<p>Shortly after <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/aadhar-prompt-test-facebook-says-its-not-mandatory-27883">Facebook was spotted with an Aadhaar based feature on its platform</a>, the social media giant came out with a statement asserting that it has no plans of &quot;integration or authentication with Aadhaar&quot;.</p>

<p>Facebook also stated that it is not linking the social media accounts of its users to the 12-digit biometric identifier.</p>

<p>&quot;We are not collecting Aadhaar data and do not require people to enter their Aadhaar name when they sign up to Facebook,&quot; it noted in a blog post.</p>

<p>Previously, media reports stated that Facebook was asking some users to put in their Aadhaar information as part of a small test.</p>

<p>The featured popped up only&nbsp;for new Facebook signups.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Facebook said the goal of the test was to help new users understand how to sign up to Facebook with their real name.</p>

<p>Facebook&#39;s move is also being seen as a measure&nbsp;to check the increasing number of fake accounts on the platform.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;This is an optional prompt that we were testing. People were not required to enter the name on their Aadhaar card, and there is no integration or authentication with Aadhaar,&quot; Facebook added.</p>

<p>The US-based company said the test ran with a small number of users in India and has now concluded.</p>

<p>India is home to the second largest market for Facebook after the US with over 240 million users.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from PTI)</em></p>


Previously, media reports stated that Facebook was asking some users to put in their Aadhaar information as part of a small test.

Shortly after Facebook was spotted with an Aadhaar based feature on its platform, the social media giant came out with a statement asserting that it has no plans of "integration or authentication with Aadhaar". Facebook also stated that it is not linking the social media accounts of its users to the 12-digit biometric identifier. "We are not collecting Aadhaar data and do not require people to enter their Aadhaar name when they sign up to Facebook," it noted in a blog post. Previously, media reports stated that Facebook was asking some users to put in their Aadhaar information as part of a small test. The featured popped up only for new Facebook signups. Facebook said the goal of the test was to help new users understand how to sign up to Facebook with their real name. Facebook's move is also being seen as a measure to check the increasing number of fake accounts on the platform. "This is an optional prompt that we were testing. People were not required to enter the name on their Aadhaar card, and there is no integration or authentication with Aadhaar," Facebook added. The US-based company said the test ran with a small number of users in India and has now concluded. India is home to the second largest market for Facebook after the US with over 240 million users. (With inputs from PTI)

'We are not collecting Aadhaar data,' Facebook clarifies in a blog post

<p>Facebook has started an Aadhaar based feature on its platform, wherein it is asking new users in India to use the same name as displayed on their Aadhaar card while signing up for a new account.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/egi9pD5IbCE" width="560"></iframe></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>The&nbsp;move is aimed to&nbsp;curb the number of fake accounts on the social media platform that has over 241 million users in the country, making India the second largest market for Facebook after the US.</p>

<p>However, it is not mandatory for the users to put the same name that appears on Aadhaar card.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Just what you need <a href="https://twitter.com/facebook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@facebook</a> wants you to enter your name as exactly in your <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Aadhaar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Aadhaar</a> card.<a href="https://t.co/qkOCfYf6eE">https://t.co/qkOCfYf6eE</a> <a href="https://t.co/9nrszl5rsb">pic.twitter.com/9nrszl5rsb</a></p>
&mdash; Srinivas Kodali | ?????????? ?????? (@digitaldutta) <a href="https://twitter.com/digitaldutta/status/945598371896557568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>The Facebook official spokesperson explained that they are doing this test&nbsp;to make easier for users to find their friends on Facebook.</p>

<p>Facebook further clarified that this is not a new medium of user verification.</p>

<p>This new test won&#39;t be visible for all users as Facebook is testing it for a limited audience only.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


However, it is not mandatory for the user to put the same name that appears on Aadhaar card

Facebook has started an Aadhaar based feature on its platform, wherein it is asking new users in India to use the same name as displayed on their Aadhaar card while signing up for a new account. × The move is aimed to curb the number of fake accounts on the social media platform that has over 241 million users in the country, making India the second largest market for Facebook after the US. However, it is not mandatory for the users to put the same name that appears on Aadhaar card. Just what you need @facebook wants you to enter your name as exactly in your #Aadhaar card.https://t.co/qkOCfYf6eE pic.twitter.com/9nrszl5rsb — Srinivas Kodali | ?????????? ?????? (@digitaldutta) December 26, 2017 × The Facebook official spokesperson explained that they are doing this test to make easier for users to find their friends on Facebook. Facebook further clarified that this is not a new medium of user verification. This new test won't be visible for all users as Facebook is testing it for a limited audience only.

Facebook asks new users' Aadhaar details, says 'it's not mandatory'

<p>When Narendra Modi was elected in early 2014, the media declared him &ldquo;India&rsquo;s<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e347de5c-e088-11e3-9534-00144feabdc0"> first </a>social<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e347de5c-e088-11e3-9534-00144feabdc0"> </a>media<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e347de5c-e088-11e3-9534-00144feabdc0"> </a>prime<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e347de5c-e088-11e3-9534-00144feabdc0"> </a>minister&rdquo; and compared his approach to technology to that of former<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/tech/internet/on-social-media-can-pm-narendra-modi-displace-his-good-friend-us-president-barack-obama/articleshow/53565939.cms"> </a>US<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/tech/internet/on-social-media-can-pm-narendra-modi-displace-his-good-friend-us-president-barack-obama/articleshow/53565939.cms"> </a>president<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/tech/internet/on-social-media-can-pm-narendra-modi-displace-his-good-friend-us-president-barack-obama/articleshow/53565939.cms"> </a>Barack<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/tech/internet/on-social-media-can-pm-narendra-modi-displace-his-good-friend-us-president-barack-obama/articleshow/53565939.cms"> </a>Obama. In 2016, Time<a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/pm-modi-on-times-most-influential-people-on-internet-for-second-year"> </a>magazine<a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/pm-modi-on-times-most-influential-people-on-internet-for-second-year"> </a>named<a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/pm-modi-on-times-most-influential-people-on-internet-for-second-year"> </a>Modi one of the 30 most influential people on the internet.</p>

<p>Today, he is the most followed world leader on social media, with more than 40 million Facebook followers. Needless to say, with a social media superstar at the helm, the Indian government was expected to bloom online.</p>

<figure class="align-right "><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160173/original/image-20170309-21030-eq0hgc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" />
<figcaption>
<p><span class="caption">Modi&rsquo;s profile, March 9 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Facebook</span></span></p>

<p>But this idea should be advanced cautiously, as certain facts belie the assumption. According to the<a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/09/07/some-americans-dont-use-the-internet-who-are-they"> </a>Pew<a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/09/07/some-americans-dont-use-the-internet-who-are-they"> </a>Research<a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/09/07/some-americans-dont-use-the-internet-who-are-they"> </a>Center, 87% American adults use the internet, while<a href="http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/trai-releases-data-on-internet-usage-subscription-has-grown-9-72-percent-over-previous-year-353824.html"> </a>only<a href="http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/trai-releases-data-on-internet-usage-subscription-has-grown-9-72-percent-over-previous-year-353824.html"> </a>27<a href="http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/trai-releases-data-on-internet-usage-subscription-has-grown-9-72-percent-over-previous-year-353824.html">% of</a> Indians<a href="http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/trai-releases-data-on-internet-usage-subscription-has-grown-9-72-percent-over-previous-year-353824.html"> </a>do. And <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/06/global-tech-companies-see-indias-vast-offline-population-as-untapped-market">only </a>two<a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/06/global-tech-companies-see-indias-vast-offline-population-as-untapped-market"> in</a> ten<a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/06/global-tech-companies-see-indias-vast-offline-population-as-untapped-market"> </a>Indians regularly use social media platforms, whereas <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media">seven in ten Americans</a> do.</p>
</figcaption>
</figure>

<p><strong>&lsquo;Digital India&rsquo; to connect all citizens</strong></p>

<p>One of the government&rsquo;s priorities main is to get more Indians connected to the web. New Delhi&rsquo;s new programme, &ldquo;Digital India&rdquo;, unifies information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives under one umbrella.</p>

<figure><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_EuwrPIzkcg?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440"></iframe>

<figcaption>
<p><span class="caption">Narendra Modi&rsquo;s first 3D holographic projection speech, November 2012.</span></p>

<p>The process of building ICTs into governance involves the automation of routine administration jobs such as online passport registration or school application, providing requisite information to citizens, and citizen engagement in policy-making.</p>
</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>The Digital India initiative has seen some significant successes. It has connected<a href="http://www.governancenow.com/views/interview/250000-gram-panchayats-two-year-tall-order"> </a>all<a href="http://www.governancenow.com/views/interview/250000-gram-panchayats-two-year-tall-order"> </a>250,000<a href="http://www.governancenow.com/views/interview/250000-gram-panchayats-two-year-tall-order"> </a><em>Gram</em><a href="http://www.governancenow.com/views/interview/250000-gram-panchayats-two-year-tall-order"><em> Panchayats</em></a> (local administrative clusters of villages) with fibre optic cables, established<a href="http://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/tele-talk/digital-india-making-villages-smart/719"> </a>wifi<a href="http://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/tele-talk/digital-india-making-villages-smart/719"> </a>villages<a href="http://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/tele-talk/digital-india-making-villages-smart/719"> </a>and<a href="http://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/tele-talk/digital-india-making-villages-smart/719"> </a>smart<a href="http://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/tele-talk/digital-india-making-villages-smart/719"> </a>cities and created an <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/security-tech/technology/aadhaar-playing-a-huge-role-in-contributing-to-digital-india-programme-neel-ratan-pwc/articleshow/57074193.cms">ecosystem for Aadhaar</a>, India&rsquo;s national biometric identification system. It has also encouraged electronic banking through mobile<a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/spend/demonetisation-ussd-technology-to-pay-digitally-without-internet/articleshow/55574701.cms"> </a>payments.</p>

<figure><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5ndIt6hBP4M?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440"></iframe>

<figcaption>
<p><span class="caption">A commercial announcing India&rsquo;s first high-speed broadband internet in Idukki, Kerala.</span></p>

<p>The government also launched an exclusive citizen engagement platform, <a href="https://www.mygov.in/">mygov.in</a>, which currently boasts 4 million registrations, 1.8 million submissions across 599 tasks and 35 million comments.</p>
</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>Given India&rsquo;s infrastructure inadequacies and weak private-public partnerships, these are laudable efforts.</p>

<p><strong>Ministries are letting Modi down</strong></p>

<p>Modi <a href="http://www.firstpost.com/politics/social-modi-all-ministers-to-use-facebook-twitter-to-reach-out-1548135.html">has pushed</a> his ministers to adopt social media platforms as a part of their job. Many agencies have invited the experts and representatives from Facebook, Twitter and Google to attend <a href="http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2016/dec/24/facebook-gets-over-6000-data-requests-from-india-in-first-half-of-2016-1552667.html">consultation meetings</a> (some of which I have attended) and also made data requests.</p>

<p>Today, the Election Commission of India uses<a href="http://www.news18.com/news/tech/election-commission-of-india-partners-with-facebook-to-register-voters-1298951.html"> </a>Facebook<a href="http://www.news18.com/news/tech/election-commission-of-india-partners-with-facebook-to-register-voters-1298951.html"> </a>to<a href="http://www.news18.com/news/tech/election-commission-of-india-partners-with-facebook-to-register-voters-1298951.html"> </a>engage potential and present voters with the democratic process, and most ministry and agency websites are integrated with various digital platforms. It is also common<a href="http://www.livemint.com/Politics/AD4cwD62glIdmqHMdVZ2KN/Agriculture-ministry-scouts-for-a-social-media-manager.html"> to </a>see<a href="http://www.livemint.com/Politics/AD4cwD62glIdmqHMdVZ2KN/Agriculture-ministry-scouts-for-a-social-media-manager.html"> </a>government<a href="http://www.livemint.com/Politics/AD4cwD62glIdmqHMdVZ2KN/Agriculture-ministry-scouts-for-a-social-media-manager.html"> </a>agencies<a href="http://www.livemint.com/Politics/AD4cwD62glIdmqHMdVZ2KN/Agriculture-ministry-scouts-for-a-social-media-manager.html"> </a>advertising to hire social<a href="http://www.disabilityaffairs.gov.in/upload/5678f2a4c6e8cAdvt.%20for%20Social%20Media%20Consultant.pdf"> </a>media<a href="http://www.disabilityaffairs.gov.in/upload/5678f2a4c6e8cAdvt.%20for%20Social%20Media%20Consultant.pdf"> </a>firms in national newspapers.</p>

<p>Social media platforms are part of the larger e-governance effort. At a minimum, the government uses them to get information to citizens and, more gradually, to <a href="https://www.mygov.in/group-issue/public-consultation-e-governance-service-maturity-model/">include user-generated content</a> in governance.</p>

<p>But at present, despite these various actions, social media acts primarily a mere extension of agency homepages. Evidently, many ministries and departments are hesitant to use the pages and accounts they&rsquo;ve started.</p>

<p>Real-time updates are few. Those that occur are thanks to a few savvy <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/modi-sarkar2-who-are-the-most-social-media-savvy-ministers-in-the-modi-cabinet/articleshow/52271864.cms">ministers</a>, including Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External affairs, Piyush Goyal, Minster of Power, and Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Railways.</p>

<p>Some of Twitter interactions have been impressive. Take, for example, the time <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-in-india/sushma-swaraj-helps-woman-who-was-mugged-in-tanzania-this-time-without-even-being-asked-4505980">Sushma Swaraj directly helped</a> an Indian citizen who was mugged in Tanzania.</p>

<p>However, government social media usage starts to fail when ministers are questioned or criticised by users. It took Modi &ndash; who usually uses Twitter daily &ndash; ten days to tweet about <a href="http://www.dailyo.in/politics/dadri-murder-narendra-modi-twitter-bihar-polls-mann-ki-baat-rss-bjp-muslims-manmohan-singh/story/1/6703.html">the communal violence in Dadri</a>, where a Muslim man <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Communal-tension-in-Dadri-after-rumours-of-cow-slaughtering/articleshow/49148923.cms">was lynched by a Hindu mob</a> on suspicion of slaughtering a cow.</p>

<p><strong>Lack of credibility</strong></p>

<p>Quickly voicing concerns to other users and trading in genuine uncensored content are major features of social media. If these activities are shaken, either by blocking criticisms or through non-responsiveness, trust and credibility are lost.</p>

<p>If a minister responds to, say, a tweet about <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/churchgate-train-crash-suresh-prabhu-panned-for-late-probe-order/story-qcvtA0PLLklbG56iLxYCaP.html">the lack of baby diapers</a> on railway platforms but does not immediately respond to queries about a recent accident, or if <a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/maneka-gandhis-silence-on-jallikattu-row-continues/1/864075.html">a minister keeps mum</a> on violence when she is expected <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-tweets-on-everything-but-silent-on-indians-attacked-in-us-congress/story-PZ9MedhRyfh98kKE3PrsPJ.html">to speak out</a>, the real value that social media could bring to governance is lost.</p>

<p>Citizens may stop following the ministers, or troll them. Both hurt efficiency in e-governance.</p>

<figure class="align-right zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160188/original/image-20170309-21030-101omth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160188/original/image-20170309-21030-101omth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" /></a>

<figcaption>
<p><span class="caption">MapBox&rsquo;s open-source flood information.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mapbox/23381596151/">Mapbox/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
</figcaption>
</figure>

<p>Despite its social media presence, Modi&rsquo;s government has largely failed to move beyond simply disseminating information. In 2015, <a href="http://itra.medialabasia.in/img/Chennai%20Floods-Rapid%20Assessment%20Report-May%2023,%202016.pdf">the </a>Chennai<a href="http://itra.medialabasia.in/img/Chennai%20Floods-Rapid%20Assessment%20Report-May%2023,%202016.pdf"> </a>floods left thousands homeless and killed<a href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/northeast-monsoon-claimed-470-lives-in-tamil-nadu-jayalalithaa/article8064661.ece"> </a>almost<a href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/northeast-monsoon-claimed-470-lives-in-tamil-nadu-jayalalithaa/article8064661.ece"> </a>500. Well before the government responded, civil society organisations and citizens used social media <a href="https://qz.com/563397/chennai-floods-once-again-social-media-is-helping-indians-while-the-government-flounders">to create live-updated maps</a> of affected areas and tell residents about safe houses and transportation.</p>

<figure class="align-center "><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160187/original/image-20170309-21056-14cqjxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" />
<figcaption><span class="caption">Flood waters in Nandanam, Chennai, 2015.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Chennai_flood_water_logging_near_ofice_nandanam5.jpg">Vijayingarsal/Wikimedia</a></span></figcaption>
</figure>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Of censorship, trolls and &lsquo;</strong><em><strong>bhakts</strong></em><strong>&rsquo;</strong></p>

<p>The government is also concerned about its own employees criticising policy initiatives or &ldquo;liking&rdquo; anti-government views. Recently, civil servants <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/no-criticism-of-government-by-officials-on-social-media-proposed-rules/articleshow/53282029.cms">were advised</a> to follow a social media code of conduct (though this <a href="http://meity.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/Approved%20Social%20Media%20Framework%20and%20Guidelines%20_2_.pdf">framework</a> appears outdated and incomplete).</p>

<p>Government social media use is also co-opted by political party supporters. Called &ldquo;<a href="http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/The-underage-optimist/anatomy-of-an-internet-troll-how-social-media-birthed-a-strange-new-phenomenon-in-india-the-bhakts/"><em>bhakts</em></a>&rdquo;, or henchmen, these ardent supporters of Modi or of other right-wing political movements have sidetracked any possibilities of healthy discussion. And they are equally matched by their more liberal opponents.</p>

<p><em>Bhakts</em> are not public officials. But their online activities have blurred the lines between the roles played by political party head and prime minister, reducing the potential positive outcomes of the government&rsquo;s fledgling social media efforts.</p>

<p><strong>To regulate and to serve</strong></p>

<p>There are two main ways that a democratic government approaches the social media sphere: regulation and service provision. Modi&rsquo;s government is in the nascent stages of both.</p>

<p>As a regulator, governments should monitor online activity, policing content and its creators (if needed) without damaging freedom of expression. The Modi administration&rsquo;s regulatory role is being hijacked by partisan trolls who lack training and legitimacy.</p>

<p>As a digital public-service provider, governments should treat online citizens like customers, seeking feedback on services or extending post-service support. When Twitter may be <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/brand-equity/twitter-banking-ground-breaking-or-gimmicky/articleshow/52202088.cms">explored as an e-banking platform</a>, for example, why not use it to book a ticket on India&rsquo;s state-run railroad or apply for a passport?</p>

<p><img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73656/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" />Without better guidelines on playing this role, however, Modi&rsquo;s government agencies will continue to struggle to provide citizen services. As an individual, Prime Minister Modi may be an exceptional social media influencer. But, for now, the same cannot be said about his government.</p>

<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The </a>Conversation. Read the original<a href="https://theconversation.com/narendra-modi-indias-social-media-star-struggles-to-get-government-online-73656"> </a>article.</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Modi has pushed his ministers to adopt social media platforms as a part of their job.

When Narendra Modi was elected in early 2014, the media declared him “India’s first social media prime minister” and compared his approach to technology to that of former US president Barack Obama. In 2016, Time magazine named Modi one of the 30 most influential people on the internet. Today, he is the most followed world leader on social media, with more than 40 million Facebook followers. Needless to say, with a social media superstar at the helm, the Indian government was expected to bloom online. Modi’s profile, March 9 2017. Facebook But this idea should be advanced cautiously, as certain facts belie the assumption. According to the Pew Research Center, 87% American adults use the internet, while only 27% of Indians do. And only two in ten Indians regularly use social media platforms, whereas seven in ten Americans do. ‘Digital India’ to connect all citizens One of the government’s priorities main is to get more Indians connected to the web. New Delhi’s new programme, “Digital India”, unifies information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives under one umbrella. Narendra Modi’s first 3D holographic projection speech, November 2012. The process of building ICTs into governance involves the automation of routine administration jobs such as online passport registration or school application, providing requisite information to citizens, and citizen engagement in policy-making. The Digital India initiative has seen some significant successes. It has connected all 250,000 Gram Panchayats (local administrative clusters of villages) with fibre optic cables, established wifi villages and smart cities and created an ecosystem for Aadhaar, India’s national biometric identification system. It has also encouraged electronic banking through mobile payments. A commercial announcing India’s first high-speed broadband internet in Idukki, Kerala. The government also launched an exclusive citizen engagement platform, mygov.in, which currently boasts 4 million registrations, 1.8 million submissions across 599 tasks and 35 million comments. Given India’s infrastructure inadequacies and weak private-public partnerships, these are laudable efforts. Ministries are letting Modi down Modi has pushed his ministers to adopt social media platforms as a part of their job. Many agencies have invited the experts and representatives from Facebook, Twitter and Google to attend consultation meetings (some of which I have attended) and also made data requests. Today, the Election Commission of India uses Facebook to engage potential and present voters with the democratic process, and most ministry and agency websites are integrated with various digital platforms. It is also common to see government agencies advertising to hire social media firms in national newspapers. Social media platforms are part of the larger e-governance effort. At a minimum, the government uses them to get information to citizens and, more gradually, to include user-generated content in governance. But at present, despite these various actions, social media acts primarily a mere extension of agency homepages. Evidently, many ministries and departments are hesitant to use the pages and accounts they’ve started. Real-time updates are few. Those that occur are thanks to a few savvy ministers, including Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External affairs, Piyush Goyal, Minster of Power, and Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Railways. Some of Twitter interactions have been impressive. Take, for example, the time Sushma Swaraj directly helped an Indian citizen who was mugged in Tanzania. However, government social media usage starts to fail when ministers are questioned or criticised by users. It took Modi – who usually uses Twitter daily – ten days to tweet about the communal violence in Dadri, where a Muslim man was lynched by a Hindu mob on suspicion of slaughtering a cow. Lack of credibility Quickly voicing concerns to other users and trading in genuine uncensored content are major features of social media. If these activities are shaken, either by blocking criticisms or through non-responsiveness, trust and credibility are lost. If a minister responds to, say, a tweet about the lack of baby diapers on railway platforms but does not immediately respond to queries about a recent accident, or if a minister keeps mum on violence when she is expected to speak out, the real value that social media could bring to governance is lost. Citizens may stop following the ministers, or troll them. Both hurt efficiency in e-governance. MapBox’s open-source flood information. Mapbox/Flickr, CC BY-SA Despite its social media presence, Modi’s government has largely failed to move beyond simply disseminating information. In 2015, the Chennai floods left thousands homeless and killed almost 500. Well before the government responded, civil society organisations and citizens used social media to create live-updated maps of affected areas and tell residents about safe houses and transportation. Flood waters in Nandanam, Chennai, 2015. Vijayingarsal/Wikimedia Of censorship, trolls and ‘bhakts’ The government is also concerned about its own employees criticising policy initiatives or “liking” anti-government views. Recently, civil servants were advised to follow a social media code of conduct (though this framework appears outdated and incomplete). Government social media use is also co-opted by political party supporters. Called “bhakts”, or henchmen, these ardent supporters of Modi or of other right-wing political movements have sidetracked any possibilities of healthy discussion. And they are equally matched by their more liberal opponents. Bhakts are not public officials. But their online activities have blurred the lines between the roles played by political party head and prime minister, reducing the potential positive outcomes of the government’s fledgling social media efforts. To regulate and to serve There are two main ways that a democratic government approaches the social media sphere: regulation and service provision. Modi’s government is in the nascent stages of both. As a regulator, governments should monitor online activity, policing content and its creators (if needed) without damaging freedom of expression. The Modi administration’s regulatory role is being hijacked by partisan trolls who lack training and legitimacy. As a digital public-service provider, governments should treat online citizens like customers, seeking feedback on services or extending post-service support. When Twitter may be explored as an e-banking platform, for example, why not use it to book a ticket on India’s state-run railroad or apply for a passport? Without better guidelines on playing this role, however, Modi’s government agencies will continue to struggle to provide citizen services. As an individual, Prime Minister Modi may be an exceptional social media influencer. But, for now, the same cannot be said about his government. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Opinion: How digital India is finding fruition through social media

<p>Global Head of Safety at Facebook, Antigone Davis, revealed Facebook&#39;s new initiatives to prevent harassment on Facebook.</p>

<p>The social media giant has rolled out new tools and features to help prevent unwanted friend requests and messages from Facebook users.</p>

<p>These new tools will be capable of recognising and blocking any attempts of communication from a blocked user who might send a message&nbsp;or a friend request from a new or another account.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In a statement released Tuesday, Davis talked about a new option that lets a user ignore a Messenger conversation by automatically moving it to their &#39;Filtered&#39; messages.</p>

<p>Just a tap on a message will let a user ignore a conversation and move it to &#39;Filtered&#39; messages.</p>

<p>A new feature will also let users read messages without letting the sender see if the message has been read already.</p>

<p>The feature is available for single conversations and will soon be applicable to group chats.&nbsp;</p>

<p>These automated features will help in identifying fake accounts, preventing their&nbsp;owners from re-registering.</p>

<p>The set of new features will go a long way in providing stronger cyber-security, especially on Facebook, to women and journalists who often fall prey to online harassment and cyber-stalking.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A range of signals -- like a user&#39;s IP address -- will be analysed to study the type of accounts and their owners who were previously blocked and therefore must be blocked from re-registering on Facebook, sending messages, friend requests or creating another account.&nbsp;</p>


New Facebook tools will recognise and prevent attempts of communication from a blocked user

Global Head of Safety at Facebook, Antigone Davis, revealed Facebook's new initiatives to prevent harassment on Facebook. The social media giant has rolled out new tools and features to help prevent unwanted friend requests and messages from Facebook users. These new tools will be capable of recognising and blocking any attempts of communication from a blocked user who might send a message or a friend request from a new or another account. In a statement released Tuesday, Davis talked about a new option that lets a user ignore a Messenger conversation by automatically moving it to their 'Filtered' messages. Just a tap on a message will let a user ignore a conversation and move it to 'Filtered' messages. A new feature will also let users read messages without letting the sender see if the message has been read already. The feature is available for single conversations and will soon be applicable to group chats. These automated features will help in identifying fake accounts, preventing their owners from re-registering. The set of new features will go a long way in providing stronger cyber-security, especially on Facebook, to women and journalists who often fall prey to online harassment and cyber-stalking. A range of signals -- like a user's IP address -- will be analysed to study the type of accounts and their owners who were previously blocked and therefore must be blocked from re-registering on Facebook, sending messages, friend requests or creating another account.

New Facebook tools will help prevent unwanted friend requests and messages

<p>All French children under the age of 16 will have to seek parental approval to open an account on Facebook or any other social network under draft legislation presented on Wednesday.</p>

<p>The requirement is part of a French bill that seeks to adapt data privacy regulations and improve access to the information internet companies gather, store and in many cases sell to other firms about people`s online activity.</p>

<p>&quot;Joining Facebook will involve parental authorisation for minors aged under 16,&quot; Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet told reporters.</p>

<p>She was presenting the outlines of a data privacy bill that was approved at a weekly cabinet meeting. It now goes to parliament for approval before it can become law.</p>

<p>The bill aims to ensure easier access for users to all the data companies collect so they can more easily seek to have certain details amended or deleted.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The minister said signing up to join a social network would involve ticking a box to confirm that approval from parents or rightful guardians had been obtained, and that the box-tick amounted to a declaration governed by law.</p>

<p>It was not clear how enforceable such a process would be.</p>


All French children under the age of 16 will have to seek parental approval to open an account on Facebook

All French children under the age of 16 will have to seek parental approval to open an account on Facebook or any other social network under draft legislation presented on Wednesday. The requirement is part of a French bill that seeks to adapt data privacy regulations and improve access to the information internet companies gather, store and in many cases sell to other firms about people`s online activity. "Joining Facebook will involve parental authorisation for minors aged under 16," Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet told reporters. She was presenting the outlines of a data privacy bill that was approved at a weekly cabinet meeting. It now goes to parliament for approval before it can become law. The bill aims to ensure easier access for users to all the data companies collect so they can more easily seek to have certain details amended or deleted. The minister said signing up to join a social network would involve ticking a box to confirm that approval from parents or rightful guardians had been obtained, and that the box-tick amounted to a declaration governed by law. It was not clear how enforceable such a process would be.

France proposes age-of-consent rule for Facebook users

<p>In a move to simplify its platform the popular photosharing app, Instagram,&nbsp;has introduced two new features.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The new feature will provide users with a simplified search technique by following hashtags.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They can now follow hashtags in addition to other people&#39;s account.</p>

<p>Users will be able to track the topic of their interest by following a hashtag. Two tabs will appear after the users search for a topic. One of the tab will include the list of people related to the topic, while the other will have related hashtags.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The users can follow any hashtag page from the available list after which they will get to see top feeds and stories related to the hashtag.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Not showing every piece of information tagged with the&nbsp;hashtag, the app will use an algorithm to provide content to the user that he has engaged&nbsp;with the most.</p>

<p>Besides this, it&nbsp;has also introduced another feature which will show the photos liked by user&#39;s friend on the&nbsp;newsfeed.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It will help in the easy discovery of new content in the news feed.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also, the stories bar will feature the latest story related to the hashtag.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Users will be able to track the topic of their interest by following a hashtag. Two tabs will appear after the users search for a topic. One of the tab will include the list of people related to the topic, while the other will have related hashtags

In a move to simplify its platform the popular photosharing app, Instagram, has introduced two new features. The new feature will provide users with a simplified search technique by following hashtags. They can now follow hashtags in addition to other people's account. Users will be able to track the topic of their interest by following a hashtag. Two tabs will appear after the users search for a topic. One of the tab will include the list of people related to the topic, while the other will have related hashtags. The users can follow any hashtag page from the available list after which they will get to see top feeds and stories related to the hashtag. Not showing every piece of information tagged with the hashtag, the app will use an algorithm to provide content to the user that he has engaged with the most. Besides this, it has also introduced another feature which will show the photos liked by user's friend on the newsfeed. It will help in the easy discovery of new content in the news feed. Also, the stories bar will feature the latest story related to the hashtag.

Now, follow hashtags on Instagram

<p>Facebook is rolling out a new feature call &quot;Did You Know&quot; for user profile on the web and apps.</p>

<p>The feature appears on a user&#39;s profile and asks random questions about guilty pleasures, superheroes, hobbies, interests, like &quot;if I&nbsp;could be&nbsp;anywhere else right now I&#39;d be?&quot;, or more personal question like &quot; the scar,&nbsp;I have with the best story is..&quot;.</p>

<p>Later the information gets shared on your profile in a fun manner, a user can either share it for all to see or with &quot;only me&quot; setting.</p>

<p>Many tech experts are looking at this feature as a way of extracting user information that related to interests, hobbies, and personality and may one day become a part of advertiser profile.</p>

<p>The feature is based on an app called &quot;tbh&quot; on apple store which was acquired by Facebook in October.</p>

<p>The &quot;tbh&quot; app lets teenagers anonymously answer kind-hearted, multiple choice questions about friends but facebook asks more about a user than their friends.</p>

<p>By October &quot;tbh&#39;&#39; had over 205 million daily active users and 5 million downloads.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Did You Know&quot; feature has been rolled out to users from December 5 and to use this feature a user can either access it from clicking on their personal profile and tap on Did You Know section or you can just click on &#39;Try it&#39; section on your friend&#39;s post.</p>

<p>So far users are liking this feature and having fun with it.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">ok facebook relax <a href="https://t.co/z4URQHMOrW">pic.twitter.com/z4URQHMOrW</a></p>
&mdash; Natt ?????????????? (@nattgarun) <a href="https://twitter.com/nattgarun/status/938776615626166273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false"><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="593" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBeeQrown%2Fposts%2F1968918583433622&amp;width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false"><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="174" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FThePhysicist.98%2Fposts%2F407632619670434&amp;width=500" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="500"></iframe></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The feature is based on an app called 'tbh' on apple store which was acquired by Facebook in October

Facebook is rolling out a new feature call "Did You Know" for user profile on the web and apps. The feature appears on a user's profile and asks random questions about guilty pleasures, superheroes, hobbies, interests, like "if I could be anywhere else right now I'd be?", or more personal question like " the scar, I have with the best story is..". Later the information gets shared on your profile in a fun manner, a user can either share it for all to see or with "only me" setting. Many tech experts are looking at this feature as a way of extracting user information that related to interests, hobbies, and personality and may one day become a part of advertiser profile. The feature is based on an app called "tbh" on apple store which was acquired by Facebook in October. The "tbh" app lets teenagers anonymously answer kind-hearted, multiple choice questions about friends but facebook asks more about a user than their friends. By October "tbh'' had over 205 million daily active users and 5 million downloads. "Did You Know" feature has been rolled out to users from December 5 and to use this feature a user can either access it from clicking on their personal profile and tap on Did You Know section or you can just click on 'Try it' section on your friend's post. So far users are liking this feature and having fun with it. ok facebook relax pic.twitter.com/z4URQHMOrW — Natt ?????????????? (@nattgarun) December 7, 2017 × × ×

Facebook's 'Did You Know' feature aims to personalise advertising

<p>As more and more businesses turn to social media to educate customers and target audience with respect to their product or service, WhatsApp recently published a blog giving out more information about its brand new application designed especially for business accounts.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Over 1 billion people use WhatsApp every day to stay connected with their family and friends, and over time, more people are using the app to communicate with businesses they care about too. In the coming months, we&#39;ll be testing new features that aim to solve some of these challenges and make it easier for people to communicate with the businesses they want to reach on WhatsApp,&quot; mentions WhatsApp&#39;s official blog.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A business account will be identified as the one created by using the official WhatsApp Business application. The logo will remain the remain, with a minor change that will replace the call logo at the centre of the green dialogue bubble with a &#39;B&#39;.</p>

<p>While a business account will sport a grey question mark badge in its profile, a confirmed account will have a grey checkmark badge.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A business account will get confirmed only after WhatsApp confirms the phone number associated with the account with the number linked to the business. A verified account, on the other hand, will feature a green checkmark badge in its profile right after WhatsApp confirms that an authentic brand owns the business account.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;We also provide you with the tools you need to control your experience with businesses. You can block business accounts and report them as spam at any time, right within the chat,&quot; as mentioned on WhatsApp&#39;s blog.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The much-awaited WhatsApp Business app is currently being tested by a private group of testers.</p>

<p>WhatsApp is expected to roll out the standalone business app shortly.&nbsp;</p>


The much-awaited WhatsApp Business app is currently being tested by a private group of testers

As more and more businesses turn to social media to educate customers and target audience with respect to their product or service, WhatsApp recently published a blog giving out more information about its brand new application designed especially for business accounts. "Over 1 billion people use WhatsApp every day to stay connected with their family and friends, and over time, more people are using the app to communicate with businesses they care about too. In the coming months, we'll be testing new features that aim to solve some of these challenges and make it easier for people to communicate with the businesses they want to reach on WhatsApp," mentions WhatsApp's official blog. A business account will be identified as the one created by using the official WhatsApp Business application. The logo will remain the remain, with a minor change that will replace the call logo at the centre of the green dialogue bubble with a 'B'. While a business account will sport a grey question mark badge in its profile, a confirmed account will have a grey checkmark badge. A business account will get confirmed only after WhatsApp confirms the phone number associated with the account with the number linked to the business. A verified account, on the other hand, will feature a green checkmark badge in its profile right after WhatsApp confirms that an authentic brand owns the business account. "We also provide you with the tools you need to control your experience with businesses. You can block business accounts and report them as spam at any time, right within the chat," as mentioned on WhatsApp's blog. The much-awaited WhatsApp Business app is currently being tested by a private group of testers. WhatsApp is expected to roll out the standalone business app shortly.

WhatsApp to roll out a standalone Business app soon; features officially revealed

<p>Facebook Inc&#39;s Instagram said on Thursday it was testing a standalone messaging app called Direct, making it the company&#39;s third chat tool alongside its hugely popular WhatsApp and Messenger.</p>

<p>The move is similar to what Facebook did with its private messaging feature in 2014.</p>

<p>&quot;With hundreds of millions of people using Instagram Direct, today we&#39;re announcing a test of a standalone Direct app. It&#39;s fast, visual and super fun. Only in six countries to start but can&#39;t wait for you all to try it.&quot; Instagram&#39;s vice president of product, Kevin Weil, said in a tweet.</p>

<p>The Instagram Direct app will be available starting Thursday on Android and iOS in Chile, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, and Uruguay, according to technology news website the Verge.&nbsp;</p>


The move is similar to what Facebook did with its private messaging feature in 2014

Facebook Inc's Instagram said on Thursday it was testing a standalone messaging app called Direct, making it the company's third chat tool alongside its hugely popular WhatsApp and Messenger. The move is similar to what Facebook did with its private messaging feature in 2014. "With hundreds of millions of people using Instagram Direct, today we're announcing a test of a standalone Direct app. It's fast, visual and super fun. Only in six countries to start but can't wait for you all to try it." Instagram's vice president of product, Kevin Weil, said in a tweet. The Instagram Direct app will be available starting Thursday on Android and iOS in Chile, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, and Uruguay, according to technology news website the Verge.

Instagram testing standalone Direct messaging app

<p>The leader of Germany&#39;s Social Democrats (SPD) took aim at US&nbsp;technology firms Apple, Facebook and Google on Thursday, saying a strong Europe was needed to make sure they stick to the rules.</p>

<p>Martin Schulz, who hopes to persuade his party to approve talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel on forming a new coalition, told a congress of his SPD party that Ireland was complicit in allowing companies like Apple to avoid billions of euros in tax.</p>

<p>He also called for the creation of a European finance minister, who should fight tax evasion by reining in the race to the bottom in tax policy among member states.</p>

<p>&quot;Only a strong Europe can force platform giants like Facebook and Google to respect our rules and basic rights,&quot; he said.</p>


The leader of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) took aim at US?technology firms Apple, Facebook and Google on Thursday, saying a strong Europe was needed to make sure they stick to the rules

The leader of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) took aim at US technology firms Apple, Facebook and Google on Thursday, saying a strong Europe was needed to make sure they stick to the rules. Martin Schulz, who hopes to persuade his party to approve talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel on forming a new coalition, told a congress of his SPD party that Ireland was complicit in allowing companies like Apple to avoid billions of euros in tax. He also called for the creation of a European finance minister, who should fight tax evasion by reining in the race to the bottom in tax policy among member states. "Only a strong Europe can force platform giants like Facebook and Google to respect our rules and basic rights," he said.

German SPD leader takes aim at US tech giants

<p>The nature and ethics of &ldquo;fake news&rdquo; have become a subject of widespread concern. But, for many of us, the issue is much more personal: What are we to do when a cranky uncle or an otherwise pleasant old friend persists in populating our news feeds with a stream of posts that can run deeply contrary to our own values?</p>

<p>One option is to unfriend people who share material that conflicts with our values. But a siloed environment where people self-select into echo chambers could also be worrisome. As a researcher working on the ethics of social technologies, I start with what might seem like an unlikely source: Aristotle.</p>

<p>Classical Greece may bear little resemblance to today&rsquo;s world of smartphones and social media. But Aristotle was no stranger to the struggle to build and maintain social connections in a contentious political climate.</p>

<p><strong>Value of friendship</strong></p>

<p>The first issue is what should real friendships look like. Aristotle argues that a</p>

<p><em>&ldquo;perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in virtue.&quot;</em></p>

<p>On the face of it, it would appear then that friendships are essentially about similarities, arising where like-minded people group together. This could be a problem if you thought that a good friendship involved respecting difference. It would also be a reason for people to unfriend those who disagreed with us politically.</p>

<p>But Aristotle doesn&rsquo;t say friends should be &quot;alike.&rdquo; What he says is that best friend can be different and yet share good lives together so long as each is virtuous in his or her own way. In other words, the only similarity necessary is that they both be virtuous.</p>

<p>By &ldquo;virtuous,&rdquo; he means the features of excellent people, those character traits like courage and kindness that help individuals be good to others, their own selves and live good lives. Such traits help people flourish as rational, social animals.</p>

<p><strong>Appreciating </strong><strong>Differences</strong></p>

<p>Again, if you thought that these characteristics looked the same for every individual, you might worry that this still means that friends should be very similar. But that is not what he says about the nature of virtue.</p>

<p>A virtuous character trait, he says, consists of having the right amount of common human disposition &ndash; not too much and not too little. Courage, for example, is the middle ground between an excess and a deficit of fear. Too much fear would keep people from defending what they valued, while too little would make them vulnerable to unnecessary injury.</p>

<p>But what counts as the middle ground is relative to the individual, not an absolute.</p>

<p>Consider how what counts as the right amount of food is different for an accomplished athlete than a novice. Likewise for courage and other virtues. What counts as the right amount of fear depends on what needs defending, and what resources are available for defense.</p>

<p>So courage can look very different for different people, in different contexts. In other words, each individual could have his or her own moral style. This seems to leave room for appreciating friends&rsquo; differences on social media. It should also give individuals reason to be cautious in exercising the &ldquo;unfriend&rdquo; option.</p>

<p><strong>Living together</strong></p>

<p>For Aristotle, shared lives are key to explaining both why friendship matters to us and why good character matters to friendship. Friends, he says,</p>

<p><em>&hellip; do and share in those things which give them the sense of living together. Thus the friendship of bad men turns out an evil thing (for because of their instability they unite in bad pursuits, and besides they become evil by becoming like each other), while the friendship of good men is good, being augmented by their companionship&hellip;<br />
For Aristotle, virtues are by definition those traits that help you to flourish as a rational, social animal. Being your best self-helps you to live a good life.</em></p>

<p>The opposite, he says, is true of vices. What he means by a vice is the wrong amount of a characteristic: For example, too much fear or too little concern for others. Vices can make people&rsquo;s lives worse overall, even if more enjoyable in the short term. The coward cannot stand up for what she values and so harms herself and not just those she ought to protect. The selfish person makes himself incapable of close friendship and deprives himself of an important human good.</p>

<p>The difference isn&rsquo;t bad, and can even enrich our lives. But having vicious people as friends make us worse off, both because we care about them and want them to live well and because of their influence on us.</p>

<p>How can we use Facebook wisely and well?</p>

<p>What I take from this is that we ought not to think that friends&rsquo; differences, political or otherwise, pose a problem for friendship. But at the same time, character matters. Repeated interactions, even on social media, can shape our character over time.</p>

<p>So, in considering the question, should you disconnect from that Facebook &ldquo;friend,&rdquo; the short but unsatisfying answer is, &ldquo;It depends.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Facebook connects people, but it imposes both physical and psychological distance. One could argue that this makes it easier both to share our thoughts (even those that many wouldn&rsquo;t air in person) and to disconnect from others, even when social pressures might make it harder to do so when face to face.</p>

<p>Figuring out when to exercise these different abilities could require individuals to exercise the virtues. But as I have explained, they do not give anyone a uniform guide to action. What counts as a virtue depends on the details of the circumstance.</p>

<p><strong>Landmarks for navigating</strong></p>

<p>Several factors look relevant. Social media makes people happier when they use it to interact rather than passively observe. Diverse connections and conversations can enrich people&rsquo;s lives. On Facebook, we have an opportunity to experience &ldquo;ideologically diverse news and opinions.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Sure, sometimes unfriending an obnoxious co-worker or relative helps keep the peace&hellip; but this can be cowardly. And sometimes arguing with someone online just reinforces our own belligerence, making us worse in the long run. What we want to do is have good conversations that strengthen good connections.</p>

<p>But here, too, we need to remain sensitive to details of context. Some conversations are better had at a distance and others face to face.</p>

<p>In the end, some reasons to connect or disconnect are rooted in concerns about our own character, and some revolve around others&rsquo; characters. We have reason to foster a courageous and compassionate willingness to consider others&rsquo; worldviews and to be mindful of our own tendency to vilify posts (and people) because we disagree with them. But we also want our friends to be good people.</p>

<p>What we need to remember is that the devil is in the details. I think the reason we grapple with this issue is that it resists easy or uniform answers. But using the tools Aristotle provided to reflect on where we want to end up, we can find ways to connect that make us better off, both singly and together.</p>

<p>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/when-should-you-unfriend-someone-on-facebook-85363" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).</em></p>


Facebook connects people, but it imposes both physical and psychological distance. One could argue that this makes it easier both to share our thoughts and to disconnect from others

The nature and ethics of “fake news” have become a subject of widespread concern. But, for many of us, the issue is much more personal: What are we to do when a cranky uncle or an otherwise pleasant old friend persists in populating our news feeds with a stream of posts that can run deeply contrary to our own values? One option is to unfriend people who share material that conflicts with our values. But a siloed environment where people self-select into echo chambers could also be worrisome. As a researcher working on the ethics of social technologies, I start with what might seem like an unlikely source: Aristotle. Classical Greece may bear little resemblance to today’s world of smartphones and social media. But Aristotle was no stranger to the struggle to build and maintain social connections in a contentious political climate. Value of friendship The first issue is what should real friendships look like. Aristotle argues that a “perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in virtue." On the face of it, it would appear then that friendships are essentially about similarities, arising where like-minded people group together. This could be a problem if you thought that a good friendship involved respecting difference. It would also be a reason for people to unfriend those who disagreed with us politically. But Aristotle doesn’t say friends should be "alike.” What he says is that best friend can be different and yet share good lives together so long as each is virtuous in his or her own way. In other words, the only similarity necessary is that they both be virtuous. By “virtuous,” he means the features of excellent people, those character traits like courage and kindness that help individuals be good to others, their own selves and live good lives. Such traits help people flourish as rational, social animals. Appreciating Differences Again, if you thought that these characteristics looked the same for every individual, you might worry that this still means that friends should be very similar. But that is not what he says about the nature of virtue. A virtuous character trait, he says, consists of having the right amount of common human disposition – not too much and not too little. Courage, for example, is the middle ground between an excess and a deficit of fear. Too much fear would keep people from defending what they valued, while too little would make them vulnerable to unnecessary injury. But what counts as the middle ground is relative to the individual, not an absolute. Consider how what counts as the right amount of food is different for an accomplished athlete than a novice. Likewise for courage and other virtues. What counts as the right amount of fear depends on what needs defending, and what resources are available for defense. So courage can look very different for different people, in different contexts. In other words, each individual could have his or her own moral style. This seems to leave room for appreciating friends’ differences on social media. It should also give individuals reason to be cautious in exercising the “unfriend” option. Living together For Aristotle, shared lives are key to explaining both why friendship matters to us and why good character matters to friendship. Friends, he says, … do and share in those things which give them the sense of living together. Thus the friendship of bad men turns out an evil thing (for because of their instability they unite in bad pursuits, and besides they become evil by becoming like each other), while the friendship of good men is good, being augmented by their companionship… For Aristotle, virtues are by definition those traits that help you to flourish as a rational, social animal. Being your best self-helps you to live a good life. The opposite, he says, is true of vices. What he means by a vice is the wrong amount of a characteristic: For example, too much fear or too little concern for others. Vices can make people’s lives worse overall, even if more enjoyable in the short term. The coward cannot stand up for what she values and so harms herself and not just those she ought to protect. The selfish person makes himself incapable of close friendship and deprives himself of an important human good. The difference isn’t bad, and can even enrich our lives. But having vicious people as friends make us worse off, both because we care about them and want them to live well and because of their influence on us. How can we use Facebook wisely and well? What I take from this is that we ought not to think that friends’ differences, political or otherwise, pose a problem for friendship. But at the same time, character matters. Repeated interactions, even on social media, can shape our character over time. So, in considering the question, should you disconnect from that Facebook “friend,” the short but unsatisfying answer is, “It depends.” Facebook connects people, but it imposes both physical and psychological distance. One could argue that this makes it easier both to share our thoughts (even those that many wouldn’t air in person) and to disconnect from others, even when social pressures might make it harder to do so when face to face. Figuring out when to exercise these different abilities could require individuals to exercise the virtues. But as I have explained, they do not give anyone a uniform guide to action. What counts as a virtue depends on the details of the circumstance. Landmarks for navigating Several factors look relevant. Social media makes people happier when they use it to interact rather than passively observe. Diverse connections and conversations can enrich people’s lives. On Facebook, we have an opportunity to experience “ideologically diverse news and opinions.” Sure, sometimes unfriending an obnoxious co-worker or relative helps keep the peace… but this can be cowardly. And sometimes arguing with someone online just reinforces our own belligerence, making us worse in the long run. What we want to do is have good conversations that strengthen good connections. But here, too, we need to remain sensitive to details of context. Some conversations are better had at a distance and others face to face. In the end, some reasons to connect or disconnect are rooted in concerns about our own character, and some revolve around others’ characters. We have reason to foster a courageous and compassionate willingness to consider others’ worldviews and to be mindful of our own tendency to vilify posts (and people) because we disagree with them. But we also want our friends to be good people. What we need to remember is that the devil is in the details. I think the reason we grapple with this issue is that it resists easy or uniform answers. But using the tools Aristotle provided to reflect on where we want to end up, we can find ways to connect that make us better off, both singly and together. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: When should you unfriend someone on Facebook?

<p>Once known to dominate the internet with their online news, videos and social networks - Buzzfeed, founded in 2006, and Mashable, founded in 2005 are now going through a rough phase.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Buzzfeed&#39;s revenue has fallen down by 15-20% - from its earlier target of $350 million dollars and has decided to lay off 100 of its 1,700 employees, reports said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Mashable, once valued at $250million is apparently being sold to Ziff Davis, a print-turned-digital publisher, for $50 million after its value dropped by 80%.&nbsp;</p>

<p>BuzzFeed&nbsp;and Mashable were the big kids on the block, who were slowly capturing the younger audience with their viral videos and articles, became massive &#39;SEO&#39; ninjas generating large web traffic as well as ad-revenues.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Their investors included Comcast, Disney and General Atlantic whom they promised huge growth driven by advertising, however, they failed to deliver - all thanks to Facebook and Google.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Facebook and Google are taking a massive toll on digital media companies with their rapid growth and are now ruling digital advertising - their strategies for targeting users strike advertisers as a more efficient, scalable way to reach specific audiences.</p>

<p>In 2017, the two internet giants have snapped up 63 pe rcent of advertising revenue, compared to 58 per cent last year, according to market researcher eMarketer. Next year, they are projected to rake in a 67 percent share.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&ldquo;Advertisers are increasingly demanding more granularity in targeting capabilities to reach consumers. Google and Facebook have positioned themselves at the front of this demand curve,&rdquo; Monica Peart, eMarketer&rsquo;s senior director of forecasting, said in late September.</p>

<p>BuzzFeed&rsquo;s investors include Comcast Corp.&rsquo;s NBCUniversal, which has invested $400 million, Andreessen Horowitz, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, RRE Venturesand Hearst Ventures. NBCU&rsquo;s latest infusion was about a year ago and valued the company at about $1.7 billion.</p>


Facebook and Google are taking a massive toll on digital media companies with their rapid growth and are now ruling digital advertising

Once known to dominate the internet with their online news, videos and social networks - Buzzfeed, founded in 2006, and Mashable, founded in 2005 are now going through a rough phase. Buzzfeed's revenue has fallen down by 15-20% - from its earlier target of $350 million dollars and has decided to lay off 100 of its 1,700 employees, reports said. Mashable, once valued at $250million is apparently being sold to Ziff Davis, a print-turned-digital publisher, for $50 million after its value dropped by 80%. BuzzFeed and Mashable were the big kids on the block, who were slowly capturing the younger audience with their viral videos and articles, became massive 'SEO' ninjas generating large web traffic as well as ad-revenues. Their investors included Comcast, Disney and General Atlantic whom they promised huge growth driven by advertising, however, they failed to deliver - all thanks to Facebook and Google. Facebook and Google are taking a massive toll on digital media companies with their rapid growth and are now ruling digital advertising - their strategies for targeting users strike advertisers as a more efficient, scalable way to reach specific audiences. In 2017, the two internet giants have snapped up 63 pe rcent of advertising revenue, compared to 58 per cent last year, according to market researcher eMarketer. Next year, they are projected to rake in a 67 percent share. “Advertisers are increasingly demanding more granularity in targeting capabilities to reach consumers. Google and Facebook have positioned themselves at the front of this demand curve,” Monica Peart, eMarketer’s senior director of forecasting, said in late September. BuzzFeed’s investors include Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal, which has invested $400 million, Andreessen Horowitz, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, RRE Venturesand Hearst Ventures. NBCU’s latest infusion was about a year ago and valued the company at about $1.7 billion.

BuzzFeed, Mashable struggle as Facebook, Google dominate Net race

<p>The NIA (National Investigation Agency) is claiming that Hadiya&#39;s&nbsp;husband Shafin Jahan was in touch with suspected Islamic State members before their marriage.</p>

<p>Media reports said Monday that Jahan was in touch with a Manseed and a P Safvan via a closed Facebook group of activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI)&#39;s political arm SDPI.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The duo is accused in the ISIS Omar-al-Hindi case which the authorities claim was a conspiracy by members of an Islamic State-inspired group to target high-profile people like political leaders, high court judges, and police officers.</p>

<p>Manseed and P Safvan were arrested in October 2016.</p>

<p>The NIA believes, the media reports said, that it was Manseed and his SDPI associates who brought Hadiya and Shafin together.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/love-jihad-case-woman-says-she-wants-to-be-with-husband-25120" target="_blank">&#39;Love jihad&#39;: Nobody forced me to convert, says Hadiya</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/hadiya-back-in-college-has-only-one-wish-to-meet-husband-25414" target="_blank">Hadiya, back in college, has only one wish -- to meet husband</a></p>

<p>Hadiya, who used to be known as Akhila Ashokan, had converted to Islam and married Shafin.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In May 2017, the Kerala High Court annulled their marriage after Hadiya&#39;s parents challenged it in court.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Later, the Supreme Court ordered the NIA to probe whether their marriage had been an example of &quot;love jihad&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Supreme Court recently released Hadiya from her parents&#39; custody, which she&#39;d been put in by the high court.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/wion-dispatch-indian-supreme-court-removes-hadiya-from-her-parents-custody-6995" target="_blank">Watch: Indian Supreme Court releases Hadiya from parents&#39; custody</a></p>


Shafin Jahan is accused of being in touch with a Manseed and a P Safvan via a closed Facebook group of the Popular Front of India's political arm SDPI

The NIA (National Investigation Agency) is claiming that Hadiya's husband Shafin Jahan was in touch with suspected Islamic State members before their marriage. Media reports said Monday that Jahan was in touch with a Manseed and a P Safvan via a closed Facebook group of activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI)'s political arm SDPI. The duo is accused in the ISIS Omar-al-Hindi case which the authorities claim was a conspiracy by members of an Islamic State-inspired group to target high-profile people like political leaders, high court judges, and police officers. Manseed and P Safvan were arrested in October 2016. The NIA believes, the media reports said, that it was Manseed and his SDPI associates who brought Hadiya and Shafin together. 'Love jihad': Nobody forced me to convert, says Hadiya Hadiya, back in college, has only one wish -- to meet husband Hadiya, who used to be known as Akhila Ashokan, had converted to Islam and married Shafin. In May 2017, the Kerala High Court annulled their marriage after Hadiya's parents challenged it in court. Later, the Supreme Court ordered the NIA to probe whether their marriage had been an example of "love jihad". The Supreme Court recently released Hadiya from her parents' custody, which she'd been put in by the high court. Watch: Indian Supreme Court releases Hadiya from parents' custody

Hadiya's husband was in touch with IS suspects before marriage: NIA

<p>Facebook on Monday unveiled a version of its Messenger application for children, aimed at enabling kids under 12 to connect with others under parental supervision.</p>

<p>Messenger Kids is being rolled out for Apple iOS mobile devices in the United States on a test basis as a standalone video chat and messaging app.</p>

<p>Product manager Loren Cheng said the social network leader is offering Messenger Kids because &quot;there&#39;s a need for a messaging app that lets kids connect with people they love but also has the level&nbsp; of control parents want.&quot;</p>

<p>Facebook said that the new app, with no ads or in-app purchases, is aimed at 6- to 12-year-olds. It enables parents to control the contact list and does not allow children to connect with anyone their parent does not approve.</p>

<p>The social media giant added it designed the app because many children are going online without safeguards.</p>

<p>&quot;Many of us at Facebook are parents ourselves, and it seems we weren&#39;t alone when we realized that our kids were getting online earlier and earlier,&quot; a Facebook statement said.</p>

<p>It cited a study showing that 93 per cent of 6- to 12-year-olds in the US have access to tablets or smartphones, and two-thirds have a smartphone or tablet of their own.</p>

<p>&quot;We want to help ensure the experiences our kids have when using technology are positive, safer, and age-appropriate, and we believe teaching kids how to use technology in positive ways will bring better experiences later as they grow,&quot; the company said.</p>

<p>Facebook&#39;s rules require that children be at least 13 to create an account, but many are believed to get around the restrictions.</p>

<p>Cheng said Facebook conducted its own research and worked with &quot;over a dozen expert advisors&quot; in building the app.</p>

<p>She added that data from children would not be used for ad profiles and that the application would be compliant with the Children&#39;s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA).</p>

<p>&quot;We&#39;ve worked extensively with parents and families to shape Messenger Kids and we&#39;re looking forward to learning and listening as more children and families start to use the iOS preview,&quot; Cheng said.</p>


Messenger Kids is being rolled out for Apple iOS mobile devices in the United States on a test basis as a standalone video chat and messaging app

Facebook on Monday unveiled a version of its Messenger application for children, aimed at enabling kids under 12 to connect with others under parental supervision. Messenger Kids is being rolled out for Apple iOS mobile devices in the United States on a test basis as a standalone video chat and messaging app. Product manager Loren Cheng said the social network leader is offering Messenger Kids because "there's a need for a messaging app that lets kids connect with people they love but also has the level of control parents want." Facebook said that the new app, with no ads or in-app purchases, is aimed at 6- to 12-year-olds. It enables parents to control the contact list and does not allow children to connect with anyone their parent does not approve. The social media giant added it designed the app because many children are going online without safeguards. "Many of us at Facebook are parents ourselves, and it seems we weren't alone when we realized that our kids were getting online earlier and earlier," a Facebook statement said. It cited a study showing that 93 per cent of 6- to 12-year-olds in the US have access to tablets or smartphones, and two-thirds have a smartphone or tablet of their own. "We want to help ensure the experiences our kids have when using technology are positive, safer, and age-appropriate, and we believe teaching kids how to use technology in positive ways will bring better experiences later as they grow," the company said. Facebook's rules require that children be at least 13 to create an account, but many are believed to get around the restrictions. Cheng said Facebook conducted its own research and worked with "over a dozen expert advisors" in building the app. She added that data from children would not be used for ad profiles and that the application would be compliant with the Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA). "We've worked extensively with parents and families to shape Messenger Kids and we're looking forward to learning and listening as more children and families start to use the iOS preview," Cheng said.

Facebook to launch chat app for kids, with parental controls

<p>Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg&#39;s sister Randi Zuckerberg has accused a fellow passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight of sexually harassing her.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The businesswoman and best-selling author of DotComplicated claimed that she felt disgusted and degraded and posted a copy of the letter she sent to the airlines, on Twitter.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Zuckerberg tweeted: &quot;Feeling disgusted &amp; degraded after an @AlaskaAir flight where the passenger next to me made repeated lewd sexual remarks. The flight attendants told me he was a frequent flier, brushed off his behaviour &amp; kept giving him drinks. I guess his $ means more than our safety? My letter:&quot;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Feeling disgusted &amp; degraded after an <a href="https://twitter.com/AlaskaAir?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AlaskaAir</a> flight where the passenger next to me made repeated lewd sexual remarks. The flight attendants told me he was a frequent flier, brushed off his behavior &amp; kept giving him drinks. I guess his $ means more than our safety? My letter: <a href="https://t.co/xOkDpb0dYU">pic.twitter.com/xOkDpb0dYU</a></p>
&mdash; Randi Zuckerberg (@randizuckerberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/randizuckerberg/status/936062601561116672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>She mentioned in the letter that she was in a &#39;very uncomfortable situation&#39; after the fellow passenger made &#39;explicit, lewd and highly offensive sexual comments&#39; to her immediately after boarding the flight.&#39;&nbsp;</p>

<p>She described how the man talked about &#39;touching himself, kept asking her if she fantasized about female business colleagues she was travelling with, rated and commented on women&#39;s bodies boarding the aircraft as they walked by and other such horrifying and offensive comments.&#39;</p>

<p>What was shocking was how the airline staff reacted to Zuckerberg&#39;s complaint.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to her letter, the flight attendant said that &#39;the guy was a frequent Alaska Airlines traveller on the exact route and that they have talked to him about his behaviour in the past. &#39;<br />
They further told her to &#39;not take it personally as the guy does not have a filter&#39;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to the letter, the flight attendant came to their seat multiple times and sweetly asked the passenger with a giggle &quot;Are you behaving today?&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Upon telling the flight attendant that she was uncomfortable, they suggested her to move her seat at the back of the plane.</p>

<p>She furiously lashed out &quot;Why should I have to move?&quot; she said. &quot;I am the one that is being harassed! Why is it the woman that needs to switch seats in this situation? Shouldn&#39;t he have been thrown off the plane?!&quot;</p>

<p>The letter further mentions how Alaska Airlines knowingly and willingly provided the man with a platform to harass women.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Since sharing the letter on twitter it has been retweeted over 12,000 times.</p>

<p>After the letter was sent, the Airline got in touch with her. Zuckerberg tweeted later that day &quot;UPDATE: I just got off the phone with two executives from @AlaskaAir who informed me that they are conducting an investigation and have temporarily suspended this passenger&rsquo;s travel privileges. Thank you for taking this seriously.&quot;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">UPDATE: I just got off the phone with two executives from <a href="https://twitter.com/AlaskaAir?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AlaskaAir</a> who informed me that they are conducting an investigation and have temporarily suspended this passenger&rsquo;s travel privileges. Thank you for taking this seriously.</p>
&mdash; Randi Zuckerberg (@randizuckerberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/randizuckerberg/status/936089081913548800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The businesswoman and best-selling author of DotComplicated claimed that she felt disgusted and degraded and posted a copy of the letter she sent to the airlines

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's sister Randi Zuckerberg has accused a fellow passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight of sexually harassing her. The businesswoman and best-selling author of DotComplicated claimed that she felt disgusted and degraded and posted a copy of the letter she sent to the airlines, on Twitter. Zuckerberg tweeted: "Feeling disgusted & degraded after an @AlaskaAir flight where the passenger next to me made repeated lewd sexual remarks. The flight attendants told me he was a frequent flier, brushed off his behaviour & kept giving him drinks. I guess his $ means more than our safety? My letter:" Feeling disgusted & degraded after an @AlaskaAir flight where the passenger next to me made repeated lewd sexual remarks. The flight attendants told me he was a frequent flier, brushed off his behavior & kept giving him drinks. I guess his $ means more than our safety? My letter: pic.twitter.com/xOkDpb0dYU — Randi Zuckerberg (@randizuckerberg) November 30, 2017 × She mentioned in the letter that she was in a 'very uncomfortable situation' after the fellow passenger made 'explicit, lewd and highly offensive sexual comments' to her immediately after boarding the flight.' She described how the man talked about 'touching himself, kept asking her if she fantasized about female business colleagues she was travelling with, rated and commented on women's bodies boarding the aircraft as they walked by and other such horrifying and offensive comments.' What was shocking was how the airline staff reacted to Zuckerberg's complaint. According to her letter, the flight attendant said that 'the guy was a frequent Alaska Airlines traveller on the exact route and that they have talked to him about his behaviour in the past. ' They further told her to 'not take it personally as the guy does not have a filter'. According to the letter, the flight attendant came to their seat multiple times and sweetly asked the passenger with a giggle "Are you behaving today?" Upon telling the flight attendant that she was uncomfortable, they suggested her to move her seat at the back of the plane. She furiously lashed out "Why should I have to move?" she said. "I am the one that is being harassed! Why is it the woman that needs to switch seats in this situation? Shouldn't he have been thrown off the plane?!" The letter further mentions how Alaska Airlines knowingly and willingly provided the man with a platform to harass women. Since sharing the letter on twitter it has been retweeted over 12,000 times. After the letter was sent, the Airline got in touch with her. Zuckerberg tweeted later that day "UPDATE: I just got off the phone with two executives from @AlaskaAir who informed me that they are conducting an investigation and have temporarily suspended this passenger’s travel privileges. Thank you for taking this seriously." UPDATE: I just got off the phone with two executives from @AlaskaAir who informed me that they are conducting an investigation and have temporarily suspended this passenger’s travel privileges. Thank you for taking this seriously. — Randi Zuckerberg (@randizuckerberg) November 30, 2017 ×

Mark Zuckerberg's sister alleges sexual assault on Alaska Airlines flight

<p>Facebook on Monday said it was stepping up the use of artificial intelligence to identify members of the leading social network who may be thinking of suicide.</p>

<p>Software will look for clues in posts or even in videos being streamed at Facebook Live, then fire off reports to human reviewers and speed up alerts to responders trained to help, according to the social network.</p>

<p>&quot;This approach uses pattern recognition technology to help identify posts and live streams as likely to be expressing thoughts of suicide,&quot; Facebook vice president of product management Guy Rosen said in a blog post.</p>

<p>Signs watched for were said to include texts by people or comments to them, such as someone asking if they are troubled.</p>

<p>Facebook already has tools in place for people to report concerns about friend&#39;s who may be considering self-harm, but the software can speed the process and even detect signs people may overlook.</p>

<p>&quot;There have been terribly tragic events -- like suicides, some live-streamed -- that perhaps could have been prevented if someone had realized what was happening and reported them sooner,&quot; Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said early this year in a post at the social network focused on building global community.</p>

<p>&quot;Artificial intelligence can help provide a better approach.&quot;</p>

<p>Facebook is rolling out the artificial intelligence tool outside the US and planned to make it eventually available everywhere except the European Union, where data usage is restricted by privacy regulations.</p>

<p>Facebook has been collaborating with mental health organizations for about a decade on ways to spot signs users may be suicidal and get them help.</p>


Software will look for clues in posts or even in videos being streamed at Facebook Live, then fire off reports to human reviewers and speed up alerts to responders trained to help

Facebook on Monday said it was stepping up the use of artificial intelligence to identify members of the leading social network who may be thinking of suicide. Software will look for clues in posts or even in videos being streamed at Facebook Live, then fire off reports to human reviewers and speed up alerts to responders trained to help, according to the social network. "This approach uses pattern recognition technology to help identify posts and live streams as likely to be expressing thoughts of suicide," Facebook vice president of product management Guy Rosen said in a blog post. Signs watched for were said to include texts by people or comments to them, such as someone asking if they are troubled. Facebook already has tools in place for people to report concerns about friend's who may be considering self-harm, but the software can speed the process and even detect signs people may overlook. "There have been terribly tragic events -- like suicides, some live-streamed -- that perhaps could have been prevented if someone had realized what was happening and reported them sooner," Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said early this year in a post at the social network focused on building global community. "Artificial intelligence can help provide a better approach." Facebook is rolling out the artificial intelligence tool outside the US and planned to make it eventually available everywhere except the European Union, where data usage is restricted by privacy regulations. Facebook has been collaborating with mental health organizations for about a decade on ways to spot signs users may be suicidal and get them help.

Facebook using artificial intelligence to spot signs of suicide

<p>Facebook Inc will expand its pattern recognition software to other countries after successful tests in the United States to detect users with suicidal intent, the world&#39;s largest social media network said on Monday.</p>

<p>Facebook began testing the software in the United States in March when the company started scanning the text of Facebook posts and comments for phrases that could be signals of an impending suicide.</p>

<p>Facebook has not disclosed many technical details of the program, but the company said its software searches for certain phrases that could be clues, such as the questions &quot;Are you ok?&quot; and &quot;Can I help?&quot;</p>

<p>If the software detects a potential suicide, it alerts a team of Facebook workers who specialize in handling such reports. The system suggests resources to the user or to friends of the person such as a telephone helpline. Facebook workers sometimes call local authorities to intervene.</p>

<p>Guy Rosen, Facebook&#39;s vice president for product management, said the company was beginning to roll out the software outside the United States because the tests have been successful. During the past month, he said, first responders, checked on people more than 100 times after Facebook software detected suicidal intent.</p>

<p>Facebook said it tries to have specialist employees available at any hour to call authorities in local languages.</p>

<p>&quot;Speed really matters. We have to get help to people in real time,&quot; Rosen said.</p>

<p>Last year, when Facebook launched live video broadcasting, videos proliferated of violent acts including suicides and murders, presenting a threat to the company&#39;s image. In May Facebook said it would hire 3,000 more people to monitor videos and other content.</p>

<p>Rosen did not name the countries where Facebook was deploying the software, but he said it would eventually be used worldwide except in the European Union due to sensitivities, which he declined to discuss.</p>

<p>Other tech firms also try to prevent suicides. Google&#39;s search engine displays the phone number for a suicide hotline in response to certain searches.</p>

<p>Facebook knows lots about its 2.1 billion users - data that it uses for targeted advertising - but in general the company has not been known previously to systematically scan conversations for patterns of harmful behavior.</p>

<p>One exception is its efforts to spot suspicious conversations between children and adult sexual predators. Facebook sometimes contacts authorities when its automated screens pick up inappropriate language.</p>

<p>But it may be more difficult for tech firms to justify scanning conversations in other situations, said Ryan Calo, a University of Washington law professor who writes about tech.</p>

<p>&quot;Once you open the door, you might wonder what other kinds of things we would be looking for,&quot; Calo said.</p>

<p>Rosen declined to say if Facebook was considering pattern recognition software in other areas, such as non-sex crimes.</p>


Facebook began testing the software in the United States in March when the company started scanning the text of Facebook posts and comments for phrases that could be signals of an impending suicide

Facebook Inc will expand its pattern recognition software to other countries after successful tests in the United States to detect users with suicidal intent, the world's largest social media network said on Monday. Facebook began testing the software in the United States in March when the company started scanning the text of Facebook posts and comments for phrases that could be signals of an impending suicide. Facebook has not disclosed many technical details of the program, but the company said its software searches for certain phrases that could be clues, such as the questions "Are you ok?" and "Can I help?" If the software detects a potential suicide, it alerts a team of Facebook workers who specialize in handling such reports. The system suggests resources to the user or to friends of the person such as a telephone helpline. Facebook workers sometimes call local authorities to intervene. Guy Rosen, Facebook's vice president for product management, said the company was beginning to roll out the software outside the United States because the tests have been successful. During the past month, he said, first responders, checked on people more than 100 times after Facebook software detected suicidal intent. Facebook said it tries to have specialist employees available at any hour to call authorities in local languages. "Speed really matters. We have to get help to people in real time," Rosen said. Last year, when Facebook launched live video broadcasting, videos proliferated of violent acts including suicides and murders, presenting a threat to the company's image. In May Facebook said it would hire 3,000 more people to monitor videos and other content. Rosen did not name the countries where Facebook was deploying the software, but he said it would eventually be used worldwide except in the European Union due to sensitivities, which he declined to discuss. Other tech firms also try to prevent suicides. Google's search engine displays the phone number for a suicide hotline in response to certain searches. Facebook knows lots about its 2.1 billion users - data that it uses for targeted advertising - but in general the company has not been known previously to systematically scan conversations for patterns of harmful behavior. One exception is its efforts to spot suspicious conversations between children and adult sexual predators. Facebook sometimes contacts authorities when its automated screens pick up inappropriate language. But it may be more difficult for tech firms to justify scanning conversations in other situations, said Ryan Calo, a University of Washington law professor who writes about tech. "Once you open the door, you might wonder what other kinds of things we would be looking for," Calo said. Rosen declined to say if Facebook was considering pattern recognition software in other areas, such as non-sex crimes.

Facebook to expand artificial intelligence to help prevent suicide

<p>Indian superstar Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday paid homage to the victims of the terrorist attack of&nbsp;26/11 and also spoke about&nbsp;terrorism at a memorial event.</p>

<p>Amitabh Bachchan expressed his grief and said, &quot;Nine years ago, on this day these attacks were, to me, a wake-up call. But the question I asked myself was, Wake-up, yes, but wake-up to what? I woke up to a new era of violence, a new kind of violence, a violence that was inflicted by terrorism.&quot;</p>

<p>&quot;Terrorism is not an ideology, it is an act of scaring peaceful people, an act of evoking the fear of sudden, untimely death It is an act of negotiating at the point of a gun,&quot; the actor said.</p>

<p>&quot;Terror does not decide anything. Terror only hopes to establish the bluff that evil can be stronger than natural humanity,&nbsp;that hate is mightier than love.&nbsp;It is now for each one of us to decide if we want our children to accept this evil doctrine. Or, show our children that terror does not have a place in our hearts,&quot; he added.</p>

<p>&quot;Terror does not preserve anything, it is designed to destroy Once unleashed, terror, cannot be stopped by a debate.&nbsp;An act of terror, therefore, is not open to negotiations or to wisdom,&quot; Mr Bachchan said.</p>

<p>Amitabh Bachchan was speaking at the memorial event on terrorism organised by media conclave in partnership with Facebook at the Gateway of India, Mumbai.</p>

<p>Many survivors&#39; also shared their stories of strength and their personal triumph over terror.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Apart from Amitabh Bachchan, censor board chairman Prasoon Joshi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also spoke at the event.</p>

<p>On November 26, 2008, 10 terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out a series of coordinated shooting&nbsp;and bombing attacks across Mumbai.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The attacks lasted for four days and received condemnation from across the world.</p>

<p>166 people were killed and at least 300 people were wounded in the attack.</p>


'Terror does not preserve anything, it is designed to destroy Once unleashed, terror, cannot be stopped by a debate.?An act of terror, therefore, is not open to negotiations or to wisdom,' Mr Bachchan said

Indian superstar Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday paid homage to the victims of the terrorist attack of 26/11 and also spoke about terrorism at a memorial event. Amitabh Bachchan expressed his grief and said, "Nine years ago, on this day these attacks were, to me, a wake-up call. But the question I asked myself was, Wake-up, yes, but wake-up to what? I woke up to a new era of violence, a new kind of violence, a violence that was inflicted by terrorism." "Terrorism is not an ideology, it is an act of scaring peaceful people, an act of evoking the fear of sudden, untimely death It is an act of negotiating at the point of a gun," the actor said. "Terror does not decide anything. Terror only hopes to establish the bluff that evil can be stronger than natural humanity, that hate is mightier than love. It is now for each one of us to decide if we want our children to accept this evil doctrine. Or, show our children that terror does not have a place in our hearts," he added. "Terror does not preserve anything, it is designed to destroy Once unleashed, terror, cannot be stopped by a debate. An act of terror, therefore, is not open to negotiations or to wisdom," Mr Bachchan said. Amitabh Bachchan was speaking at the memorial event on terrorism organised by media conclave in partnership with Facebook at the Gateway of India, Mumbai. Many survivors' also shared their stories of strength and their personal triumph over terror. Apart from Amitabh Bachchan, censor board chairman Prasoon Joshi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also spoke at the event. On November 26, 2008, 10 terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out a series of coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai. The attacks lasted for four days and received condemnation from across the world. 166 people were killed and at least 300 people were wounded in the attack.

26/11 attacks were, to me, a wake-up call, says Amitabh Bachchan

<p>Using Facebook Messenger will now become a lucrative platform for small businesses as Facebook has decided to partner up with bot developer platform ManyChat to launch the first-ever &#39;bot makeover contest&#39;, reports said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The contest is said to have three winners who will each be rewarded $5,000 each in ad credit, will also get a makeover to their Messenger experience as well as get a consultation from experts, Facebook announced in a blog post on Monday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Facebook has reported that around 63% respondents to a Nielsen survey claim that their business through Messenger has increased in the last two years.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The social network further added that more than 330 million users connected with a small or medium-sized business through Messenger in 2017 itself.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to a study by &#39;The Art of Communication: Messages That Matter&#39;, Messenger is the top app used by more than one-half of the population amongst ever age bracket, 58% being its daily users.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Facebook announced that that submission will be open from November 20, 2017, until December 4, 2017, and the winners will be announced in mid-December.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;</p>


The contest is said to have three winners who will each be rewarded $5,000 each in ad credit.

Using Facebook Messenger will now become a lucrative platform for small businesses as Facebook has decided to partner up with bot developer platform ManyChat to launch the first-ever 'bot makeover contest', reports said. The contest is said to have three winners who will each be rewarded $5,000 each in ad credit, will also get a makeover to their Messenger experience as well as get a consultation from experts, Facebook announced in a blog post on Monday. Facebook has reported that around 63% respondents to a Nielsen survey claim that their business through Messenger has increased in the last two years. The social network further added that more than 330 million users connected with a small or medium-sized business through Messenger in 2017 itself. According to a study by 'The Art of Communication: Messages That Matter', Messenger is the top app used by more than one-half of the population amongst ever age bracket, 58% being its daily users. Facebook announced that that submission will be open from November 20, 2017, until December 4, 2017, and the winners will be announced in mid-December.

Facebook launches 'bot makeover contest' for small businesses

<p>Chinese social media and video game giant Tencent became more valuable than Facebook on Tuesday as investors sent the company soaring into the top five of the world&#39;s biggest firms.</p>

<p>Tencent&#39;s Hong Kong-listed shares have doubled in value this year, and on Monday it became the first Asian company with a market capitalisation of half a trillion dollars.</p>

<p>By the end of the trading day on Tuesday, Tencent&#39;s outstanding shares were worth a combined 4.08 trillion Hong Kong dollars ($523 billion), surpassing Facebook&#39;s $519 billion.</p>

<p>Despite its stratospheric climb, Tencent is still some way behind the world&#39;s most valuable company, Apple, which is currently valued at $873 billion.</p>

<p>Last week, Tencent said profit had grown nearly 70 percent in the third quarter, when compared with the same period last year, well outpacing expectations. Its accelerating growth has sent its shares shooting higher in recent days.</p>

<p>Critics say many of China&#39;s tech companies copy the latest idea seen in the US. That has not been the case for Tencent, which has transformed its WeChat smartphone app into a product wholly unlike other social networking applications seen around the world.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Tencent is an enterprise that focuses on innovation,&quot; said Huang Hao, an associate researcher at the National Academy of Economic Strategy of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. &quot;Its product ideas are not simple emulations of those of foreign businesses.&quot;</p>

<p>But it also has a distinct advantage over some of its western peers: Facebook and Twitter are blocked in China, cutting off a market of up to 1.3 billion people.</p>

<p><strong>Cashless society</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The nearly one billion users who flock to Tencent&#39;s WeChat app, and older platform QQ, can chat, post photos, play games, transfer money and pay for a variety of services in China. They exchange 38 billion messages each day.</p>

<p>WeChat has revolutionised China&#39;s tech industry and even daily life for millions of Chinese.&nbsp;</p>

<p>WeChat&#39;s QR codes, which look a lot like a bar code, are ubiquitous in China&#39;s shops and restaurants, and even fruit hawkers and some beggars carry around the scannable codes, allowing them to accept mobile payment.</p>

<p>The Wepay service, along with its competitor made by Alibaba, has helped China jump from a cash-based society to one at the global forefront of mobile payments.</p>

<p>Even the media and publishing sectors have seen changes to how Chinese consume and pay for content, with millions of WeChat accounts publishing content directly to their followers.</p>

<p>That has rubbed up against Chinese censors, who shut down dozens of accounts publishing the latest tidbits of celebrity gossip over the summer.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Another key to Tencent&#39;s success has been its top game, the multi-player online battle &quot;Honour of Kings&quot;, which has been a smash hit that helped Tencent&#39;s revenue from smartphone games surge by 84 percent in the third quarter.</p>

<p>Tencent&#39;s disruption of industries traditionally dominated by the state has also angered a number of behemoths - from the publishing to telecommunications to banking sectors.</p>

<p>These powerful enemies could pose a problem for the tech giant in the future, analysts say.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Most of its profits are obtained by foreign investors,&quot; said Huang of the government research institute.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;The government should face up to this issue and consider the ways to promote the development of entirely national enterprises in the future,&quot; he said.</p>


By the end of the trading day on Tuesday, Tencent's outstanding shares were worth a combined 4.08 trillion Hong Kong dollars ($523 billion), surpassing Facebook's $519 billion

Chinese social media and video game giant Tencent became more valuable than Facebook on Tuesday as investors sent the company soaring into the top five of the world's biggest firms. Tencent's Hong Kong-listed shares have doubled in value this year, and on Monday it became the first Asian company with a market capitalisation of half a trillion dollars. By the end of the trading day on Tuesday, Tencent's outstanding shares were worth a combined 4.08 trillion Hong Kong dollars ($523 billion), surpassing Facebook's $519 billion. Despite its stratospheric climb, Tencent is still some way behind the world's most valuable company, Apple, which is currently valued at $873 billion. Last week, Tencent said profit had grown nearly 70 percent in the third quarter, when compared with the same period last year, well outpacing expectations. Its accelerating growth has sent its shares shooting higher in recent days. Critics say many of China's tech companies copy the latest idea seen in the US. That has not been the case for Tencent, which has transformed its WeChat smartphone app into a product wholly unlike other social networking applications seen around the world. "Tencent is an enterprise that focuses on innovation," said Huang Hao, an associate researcher at the National Academy of Economic Strategy of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "Its product ideas are not simple emulations of those of foreign businesses." But it also has a distinct advantage over some of its western peers: Facebook and Twitter are blocked in China, cutting off a market of up to 1.3 billion people. Cashless society The nearly one billion users who flock to Tencent's WeChat app, and older platform QQ, can chat, post photos, play games, transfer money and pay for a variety of services in China. They exchange 38 billion messages each day. WeChat has revolutionised China's tech industry and even daily life for millions of Chinese. WeChat's QR codes, which look a lot like a bar code, are ubiquitous in China's shops and restaurants, and even fruit hawkers and some beggars carry around the scannable codes, allowing them to accept mobile payment. The Wepay service, along with its competitor made by Alibaba, has helped China jump from a cash-based society to one at the global forefront of mobile payments. Even the media and publishing sectors have seen changes to how Chinese consume and pay for content, with millions of WeChat accounts publishing content directly to their followers. That has rubbed up against Chinese censors, who shut down dozens of accounts publishing the latest tidbits of celebrity gossip over the summer. Another key to Tencent's success has been its top game, the multi-player online battle "Honour of Kings", which has been a smash hit that helped Tencent's revenue from smartphone games surge by 84 percent in the third quarter. Tencent's disruption of industries traditionally dominated by the state has also angered a number of behemoths - from the publishing to telecommunications to banking sectors. These powerful enemies could pose a problem for the tech giant in the future, analysts say. "Most of its profits are obtained by foreign investors," said Huang of the government research institute. "The government should face up to this issue and consider the ways to promote the development of entirely national enterprises in the future," he said.

China social media giant Tencent becomes more valuable than Facebook

<p>In the past week, Silicon Valley has faced renewed calls for greater regulation of social media platforms amid the growing scandal of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.</p>

<p>Given rising awareness of the serious problems inherent within U.S. internet giants&rsquo; business models, it&rsquo;s an opportune time to discuss how best to regulate these companies.</p>

<p>I&rsquo;m a researcher who studies regulation on the internet. For my book, Chokepoints: Global Private Regulation on the Internet, I&rsquo;ve interviewed representatives from internet firms and their trade associations, along with policymakers in Canada and the U.S. in regards to what responsibility intermediaries should have for content on their platforms.</p>

<p>Internet intermediaries typically frame their opposition to legislation as protecting freedom of expression, but no right of speech is absolute. This debate is a battle over the control over information: What data should be collected and sold, what content should be permitted online, and who should decide?</p>

<p>Last week the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee grilled senior legal counsel for Facebook, Google and Twitter about their roles in Russian efforts to influence the U.S. election.</p>

<p>In a startling development, after months of denying and downplaying their responsibility, executives from each of the three companies grudgingly admitted that they had not yet determined the full extent of Russian activities on their platforms.</p>

<p>The executives&rsquo; testimony starkly reveals that the companies have few controls on the advertisements and so-called &ldquo;fake news&rdquo; that they accept on their platforms.</p>

<p>These candid admissions from the social media giants focus much-needed attention on the serious problems inherent in big intermediaries&rsquo; data-intensive business models.</p>

<p><strong>Few safeguards, financial interest in status quo</strong></p>

<p>As the U.S. election scandal shows, big social media platforms not only have few safeguards to prevent the deliberate manipulation of information, but they also have financial interests in maintaining the status quo. Unfettered flows of information and unconstrained advertising revenue are key to their business models. And this model is tremendously profitable.</p>

<p>Facebook&rsquo;s third-quarter profit was an astounding US$4.7 billion, the vast majority coming from advertisements relating to its 1.3 billion average daily users. Viral stories, whether factual or false, attract clicks and advertising revenue.</p>

<p>Given the seemingly intractable challenges of regulating social media platforms, what can be done? In the United States, three members of Congress have proposed a bipartisan response, the Honest Ads Act, that would require platforms to publish information about their advertisers and maintain a public archive of political advertisements.</p>

<p>This is a step in the right direction, and the Canadian government should consider similar measures in advance of the 2019 federal election. Facebook has already announced a program, the Canadian Election Integrity Initiative, to counter the spread of misinformation that focuses on media literacy and training.</p>

<p><strong>Deliberate misinformation</strong></p>

<p>While these projects appear useful, they likely will do little to address the underlying problem: The bad-faith spread of online misinformation. That&rsquo;s because the fundamental problem lies with Facebook&rsquo;s business model. Efforts to constrain the flow of information, especially information that generates advertising revenue, are contrary to their business model.</p>

<p>Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who initially dismissed claims of Russian interference as &ldquo;crazy&rdquo; just after the 2016 U.S. election, said on Nov. 1 that Facebook&rsquo;s new security features to counter so-called fake news will have a &ldquo;significant impact our profitability.&rdquo;</p>

<p>While the big platforms can afford to take a financial hit to restore their reputations and work to get rid of the worst offenders, they can&rsquo;t fully solve the problem without fundamentally changing how &mdash; and with whom &mdash; they do business.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/file-20171106-1017-774va4-20171117092609.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
<p>Facebook ads linked to a Russian effort to stir tensions on divisive social issues during the U.S. election campaign. (AP)</p>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>In response to what has become a fundamental challenge to the survival of liberal democracy, Facebook, Twitter and Google have all committed to voluntarily implementing measures to address the spread of misinformation and targeting accounts that troll other users with often bigoted, racist content.</p>

<p>Google, for example, is creating a public database of election advertising content that appears on its services. These companies prefer self-regulation to legislation and they&rsquo;ve lobbied the U.S Federal Election Commission in the past to have online political advertising exempt from disclosure. It&rsquo;s only the political pressure from the Senate inquiry that is forcing these platforms into action.</p>

<p><strong>Internet companies, algorithms are black boxes</strong></p>

<p>While these developments may seem like attempts by these major companies to be responsible, they amount to Google et al saying: &ldquo;Trust us to fix the problem we created.&rdquo;</p>

<p>However, while Google, Facebook and Twitter are all creating algorithms to, in the words of Zuckerberg, &ldquo;detect bad content and bad actors,&rdquo; these algorithms operate as so-called &ldquo;black boxes.&rdquo; This means that the criteria the algorithms use to make decisions are off-limits to public scrutiny.</p>

<p>Is &ldquo;trust us&rdquo; a good enough response, given the problem? With so much at stake, it may be time for a fundamental rethink of how these indispensable 21st-century companies are regulated and what they&rsquo;re allowed to do.</p>

<p>At the very minimum, governments and citizens should reconsider whether the lack of oversight into how these companies shape our speech rights is really in the public interest.</p>

<p>Social media platforms &ldquo;are an enabler of democracy,&rdquo; says Margrethe Vestager, the European Union&rsquo;s Commissioner for Competition, but we&rsquo;re seeing that &ldquo;they can also be used against our very basic beliefs in democracy.&rdquo;</p>

<p>It&rsquo;s time to start taking that threat to democracy seriously.</p>

<p>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/regulate-social-media-platforms-before-its-too-late-86984" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.</p>


In a fight for the global flow of information, social media firms must be regulated. Their billions of dollars in revenue put their financial interests in conflict with truth and democracy

In the past week, Silicon Valley has faced renewed calls for greater regulation of social media platforms amid the growing scandal of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Given rising awareness of the serious problems inherent within U.S. internet giants’ business models, it’s an opportune time to discuss how best to regulate these companies. I’m a researcher who studies regulation on the internet. For my book, Chokepoints: Global Private Regulation on the Internet, I’ve interviewed representatives from internet firms and their trade associations, along with policymakers in Canada and the U.S. in regards to what responsibility intermediaries should have for content on their platforms. Internet intermediaries typically frame their opposition to legislation as protecting freedom of expression, but no right of speech is absolute. This debate is a battle over the control over information: What data should be collected and sold, what content should be permitted online, and who should decide? Last week the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee grilled senior legal counsel for Facebook, Google and Twitter about their roles in Russian efforts to influence the U.S. election. In a startling development, after months of denying and downplaying their responsibility, executives from each of the three companies grudgingly admitted that they had not yet determined the full extent of Russian activities on their platforms. The executives’ testimony starkly reveals that the companies have few controls on the advertisements and so-called “fake news” that they accept on their platforms. These candid admissions from the social media giants focus much-needed attention on the serious problems inherent in big intermediaries’ data-intensive business models. Few safeguards, financial interest in status quo As the U.S. election scandal shows, big social media platforms not only have few safeguards to prevent the deliberate manipulation of information, but they also have financial interests in maintaining the status quo. Unfettered flows of information and unconstrained advertising revenue are key to their business models. And this model is tremendously profitable. Facebook’s third-quarter profit was an astounding US$4.7 billion, the vast majority coming from advertisements relating to its 1.3 billion average daily users. Viral stories, whether factual or false, attract clicks and advertising revenue. Given the seemingly intractable challenges of regulating social media platforms, what can be done? In the United States, three members of Congress have proposed a bipartisan response, the Honest Ads Act, that would require platforms to publish information about their advertisers and maintain a public archive of political advertisements. This is a step in the right direction, and the Canadian government should consider similar measures in advance of the 2019 federal election. Facebook has already announced a program, the Canadian Election Integrity Initiative, to counter the spread of misinformation that focuses on media literacy and training. Deliberate misinformation While these projects appear useful, they likely will do little to address the underlying problem: The bad-faith spread of online misinformation. That’s because the fundamental problem lies with Facebook’s business model. Efforts to constrain the flow of information, especially information that generates advertising revenue, are contrary to their business model. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who initially dismissed claims of Russian interference as “crazy” just after the 2016 U.S. election, said on Nov. 1 that Facebook’s new security features to counter so-called fake news will have a “significant impact our profitability.” While the big platforms can afford to take a financial hit to restore their reputations and work to get rid of the worst offenders, they can’t fully solve the problem without fundamentally changing how — and with whom — they do business. Facebook ads linked to a Russian effort to stir tensions on divisive social issues during the U.S. election campaign. (AP) × In response to what has become a fundamental challenge to the survival of liberal democracy, Facebook, Twitter and Google have all committed to voluntarily implementing measures to address the spread of misinformation and targeting accounts that troll other users with often bigoted, racist content. Google, for example, is creating a public database of election advertising content that appears on its services. These companies prefer self-regulation to legislation and they’ve lobbied the U.S Federal Election Commission in the past to have online political advertising exempt from disclosure. It’s only the political pressure from the Senate inquiry that is forcing these platforms into action. Internet companies, algorithms are black boxes While these developments may seem like attempts by these major companies to be responsible, they amount to Google et al saying: “Trust us to fix the problem we created.” However, while Google, Facebook and Twitter are all creating algorithms to, in the words of Zuckerberg, “detect bad content and bad actors,” these algorithms operate as so-called “black boxes.” This means that the criteria the algorithms use to make decisions are off-limits to public scrutiny. Is “trust us” a good enough response, given the problem? With so much at stake, it may be time for a fundamental rethink of how these indispensable 21st-century companies are regulated and what they’re allowed to do. At the very minimum, governments and citizens should reconsider whether the lack of oversight into how these companies shape our speech rights is really in the public interest. Social media platforms “are an enabler of democracy,” says Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s Commissioner for Competition, but we’re seeing that “they can also be used against our very basic beliefs in democracy.” It’s time to start taking that threat to democracy seriously. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Why social media needs to be regulated urgently

<p>Facebook has decided to test &quot;Marketplace&quot;, a facility will link&nbsp;buyers and sellers in India, reports say.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Marketplace&quot;&nbsp;is a service which connects buyers and sellers, without charging anything&nbsp;and it makes reselling goods via mobiles or computers a&nbsp;seamless affair.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Indian users mostly engage in selling or buying jewellery and accessories, household goods, electronics, and apparel, a media report said. Facebook has decided not to create any particular categories as yet, hoping that once people start listing their products the categories will be formed.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Karandeep Anand, director,&nbsp;product management, Facebook, said that most Indians use social media platforms to &quot;buy or sell products&quot;. With the use of marketplace, Facebook aims to create an easier &quot;user experience, motivate people to engage&quot;&nbsp;and add &quot;economic activity locally.&quot;</p>

<p>Over 550 million Facebook users visit different groups on the page - which sell or buy items, globally. Thus, making up for a quarter of its 2 billion active monthly users. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Anand asserts that sellers are common people like students, artisans or NGOs. Therefore, instead of building a full-fledged e-commerce environment, Facebook aims to target its users and further present better tools.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Facebook also intends to provide&nbsp;tools related to privacy in order to limit information given by users, and also introduce&nbsp;machine learning which prohibits users from listing products like guns, cigarettes, alcohol and such items. Users will also be able to report fake accounts or ban items.</p>


Facebook is looking into new grounds and has decided to test Marketplace, a facility linking buyers and sellers in India, reports say.?

Facebook has decided to test "Marketplace", a facility will link buyers and sellers in India, reports say. "Marketplace" is a service which connects buyers and sellers, without charging anything and it makes reselling goods via mobiles or computers a seamless affair. Indian users mostly engage in selling or buying jewellery and accessories, household goods, electronics, and apparel, a media report said. Facebook has decided not to create any particular categories as yet, hoping that once people start listing their products the categories will be formed. Karandeep Anand, director, product management, Facebook, said that most Indians use social media platforms to "buy or sell products". With the use of marketplace, Facebook aims to create an easier "user experience, motivate people to engage" and add "economic activity locally." Over 550 million Facebook users visit different groups on the page - which sell or buy items, globally. Thus, making up for a quarter of its 2 billion active monthly users. Anand asserts that sellers are common people like students, artisans or NGOs. Therefore, instead of building a full-fledged e-commerce environment, Facebook aims to target its users and further present better tools. Facebook also intends to provide tools related to privacy in order to limit information given by users, and also introduce machine learning which prohibits users from listing products like guns, cigarettes, alcohol and such items. Users will also be able to report fake accounts or ban items.

Facebook may compete with Olx, Quikr: Report

<p>Facebook&rsquo;s latest attempt to tackle the non-consensual sharing of sexual pictures (often known as &ldquo;revenge porn&rdquo;) appeared so wrong-headed that at first, it seemed like a joke. But the social network has made clear its system of asking users to send in explicit images that they don&rsquo;t want to appear on the site is a real pilot programme being tested in Australia.</p>

<p>Facebook&rsquo;s motivation is right and proper: To help women (and men) worried that their ex-partners may shame or manipulate them by uploading sexual images taken during the relationship. This unwanted sharing can have devastating consequences. Even the threat that the images could be shared can be used by controlling, violent abusers to force their victims into line, as has been recognised by a new Scottish law to criminalise this.</p>

<p>To prevent people falling victim to this practice, users are urged to use Facebook&rsquo;s Messenger app to send themselves any pictures at risk of being shared. Facebook will then &ldquo;hash&rdquo; the image, creating a numerical fingerprint of it. The picture itself can then be deleted and Facebook has said images will not be stored permanently on their servers. When another Facebook user uploads a picture, it will be run through the database of hashes. If it matches an image in the database, it will be blocked and cannot be posted or shared on Facebook.</p>

<p>Would this work? If a picture uploaded by a vengeful ex is identical to the one uploaded by their frightened victim then yes, it will be blocked. But there is nothing to stop the ex-uploading it to another site and linking to it on Facebook, even if it wouldn&rsquo;t appear on Facebook itself.</p>

<p>But what if the ex-realises why they have been blocked and changes the picture slightly? Hashes work for identical pictures. Alex Stamos, chief security officer for Facebook, said that simple changes like re-sizing should not fool the hash. It&rsquo;s not clear whether cropping it, adding a filter or scribbling on the background will create a different hash that will fail to match.</p>

<p>The security implications surrounding this are significant. First, just sending an image is a risk. The user is creating a copy of the photo that could be hacked or intercepted, especially if their phone or computer is stolen. Then there is the possibility of human error by the user. It seems likely at least some people will accidentally send the images to someone else in their contact list instead of to themselves.</p>

<p>Finally, there is the enormous issue of how far we can trust Facebook and its staff. This is a small pilot and is likely to be run to tight standards. But further issues will likely appear if it is scaled up. In order to create a hash, the picture has to be seen by a member of Facebook&rsquo;s staff. Antigone Davis, Facebook&rsquo;s global head of safety, says the images will only be seen by &ldquo;a specially trained representative from our community operations team&rdquo;. Doubtless in the pilot, these people will be well vetted.</p>

<p>But if this was to be rolled out to Facebook&rsquo;s billion-strong community of users, this team would have to be enormously expanded. The mind-bending work of ill-paid, ill-trained and replaceable community moderators has been well documented. These people, tempted by the idea of a first-rung on a career as a fashionable company, can be traumatised by the endless viewing of horrific pictures of animal cruelty, car crashes and sexual violence, and often burn out within months.</p>

<p>Can Facebook guarantee that these photos, trustingly uploaded by desperate people trying to break free from damaging relationships, will only be seen by responsible staff? Or will they, over time, be farmed out to subcontractors, trainees and people who are themselves damaged by constant exposure to violence and sex online. However good Facebook&rsquo;s own security is, there would be little to stop a disgruntled, bored or malicious employee simply taking pictures of their screen with their phone and uploading them to another site.</p>

<p>Then there is the corporation itself. The company has a long history of controversial changes to its terms and conditions, including how they use and retain users&rsquo; data, even after people have quit the platform. They have fought court cases brought by revenge porn victims who feel failed by the system, in one case by a British 14-year-old.</p>

<p>This is a well-meaning initiative, but it&rsquo;s just not clear that we can trust this commercial organisation to make the right decisions about how they hold this most sensitive data. Stamos has complained that the company gets criticised for imperfect solutions. It&rsquo;s true that partial solutions are better than none, and those pre-emptive solutions are better than clean-ups when the damage is done. But this is a solution that carries its own risk.</p>

<p>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/facebook-wants-your-nude-photos-to-prevent-revenge-porn-heres-why-you-should-be-sceptical-87390" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.</p>

<p>Image Credit:&nbsp;Shutterstock</p>


Facebook attempts to tackle the non-consensual sharing of sexual pictures but it appears to be an imperfect solution

Facebook’s latest attempt to tackle the non-consensual sharing of sexual pictures (often known as “revenge porn”) appeared so wrong-headed that at first, it seemed like a joke. But the social network has made clear its system of asking users to send in explicit images that they don’t want to appear on the site is a real pilot programme being tested in Australia. Facebook’s motivation is right and proper: To help women (and men) worried that their ex-partners may shame or manipulate them by uploading sexual images taken during the relationship. This unwanted sharing can have devastating consequences. Even the threat that the images could be shared can be used by controlling, violent abusers to force their victims into line, as has been recognised by a new Scottish law to criminalise this. To prevent people falling victim to this practice, users are urged to use Facebook’s Messenger app to send themselves any pictures at risk of being shared. Facebook will then “hash” the image, creating a numerical fingerprint of it. The picture itself can then be deleted and Facebook has said images will not be stored permanently on their servers. When another Facebook user uploads a picture, it will be run through the database of hashes. If it matches an image in the database, it will be blocked and cannot be posted or shared on Facebook. Would this work? If a picture uploaded by a vengeful ex is identical to the one uploaded by their frightened victim then yes, it will be blocked. But there is nothing to stop the ex-uploading it to another site and linking to it on Facebook, even if it wouldn’t appear on Facebook itself. But what if the ex-realises why they have been blocked and changes the picture slightly? Hashes work for identical pictures. Alex Stamos, chief security officer for Facebook, said that simple changes like re-sizing should not fool the hash. It’s not clear whether cropping it, adding a filter or scribbling on the background will create a different hash that will fail to match. The security implications surrounding this are significant. First, just sending an image is a risk. The user is creating a copy of the photo that could be hacked or intercepted, especially if their phone or computer is stolen. Then there is the possibility of human error by the user. It seems likely at least some people will accidentally send the images to someone else in their contact list instead of to themselves. Finally, there is the enormous issue of how far we can trust Facebook and its staff. This is a small pilot and is likely to be run to tight standards. But further issues will likely appear if it is scaled up. In order to create a hash, the picture has to be seen by a member of Facebook’s staff. Antigone Davis, Facebook’s global head of safety, says the images will only be seen by “a specially trained representative from our community operations team”. Doubtless in the pilot, these people will be well vetted. But if this was to be rolled out to Facebook’s billion-strong community of users, this team would have to be enormously expanded. The mind-bending work of ill-paid, ill-trained and replaceable community moderators has been well documented. These people, tempted by the idea of a first-rung on a career as a fashionable company, can be traumatised by the endless viewing of horrific pictures of animal cruelty, car crashes and sexual violence, and often burn out within months. Can Facebook guarantee that these photos, trustingly uploaded by desperate people trying to break free from damaging relationships, will only be seen by responsible staff? Or will they, over time, be farmed out to subcontractors, trainees and people who are themselves damaged by constant exposure to violence and sex online. However good Facebook’s own security is, there would be little to stop a disgruntled, bored or malicious employee simply taking pictures of their screen with their phone and uploading them to another site. Then there is the corporation itself. The company has a long history of controversial changes to its terms and conditions, including how they use and retain users’ data, even after people have quit the platform. They have fought court cases brought by revenge porn victims who feel failed by the system, in one case by a British 14-year-old. This is a well-meaning initiative, but it’s just not clear that we can trust this commercial organisation to make the right decisions about how they hold this most sensitive data. Stamos has complained that the company gets criticised for imperfect solutions. It’s true that partial solutions are better than none, and those pre-emptive solutions are better than clean-ups when the damage is done. But this is a solution that carries its own risk. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Facebook wants your nude photos to prevent 'revenge porn' - but be careful

<p>Facebook is banned in China but the country uses the social networking website outside of its borders, a New York Times report said Thursday, to spread &quot;state-produced propaganda&quot;.</p>

<p>The New York Times report said the Chinese government, through its state media agencies, spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each quarter to buy Facebook ads.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The report added that China is Facebook&#39;s biggest advertising market in Asia, even as the service remains proscribed within the country.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Foreign powers&#39; use of Facebook and other social media is in the spotlight in the US with President Donald Trump currently visiting China and with America currently investigating whether Russia had swayed the 2016 presidential election.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/china-usa-can-solve-world-problems-together-trump-says-23813" target="_blank">Also read: China, USA can solve world problems together, Trump says</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-urges-china-russia-to-act-fast-on-north-korea-23791" target="_blank">Also read: Trump urges China &amp; Russia to act fast on North Korea, warns &#39;time is quickly running out&#39;</a></p>

<p>Last week, the report said, executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter were grilled in Washington about Russia&#39;s use of technolgoy to sway voters during the 2016 presidential elections.&nbsp;</p>

<p>During the hearing, Facebook was asked if China too had used the social networking website to sway American voters.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Facebook&rsquo;s general counsel replied that, to his knowledge, it had not.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Facebook is just as keen on China as the New York Times report says the country is on the social networking site.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has spent years courting Facebook.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Times report said Facebook executives even set up a page to show CCTV, &quot;one of Beijing&rsquo;s chief propaganda outlets&quot;, how to use the platform during President Xi Jinping&rsquo;s 2015 trip to the United States.</p>

<p>The report said &quot;a look at the Facebook pages of China Central Television, the leading state-owned broadcast network better known as CCTV, and Xinhua, China&rsquo;s official news agency, reveals hundreds of English-language posts intended for an English-speaking audience&quot;.</p>

<p>The Times report said China&#39;s use of propaganda on Facebook and other social media is nowhere near as subtle as Russia&#39;s but that their &quot;techniques are nonetheless instructive&quot;.</p>

<p>It said that China does not post divisive advertisements on Facebook, but instead does what it does at home -- &quot;replicate the sort of news propaganda delivered at home: articles stressing China&rsquo;s stability and prosperity mixed with posts highlighting chaos and violence in the rest of the world&quot;.</p>

<p>&quot;A similar blend of stories &mdash; pandas and idyllic Chinese landscapes next to heavy coverage of the mass shooting in Texas &mdash; has proliferated across China&rsquo;s official Facebook channels in the lead-up to Mr. Trump&rsquo;s visit to Beijing, which began on Wednesday,&quot; the Times report said.</p>

<p>&quot;While much of it is unlikely to sway the average American&rsquo;s mind, such posts reach people across the world, many of whom are newer to the internet and may have a less sophisticated understanding of media. China&rsquo;s state media has Facebook channels dedicated to Africa and other regions of the world, and it seems evident that it is offering itself as an alternative to the Western media for a more global audience.&quot; the Times report added.</p>

<p><br />
&nbsp;</p>


China is Facebook's biggest advertising market in Asia, even as the service remains proscribed within the country

Facebook is banned in China but the country uses the social networking website outside of its borders, a New York Times report said Thursday, to spread "state-produced propaganda". The New York Times report said the Chinese government, through its state media agencies, spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each quarter to buy Facebook ads. The report added that China is Facebook's biggest advertising market in Asia, even as the service remains proscribed within the country. Foreign powers' use of Facebook and other social media is in the spotlight in the US with President Donald Trump currently visiting China and with America currently investigating whether Russia had swayed the 2016 presidential election. Also read: China, USA can solve world problems together, Trump says Also read: Trump urges China & Russia to act fast on North Korea, warns 'time is quickly running out' Last week, the report said, executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter were grilled in Washington about Russia's use of technolgoy to sway voters during the 2016 presidential elections. During the hearing, Facebook was asked if China too had used the social networking website to sway American voters. Facebook’s general counsel replied that, to his knowledge, it had not. Facebook is just as keen on China as the New York Times report says the country is on the social networking site. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has spent years courting Facebook. The Times report said Facebook executives even set up a page to show CCTV, "one of Beijing’s chief propaganda outlets", how to use the platform during President Xi Jinping’s 2015 trip to the United States. The report said "a look at the Facebook pages of China Central Television, the leading state-owned broadcast network better known as CCTV, and Xinhua, China’s official news agency, reveals hundreds of English-language posts intended for an English-speaking audience". The Times report said China's use of propaganda on Facebook and other social media is nowhere near as subtle as Russia's but that their "techniques are nonetheless instructive". It said that China does not post divisive advertisements on Facebook, but instead does what it does at home -- "replicate the sort of news propaganda delivered at home: articles stressing China’s stability and prosperity mixed with posts highlighting chaos and violence in the rest of the world". "A similar blend of stories — pandas and idyllic Chinese landscapes next to heavy coverage of the mass shooting in Texas — has proliferated across China’s official Facebook channels in the lead-up to Mr. Trump’s visit to Beijing, which began on Wednesday," the Times report said. "While much of it is unlikely to sway the average American’s mind, such posts reach people across the world, many of whom are newer to the internet and may have a less sophisticated understanding of media. China’s state media has Facebook channels dedicated to Africa and other regions of the world, and it seems evident that it is offering itself as an alternative to the Western media for a more global audience." the Times report added.

Facebook banned in China but it uses it elsewhere to spread 'state-produced propaganda': NYT

<p>Twitter has&nbsp;increased the word limit for its users to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-to-double-tweet-limit-to-280-characters-23698" target="_blank">280 characters</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The social networking site initiated the move to draw more users.</p>

<p>Twitterati reacted to the extension of the word limit.</p>

<p>Many of them were quite happy to see the extension.</p>

<p>However, some users were not satisfied and demanded an edit button.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">All we wanted was an edit button<br />
All we wanted was an edit button<br />
All we wanted was an edit button<br />
All we wanted was an edit button<br />
All we wanted was an edit button<br />
All we wanted was an edit button<br />
All we wanted was an edit button<br />
All we wanted was an edit button<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/280characters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#280characters</a></p>
&mdash; KEEPER (@Sushimibelle) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sushimibelle/status/928145807030730752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Voters today chose<br />
-2 new Democratic governors<br />
-2 black lieutenant governors<br />
-2 transgender officials<br />
-A Black Lives Matter lawyer as DA in Philly<br />
-A Sikh mayor in Hoboken<br />
-A socialist in Virginia<br />
-To oust GOP mayor in Atlantic City<br />
-And to expand Medicaid in Maine<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/280characters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#280characters</a></p>
&mdash; Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) <a href="https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/928118303419224064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">When you realise that Twitter increases it&#39;s character limit to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/280characters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#280characters</a>. <a href="https://t.co/3wjSTX7D6T">pic.twitter.com/3wjSTX7D6T</a></p>
&mdash; Viral Ramesh (@viralramesh) <a href="https://twitter.com/viralramesh/status/928168684102799360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">When you wake up and see <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/280characters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#280characters</a> trending on twitter and u know you don&#39;t need to delete dots and commas anymore to fit in 140 characters. <a href="https://t.co/ZQ68cwbGSI">pic.twitter.com/ZQ68cwbGSI</a></p>
&mdash; Rehegoo Music (@RehegooMusic) <a href="https://twitter.com/RehegooMusic/status/928176977743400960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/280characters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#280characters</a> vs 140 is a good analogy of financial needs vs wants.<br />
<br />
Just because I have $280 doesn&#39;t mean I must spend all $280.</p>
&mdash; thatwasntme (@yours_heidi) <a href="https://twitter.com/yours_heidi/status/928154884406497280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">My friend slept in class. I took his phone and changed my name in his contacts to &ldquo;dad&rdquo; then I texted him &ldquo; son, I just won 500 million dollars in the lottery. We are rich now. You don&rsquo;t have to go to school anymore!&rdquo;<br />
~~THREAD~~<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/280characters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#280characters</a><br />
??????????????</p>
&mdash; Total Man (@Omoso_Omoso) <a href="https://twitter.com/Omoso_Omoso/status/928163061424369666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Happy <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/280characters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#280characters</a> everyone!<br />
<br />
Enjoy typing nonsense twice as much! ??<br />
<br />
We&#39;re free!<br />
<br />
WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ??</p>
&mdash; Shyning77 (@Shyning77) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shyning77/status/928182007351402496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Don&#39;t reply with &quot;k&quot; you now have <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/280Characters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#280Characters</a></p>
&mdash; Nompumelelo (@Mpumi_Can) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mpumi_Can/status/928180046333964293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I think today should be marked <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/280characters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#280characters</a> day. <a href="https://t.co/cNaTWgUt2c">pic.twitter.com/cNaTWgUt2c</a></p>
&mdash; Henry Eyo&trade; (@MeetHenryEyo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MeetHenryEyo/status/928179812811845632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>Initially, Twitter allowed its users just 140 characters which were not enough for its users to express their opinions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Twitter had started testing the increase of its word limit in early September.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The word limit has been increased to all languages except for Japanese, Korean and Chinese as these languages did not have any space limitation.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The social networking site has been trying to modify its features to attract more users and <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/twitter-says-it-could-turn-first-ever-profit-shares-surge-23009" target="_blank">compete with the leading media sites</a>.</p>

<p>Twitter is also working on introducing <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/saveforlater-twitter-to-soon-introduce-bookmarking-feature-21248" target="_blank">&#39;Save For Later&#39;</a>&nbsp;feature to bookmark posts for its users.&nbsp;</p>


The social networking site initiated the move to draw more users

Twitter has increased the word limit for its users to 280 characters. The social networking site initiated the move to draw more users. Twitterati reacted to the extension of the word limit. Many of them were quite happy to see the extension. However, some users were not satisfied and demanded an edit button. All we wanted was an edit button All we wanted was an edit button All we wanted was an edit button All we wanted was an edit button All we wanted was an edit button All we wanted was an edit button All we wanted was an edit button All we wanted was an edit button#280characters — KEEPER (@Sushimibelle) November 8, 2017 × Voters today chose -2 new Democratic governors -2 black lieutenant governors -2 transgender officials -A Black Lives Matter lawyer as DA in Philly -A Sikh mayor in Hoboken -A socialist in Virginia -To oust GOP mayor in Atlantic City -And to expand Medicaid in Maine#280characters — Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) November 8, 2017 × When you realise that Twitter increases it's character limit to #280characters. pic.twitter.com/3wjSTX7D6T — Viral Ramesh (@viralramesh) November 8, 2017 × When you wake up and see #280characters trending on twitter and u know you don't need to delete dots and commas anymore to fit in 140 characters. pic.twitter.com/ZQ68cwbGSI — Rehegoo Music (@RehegooMusic) November 8, 2017 × #280characters vs 140 is a good analogy of financial needs vs wants. Just because I have $280 doesn't mean I must spend all $280. — thatwasntme (@yours_heidi) November 8, 2017 × My friend slept in class. I took his phone and changed my name in his contacts to “dad” then I texted him “ son, I just won 500 million dollars in the lottery. We are rich now. You don’t have to go to school anymore!” ~~THREAD~~#280characters ?????????????? — Total Man (@Omoso_Omoso) November 8, 2017 × Happy #280characters everyone! Enjoy typing nonsense twice as much! ?? We're free! WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ?? — Shyning77 (@Shyning77) November 8, 2017 × Don't reply with "k" you now have #280Characters — Nompumelelo (@Mpumi_Can) November 8, 2017 × I think today should be marked #280characters day. pic.twitter.com/cNaTWgUt2c — Henry Eyo™ (@MeetHenryEyo) November 8, 2017 × Initially, Twitter allowed its users just 140 characters which were not enough for its users to express their opinions. Twitter had started testing the increase of its word limit in early September. The word limit has been increased to all languages except for Japanese, Korean and Chinese as these languages did not have any space limitation. The social networking site has been trying to modify its features to attract more users and compete with the leading media sites. Twitter is also working on introducing 'Save For Later' feature to bookmark posts for its users.

Twitterati welcomes 280 characters in Twitter

<p>The internet is a wonderful place to be in. It takes you to places, teaches you new words, makes you learn new skills and brings you closer to people who you admire and idolise. But as the world shrinks into your palmtop, and becomes an integral part of your daily life, it also gives you an abnormal power to meddle and snoop in. The ever-booming world of the internet also draws a lot of unwarranted attention.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>Celebrities open up about their lives and their work - they not only get a lot of love and adulation but also a lot of unnecessary opinions that perhaps they can do without.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Celebrities open up about their lives and their work - they not only get a lot of love and adulation but also a lot of unnecessary opinions that perhaps they can do without." target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

<p>Take the recent cases of Milind Soman and Deepika Padukone. Two absolutely gorgeous, talented and successful people - they enjoy an enormous fan following. And as the trend is these days, they never shy away from spreading joy among their fans and connect with them through their personal accounts on social media. Which is where the problem also begins. Because as they, like many other celebrities open up about their lives and their work - they not only get a lot of love and adulation but also a lot of unnecessary opinions that perhaps they can do without.</p>

<p>On his 52nd birthday, Milind Soman posted a selfie with his 23-year-old girlfriend Ankita Konwar. While most showered the couple with love and wishes, there were some who questioned the couple&#39;s massive age gap and mocked the pair. Some called her his daughter, some simply questioned God a &#39;why&#39; and others just asked Soman point blank about how it was okay for him to date someone so young. And then, of course, there were some who just resorted to abuses in the comment box.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:8px;">
<div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;">
<div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<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 href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BbJf-u9AFLU/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Milind Usha Soman (@milindrunning)</a> on <time datetime="2017-11-06T09:16:30+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Nov 6, 2017 at 1:16am PST</time></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>On the same day, a photo of Deepika Padukone surfaced on the internet. Now for the uninitiated, Deepika threw a bash at her place for her industry friends which had a lot of prominent names of Bollywood in attendance. One photo from that party had Deepika flanked by Aadar and Armaan Jain, who happen to Deepika&#39;s ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor&#39;s cousin. One photo had Aadar planting a peck on DP&#39;s cheek and other had them smiling for the camera.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:8px;">
<div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;">
<div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<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 href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BbG-S1mnWwm/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Aadar Jain (@aadarjain)</a> on <time datetime="2017-11-05T09:43:40+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Nov 5, 2017 at 1:43am PST</time></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>At a time when technology has advanced leaps and bounds, and mankind has evolved - Deepika Padukone was trolled for posing with her ex&#39;s cousin. &nbsp;An Instagram user said, &quot;Didn&#39;t like it at all..it looks vulgar to me.&quot; Some called her desperate, others declared she was drunk and some even predicted that she was posing with the two actors because she wanted to get back with her former boyfriend. A logic that surpasses all logic, clearly.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:8px;">
<div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.5% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;">
<div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<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 href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BbHCFhMlcrf/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Armaan Jain (@therealarmaanjain)</a> on <time datetime="2017-11-05T10:16:48+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Nov 5, 2017 at 2:16am PST</time></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>It didn&#39;t matter to these people that in a free country, the actress had the right to be drunk and pose with whoever she wanted to at her own party. She did not break a law, neither were the images unpleasant to the eyes- yet some people felt it was their duty to comment on her photos. Similarly, Milind Soman posted a happy photo on his birthday for his fans. Nowhere in the caption did it say, that he needed people&#39;s opinion on what they felt about him and his girlfriend. Yet the comments flowed in abundance.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>Internet now serves as a platform to meddle in other&#39;s businesses, comment on it and draw a judgement.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Internet now serves as a platform to meddle in other's businesses, comment on it and draw a judgement." target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

<p>This isn&#39;t the first time that celebrities have been trolled unnecessarily on social media. Earlier actresses like Sana Fatima Sheikh, Esha Gupta, Sonam Kapoor - all have been asked to dress up properly or reminded of their culture and morals.</p>

<p>The internet has definitely brought the world closer.&nbsp;But along with it, it has brought a license for a lot of unsolicited advice. We now have armchair activists, armchair moral police and armchair thinkers- who may not have the courage to speak out in person but definitely, use their keyboard to express whatever they wish to. Internet now serves as a platform to meddle in other&#39;s businesses, comment on it and draw a judgement.</p>

<p>It may not be the most accurate of the pieces of advice, it may be uncalled for - but since no one is there to reprimand - it is easy to slip by after writing abuses. Which is why the Internet is also hazardous. Where one really doesn&#39;t know what impact a comment can make in one&#39;s life. It is a great thing that most celebrities wear an invisible cloak of nonchalance when it comes to internet trolls - but these trolls also point out a very alarming fact. That a lot of us draw a great amount of satisfaction in maligning others in the garb of anonymity. That as a race, we are lonely, frustrated and crave for attention. Because why would anyone in their right mind express such toxic things on a celebrity&#39;s photo if he was not wishing to get noticed?</p>


Few people use social media to give unsolicited advice on celebrities and also troll them unnecessarily on Facebook and Twitter

The internet is a wonderful place to be in. It takes you to places, teaches you new words, makes you learn new skills and brings you closer to people who you admire and idolise. But as the world shrinks into your palmtop, and becomes an integral part of your daily life, it also gives you an abnormal power to meddle and snoop in. The ever-booming world of the internet also draws a lot of unwarranted attention. Celebrities open up about their lives and their work - they not only get a lot of love and adulation but also a lot of unnecessary opinions that perhaps they can do without. × Take the recent cases of Milind Soman and Deepika Padukone. Two absolutely gorgeous, talented and successful people - they enjoy an enormous fan following. And as the trend is these days, they never shy away from spreading joy among their fans and connect with them through their personal accounts on social media. Which is where the problem also begins. Because as they, like many other celebrities open up about their lives and their work - they not only get a lot of love and adulation but also a lot of unnecessary opinions that perhaps they can do without. On his 52nd birthday, Milind Soman posted a selfie with his 23-year-old girlfriend Ankita Konwar. While most showered the couple with love and wishes, there were some who questioned the couple's massive age gap and mocked the pair. Some called her his daughter, some simply questioned God a 'why' and others just asked Soman point blank about how it was okay for him to date someone so young. And then, of course, there were some who just resorted to abuses in the comment box. A post shared by Milind Usha Soman (@milindrunning) on Nov 6, 2017 at 1:16am PST × On the same day, a photo of Deepika Padukone surfaced on the internet. Now for the uninitiated, Deepika threw a bash at her place for her industry friends which had a lot of prominent names of Bollywood in attendance. One photo from that party had Deepika flanked by Aadar and Armaan Jain, who happen to Deepika's ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor's cousin. One photo had Aadar planting a peck on DP's cheek and other had them smiling for the camera. A post shared by Aadar Jain (@aadarjain) on Nov 5, 2017 at 1:43am PST × At a time when technology has advanced leaps and bounds, and mankind has evolved - Deepika Padukone was trolled for posing with her ex's cousin. An Instagram user said, "Didn't like it at all..it looks vulgar to me." Some called her desperate, others declared she was drunk and some even predicted that she was posing with the two actors because she wanted to get back with her former boyfriend. A logic that surpasses all logic, clearly. A post shared by Armaan Jain (@therealarmaanjain) on Nov 5, 2017 at 2:16am PST × It didn't matter to these people that in a free country, the actress had the right to be drunk and pose with whoever she wanted to at her own party. She did not break a law, neither were the images unpleasant to the eyes- yet some people felt it was their duty to comment on her photos. Similarly, Milind Soman posted a happy photo on his birthday for his fans. Nowhere in the caption did it say, that he needed people's opinion on what they felt about him and his girlfriend. Yet the comments flowed in abundance. Internet now serves as a platform to meddle in other's businesses, comment on it and draw a judgement. × This isn't the first time that celebrities have been trolled unnecessarily on social media. Earlier actresses like Sana Fatima Sheikh, Esha Gupta, Sonam Kapoor - all have been asked to dress up properly or reminded of their culture and morals. The internet has definitely brought the world closer. But along with it, it has brought a license for a lot of unsolicited advice. We now have armchair activists, armchair moral police and armchair thinkers- who may not have the courage to speak out in person but definitely, use their keyboard to express whatever they wish to. Internet now serves as a platform to meddle in other's businesses, comment on it and draw a judgement. It may not be the most accurate of the pieces of advice, it may be uncalled for - but since no one is there to reprimand - it is easy to slip by after writing abuses. Which is why the Internet is also hazardous. Where one really doesn't know what impact a comment can make in one's life. It is a great thing that most celebrities wear an invisible cloak of nonchalance when it comes to internet trolls - but these trolls also point out a very alarming fact. That a lot of us draw a great amount of satisfaction in maligning others in the garb of anonymity. That as a race, we are lonely, frustrated and crave for attention. Because why would anyone in their right mind express such toxic things on a celebrity's photo if he was not wishing to get noticed?

Dear Internet, learn to mind your own business

<p>Twitter announced Tuesday it would double the limit for tweets to 280 characters in a bid to draw in more users and boost engagement at the social network.</p>

<p>&quot;We&#39;re expanding the character limit! We want it to be easier and faster for everyone to express themselves,&quot; tweeted the site, which started testing an increase to its 140-character limit in most languages in early September.</p>

<p>The changes will be rolling out in all languages except Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, in which space limitations have not been an issue, Twitter said.</p>

<p>Twitter, which has been lagging behind rival social networks in user growth and struggling to reach profitability, faced a dilemma over the change in that it could alienate longtime users and transform the nature of the service.</p>

<p>Product manager Aliza Rosen said in a blog post that the test showed most people still used 140 characters or fewer, suggesting the fast-moving nature of Twitter will not change.</p>

<p>Twitter began to look at the new limit &quot;so every person around the world could express themselves easily in a tweet,&quot; Rosen said.</p>

<p>&quot;Our goal was to make this possible while ensuring we keep the speed and brevity that makes Twitter, Twitter. Looking at all the data, we&#39;re excited to share we&rsquo;ve achieved this goal and are rolling the change out to all languages where cramming was an issue.&quot;</p>

<p>She noted that in the first few days of the test many people used the full 280 limit because it was new and novel, &quot;but soon after behavior normalized.&quot;</p>

<p>As a result, &quot;the brevity of Twitter remained,&quot; she said.</p>

<p>Some users have worried that longer tweets could profoundly change the nature of the one-to-many messaging platform, which is popular with journalists and politicians but has failed to win the mass appeal of rivals like Facebook.</p>

<p>Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said there was a positive response to the test of the length limit.</p>

<p>&quot;In addition to more Tweeting, people who had 280 characters received more Likes, Retweets, @mentions, Followers, and were more satisfied with Twitter. So, you&rsquo;ll be getting 280 too, enjoy!&quot; Stone tweeted.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">In addition to more Tweeting, people who had 280 characters received more Likes, Retweets, @mentions, Followers, and were more satisfied with Twitter. So, you&rsquo;ll be getting 280 too&mdash;enjoy!</p>
&mdash; Biz Stone (@biz) <a href="https://twitter.com/biz/status/928005016916389888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>Last month, Twitter reported its loss for the past quarter narrowed as the company suggested it could reach profitability for the first time in the fourth quarter.</p>

<p>The update showed Twitter&#39;s monthly active user base rose slightly to 330 million, roughly in line with forecasts.&nbsp;</p>


Twitter announced Tuesday it would double the limit for tweets to 280 characters in a bid to draw in more users and boost engagement at the social network

Twitter announced Tuesday it would double the limit for tweets to 280 characters in a bid to draw in more users and boost engagement at the social network. "We're expanding the character limit! We want it to be easier and faster for everyone to express themselves," tweeted the site, which started testing an increase to its 140-character limit in most languages in early September. The changes will be rolling out in all languages except Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, in which space limitations have not been an issue, Twitter said. Twitter, which has been lagging behind rival social networks in user growth and struggling to reach profitability, faced a dilemma over the change in that it could alienate longtime users and transform the nature of the service. Product manager Aliza Rosen said in a blog post that the test showed most people still used 140 characters or fewer, suggesting the fast-moving nature of Twitter will not change. Twitter began to look at the new limit "so every person around the world could express themselves easily in a tweet," Rosen said. "Our goal was to make this possible while ensuring we keep the speed and brevity that makes Twitter, Twitter. Looking at all the data, we're excited to share we’ve achieved this goal and are rolling the change out to all languages where cramming was an issue." She noted that in the first few days of the test many people used the full 280 limit because it was new and novel, "but soon after behavior normalized." As a result, "the brevity of Twitter remained," she said. Some users have worried that longer tweets could profoundly change the nature of the one-to-many messaging platform, which is popular with journalists and politicians but has failed to win the mass appeal of rivals like Facebook. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said there was a positive response to the test of the length limit. "In addition to more Tweeting, people who had 280 characters received more Likes, Retweets, @mentions, Followers, and were more satisfied with Twitter. So, you’ll be getting 280 too, enjoy!" Stone tweeted. In addition to more Tweeting, people who had 280 characters received more Likes, Retweets, @mentions, Followers, and were more satisfied with Twitter. So, you’ll be getting 280 too—enjoy! — Biz Stone (@biz) November 7, 2017 × Last month, Twitter reported its loss for the past quarter narrowed as the company suggested it could reach profitability for the first time in the fourth quarter. The update showed Twitter's monthly active user base rose slightly to 330 million, roughly in line with forecasts.

Twitter to double tweet limit to 280 characters

<p>A bank manager of UCO bank has been arrested for allegedly raping a 20-year-old&nbsp;Russian woman.</p>

<p>The Russian woman has accused&nbsp;UCO Bank Vrindaban branch manager, Mahendra Prasad Singh&nbsp;of repeatedly&nbsp;raping her since September&nbsp;17, when she&nbsp;came to India.&nbsp;</p>

<p>She said that she came to India on the advice of Singh.</p>

<p>The two became good friends after they met on Facebook in November 2016.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The woman came to India on September 17 and stayed in the temple town of Vrindaban.</p>

<p>She said that the bank manager took her to his house on September 22 where he raped her.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The woman said that she filed a complaint against the manager only after she was counselled by another Russian woman as the banker had threatened her of dire consequences for disclosing the matter to anyone.&nbsp;</p>

<p>She also said that even while the&nbsp;man raped her, he was in a relationship with several other women.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The woman has been sent for a medical examination.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Singh has been taken to police custody.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Mahendra Prasad Singh, on the other hand, claims that the two were not in touch for a year. He said that the woman was asking for money which he refused to pay. She, therefore, filed a complaint against him.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Deputy Superintendent of Police Vijay Shanker Mishra said that the arrest was based on a complaint filed by the woman.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from PTI and ANI)</em></p>


The bank manager, on the other hand, claims that the two were not in touch for a year. He said that the woman was asking for money which he refused to pay. She, therefore, filed a complaint against him

A bank manager of UCO bank has been arrested for allegedly raping a 20-year-old Russian woman. The Russian woman has accused UCO Bank Vrindaban branch manager, Mahendra Prasad Singh of repeatedly raping her since September 17, when she came to India. She said that she came to India on the advice of Singh. The two became good friends after they met on Facebook in November 2016. The woman came to India on September 17 and stayed in the temple town of Vrindaban. She said that the bank manager took her to his house on September 22 where he raped her. The woman said that she filed a complaint against the manager only after she was counselled by another Russian woman as the banker had threatened her of dire consequences for disclosing the matter to anyone. She also said that even while the man raped her, he was in a relationship with several other women. The woman has been sent for a medical examination. Singh has been taken to police custody. Mahendra Prasad Singh, on the other hand, claims that the two were not in touch for a year. He said that the woman was asking for money which he refused to pay. She, therefore, filed a complaint against him. The Deputy Superintendent of Police Vijay Shanker Mishra said that the arrest was based on a complaint filed by the woman. (With inputs from PTI and ANI)

Bank manager arrested for allegedly raping Russian woman

<p>Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp went down for nearly an hour&nbsp;on Friday afternoon with users unable to access it across India,&nbsp;UK and the world, media reports said.</p>

<p>Reports said the messaging app was&nbsp;experiencing server problems.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Indian users also experienced problems in sending messages.</p>

<p>Several users complained&nbsp;about messages&nbsp;getting blocked.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The app is now back in action.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&ldquo;Earlier today, WhatsApp users globally had trouble accessing the app for about an hour. This issue has been fixed and we apologise for the inconvenience,&quot; WhatsApp said in a statement.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">?? Retweet If you can see &quot;Checking for new messages&quot; n <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhatsApp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhatsApp</a> now ?? Still not working ??</p>
&mdash; Happy Sharing By Dks (@Dksview) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dksview/status/926370592378335233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">WhatsApp? <a href="https://t.co/AlYJtsMUbY">pic.twitter.com/AlYJtsMUbY</a></p>
&mdash; Hasrizal (@iamhasrizal) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamhasrizal/status/926370413155844096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Whatsapp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Whatsapp</a> is down. This must be the lord tellin me to go moonwalk into DMs. <a href="https://t.co/b7dxPxzyLU">pic.twitter.com/b7dxPxzyLU</a></p>
&mdash; Benny Black (@blixxack) <a href="https://twitter.com/blixxack/status/926370367505084421?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Because WhatsApp is down, sharing it here <a href="https://t.co/ZhhjoKb7gy">pic.twitter.com/ZhhjoKb7gy</a></p>
&mdash; Gappistan Radio (@GappistanRadio) <a href="https://twitter.com/GappistanRadio/status/926370341110267905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Reports said the messaging app is experiencing server problems.

Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp went down for nearly an hour on Friday afternoon with users unable to access it across India, UK and the world, media reports said. Reports said the messaging app was experiencing server problems. Indian users also experienced problems in sending messages. Several users complained about messages getting blocked. The app is now back in action. “Earlier today, WhatsApp users globally had trouble accessing the app for about an hour. This issue has been fixed and we apologise for the inconvenience," WhatsApp said in a statement. ?? Retweet If you can see "Checking for new messages" n #WhatsApp now ?? Still not working ?? — Happy Sharing By Dks (@Dksview) November 3, 2017 × WhatsApp? pic.twitter.com/AlYJtsMUbY — Hasrizal (@iamhasrizal) November 3, 2017 × #Whatsapp is down. This must be the lord tellin me to go moonwalk into DMs. pic.twitter.com/b7dxPxzyLU — Benny Black (@blixxack) November 3, 2017 × Because WhatsApp is down, sharing it here pic.twitter.com/ZhhjoKb7gy — Gappistan Radio (@GappistanRadio) November 3, 2017 ×

WhatsApp down briefly in India, UK and other parts of the world

<p>Apple Inc won accolades from privacy experts in September for assuring that facial data used to unlock its new iPhone X would be securely stored on the phone itself.</p>

<p>But Apple&#39;s privacy promises do not extend to the thousands of app developers who will gain access to facial data in order to build entertainment features for iPhone X customers, such as pinning a three-dimensional mask to their face for a selfie or letting a video game character mirror the player&#39;s real-world facial expressions.</p>

<p>Apple allows developers to take certain facial data off the phone as long as they agree to seek customer permission and not sell the data to third parties, among other terms in a contract.</p>

<p>App makers who want to use the new camera on the iPhone X can capture a rough map of a user&#39;s face and a stream of more than 50 kinds of facial expressions. This data, which can be removed from the phone and stored on a developer&#39;s own servers, can help monitor how often users blink, smile or even raise an eyebrow.</p>

<p>That remote storage raises questions about how effectively Apple can enforce its privacy rules, according to privacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Democracy and Technology. Apple maintains that its enforcement tools - which include pre-publication reviews, audits of apps and the threat of kicking developers off its lucrative App Store are effective.</p>

<p>The data available to developers cannot unlock a phone&nbsp;that process relies on a mathematical representation of the face rather than a visual map of it, according to documentation about the face unlock system that Apple released to security researchers.</p>

<p>But the relative ease with which developers can whisk away face data to remote servers leaves Apple sending conflicting messages: Face data is highly private when used for authentication, but it is sharable&nbsp;with the user&#39;s permission&nbsp; when used to build app features.</p>

<p>&quot;The privacy issues around of the use of very sophisticated facial recognition technology for unlocking the phone have been overblown,&quot; said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union. &quot;The real privacy issues have to do with the access by third-party developers.&quot;</p>

<p>The use of face recognition is becoming ubiquitous on everything from social networks to city streets with surveillance cameras. Berlin law enforcement officials in August installed a facial recognition system at the city&rsquo;s main railway station to test new technology for catching criminals and terrorists.</p>

<p>But privacy concerns loom large. In Illinois, Facebook Inc faces a lawsuit over whether its photo tagging suggestions violated a state law that bars the collection of biometric data without permission. Facebook says it has always been clear with users that it can be turned off and the data for it deleted.</p>

<p>Privacy experts say their concerns about iPhone X are not about government snooping, since huge troves of facial photographs already exist on social media and even in state motor vehicle departments. The issue is more about unscrupulous marketers eager to track users&#39; facial expressions in response to advertisements or content, despite Apple&#39;s contractual rules against doing so.</p>

<p>App makers must &quot;obtain clear and conspicuous consent&quot; from users before collecting or storing face data, and can only do so for a legitimate feature of an app, according to the relevant portions of Apple&#39;s developer agreement that Apple provided to Reuters.</p>

<p>Apple&#39;s iOS operating system also asks users to grant permission for an app to access to any of the phone&#39;s cameras.</p>

<p>Apple forbids developers from using the face data for advertising or marketing, and from selling it to data brokers or analytics firms that might use it for those purposes. The company also bans the creation of user profiles that could be used to identify anonymous users, according to its developer agreement.</p>

<p>&quot;The bottom line is, Apple is trying to make this a user experience addition to the iPhone X, and not an advertising addition,&quot; said Clare Garvie, an associate with the Center on Privacy &amp; Technology at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington.</p>

<p><strong>ENFORCEMENT IN QUESTION</strong></p>

<p>Though they praised Apple&#39;s policies on face data, privacy experts worry about the potential inability to control what app developers do with face data once it leaves the iPhone X, and whether the tech company&#39;s disclosure policies adequately alert customers.</p>

<p>The company has had high-profile mishaps enforcing its own rules in the past, such as the 2012 controversy around Path, a social networking app that was found to be saving users&#39; contact lists to its servers, a violation of Apple&#39;s rules.</p>

<p>One app developer told that Apple&#39;s non-negotiable developer agreement is long and complex and rarely read in detail, just as most consumers do not know the details of what they agree to when they allow access to personal data.</p>

<p>Apple&#39;s main enforcement mechanism is the threat to kick apps out of the App store, though the company in 2011 told the US&nbsp;Congress that it had never punished an app in that way for sharing user information with third parties without permission.</p>

<p>Apple&#39;s other line of defense against privacy abuse is the review that all apps undergo before they hit the App Store. But the company does not review the source code of all apps, instead relying on random spot checks or complaints, according to 2011 Congressional testimony from Bud Tribble, one of the company&#39;s &quot;privacy czars.&quot;</p>

<p>With the iPhone X, the primary danger is that advertisers will find it irresistible to gauge how consumers react to products or to build tracking profiles of them, even though Apple explicitly bans such activity.</p>

<p>&quot;Apple does have a pretty good historical track record of holding developers accountable who violate their agreements, but they have to catch them first - and sometimes that&#39;s the hard part,&quot; the ACLU&#39;s Stanley said. &quot;It means household names probably won&#39;t exploit this, but there&#39;s still a lot of room for bottom feeders.&quot;<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Apple allows developers to take certain facial data off the phone

Apple Inc won accolades from privacy experts in September for assuring that facial data used to unlock its new iPhone X would be securely stored on the phone itself. But Apple's privacy promises do not extend to the thousands of app developers who will gain access to facial data in order to build entertainment features for iPhone X customers, such as pinning a three-dimensional mask to their face for a selfie or letting a video game character mirror the player's real-world facial expressions. Apple allows developers to take certain facial data off the phone as long as they agree to seek customer permission and not sell the data to third parties, among other terms in a contract. App makers who want to use the new camera on the iPhone X can capture a rough map of a user's face and a stream of more than 50 kinds of facial expressions. This data, which can be removed from the phone and stored on a developer's own servers, can help monitor how often users blink, smile or even raise an eyebrow. That remote storage raises questions about how effectively Apple can enforce its privacy rules, according to privacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Democracy and Technology. Apple maintains that its enforcement tools - which include pre-publication reviews, audits of apps and the threat of kicking developers off its lucrative App Store are effective. The data available to developers cannot unlock a phone that process relies on a mathematical representation of the face rather than a visual map of it, according to documentation about the face unlock system that Apple released to security researchers. But the relative ease with which developers can whisk away face data to remote servers leaves Apple sending conflicting messages: Face data is highly private when used for authentication, but it is sharable with the user's permission when used to build app features. "The privacy issues around of the use of very sophisticated facial recognition technology for unlocking the phone have been overblown," said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union. "The real privacy issues have to do with the access by third-party developers." The use of face recognition is becoming ubiquitous on everything from social networks to city streets with surveillance cameras. Berlin law enforcement officials in August installed a facial recognition system at the city’s main railway station to test new technology for catching criminals and terrorists. But privacy concerns loom large. In Illinois, Facebook Inc faces a lawsuit over whether its photo tagging suggestions violated a state law that bars the collection of biometric data without permission. Facebook says it has always been clear with users that it can be turned off and the data for it deleted. Privacy experts say their concerns about iPhone X are not about government snooping, since huge troves of facial photographs already exist on social media and even in state motor vehicle departments. The issue is more about unscrupulous marketers eager to track users' facial expressions in response to advertisements or content, despite Apple's contractual rules against doing so. App makers must "obtain clear and conspicuous consent" from users before collecting or storing face data, and can only do so for a legitimate feature of an app, according to the relevant portions of Apple's developer agreement that Apple provided to Reuters. Apple's iOS operating system also asks users to grant permission for an app to access to any of the phone's cameras. Apple forbids developers from using the face data for advertising or marketing, and from selling it to data brokers or analytics firms that might use it for those purposes. The company also bans the creation of user profiles that could be used to identify anonymous users, according to its developer agreement. "The bottom line is, Apple is trying to make this a user experience addition to the iPhone X, and not an advertising addition," said Clare Garvie, an associate with the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington. ENFORCEMENT IN QUESTION Though they praised Apple's policies on face data, privacy experts worry about the potential inability to control what app developers do with face data once it leaves the iPhone X, and whether the tech company's disclosure policies adequately alert customers. The company has had high-profile mishaps enforcing its own rules in the past, such as the 2012 controversy around Path, a social networking app that was found to be saving users' contact lists to its servers, a violation of Apple's rules. One app developer told that Apple's non-negotiable developer agreement is long and complex and rarely read in detail, just as most consumers do not know the details of what they agree to when they allow access to personal data. Apple's main enforcement mechanism is the threat to kick apps out of the App store, though the company in 2011 told the US Congress that it had never punished an app in that way for sharing user information with third parties without permission. Apple's other line of defense against privacy abuse is the review that all apps undergo before they hit the App Store. But the company does not review the source code of all apps, instead relying on random spot checks or complaints, according to 2011 Congressional testimony from Bud Tribble, one of the company's "privacy czars." With the iPhone X, the primary danger is that advertisers will find it irresistible to gauge how consumers react to products or to build tracking profiles of them, even though Apple explicitly bans such activity. "Apple does have a pretty good historical track record of holding developers accountable who violate their agreements, but they have to catch them first - and sometimes that's the hard part," the ACLU's Stanley said. "It means household names probably won't exploit this, but there's still a lot of room for bottom feeders."

App developer access to iPhone X face data spooks some privacy experts

<p>Facebook has assured to double its cybersecurity staff by the end of 2018.</p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/google-facebook-twitter-asked-to-testify-in-russia-probe-20770" target="_blank">social media giant</a> testified before US senators that the&nbsp;company will expand its security staff to 20,000 including contract workers.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The company had over 20,000 employees by the end of June.</p>

<p>Facebook&#39;s assurance has come after US&nbsp;senators sought to include tech lawyers to investigate about Russian meddling in the 2016&nbsp;presidential election.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The US senators questioned the social media giant Facebook, Google and Twitter about Russia&#39;s alleged&nbsp;interference in the 2016 presidential election.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Facebook lawyer Colin Stretch also said that the new employees will keep a track on extremists on the site.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For the first time, ever tech executives appeared publicly before US lawmakers on Russia matter.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Till now the US technology sector was experiencing light advertisement regulations.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Facebook's assurance has come after US?senators sought to include tech lawyers to investigate about Russian meddling in the 2016?presidential election

Facebook has assured to double its cybersecurity staff by the end of 2018. The social media giant testified before US senators that the company will expand its security staff to 20,000 including contract workers. The company had over 20,000 employees by the end of June. Facebook's assurance has come after US senators sought to include tech lawyers to investigate about Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The US senators questioned the social media giant Facebook, Google and Twitter about Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election. Facebook lawyer Colin Stretch also said that the new employees will keep a track on extremists on the site. For the first time, ever tech executives appeared publicly before US lawmakers on Russia matter. Till now the US technology sector was experiencing light advertisement regulations.

Facebook to expand Cybersecurity staff by 2018

facebook

Facebook, News on Facebook, stories on Facebook, articles on Facebook, Facebook stories at Wion, Facebook news, Facebook latest news