda in this virtual coercive of anti-Rohingya propaganda preys upon the ill-informed. For many, the misinformation spread through Facebook justifies what the United Nations has dubbed a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar citizens now have unbridled access to low-cost internet on their mobile devices. Freedom of speech advocates will laud this. But this open information pipeline reinforces Facebook&rsquo;s dark side of self-reaffirmation with limited perspective.

This is to the Burmese military&rsquo;s advantage. Just as radio fuelled genocide in the 1990s, Facebook is making it happen in Myanmar today.
</figcaption>
</figure>

Fiction becomes reality

Facebook&rsquo;s virtual coercive is one of division, competing realities and a lack of mutual acceptance. In Facebook&rsquo;s virtual coercive, fiction is reality and lies can validate.

Considering this, we argue that constant Facebook use in Myanmar is too risky to ignore. Societies require spaces for tolerance of differing ideas, trade, negotiation, volunteerism and face-to-face dynamics. This is lacking in Myanmar.

Cuba may be an important example in this discussion.

The nature of internet access in Cuba has not led to the abusive coercion or divisive politics. Protests through social media that are common in other parts of the world do not exist in Cuba.

Why?

Internet in Cuba is, simply put, expensive. Spending US$3 for an hour of WiFi in internet parks is about 10 per cent of a Cuban&rsquo;s monthly earnings. With only limited time to be online, Facebook&rsquo;s bandwidth-clogging bulk makes it unpopular in Cuba. Instead, other SMS and chat apps such as IMO, a direct video chat service, is preferred.

Cubans access internet in small doses

Cuba has only limited capacity to monitor its internet traffic, and the government worries about unbridled access.

And so Facebook cannot be accessed during working hours in most government and university settings in Cuba. It creates a disincentive to rely on Facebook for news and connections.

Cubans surf the net in small doses and often in public spaces. This breaks the virtual coercive through face-to-face interactions.

The shortcomings of Cuba&rsquo;s model are obvious given it creates a barrier to information. Free-speech advocates will be quick to dismiss the idea of limiting the time spent online, never mind the dangers of a state having the responsibility to curtail social media.

But is unbridled access to Facebook really a pillar of free speech if the platform can be harnessed for the purpose of eliminating an entire population?

It&rsquo;s time to entertain disconnecting from the virtual coercive in order to engage in real space. Maybe in this way, Facebook&rsquo;s dark side can be kept at bay while still serving its original purpose of connecting people and enriching, not destroying, lives.

&nbsp;

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" rel="nofollow" target="blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/unliked-how-facebook-is-playing-a-part-in-the-rohingya-genocide-89523" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

*Patrick Balazo is Researcher, Dalhousie University

Anti-Rohingya content includes explicitly racist political cartoons, falsified images and staged news reports. This content goes viral, normalizing hate speech and shaping public perception.

By Robert Huish & Patrick Balazo* New technology can have profound impacts on society in ways never intended. The radio carried codes during the First World War, but later became a household fixture. Early telephones were leased in pairs but after Western Union, a telegraph company, adopted “exchanges,” it led to rapid long-distance communication. Likewise, mobile phones have evolved from bulky “walkie-talkies” to small supercomputers. And now Facebook, originally a connection platform for university students, conjoins one in four people. But today, in Myanmar, Facebook is helping fuel a genocide against the Rohingya people. Based on our research in Myanmar and in Cuba, we argue that internet usage in Myanmar is dangerous. Unbridled connection to Facebook creates what we call a “virtual coercive,” a digital space that bolsters coercion. We suggest that Cuba’s internet model may provide lessons to manage social media amid political chaos. The utility of inventions can be unpredictable, and so too can the social impacts be catastrophic. Distracted driving is an unforeseen consequence of mobile phones that kills or maims thousands each year. Dealing with distracted driving involves better driver education, curbing usage behind the wheel and penalties for stupidity. Radio enabled unimaginable horrors during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. ‘Blood on hands’ But in conditions of genocide, can a technology like radio be limited or restricted? It’s an essential service, but with blood on its hands. That’s a burden Facebook now shares. In 2010, Myanmar had 130,000 heavily restricted internet users. In seven years, SIM card prices plunged from more than US$3,000 to $1. The government also relaxed censorship laws, allowing Facebook to attract 30 million Burmese users. Many of them view Facebook as the internet. Beginning in late August, Burmese security forces pursued a scorched-earth campaign against the Rohingya. Some 6,700 were killed and 645,000 were forced to seek refuge in Bangladesh. Along with ultra-nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu, a host of Facebook pages spread hate speech. This vitriolic propaganda further vilifies the already marginalized and much-maligned Rohingya. Myanmar’s radical Buddhist monk, the anti-Muslim Ashin Wirathu, is seen here in Sri Lanka in 2014. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Anti-Rohingya content includes explicitly racist political cartoons, falsified images and staged news reports. This content goes viral, normalizing hate speech and shaping public perception. Violence against Rohingya people is increasingly welcomed, and then celebrated online. This virtual coercive serves the Myanmar military’s interests. The military junta’s monopoly on information has provided little arena to foster media literacy. Such propaganda in this virtual coercive of anti-Rohingya propaganda preys upon the ill-informed. For many, the misinformation spread through Facebook justifies what the United Nations has dubbed a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. Myanmar citizens now have unbridled access to low-cost internet on their mobile devices. Freedom of speech advocates will laud this. But this open information pipeline reinforces Facebook’s dark side of self-reaffirmation with limited perspective. This is to the Burmese military’s advantage. Just as radio fuelled genocide in the 1990s, Facebook is making it happen in Myanmar today. Fiction becomes reality Facebook’s virtual coercive is one of division, competing realities and a lack of mutual acceptance. In Facebook’s virtual coercive, fiction is reality and lies can validate. Considering this, we argue that constant Facebook use in Myanmar is too risky to ignore. Societies require spaces for tolerance of differing ideas, trade, negotiation, volunteerism and face-to-face dynamics. This is lacking in Myanmar. Cuba may be an important example in this discussion. The nature of internet access in Cuba has not led to the abusive coercion or divisive politics. Protests through social media that are common in other parts of the world do not exist in Cuba. Why? Internet in Cuba is, simply put, expensive. Spending US$3 for an hour of WiFi in internet parks is about 10 per cent of a Cuban’s monthly earnings. With only limited time to be online, Facebook’s bandwidth-clogging bulk makes it unpopular in Cuba. Instead, other SMS and chat apps such as IMO, a direct video chat service, is preferred. Cubans access internet in small doses Cuba has only limited capacity to monitor its internet traffic, and the government worries about unbridled access. And so Facebook cannot be accessed during working hours in most government and university settings in Cuba. It creates a disincentive to rely on Facebook for news and connections. Cubans surf the net in small doses and often in public spaces. This breaks the virtual coercive through face-to-face interactions. The shortcomings of Cuba’s model are obvious given it creates a barrier to information. Free-speech advocates will be quick to dismiss the idea of limiting the time spent online, never mind the dangers of a state having the responsibility to curtail social media. But is unbridled access to Facebook really a pillar of free speech if the platform can be harnessed for the purpose of eliminating an entire population? It’s time to entertain disconnecting from the virtual coercive in order to engage in real space. Maybe in this way, Facebook’s dark side can be kept at bay while still serving its original purpose of connecting people and enriching, not destroying, lives. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. *Patrick Balazo is Researcher, Dalhousie University

Opinion: How Facebook is playing a part in the Rohingya genocide

The passenger of a Ryanair flight from London to Malaga in southern Spain, apparently tired of waiting inside the plane on arrival, got out and sat on the wing, a witness and the airline said Wednesday.

&quot;We had been waiting around half-an-hour to get out of the plane,&quot; Fernando del Valle, another passenger, told AFP of the incident on Monday evening.

&quot;The man calmly went to the emergency exit, pulled the mechanism to open the door, looked out, came back to get his backpack and went out on the wing.&quot;

Del Valle filmed the incident and posted it on his Facebook page. His footage reveals a man walking on the wing, putting his backpack down and sitting next to the bag.

&quot;The captain was stunned... he asked who had got out on the wing,&quot; said del Valle, a Spaniard who was coming back from London on the flight which left an hour late but arrived around 20 minutes after the planned time late on Monday.

The man, whose age and identity have not been revealed, was immediately arrested, Ryanair said in a statement.

A spokesman for Spain&#39;s Guardia Civil police force, meanwhile, said the captain had asked them to intervene, adding they had reported the passenger to air safety authorities. 
&nbsp;

The passenger of a Ryanair flight from London to Malaga in southern Spain, apparently tired of waiting inside the plane on arrival, got out and sat on the wing, a witness and the airline said Wednesday

The passenger of a Ryanair flight from London to Malaga in southern Spain, apparently tired of waiting inside the plane on arrival, got out and sat on the wing, a witness and the airline said Wednesday. "We had been waiting around half-an-hour to get out of the plane," Fernando del Valle, another passenger, told AFP of the incident on Monday evening. "The man calmly went to the emergency exit, pulled the mechanism to open the door, looked out, came back to get his backpack and went out on the wing." Del Valle filmed the incident and posted it on his Facebook page. His footage reveals a man walking on the wing, putting his backpack down and sitting next to the bag. "The captain was stunned... he asked who had got out on the wing," said del Valle, a Spaniard who was coming back from London on the flight which left an hour late but arrived around 20 minutes after the planned time late on Monday. The man, whose age and identity have not been revealed, was immediately arrested, Ryanair said in a statement. A spokesman for Spain's Guardia Civil police force, meanwhile, said the captain had asked them to intervene, adding they had reported the passenger to air safety authorities.

Tired of waiting, Ryanair passenger gets out and sits on wing

A Bangladesh court has placed a youth on a two-day remand for giving death threat to the United States Ambassador to Bangladesh, Marcia Bernicat, on the social media here on Tuesday.

According to Dhaka Tribune, the Sub-Inspector of Detective Branch of Police, Patho Chatterjee, produced the youth named Sujon Kumar before the court earlier today. The order was passed by Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Sharafuzzaman Ansari.

Sujon was arrested by the country&#39;s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) on December 31.

According to a case filed with the Ramna Police Station, where he was lodged, Sujon gave death threats to the US Ambassador by using a Facebook account named Hasan Ruhani.

He also made provocative comments against the ambassador.&nbsp;

According to Dhaka Tribune, the Sub-Inspector of Detective Branch of Police, Patho Chatterjee, produced the youth named Sujon Kumar before the court earlier today

A Bangladesh court has placed a youth on a two-day remand for giving death threat to the United States Ambassador to Bangladesh, Marcia Bernicat, on the social media here on Tuesday. According to Dhaka Tribune, the Sub-Inspector of Detective Branch of Police, Patho Chatterjee, produced the youth named Sujon Kumar before the court earlier today. The order was passed by Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Sharafuzzaman Ansari. Sujon was arrested by the country's Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) on December 31. According to a case filed with the Ramna Police Station, where he was lodged, Sujon gave death threats to the US Ambassador by using a Facebook account named Hasan Ruhani. He also made provocative comments against the ambassador.

Bangladeshi youth sent to jail for death threat to US envoy

Britain may impose new taxes on tech giants like Google and Facebook unless they do more to combat online extremism by taking down material aimed at radicalising people or helping them to prepare attacks, the country&#39;s security minister said.

Ben Wallace accused tech firms of being happy to sell people&#39;s data but not to give it to the government which was being forced to spend vast sums on de-radicalisation programmes, surveillance and other counter-terrorism measures.

&quot;If they continue to be less than co-operative, we should look at things like tax as a way of incentivising them or compensating for their inaction,&quot; Wallace told the Sunday Times newspaper in an interview.

His quotes did not give further details on tax plans. The newspaper said that any demand would take the form of a windfall tax similar to that imposed on privatised utilities by former Prime Minister Tony Blair&#39;s government in 1997.

Wallace accused the tech giants of putting private profit before public safety.

&quot;We should stop pretending that because they sit on beanbags in T-shirts they are not ruthless profiteers,&quot; he said. &quot;They will ruthlessly sell our details to loans and soft-porn companies but not give it to our democratically elected government.&quot;

Facebook executive Simon Milner rejected the criticisms.

&quot;Mr Wallace is wrong to say that we put profit before safety, especially in the fight against terrorism,&quot; he said in an emailed statement. &quot;We&#39;ve invested millions of pounds in people and technology to identify and remove terrorist content.&quot;

&nbsp;YouTube, which is owned by Google, said it was doing more every day to tackle violent extremism.

&quot;Over the course of 2017 we have made significant progress through investing in machine learning technology, recruiting more reviewers, building partnerships with experts and collaboration with other companies,&quot; a YouTube spokeswoman said.

Deadly attacks

Britain suffered a series of attacks by Islamic extremists between March and June last year that killed a total of 36 people, excluding the attackers.

Two involved vehicles ramming people on bridges in London, followed by attackers stabbing people. The deadliest, a bombing at a concert in the northern city of Manchester, killed 22 people.

Following the second bridge attack, Prime Minister Theresa May proposed beefing up regulations on cyberspace, and weeks later interior minister Amber Rudd travelled to California to ask Silicon Valley to step up efforts against extremism.

&quot;We are more vulnerable than at any point in the last 100 years,&quot; said Wallace, citing extremist material on social media and encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp as tools that made life too easy for attackers.

&quot;Because content is not being taken down as quickly as they could do, we&#39;re having to de-radicalise people who have been radicalised. That&#39;s costing millions. They can&#39;t get away with that and we should look at all the options, including tax.&quot;

Facebook said it removed 83 percent of uploaded copies of terrorist content within one hour of its being found on the social media network.

&nbsp;It also highlighted plans to double the number of people working in its safety and security teams to 20,000 by the end of 2018.

&nbsp;YouTube said that progress in machine learning meant that 83 percent of violent extremist content was removed without the need for users to flag it. 
&nbsp;

The country's security minister accused the tech firms of being happy to sell people's data but not to give it to the government

Britain may impose new taxes on tech giants like Google and Facebook unless they do more to combat online extremism by taking down material aimed at radicalising people or helping them to prepare attacks, the country's security minister said. Ben Wallace accused tech firms of being happy to sell people's data but not to give it to the government which was being forced to spend vast sums on de-radicalisation programmes, surveillance and other counter-terrorism measures. "If they continue to be less than co-operative, we should look at things like tax as a way of incentivising them or compensating for their inaction," Wallace told the Sunday Times newspaper in an interview. His quotes did not give further details on tax plans. The newspaper said that any demand would take the form of a windfall tax similar to that imposed on privatised utilities by former Prime Minister Tony Blair's government in 1997. Wallace accused the tech giants of putting private profit before public safety. "We should stop pretending that because they sit on beanbags in T-shirts they are not ruthless profiteers," he said. "They will ruthlessly sell our details to loans and soft-porn companies but not give it to our democratically elected government." Facebook executive Simon Milner rejected the criticisms. "Mr Wallace is wrong to say that we put profit before safety, especially in the fight against terrorism," he said in an emailed statement. "We've invested millions of pounds in people and technology to identify and remove terrorist content." YouTube, which is owned by Google, said it was doing more every day to tackle violent extremism. "Over the course of 2017 we have made significant progress through investing in machine learning technology, recruiting more reviewers, building partnerships with experts and collaboration with other companies," a YouTube spokeswoman said. Deadly attacks Britain suffered a series of attacks by Islamic extremists between March and June last year that killed a total of 36 people, excluding the attackers. Two involved vehicles ramming people on bridges in London, followed by attackers stabbing people. The deadliest, a bombing at a concert in the northern city of Manchester, killed 22 people. Following the second bridge attack, Prime Minister Theresa May proposed beefing up regulations on cyberspace, and weeks later interior minister Amber Rudd travelled to California to ask Silicon Valley to step up efforts against extremism. "We are more vulnerable than at any point in the last 100 years," said Wallace, citing extremist material on social media and encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp as tools that made life too easy for attackers. "Because content is not being taken down as quickly as they could do, we're having to de-radicalise people who have been radicalised. That's costing millions. They can't get away with that and we should look at all the options, including tax." Facebook said it removed 83 percent of uploaded copies of terrorist content within one hour of its being found on the social media network. It also highlighted plans to double the number of people working in its safety and security teams to 20,000 by the end of 2018. YouTube said that progress in machine learning meant that 83 percent of violent extremist content was removed without the need for users to flag it.

Do more to curb online extremism, or face taxes: UK to Google, Facebook

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