The European Union charged Facebook on Tuesday with providing &quot;misleading&quot; information when it sought approval for its blockbuster $22-billion buyout of the WhatsApp mobile messaging service.

The European Commission said the EU&#39;s green light of the buyout, announced in October 2014, was not in jeopardy but the social network could face almost two hundred million euros in fines.&nbsp;

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<h5>But WhatsApp in August said that it would begin sharing data with Facebook, in a bid to allow better-targeted advertising and to fight spam on the platform</h5>
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With the charge, Facebook joins Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft among the US-based tech giants caught in major EU competition probes.

&quot;The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Facebook alleging the company provided incorrect or misleading information during the Commission&#39;s 2014 investigation&quot; of the buyout, the EU&#39;s executive arm said in a statement.

Facebook is accused of misleading the EU with a claim that it was technically impossible for it to merge users between the two services.&nbsp;

But WhatsApp in August said that it would begin sharing data with Facebook, in a bid to allow better-targeted advertising and to fight spam on the platform.

The update by WhatsApp raises &quot;concerns that Facebook intentionally, or negligently, submitted incorrect or misleading information to the commission,&quot; the EU said.

The company has until January 31 to respond to the charge sheet. It faces a fine of one per cent of annual sales, which stood at a whopping $18 billion in 2015.

&quot;We respect the Commission&#39;s process and are confident that a full review of the facts will confirm Facebook has acted in good faith,&quot; a Facebook spokesperson said in an email.

The rare accusation by Brussels comes after the EU&#39;s powerful competition chief Margarethe Vestager said she &quot;will keep a close eye on how companies use data&quot;.

The commission is worried that the value of user data is underestimated in tech mergers, though Brussels waved through the recent buyout of LinkedIn by Microsoft despite these concerns.

Tensions between Brussels and Washington have sharpened since EU regulators turned a focus on US tech companies. Vestager in August ordered Apple to pay back 13 billion euros in taxes and her teams are running several cases against Google.

(Reuters)

The European Commission said the social network could face almost two hundred million euros in fines

The European Union charged Facebook on Tuesday with providing "misleading" information when it sought approval for its blockbuster $22-billion buyout of the WhatsApp mobile messaging service. The European Commission said the EU's green light of the buyout, announced in October 2014, was not in jeopardy but the social network could face almost two hundred million euros in fines. But WhatsApp in August said that it would begin sharing data with Facebook, in a bid to allow better-targeted advertising and to fight spam on the platform × With the charge, Facebook joins Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft among the US-based tech giants caught in major EU competition probes. "The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Facebook alleging the company provided incorrect or misleading information during the Commission's 2014 investigation" of the buyout, the EU's executive arm said in a statement. Facebook is accused of misleading the EU with a claim that it was technically impossible for it to merge users between the two services. But WhatsApp in August said that it would begin sharing data with Facebook, in a bid to allow better-targeted advertising and to fight spam on the platform. The update by WhatsApp raises "concerns that Facebook intentionally, or negligently, submitted incorrect or misleading information to the commission," the EU said. The company has until January 31 to respond to the charge sheet. It faces a fine of one per cent of annual sales, which stood at a whopping $18 billion in 2015. "We respect the Commission's process and are confident that a full review of the facts will confirm Facebook has acted in good faith," a Facebook spokesperson said in an email. The rare accusation by Brussels comes after the EU's powerful competition chief Margarethe Vestager said she "will keep a close eye on how companies use data". The commission is worried that the value of user data is underestimated in tech mergers, though Brussels waved through the recent buyout of LinkedIn by Microsoft despite these concerns. Tensions between Brussels and Washington have sharpened since EU regulators turned a focus on US tech companies. Vestager in August ordered Apple to pay back 13 billion euros in taxes and her teams are running several cases against Google. (Reuters)

EU charges Facebook over 'misleading' info during Whatsapp buyout

Facebook has introduced a new feature that lets users video chat in groups. The company has started rolling out the Group Video Chat feature in Messenger for Android, iOS and the web.

&ldquo;With 245 million people making video calls in Messenger every month, now we&rsquo;re bringing everyone on Messenger the ability to turn group chats into face-to-face conversations no matter where you are - whether you&rsquo;re down the street or halfway across the world,&rdquo; says Facebook in a post.

The Group Video Chat feature in Messenger is simple to use. You can see up to six people at a time, with an option to add as many as 50 members.

&ldquo;Up to 50&nbsp;friends can join in and choose to just listen in and join via voice, or be on camera. Once more than 6 people are on the call, just the dominant speaker is shown to all participants,&rdquo; explains Facebook.

To get started, you will need the latest version of Messenger. All you have to do is jump into an existing group conversation, or create a new one. Once done, tap on the video icon on the upper right of the screen to enter the video chat and everyone in the group will be notified.

<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="382" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmessenger%2Fvideos%2F1146102742176071%2F&amp;show_text=1&amp;width=560" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="100%"></iframe>

(WION)

Facebook has started rolling out the Group Video Chat feature in Messenger for Android, iOS and the web.

Facebook has introduced a new feature that lets users video chat in groups. The company has started rolling out the Group Video Chat feature in Messenger for Android, iOS and the web. “With 245 million people making video calls in Messenger every month, now we’re bringing everyone on Messenger the ability to turn group chats into face-to-face conversations no matter where you are - whether you’re down the street or halfway across the world,” says Facebook in a post. The Group Video Chat feature in Messenger is simple to use. You can see up to six people at a time, with an option to add as many as 50 members. “Up to 50 friends can join in and choose to just listen in and join via voice, or be on camera. Once more than 6 people are on the call, just the dominant speaker is shown to all participants,” explains Facebook. To get started, you will need the latest version of Messenger. All you have to do is jump into an existing group conversation, or create a new one. Once done, tap on the video icon on the upper right of the screen to enter the video chat and everyone in the group will be notified. (WION)

You can now video chat with up to 50 people on Facebook Messenger

Facebook on Thursday unveiled a tool that allows users to report fake news, a move aimed at stemming a wave of misinformation some claim influenced the 2016 US election.

&quot;We believe in giving people a voice and that we cannot become arbiters of truth ourselves, so we&#39;re approaching this problem carefully,&quot; Facebook&#39;s vice president Adam Mosseri said in a blog post.

&quot;We&#39;ve focused our efforts on the worst of the worst, on the clear hoaxes spread by spammers for their own gain, and on engaging both our community and third-party organizations.&quot;

Facebook said it would begin testing a system enabling users to click on news items if they suspect they are fabricated.&nbsp;

The social network said it would work with global fact-checking organizations subscribing to the Poynter Institute&#39;s International Fact Checking Code of Principles.

&quot;If the fact-checking organizations identify a story as fake, it will get flagged as disputed and there will be a link to the corresponding article explaining why,&quot; Mosseri said.&nbsp;

&quot;Stories that have been disputed may also appear lower in News Feed.&quot;

Facebook has been under fire for failing to stem an epidemic of fake news that some critics believe may have helped the election of Republican property tycoon Donald Trump by spreading unfounded negative news about his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Facebook has dismissed the notion that fake news shared on the social network swung the election results, but has been stepping up its efforts to weed out clearly false news.

However, the US social giant, with some 1.8 billion users worldwide, has resisted calls to label itself a &quot;media company&quot; or implement efforts to impose editorial judgments on news being shared.

But Facebook said it would crack down on &quot;spoof domains,&quot; or sites that pretend to be real publications, as part of its most recent announcement.

Stories determined to be bogus could still be shared, &quot;but you will see a warning that the story has been disputed,&quot; Mosseri said.

Last month, Facebook and Google both said they would cut off websites promoting fake news from their lucrative advertising networks, seeking to clamp down on &quot;click farms&quot; that make money when users click on sensational headlines.

But an analysis by the watchdog group Media Matters found Google AdSense advertisements on more than half of sites studied with track records for pushing fake news stories. &quot;The recent incarnation of &#39;fake news&#39; is destructive and dangerous,&quot; Media Matters president Angelo Carusone said.

&quot;Its proliferation and the perverse incentive that rewards it with money must be stopped,&quot; he added. &quot;Information consumers must be discerning when reading and sharing news so as not to become part of the problem. And fake news creators should not be able to profit from their scams.&quot;

Sharing bogus news

Separately on Thursday, a survey by the Pew Research Center showed nearly two out of three US adults (64 per cent) believed fake news causes confusion about basic facts in current events.

Although many respondents said they sense fake stories are spreading confusion, they were relatively confident in their own ability to detect hoaxes.

The survey found 39 per cent &quot;very confident&quot; that they can recognize fabricated news and another 45 per cent &quot;somewhat confident.&quot;

However, nearly one in four said they have shared a made-up news story: 14 per cent acknowledged they shared a news item they knew was fake at the time and 16 per cent said they shared one they later realized to be fake.

Concerns over fake news grew during the 2016 presidential campaign amid widespread sharing of hoaxes, including stories saying Pope Francis had endorsed Donald Trump and that Hillary Clinton was linked to a pedophilia ring operating out of a pizzeria.

The survey of 1,002 adults was conducted December 1-4, with the margin of error estimated at 3.6 percentage points.

(AFP)

Facebook said it would begin testing a system enabling users to click on news items if they suspect they are fabricated

Facebook on Thursday unveiled a tool that allows users to report fake news, a move aimed at stemming a wave of misinformation some claim influenced the 2016 US election. "We believe in giving people a voice and that we cannot become arbiters of truth ourselves, so we're approaching this problem carefully," Facebook's vice president Adam Mosseri said in a blog post. "We've focused our efforts on the worst of the worst, on the clear hoaxes spread by spammers for their own gain, and on engaging both our community and third-party organizations." Facebook said it would begin testing a system enabling users to click on news items if they suspect they are fabricated. The social network said it would work with global fact-checking organizations subscribing to the Poynter Institute's International Fact Checking Code of Principles. "If the fact-checking organizations identify a story as fake, it will get flagged as disputed and there will be a link to the corresponding article explaining why," Mosseri said. "Stories that have been disputed may also appear lower in News Feed." Facebook has been under fire for failing to stem an epidemic of fake news that some critics believe may have helped the election of Republican property tycoon Donald Trump by spreading unfounded negative news about his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Facebook has dismissed the notion that fake news shared on the social network swung the election results, but has been stepping up its efforts to weed out clearly false news. However, the US social giant, with some 1.8 billion users worldwide, has resisted calls to label itself a "media company" or implement efforts to impose editorial judgments on news being shared. But Facebook said it would crack down on "spoof domains," or sites that pretend to be real publications, as part of its most recent announcement. Stories determined to be bogus could still be shared, "but you will see a warning that the story has been disputed," Mosseri said. Last month, Facebook and Google both said they would cut off websites promoting fake news from their lucrative advertising networks, seeking to clamp down on "click farms" that make money when users click on sensational headlines. But an analysis by the watchdog group Media Matters found Google AdSense advertisements on more than half of sites studied with track records for pushing fake news stories. "The recent incarnation of 'fake news' is destructive and dangerous," Media Matters president Angelo Carusone said. "Its proliferation and the perverse incentive that rewards it with money must be stopped," he added. "Information consumers must be discerning when reading and sharing news so as not to become part of the problem. And fake news creators should not be able to profit from their scams." Sharing bogus news Separately on Thursday, a survey by the Pew Research Center showed nearly two out of three US adults (64 per cent) believed fake news causes confusion about basic facts in current events. Although many respondents said they sense fake stories are spreading confusion, they were relatively confident in their own ability to detect hoaxes. The survey found 39 per cent "very confident" that they can recognize fabricated news and another 45 per cent "somewhat confident." However, nearly one in four said they have shared a made-up news story: 14 per cent acknowledged they shared a news item they knew was fake at the time and 16 per cent said they shared one they later realized to be fake. Concerns over fake news grew during the 2016 presidential campaign amid widespread sharing of hoaxes, including stories saying Pope Francis had endorsed Donald Trump and that Hillary Clinton was linked to a pedophilia ring operating out of a pizzeria. The survey of 1,002 adults was conducted December 1-4, with the margin of error estimated at 3.6 percentage points. (AFP)

Facebook unveils action plan for tackling fake news

After facing withering criticism for failing to stem a flood of phony news articles in the run-up to the US presidential election, Facebook is apparently now asking users to rate the title of news stories appearing on the social network.

A few users on Twitter posted screenshots of the survey that Facebook is seemingly conducting to ascertain the authenticity of stories.

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Facebook is asking whether this <a href="https://twitter.com/PhillyInquirer">@PhillyInquirer</a> headline is fake? <a href="https://t.co/cCUpwtvQlS">pic.twitter.com/cCUpwtvQlS</a>
&mdash; Chris Krewson (@ckrewson) <a href="https://twitter.com/ckrewson/status/805892298051612672">December 5, 2016</a></blockquote>
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A Facebook survey to see how accurate a Rolling Stone headline is. Pizzagate shows that information on social media fucking matters. <a href="https://t.co/i4PIsbFhYF">pic.twitter.com/i4PIsbFhYF</a>
&mdash; Jorge (@iamjorgecamargo) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamjorgecamargo/status/805889930526359555">December 5, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The move appears to be aimed at weeding out hoaxes and other types of false information. Facebook, however, is yet to official announce as to what all it plans to do with the survey results.

Facebook&rsquo;s new survey comes close on the heels of Zuckerberg&rsquo;s recent statement wherein he said that the company had been working on the issue of misinformation for a long time, thereby calling the problem complex both technically and philosophically.

&quot;While the percentage of misinformation is relatively small, we have much more work ahead on our roadmap,&quot; Zuckerberg had said.

He had also made it clear that Facebook would make it easier to report false content, work with third-party verification organisations and journalists on fact-checking efforts, and explore posting warning labels on content flagged as false by users.

(WION)

Facebook has been facing withering criticism for failing to stem a flood of phony news articles

After facing withering criticism for failing to stem a flood of phony news articles in the run-up to the US presidential election, Facebook is apparently now asking users to rate the title of news stories appearing on the social network. A few users on Twitter posted screenshots of the survey that Facebook is seemingly conducting to ascertain the authenticity of stories. Facebook is asking whether this @PhillyInquirer headline is fake? pic.twitter.com/cCUpwtvQlS — Chris Krewson (@ckrewson) December 5, 2016 × A Facebook survey to see how accurate a Rolling Stone headline is. Pizzagate shows that information on social media fucking matters. pic.twitter.com/i4PIsbFhYF — Jorge (@iamjorgecamargo) December 5, 2016 × The move appears to be aimed at weeding out hoaxes and other types of false information. Facebook, however, is yet to official announce as to what all it plans to do with the survey results. Facebook’s new survey comes close on the heels of Zuckerberg’s recent statement wherein he said that the company had been working on the issue of misinformation for a long time, thereby calling the problem complex both technically and philosophically. "While the percentage of misinformation is relatively small, we have much more work ahead on our roadmap," Zuckerberg had said. He had also made it clear that Facebook would make it easier to report false content, work with third-party verification organisations and journalists on fact-checking efforts, and explore posting warning labels on content flagged as false by users. (WION)

Facebook asks users to rate and flag misleading story titles

Whatsapp could end&nbsp;support for a number of old smartphones by the end of this year, the DailyExpress&nbsp;reports.

At the end of this year, WhatsApp will no longer work on the iPhone 3GS, Windows Phone 7 devices, and phones running Android 2.1 or Android 2.2, according to the DailyExpress.

The company first spoke about the change back in February of this year, when it celebrated its 7th birthday.

Whatsapp is the most popular chat app and boasts more than one billion active users worldwide.

Whatsapp says technology has changed dramatically since its birth, something which led to its decision to drop support for ageing mobile platforms, the Daily Express reports.

In an official statement on the company blog, WhatsApp writes: &quot;As we look ahead to our next seven years, we want to focus our efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use.&rdquo;

&quot;So, by the end of 2016, we will be ending support for WhatsApp Messenger on some mobile platforms.

&quot;While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don&#39;t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app&#39;s features in the future.

&quot;This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp.

&quot;If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp.&quot;

Here is a list of devices that will no longer support WhatsApp by 2017:

<ul>
	<li>Any device running Android 2.1</li>
	<li>Any device running Android 2.2</li>
	<li>Windows Phone 7</li>
	<li>iPhone 3GS</li>
	<li>Any device running iOS 6</li>
</ul>

(WION)

WhatsApp will no longer work on the iPhone 3GS, Windows Phone 7 devices, and phones running Android 2.1 or Android 2.2

Whatsapp could end support for a number of old smartphones by the end of this year, the DailyExpress reports. At the end of this year, WhatsApp will no longer work on the iPhone 3GS, Windows Phone 7 devices, and phones running Android 2.1 or Android 2.2, according to the DailyExpress. The company first spoke about the change back in February of this year, when it celebrated its 7th birthday. Whatsapp is the most popular chat app and boasts more than one billion active users worldwide. Whatsapp says technology has changed dramatically since its birth, something which led to its decision to drop support for ageing mobile platforms, the Daily Express reports. In an official statement on the company blog, WhatsApp writes: "As we look ahead to our next seven years, we want to focus our efforts on the mobile platforms the vast majority of people use.” "So, by the end of 2016, we will be ending support for WhatsApp Messenger on some mobile platforms. "While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don't offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future. "This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp. "If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp." Here is a list of devices that will no longer support WhatsApp by 2017: Any device running Android 2.1 Any device running Android 2.2 Windows Phone 7 iPhone 3GS Any device running iOS 6 (WION)

WhatsApp could stop working on certain phones by end of this year

With online accounts containing a plethora of personal, financial, confidential and other sensitive details, it becomes imperative to protect them from hackers and keep them secure. Many of you would agree to it, but are you doing anything to beef up your online security?

Now before you start to scratch your head wondering what all can be done to keep your online accounts safe, we suggest you to hang on. Because we have some help to offer.

We bring you 5 simple tips that can help you protect your online accounts against hacks, password thefts and other cyber attacks.

1. Don&rsquo;t use the same password for multiple accounts: A lot of people go on to keep the same password for their multiple accounts so that they don&rsquo;t forget them - or for that matter, just to save themselves from getting confused among multiple passwords. But we highly recommend you to not use the same password for your Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Instagram and other online accounts. Because once that password gets compromised, it will expose all your online accounts to hacking and other cyber crimes. And you can think of all the damage that it can then cause to your digital life.

2. Create strong passwords: Accounts with weak passwords (like the ones with your name or birth date) are more prone to hacking. And therefore, it is advisable to have strong passwords for your online accounts. If you are wondering how to create strong passwords, here is a two-step guide. Firstly, always have a long password. And secondly, use a combination of letters, upper case, lower case, numbers and symbols like hash or the exclamation mark.

For instance, instead of simply choosing &ldquo;mysecurity12&rdquo;, keep something like this - MyS3cur!ty12.

If you compare the two, both passwords have the same number of letters, but you can see the difference in how the two have been framed. Indisputably, the one with the combination of letters, numbers and other characters is stronger than the other. And this reduces chances of your online accounts from getting hacked.

3. Opt for two-step verification: We don&rsquo;t intend to scare you, but let us warn you that it&rsquo;s easier than you think for someone to hack your password. But if you have enabled the two-step verification for your online accounts, you are in a much safer territory. Remember, that annoying page that sometimes pops up when you log in to your Gmail account and you just press skip and move on? Well, that&rsquo;s Google&rsquo;s way of reminding you to doubly secure your account. So remember this the next time you think of pressing that skip button.
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But how does this help? So if a bad guy has stolen your password, he would still need to cross that second layer of security to hack into your account. And for that he would need your phone.

So it goes like this. The two-step verification process not only requires your password, but it also asks the user to enter a unique code sent to the registered phone if he logs into your account from a new machine. So the hacker may have your password, but it is unlikely for him to have ready access to your phone.

4. Change your passwords regularly: It&rsquo;s a good practice to change your passwords at frequent intervals. Because you never know when your account details start to circulate among hackers. But by changing your passwords regularly, you can save yourself from prospective damages.

If you&#39;re too lazy to regularly change passwords for all of your accounts, at least do that for your major accounts that contain sensitive information&nbsp; like your personal emails, or for that matter, your social networks.

And to help you manage and remember new passwords every now and then, a wide range of password managers are available online. They not only save you from remembering so many passwords, but also do the job for you every time you log in to an account. 
 
5. Avoid linking accounts: Many of us often find it convenient to log in to a service using our existing Facebook or Google account, but we suggest you to drop this habit. Because by doing so, you link your different accounts. So it means if a hacker breaks into one of your accounts, he can easily access your other linked accounts. So avoid linking your accounts whenever and wherever possible. In fact, it&rsquo;s a good practice to always sign up for a new service. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

With online accounts containing a lot of personal, financial, and other sensitive details, it is imperative to protect them from hackers

With online accounts containing a plethora of personal, financial, confidential and other sensitive details, it becomes imperative to protect them from hackers and keep them secure. Many of you would agree to it, but are you doing anything to beef up your online security? Now before you start to scratch your head wondering what all can be done to keep your online accounts safe, we suggest you to hang on. Because we have some help to offer. We bring you 5 simple tips that can help you protect your online accounts against hacks, password thefts and other cyber attacks. 1. Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts: A lot of people go on to keep the same password for their multiple accounts so that they don’t forget them - or for that matter, just to save themselves from getting confused among multiple passwords. But we highly recommend you to not use the same password for your Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Instagram and other online accounts. Because once that password gets compromised, it will expose all your online accounts to hacking and other cyber crimes. And you can think of all the damage that it can then cause to your digital life. 2. Create strong passwords: Accounts with weak passwords (like the ones with your name or birth date) are more prone to hacking. And therefore, it is advisable to have strong passwords for your online accounts. If you are wondering how to create strong passwords, here is a two-step guide. Firstly, always have a long password. And secondly, use a combination of letters, upper case, lower case, numbers and symbols like hash or the exclamation mark. For instance, instead of simply choosing “mysecurity12”, keep something like this - MyS3cur!ty12. If you compare the two, both passwords have the same number of letters, but you can see the difference in how the two have been framed. Indisputably, the one with the combination of letters, numbers and other characters is stronger than the other. And this reduces chances of your online accounts from getting hacked. 3. Opt for two-step verification: We don’t intend to scare you, but let us warn you that it’s easier than you think for someone to hack your password. But if you have enabled the two-step verification for your online accounts, you are in a much safer territory. Remember, that annoying page that sometimes pops up when you log in to your Gmail account and you just press skip and move on? Well, that’s Google’s way of reminding you to doubly secure your account. So remember this the next time you think of pressing that skip button. But how does this help? So if a bad guy has stolen your password, he would still need to cross that second layer of security to hack into your account. And for that he would need your phone. So it goes like this. The two-step verification process not only requires your password, but it also asks the user to enter a unique code sent to the registered phone if he logs into your account from a new machine. So the hacker may have your password, but it is unlikely for him to have ready access to your phone. 4. Change your passwords regularly: It’s a good practice to change your passwords at frequent intervals. Because you never know when your account details start to circulate among hackers. But by changing your passwords regularly, you can save yourself from prospective damages. If you're too lazy to regularly change passwords for all of your accounts, at least do that for your major accounts that contain sensitive information like your personal emails, or for that matter, your social networks. And to help you manage and remember new passwords every now and then, a wide range of password managers are available online. They not only save you from remembering so many passwords, but also do the job for you every time you log in to an account. 5. Avoid linking accounts: Many of us often find it convenient to log in to a service using our existing Facebook or Google account, but we suggest you to drop this habit. Because by doing so, you link your different accounts. So it means if a hacker breaks into one of your accounts, he can easily access your other linked accounts. So avoid linking your accounts whenever and wherever possible. In fact, it’s a good practice to always sign up for a new service.

5 simple tips to protect your Gmail, Facebook and other online accounts

Hillary Clinton was about to be indicted, Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump: the battle over fake news is heating up after a White House campaign in which the misinformation industry may have swung the outcome of the vote.

Last week, Google and Facebook moved to cut off ad revenue to bogus news sites. But media watchers say more is needed to stamp out a powerful phenomenon seen by some people as a threat to democracy itself.

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<h5>The fake news hoaxes of the 2016 election season were in many cases spectacular -- &#39;Did the Clintons Commit Murder?&#39; -- and created by groups purely out to make money from clicks and ads</h5>
</blockquote>
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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The fake news hoaxes of the 2016 election season were in many cases spectacular -- 'Did the Clintons Commit Murder?' -- and created by groups purely out to make money from clicks and ads" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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&nbsp;

One of those people is President Barack Obama, who has warned that fake news threatens the basic principle of freedom of speech.

&quot;If everything seems to be the same and no distinctions are made, then we won&#39;t know what to protect,&quot; Obama said during a visit to Germany.

The hoaxes of the 2016 election season were in many cases spectacular -- &quot;Did the Clintons Commit Murder?&quot; -- and created by groups purely out to make money from clicks and ads.

And since Trump&#39;s victory, reports have exposed the dark underbelly of operations -- run from Macedonia to California -- that boast of making easy money with wholly fabricated stories, under such headlines as &quot;Look At Sick Thing He Just Did To STAB Trump In The Back.&quot;

An analysis published by BuzzFeed News found that the 20 top-performing bogus stories from hoax websites and extremely partisan blogs generated slightly more than 8.7 million &quot;shares&quot; on Facebook to just 7.4 million from major news websites, in the three months before the election.

Now, the outcry over fake news and its apparent role in the election is prompting calls for Facebook to consider itself a media company, with editorial responsibilities, which the social network has repeatedly rejected.

Arbiters of truth?&nbsp;

Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan argued that Facebook &quot;should hire a top-flight executive editor and give that person the resources, power and staff to make sound editorial decisions.&quot;

For Gabriel Kahn, a former journalist who teaches at the University of Southern California, &quot;they&#39;re in the same business as pretty much every media company, which is aggregating audiences and using that to sell advertisements.&quot;

And Kahn believes that Facebook, by considering itself a &quot;neutral&quot; platform, &quot;allows the media ecosystem to be polluted&quot; with bogus news.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Friday offered additional insight on plans to curb online misinformation while arguing for caution.

&quot;The problems here are complex, both technically and philosophically,&quot; Zuckerberg said in a posting.

&quot;We believe in giving people a voice... We do not want to be arbiters of truth ourselves, but instead rely on our community and trusted third parties.&quot;

Zuckerberg said nonetheless that Facebook would step up efforts to weed out fake news with &quot;stronger detection,&quot; an easier process to report hoaxes and &quot;third party verification&quot; from &quot;respected fact checking organizations.&quot;

Tech entrepreneur Elad Gil said it should not be too difficult for a company like Facebook to apply its technical expertise to determine when a news story is fake.&nbsp;

&quot;Intriguingly, a group of undergrads at Princeton were able to build a quick and dirty fake news classifier during a 36-hour hackathon,&quot; Gil said in a blog post.

&#39;Click farms&#39; vs ideology&nbsp;

Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy argued that it is important to differentiate between &quot;click farms&quot; which make money off entirely fake news and politically driven news sites.

&quot;I think Facebook could do a lot to crack down on fake news, and I think that&#39;s something everybody could agree on, but if they try to go against the ideologically motivated sites it will inevitably get caught up in the culture wars,&quot; Kennedy said.

The prevalence of ersatz news, analysts note, comes in a context of deep distrust of mainstream media, which is often accused of one-sidedness.

Any effort to filter out those voices could &quot;lead to the relitigation of ancient disputes over media bias,&quot; said Kennedy.

Reason magazine editor Scott Shackleford said it would be hard to draw a line between filtering bogus news and ideological censorship.

&quot;So a decision by Facebook to censor &#39;fake news&#39; would heavily weigh in favor of the more mainstream and &#39;powerful&#39; traditional media outlets,&quot; he wrote.

City University of New York journalism professor Jeff Jarvis and startup entrepreneur John Borthwick argued in a blog post that the media and technology industries should work together to help readers establish the credibility of news.

&quot;We do not believe that the platforms should be put in the position of judging what is fake or real, true or false as censors for all,&quot; they wrote.

&quot;The platforms need to give users better information and media need to help them.&quot;

Even if the online platforms do not turn into media firms, the two wrote in the blog, they should &quot;hire high-level journalists inside their organizations&quot; to &quot;bring a sense of public responsibility to their companies&quot; and &quot;to explain journalism to the technologists and technology to the journalists.&quot;

(AFP)

Google and FB moved last week to cut ad revenue to fake news sites but media watchers say more needs to be done

Hillary Clinton was about to be indicted, Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump: the battle over fake news is heating up after a White House campaign in which the misinformation industry may have swung the outcome of the vote. Last week, Google and Facebook moved to cut off ad revenue to bogus news sites. But media watchers say more is needed to stamp out a powerful phenomenon seen by some people as a threat to democracy itself. The fake news hoaxes of the 2016 election season were in many cases spectacular -- 'Did the Clintons Commit Murder?' -- and created by groups purely out to make money from clicks and ads × One of those people is President Barack Obama, who has warned that fake news threatens the basic principle of freedom of speech. "If everything seems to be the same and no distinctions are made, then we won't know what to protect," Obama said during a visit to Germany. The hoaxes of the 2016 election season were in many cases spectacular -- "Did the Clintons Commit Murder?" -- and created by groups purely out to make money from clicks and ads. And since Trump's victory, reports have exposed the dark underbelly of operations -- run from Macedonia to California -- that boast of making easy money with wholly fabricated stories, under such headlines as "Look At Sick Thing He Just Did To STAB Trump In The Back." An analysis published by BuzzFeed News found that the 20 top-performing bogus stories from hoax websites and extremely partisan blogs generated slightly more than 8.7 million "shares" on Facebook to just 7.4 million from major news websites, in the three months before the election. Now, the outcry over fake news and its apparent role in the election is prompting calls for Facebook to consider itself a media company, with editorial responsibilities, which the social network has repeatedly rejected. Arbiters of truth? Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan argued that Facebook "should hire a top-flight executive editor and give that person the resources, power and staff to make sound editorial decisions." For Gabriel Kahn, a former journalist who teaches at the University of Southern California, "they're in the same business as pretty much every media company, which is aggregating audiences and using that to sell advertisements." And Kahn believes that Facebook, by considering itself a "neutral" platform, "allows the media ecosystem to be polluted" with bogus news. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Friday offered additional insight on plans to curb online misinformation while arguing for caution. "The problems here are complex, both technically and philosophically," Zuckerberg said in a posting. "We believe in giving people a voice... We do not want to be arbiters of truth ourselves, but instead rely on our community and trusted third parties." Zuckerberg said nonetheless that Facebook would step up efforts to weed out fake news with "stronger detection," an easier process to report hoaxes and "third party verification" from "respected fact checking organizations." Tech entrepreneur Elad Gil said it should not be too difficult for a company like Facebook to apply its technical expertise to determine when a news story is fake. "Intriguingly, a group of undergrads at Princeton were able to build a quick and dirty fake news classifier during a 36-hour hackathon," Gil said in a blog post. 'Click farms' vs ideology Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy argued that it is important to differentiate between "click farms" which make money off entirely fake news and politically driven news sites. "I think Facebook could do a lot to crack down on fake news, and I think that's something everybody could agree on, but if they try to go against the ideologically motivated sites it will inevitably get caught up in the culture wars," Kennedy said. The prevalence of ersatz news, analysts note, comes in a context of deep distrust of mainstream media, which is often accused of one-sidedness. Any effort to filter out those voices could "lead to the relitigation of ancient disputes over media bias," said Kennedy. Reason magazine editor Scott Shackleford said it would be hard to draw a line between filtering bogus news and ideological censorship. "So a decision by Facebook to censor 'fake news' would heavily weigh in favor of the more mainstream and 'powerful' traditional media outlets," he wrote. City University of New York journalism professor Jeff Jarvis and startup entrepreneur John Borthwick argued in a blog post that the media and technology industries should work together to help readers establish the credibility of news. "We do not believe that the platforms should be put in the position of judging what is fake or real, true or false as censors for all," they wrote. "The platforms need to give users better information and media need to help them." Even if the online platforms do not turn into media firms, the two wrote in the blog, they should "hire high-level journalists inside their organizations" to "bring a sense of public responsibility to their companies" and "to explain journalism to the technologists and technology to the journalists." (AFP)

Facebook in crosshairs as fake news battle heats up

Social media giant Facebook on Friday set a $6 billion buyback programme for its Class A shares, beginning in the first quarter of 2017.

Facebook&#39;s shares were up 1.1 per cent at $118.24 in after-hours trading. The company had a market value of about $337 billion at close.

The company also said Chief Accounting Officer Jas Athwal had resigned, effective February&nbsp;17.&nbsp;

Athwal has spent nearly nine years at the company and was formerly the director of revenue at Yahoo.&nbsp;

The company said it planned to launch a search for a replacement.

(Reuters)

The social media giant's shares were up 1.1 per cent at $118.24 in after-hours trading

Social media giant Facebook on Friday set a $6 billion buyback programme for its Class A shares, beginning in the first quarter of 2017. Facebook's shares were up 1.1 per cent at $118.24 in after-hours trading. The company had a market value of about $337 billion at close. The company also said Chief Accounting Officer Jas Athwal had resigned, effective February 17. Athwal has spent nearly nine years at the company and was formerly the director of revenue at Yahoo. The company said it planned to launch a search for a replacement. (Reuters)

Facebook sets $6 billion buyback; accounting chief to leave

Facebook Inc, facing withering criticism for failing to stem a flood of phony news articles in the run-up to the US&nbsp;presidential election, is taking a series of steps to weed out hoaxes and other types of false information, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post Friday evening.

Facebook has long insisted that it is a technology company and not a publisher, and rejects the idea that it should be held responsible for the content that its users circulate on the platform. Just after the election, Zuckerberg said the notion that fake or misleading news on Facebook had helped swing the election to Donald Trump was a &quot;crazy idea.&quot;&nbsp;

Zuckerberg then said last Saturday that more than 99 per cent of what people see on Facebook is authentic, calling &quot;only a very small amount&quot; fake news and hoaxes.

But in his Friday posting Zuckerberg struck a decidedly different tone. He said Facebook has been working on the issue of misinformation for a long time, calling the problem complex both technically and philosophically.

&quot;While the percentage of misinformation is relatively small, we have much more work ahead on our roadmap,&quot; Zuckerberg said.

He outlined a series of steps that were already underway, including greater use of automation to &quot;detect what people will flag as false before they do it themselves.&quot;

He also said Facebook would make it easier to report false content, work with third-party verification organizations and journalists on fact-checking efforts, and explore posting warning labels on content that has been flagged as false. The company will also try to prevent fake-news providers from making money through its advertising system, as it had previously announced.&nbsp;

Zuckerberg said Facebook must be careful not to discourage sharing of opinions or mistakenly restricting accurate content. &quot;We do not want to be arbiters of truth ourselves, but instead rely on our community and trusted third parties,&quot; he said.

Facebook historically has relied on users to report links as false and share links to myth-busting sites, including Snopes, to determine if it can confidently classify stories as misinformation, Zuckerberg said. The service has extensive &quot;community standards&quot; on what kinds of content are acceptable.

Facebook faced international outcry earlier this year after it removed an iconic Vietnam War photo due to nudity, a decision that was later reversed. The thorniest content issues are decided by a group of top executives at Facebook, and there have been extensive internal conversations at the company in recent months over content controversies, people familiar with the discussions say.

Among the fake news reports that circulated ahead of the U.S. election were reports erroneously alleging Pope Francis had endorsed Trump and that a federal agent who had been investigating Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was found dead.

(Reuters)

The company has faced severe criticism from people who believe stories with false information on its website helped Trump win US election

Facebook Inc, facing withering criticism for failing to stem a flood of phony news articles in the run-up to the US presidential election, is taking a series of steps to weed out hoaxes and other types of false information, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post Friday evening. Facebook has long insisted that it is a technology company and not a publisher, and rejects the idea that it should be held responsible for the content that its users circulate on the platform. Just after the election, Zuckerberg said the notion that fake or misleading news on Facebook had helped swing the election to Donald Trump was a "crazy idea." Zuckerberg then said last Saturday that more than 99 per cent of what people see on Facebook is authentic, calling "only a very small amount" fake news and hoaxes. But in his Friday posting Zuckerberg struck a decidedly different tone. He said Facebook has been working on the issue of misinformation for a long time, calling the problem complex both technically and philosophically. "While the percentage of misinformation is relatively small, we have much more work ahead on our roadmap," Zuckerberg said. He outlined a series of steps that were already underway, including greater use of automation to "detect what people will flag as false before they do it themselves." He also said Facebook would make it easier to report false content, work with third-party verification organizations and journalists on fact-checking efforts, and explore posting warning labels on content that has been flagged as false. The company will also try to prevent fake-news providers from making money through its advertising system, as it had previously announced. Zuckerberg said Facebook must be careful not to discourage sharing of opinions or mistakenly restricting accurate content. "We do not want to be arbiters of truth ourselves, but instead rely on our community and trusted third parties," he said. Facebook historically has relied on users to report links as false and share links to myth-busting sites, including Snopes, to determine if it can confidently classify stories as misinformation, Zuckerberg said. The service has extensive "community standards" on what kinds of content are acceptable. Facebook faced international outcry earlier this year after it removed an iconic Vietnam War photo due to nudity, a decision that was later reversed. The thorniest content issues are decided by a group of top executives at Facebook, and there have been extensive internal conversations at the company in recent months over content controversies, people familiar with the discussions say. Among the fake news reports that circulated ahead of the U.S. election were reports erroneously alleging Pope Francis had endorsed Trump and that a federal agent who had been investigating Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was found dead. (Reuters)

Facebook has work to do to weed out fake news: Zuckerberg

Facebook had a tool to weed out fake news circulating on the social network this year but declined to deploy it for fear of offending conservatives, a report said on Monday.

The report by the online news site Gizmodo comes with Facebook under fire for allowing hoaxes and misinformation to go viral and, according to some critics, boost the efforts of Republican Donald Trump in his successful presidential run.

Facebook denied the report.

Gizmodo, citing unnamed sources said to be knowledgeable about Facebook&#39;s decision-making, said the tool was shelved after a controversy over reports saying the social network suppressed some conservative voices in its &quot;trending topics&quot; earlier this year.

&quot;They absolutely have the tools to shut down fake news,&quot; Gizmodo quoted one source as saying. &quot;There was a lot of fear about upsetting conservatives after (the uproar over) trending topics.&quot;

A Facebook statement said that the claims made in the article were &quot;not true&quot;.

&quot;We did not build and withhold any News Feed changes based on their potential impact on any one political party,&quot; the statement from Facebook said.

&quot;We always work to make News Feed more meaningful and informative, and that includes examining the quality and accuracy of items shared, such as clickbait, spam and hoaxes.&quot;

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has rejected the idea that bogus stories shared at the social network paved a path of victory for Trump.

&quot;The idea that fake news on Facebook, which is a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way I think is a pretty crazy idea,&quot; Zuckerberg said during an on-stage chat at Technonomy, a technology trends conference in California.

In a weekend posting, Zuckerberg said dealing with hoaxes and fake news is complex.

&quot;This is an area where I believe we must proceed very carefully,&quot; he said.

&quot;Identifying the &#39;truth&#39; is complicated. While some hoaxes can be completely debunked, a greater amount of content, including from mainstream sources, often gets the basic idea right but some details wrong or omitted.&quot;

Bogus election results

The notion of hoaxes and fake news remained a topic of debate on Monday, when internet users searching on Google were delivered a bogus report saying Trump won the popular vote in addition to the Electoral College.

The numbers on a blog called 70News, contradicting official results tallied so far by states, said Trump received 62.9 million votes to 62.2 million for Hillary Clinton.

The blog urged those petitioning for the Electoral College to switch their votes to reflect popular will to scrap their effort.

&quot;Hey Change.org, scrap your loony petition now,&quot; the posting said.&nbsp;

The bogus site was listed at the top of many search queries for &quot;final election result&quot;.

Preliminary tallies showed Clinton won roughly 700,000 more votes than Trump despite losing the states needed for an Electoral College victory.

Google seeks &quot;to provide the most relevant and useful results for our users&quot;, a company statement to AFP said.

&quot;In this case, we clearly didn&#39;t get it right, but we are continually working to improve our algorithms.&quot;

(AFP)

Facebook is under fire for allowing hoaxes and misinformation to go viral and,boost the efforts of Trump in his successful presidential run

Facebook had a tool to weed out fake news circulating on the social network this year but declined to deploy it for fear of offending conservatives, a report said on Monday. The report by the online news site Gizmodo comes with Facebook under fire for allowing hoaxes and misinformation to go viral and, according to some critics, boost the efforts of Republican Donald Trump in his successful presidential run. Facebook denied the report. Gizmodo, citing unnamed sources said to be knowledgeable about Facebook's decision-making, said the tool was shelved after a controversy over reports saying the social network suppressed some conservative voices in its "trending topics" earlier this year. "They absolutely have the tools to shut down fake news," Gizmodo quoted one source as saying. "There was a lot of fear about upsetting conservatives after (the uproar over) trending topics." A Facebook statement said that the claims made in the article were "not true". "We did not build and withhold any News Feed changes based on their potential impact on any one political party," the statement from Facebook said. "We always work to make News Feed more meaningful and informative, and that includes examining the quality and accuracy of items shared, such as clickbait, spam and hoaxes." Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has rejected the idea that bogus stories shared at the social network paved a path of victory for Trump. "The idea that fake news on Facebook, which is a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way I think is a pretty crazy idea," Zuckerberg said during an on-stage chat at Technonomy, a technology trends conference in California. In a weekend posting, Zuckerberg said dealing with hoaxes and fake news is complex. "This is an area where I believe we must proceed very carefully," he said. "Identifying the 'truth' is complicated. While some hoaxes can be completely debunked, a greater amount of content, including from mainstream sources, often gets the basic idea right but some details wrong or omitted." Bogus election results The notion of hoaxes and fake news remained a topic of debate on Monday, when internet users searching on Google were delivered a bogus report saying Trump won the popular vote in addition to the Electoral College. The numbers on a blog called 70News, contradicting official results tallied so far by states, said Trump received 62.9 million votes to 62.2 million for Hillary Clinton. The blog urged those petitioning for the Electoral College to switch their votes to reflect popular will to scrap their effort. "Hey Change.org, scrap your loony petition now," the posting said. The bogus site was listed at the top of many search queries for "final election result". Preliminary tallies showed Clinton won roughly 700,000 more votes than Trump despite losing the states needed for an Electoral College victory. Google seeks "to provide the most relevant and useful results for our users", a company statement to AFP said. "In this case, we clearly didn't get it right, but we are continually working to improve our algorithms." (AFP)

Facebook had tool to weed out fake news, declined to deploy over fear of offending conservatives

Facebook&rsquo;s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg again rejected Saturday the idea that the social network had affected the US presidential election.

It is &quot;extremely unlikely&quot; news hoaxes changed the outcome, Zuckerberg said.

Following the surprise election of Donald Trump on November 8, critics have alleged the site helped spread lies via fake news stories and hoaxes.

Zuckerberg has insisted Facebook is a technology company, not a media firm, and called the idea of Facebook affecting the US elections &quot;crazy&quot;.&nbsp;

&quot;Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99 per cent of what people see is authentic,&quot; he said, adding that the network&#39;s goal is to &quot;give every person a voice&quot;.

Just days before the US elections, an article was shared on Facebook saying a federal agent who had been investigating Hillary Clinton was found dead.

&ldquo;FBI agent suspected in Hillary email leaks found dead in apparent murder-suicide,&rdquo; read the headline.

Facebook has begun working -- they started before the latest controversy -- on enabling people to flag hoaxes and fake news.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

Critics have alleged the site helped spread lies via fake news stories and hoaxes

Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg again rejected Saturday the idea that the social network had affected the US presidential election. It is "extremely unlikely" news hoaxes changed the outcome, Zuckerberg said. Following the surprise election of Donald Trump on November 8, critics have alleged the site helped spread lies via fake news stories and hoaxes. Zuckerberg has insisted Facebook is a technology company, not a media firm, and called the idea of Facebook affecting the US elections "crazy". "Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99 per cent of what people see is authentic," he said, adding that the network's goal is to "give every person a voice". Just days before the US elections, an article was shared on Facebook saying a federal agent who had been investigating Hillary Clinton was found dead. “FBI agent suspected in Hillary email leaks found dead in apparent murder-suicide,” read the headline. Facebook has begun working -- they started before the latest controversy -- on enabling people to flag hoaxes and fake news. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Zuckerberg again rejects claim Facebook affected US election

Facebook accidentally declared live users dead, acknowledging after fixing the problem on Friday that it had committed a &quot;terrible error&quot;.

&quot;For a brief period today, a message meant for memorialised profiles was mistakenly posted to other accounts,&quot; a Facebook spokesperson told AFP.

&quot;This was a terrible error that we have now fixed.&quot;

Media reports indicated that some two million errant memorials were posted on profile pages. The social network apologized and said it work as quickly as possible to correct the problem.

&quot;Damn. I should have used Facebook Live to show how I was Facebook Dead,&quot; Search Engine Land editor Danny Sullivan said in a message fired off at Twitter.

Facebook Live feature lets people broadcast video in real-time at the leading social network.&nbsp;

Even very-much-alive &nbsp;Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was memorialised in a message at his profile page expressing hope people who loved him would take comfort in posts people shared in tribute to his life.

The mistaken memorial notices contained links to forms that can be submitted to have people&#39;s accounts at the leading social network modified into online memorials after they die.

Part of the process is showing proof of death.

(AFP)

For a brief period on Friday, a message meant for memorialised profiles was mistakenly posted to other accounts, including Mark Zuckerberg's

Facebook accidentally declared live users dead, acknowledging after fixing the problem on Friday that it had committed a "terrible error". "For a brief period today, a message meant for memorialised profiles was mistakenly posted to other accounts," a Facebook spokesperson told AFP. "This was a terrible error that we have now fixed." Media reports indicated that some two million errant memorials were posted on profile pages. The social network apologized and said it work as quickly as possible to correct the problem. "Damn. I should have used Facebook Live to show how I was Facebook Dead," Search Engine Land editor Danny Sullivan said in a message fired off at Twitter. Facebook Live feature lets people broadcast video in real-time at the leading social network. Even very-much-alive Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was memorialised in a message at his profile page expressing hope people who loved him would take comfort in posts people shared in tribute to his life. The mistaken memorial notices contained links to forms that can be submitted to have people's accounts at the leading social network modified into online memorials after they die. Part of the process is showing proof of death. (AFP)

Facebook makes 'terrible error', accidentally declares live users dead

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom, in an interview with the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/229696d2-a730-11e6-8898-79a99e2a4de6?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fcompanies_technology%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct">Financial Times</a>, has confirmed that the company is planning to add a live video feature to its app.

&ldquo;Live is really exciting for us. I think it can enhance what we&rsquo;re doing. If I&rsquo;m trying to strengthen relationships with someone I love, them streaming video to me live would be an amazing way to be closer to them,&rdquo; the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/229696d2-a730-11e6-8898-79a99e2a4de6?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fcompanies_technology%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct">Financial Times</a> quoted Systrom as saying.

There is no word on when the feature will be rolled out and how it will work, but we have already got a glimpse of what is purportedly the upcoming live video feature on Instagram.

Russian news site <a href="https://tjournal.ru/36115-polzovatel-nashyol-v-instagrame-priznaki-testirovaniya-vstroennogo-servisa-pryamih-translyacii">T Journal</a>, last month, shared screenshots of the new feature, suggesting that live videos will appear on top in the Stories carousel. If the screenshots are to be believed, live videos will have a &ldquo;Live&rdquo; band on thumbnails to differentiate them from other stories. We are yet to hear more on this from the company.

Facebook-owned Instagram recently put its own spin on a key Snapchat feature and introduced it as &ldquo;Stories&rdquo;.

The US-based social network has been aggressively testing Snapchat-esque features ever since it bought popular face-swapping app MSQRD back in March 2016.

(WION)

There is no word on when the feature will be rolled out

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom, in an interview with the Financial Times, has confirmed that the company is planning to add a live video feature to its app. “Live is really exciting for us. I think it can enhance what we’re doing. If I’m trying to strengthen relationships with someone I love, them streaming video to me live would be an amazing way to be closer to them,” the Financial Times quoted Systrom as saying. There is no word on when the feature will be rolled out and how it will work, but we have already got a glimpse of what is purportedly the upcoming live video feature on Instagram. Russian news site T Journal, last month, shared screenshots of the new feature, suggesting that live videos will appear on top in the Stories carousel. If the screenshots are to be believed, live videos will have a “Live” band on thumbnails to differentiate them from other stories. We are yet to hear more on this from the company. Facebook-owned Instagram recently put its own spin on a key Snapchat feature and introduced it as “Stories”. The US-based social network has been aggressively testing Snapchat-esque features ever since it bought popular face-swapping app MSQRD back in March 2016. (WION)

Live video is coming to Instagram, confirms CEO

Facebook on Friday announced some advertisers will be barred from posting ads targeting racial or ethnic groups.&nbsp;

The social media giant in a blog post said it will disable its advertising tool, &#39;ethnic affinities,&#39; for ads that offer housing, employment and credit extension.&nbsp;

Facebook&#39;s chief privacy officer, Erin Egan wrote, &quot;There are many non-discriminatory uses of our ethnic affinity solution in these areas, but we have decided that we can best guard against discrimination by suspending these types of ads.&quot;

Facebook will use tools which automatically detect and disable ads which depend on &quot;ethnic affinity marketing&quot; and it will also update its policies so that advertisers are unable to discriminate.&nbsp;

The move comes in after ProPublica, a non-profit investigative news agency published an article pointing out Facebook allowed advertisers to target groups on the basis of ethnicity.

Following this, a group of users filed a lawsuit saying it violated the Fair Housing Act and Civil Rights Act.

After Donald Trump&#39;s unexpected and historical win, Facebook has come under flak for helping president-elect Trump by allowing &quot;fake news&quot; content about him, affecting voters decision.&nbsp;

Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has denied the allegations and said the content was too small to influence the election.&nbsp;

(WION) 
&nbsp;

Facebook said it will disable its advertising tool, 'ethnic affinities,' for ads that offer housing, employment and credit extension

Facebook on Friday announced some advertisers will be barred from posting ads targeting racial or ethnic groups. The social media giant in a blog post said it will disable its advertising tool, 'ethnic affinities,' for ads that offer housing, employment and credit extension. Facebook's chief privacy officer, Erin Egan wrote, "There are many non-discriminatory uses of our ethnic affinity solution in these areas, but we have decided that we can best guard against discrimination by suspending these types of ads." Facebook will use tools which automatically detect and disable ads which depend on "ethnic affinity marketing" and it will also update its policies so that advertisers are unable to discriminate. The move comes in after ProPublica, a non-profit investigative news agency published an article pointing out Facebook allowed advertisers to target groups on the basis of ethnicity. Following this, a group of users filed a lawsuit saying it violated the Fair Housing Act and Civil Rights Act. After Donald Trump's unexpected and historical win, Facebook has come under flak for helping president-elect Trump by allowing "fake news" content about him, affecting voters decision. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has denied the allegations and said the content was too small to influence the election. (WION)

Facebook to stop ethnicity-based targeting for some ads

Facebook on Monday announced it will start testing a new feature that would allow page administrators to post job openings as well as receive applications from them.

&quot;Based on behaviour we&#39;ve seen on Facebook, where many small businesses post about their job openings on their Page, we&#39;re running a test for Page admins to create job postings and receive applications from candidates,&quot; a Facebook spokesman told Reuters.

However, this move could hamper LinkedIn&#39;s business which is popularly used by job seekers and recruiters to make connections and post resumes.&nbsp;

According to TechCrunch, these companies Facebook page will get more traffic while allowing them to pay and make their vacancies visible for job seekers.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

LinkedIn makes most of its revenue from job hunters and recruiters who pay a monthly fee to post resumes and connect with people

Facebook on Monday announced it will start testing a new feature that would allow page administrators to post job openings as well as receive applications from them. "Based on behaviour we've seen on Facebook, where many small businesses post about their job openings on their Page, we're running a test for Page admins to create job postings and receive applications from candidates," a Facebook spokesman told Reuters. However, this move could hamper LinkedIn's business which is popularly used by job seekers and recruiters to make connections and post resumes. According to TechCrunch, these companies Facebook page will get more traffic while allowing them to pay and make their vacancies visible for job seekers. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Facebook takes on LinkedIn with new job opening features

Microsoft has introduced a new messaging system - Microsoft Teams - which will take on the fast-growing Slack and Facebook&rsquo;s Workplace. The new software will be part of Microsoft&#39;s Office 365 services, a cloud-based software suite that has more than 85 million monthly active commercial users. 
 
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote, Planner, Power BI and Delve are all built into Microsoft Teams so that users have all the tools that they need at their fingertips.
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&quot;Microsoft Teams is an entirely new experience that brings together people, conversations,&nbsp;and content - along with the tools that teams need - so they can easily collaborate to achieve more,&quot; said Microsoft Office team corporate vice president Kirk Koenigsbauer in a <a href="https://blogs.office.com/2016/11/02/introducing-microsoft-teams-the-chat-based-workspace-in-office-365/">blog post</a>.

Aiming to create a modern-day digital workspace for teams, Microsoft has integrated threaded chats into the service to keep everyone engaged. While team conversations, by default, are visible to all members, there is also a way to keep discussions private. Besides, the company has also integrated Skype into Teams so that so users can start voice and video conferences right from there.

Microsoft Teams, which runs on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and other web platforms. is available in preview in 181 countries. The new service is available to Office 365 commercial customers with enterprise or business plans, starting November 2. Its general availability is expected in the first quarter of 2017.

The competition

Microsoft&#39;s new offering Teams will directly compete with Slack, a three-year-old company that has become a leader in a crowded field of new applications aimed at helping workplaces move away from email.

Slack, whose customers include CBS, BuzzFeed, universities and the US government, had over 4 million daily active users in October. 
 
Slack posted an online message welcoming Microsoft &quot;to the revolution&quot; and playfully advising the behemoth that getting the service right was tougher than it might appear. 
 
&quot;Wow. Big news! Congratulations on today&#39;s announcements,&quot; <a href="https://slackhq.com/dear-microsoft-8d20965d2849#.66u51ok3w">reads a message</a> from the Slack team. &quot;We&#39;re genuinely excited to have some competition.&quot; 
 
Facebook, last month, also jumped into this segment with its Workplace application, aiming to leverage the popularity of the leading social network used by around 1.7 billion people. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Microsoft Team will directly compete with Slack and Facebook's Workplace

Microsoft has introduced a new messaging system - Microsoft Teams - which will take on the fast-growing Slack and Facebook’s Workplace. The new software will be part of Microsoft's Office 365 services, a cloud-based software suite that has more than 85 million monthly active commercial users. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote, Planner, Power BI and Delve are all built into Microsoft Teams so that users have all the tools that they need at their fingertips. "Microsoft Teams is an entirely new experience that brings together people, conversations, and content - along with the tools that teams need - so they can easily collaborate to achieve more," said Microsoft Office team corporate vice president Kirk Koenigsbauer in a blog post. Aiming to create a modern-day digital workspace for teams, Microsoft has integrated threaded chats into the service to keep everyone engaged. While team conversations, by default, are visible to all members, there is also a way to keep discussions private. Besides, the company has also integrated Skype into Teams so that so users can start voice and video conferences right from there. Microsoft Teams, which runs on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and other web platforms. is available in preview in 181 countries. The new service is available to Office 365 commercial customers with enterprise or business plans, starting November 2. Its general availability is expected in the first quarter of 2017. The competition Microsoft's new offering Teams will directly compete with Slack, a three-year-old company that has become a leader in a crowded field of new applications aimed at helping workplaces move away from email. Slack, whose customers include CBS, BuzzFeed, universities and the US government, had over 4 million daily active users in October. Slack posted an online message welcoming Microsoft "to the revolution" and playfully advising the behemoth that getting the service right was tougher than it might appear. "Wow. Big news! Congratulations on today's announcements," reads a message from the Slack team. "We're genuinely excited to have some competition." Facebook, last month, also jumped into this segment with its Workplace application, aiming to leverage the popularity of the leading social network used by around 1.7 billion people. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Microsoft Teams: Everything you should know about this new chat-based service

Instagram on Tuesday said it will start testing features that let smartphone or tablet users easily buy items they find on the popular photo and video sharing service.

The test slated to begin next week in the US will be tailored for Instagram applications on Apple mobile devices, according to a blog post by the Facebook-owned service.

The move will build on a strategy by the world&#39;s leading online social network to connect shoppers and shops, earning revenue from purchases.

&quot;Mobile has changed the way people shop,&quot; Instagram said in the blog post

&quot;We&#39;re excited to announce an easier experience to shop the products you love on Instagram.&quot;

Instagram cited industry statistics indicating that smartphone purchases are commonly used in the US to browse or research options regarding potential purchases.

Twenty US retailers including Kate Spade and JackThreads will take part in the Instagram e-commerce test, sharing posts that provide more information along with &quot;Shop Now&quot; icons for streamlined purchasing, according to the blog post.

&quot;This test is going to change the scope of what we, as retailers, are capable of offering on mobile,&quot; JackThreads chief marketing officer Ryan McIntyre said in the post.

&quot;Our customers will be able to shop seamlessly from their social media feeds -- allowing us to reach guys where they&rsquo;re already hunting for what&rsquo;s new.&quot;

Rival firm Pinterest last year dove into e-commerce with &quot;pins&quot; that let people buy items they like at the popular online bulletin board.

Pinterest became a hit, particularly among women, by giving people virtual bulletin boards that they can decorate with pictures showcasing interests in anything from food to sports, to fashion or travel.

(AFP)

Instagram cited industry statistics indicating that smartphone purchases are commonly used in the US to browse or research options

Instagram on Tuesday said it will start testing features that let smartphone or tablet users easily buy items they find on the popular photo and video sharing service. The test slated to begin next week in the US will be tailored for Instagram applications on Apple mobile devices, according to a blog post by the Facebook-owned service. The move will build on a strategy by the world's leading online social network to connect shoppers and shops, earning revenue from purchases. "Mobile has changed the way people shop," Instagram said in the blog post "We're excited to announce an easier experience to shop the products you love on Instagram." Instagram cited industry statistics indicating that smartphone purchases are commonly used in the US to browse or research options regarding potential purchases. Twenty US retailers including Kate Spade and JackThreads will take part in the Instagram e-commerce test, sharing posts that provide more information along with "Shop Now" icons for streamlined purchasing, according to the blog post. "This test is going to change the scope of what we, as retailers, are capable of offering on mobile," JackThreads chief marketing officer Ryan McIntyre said in the post. "Our customers will be able to shop seamlessly from their social media feeds -- allowing us to reach guys where they’re already hunting for what’s new." Rival firm Pinterest last year dove into e-commerce with "pins" that let people buy items they like at the popular online bulletin board. Pinterest became a hit, particularly among women, by giving people virtual bulletin boards that they can decorate with pictures showcasing interests in anything from food to sports, to fashion or travel. (AFP)

Facebook-owned Instagram getting into shopping

Facebook is all set to make its in-app camera richer with a wide range of new features. In what appears to be another attempt to take on rival Snapchat, Facebook&rsquo;s new features include photo filters and selfie masks similar to what we have been seeing on Snapchat for a long time.

Among other features that are being tested by Facebook, users will soon be able to send photos and videos as a direct message to any number of Facebook friends. And quite like what happens in Snapchat, these photos or videos will only last for 24 hours.

Users will be able to access what Facebook calls the &ldquo;New Camera&rdquo; from the top-left corner of the main app or by just swiping to the right of the News Feed. Once you tap open the &ldquo;New Camera&rdquo;, you will find a plethora of Snapchat-like Geofilters, masks and other special effects created by Facebook.
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According to the US-based technology news website,&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/28/the-new-facebook-camera/">TechCrunch</a>, the company is currently testing new features in Ireland. The social-networking giant intends to test more variations of these features before rolling them out globally.

&ldquo;We want to make visual sharing on Facebook fast, fun, and flexible,&rdquo; TechCrunch quotes Facebook&rsquo;s product manager Sachin Monga, as saying.

Facebook may not be able to outdo Snapchat, but by aping its significant features, Facebook is likely to prevent its existing users from getting on to Snapchat - or for that matter, could draw away some of the Snapchat users.

Facebook-owned Instagram recently put its own spin on a key Snapchat feature. Called &ldquo;Stories&rdquo; by Instagram, it lets users share ephemeral photos and videos that disappear automatically after 24 hours.

The US-based social network has been aggressively testing Snapchat-esque features ever since it bought popular face-swapping app MSQRD back in March 2016.

&nbsp;

(WION)&nbsp;

Facebook will soon allow users to send ephemeral photos and videos as a direct message to friends.

Facebook is all set to make its in-app camera richer with a wide range of new features. In what appears to be another attempt to take on rival Snapchat, Facebook’s new features include photo filters and selfie masks similar to what we have been seeing on Snapchat for a long time. Among other features that are being tested by Facebook, users will soon be able to send photos and videos as a direct message to any number of Facebook friends. And quite like what happens in Snapchat, these photos or videos will only last for 24 hours. Users will be able to access what Facebook calls the “New Camera” from the top-left corner of the main app or by just swiping to the right of the News Feed. Once you tap open the “New Camera”, you will find a plethora of Snapchat-like Geofilters, masks and other special effects created by Facebook. According to the US-based technology news website, TechCrunch, the company is currently testing new features in Ireland. The social-networking giant intends to test more variations of these features before rolling them out globally. “We want to make visual sharing on Facebook fast, fun, and flexible,” TechCrunch quotes Facebook’s product manager Sachin Monga, as saying. Facebook may not be able to outdo Snapchat, but by aping its significant features, Facebook is likely to prevent its existing users from getting on to Snapchat - or for that matter, could draw away some of the Snapchat users. Facebook-owned Instagram recently put its own spin on a key Snapchat feature. Called “Stories” by Instagram, it lets users share ephemeral photos and videos that disappear automatically after 24 hours. The US-based social network has been aggressively testing Snapchat-esque features ever since it bought popular face-swapping app MSQRD back in March 2016. (WION)

Facebook to soon introduce more Snapchat-like features

Facebook-owned WhatsApp has started rolling out the much-anticipated video-calling feature for Android. The feature, which was first teased by the company back in May, is now available for the beta testers of the app.

WhatsApp users, who have signed up for the <a href="https://www.whatsapp.com/android/">Android Beta Testing Program</a>, can have access to the video-calling feature by downloading the latest build (v 2.16.319), which is available as an update via Google Play. The company, however, is yet to release the feature&nbsp;for the public.

The release&nbsp;of &nbsp;the video-calling feature for WhatsApp has not led to any significant changes in the app&rsquo;s interface and design. The company has not added a separate video call icon to indicate the new feature. It, instead, has integrated it into the existing voice call icon. In other words, once upgraded to the latest version of the app, tapping on the call icon will give users options to choose between &ldquo;Voice call&rdquo; and &ldquo;Video call&rdquo;.

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WhatsApp now lets Android users make video calls. (WION)
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WhatsApp users can only make video calls to users who have the latest version of the app installed on their phones. The call, otherwise, wouldn&rsquo;t get through.

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WhatsApp users can only make video calls to users who have the latest version of the app installed on their phones. (WION)
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To help you keep a track of your video calls, the call log section in WhatsApp clearly shows who all you made video calls to by putting up a video camera icon against names (contacts). The voice calls, similarly, are indicated by a call icon.

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The call log section in WhatsApp clearly shows who all you made video calls to by putting up a video camera icon against names (contacts). (WION)
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The video call feature on WhatsApp for Android appears a week after it was spotted in the Windows Phone beta. There is no word on when the same feature will make its way to iOS.

WhatsApp has been on a feature-updating spree ever since it was acquired by Facebook in February 2014 for $16 billion.

(WION)

&nbsp;

The release of the video-calling feature for WhatsApp has not led to any significant changes in the app?s interface and design

Facebook-owned WhatsApp has started rolling out the much-anticipated video-calling feature for Android. The feature, which was first teased by the company back in May, is now available for the beta testers of the app. WhatsApp users, who have signed up for the Android Beta Testing Program, can have access to the video-calling feature by downloading the latest build (v 2.16.319), which is available as an update via Google Play. The company, however, is yet to release the feature for the public. The release of the video-calling feature for WhatsApp has not led to any significant changes in the app’s interface and design. The company has not added a separate video call icon to indicate the new feature. It, instead, has integrated it into the existing voice call icon. In other words, once upgraded to the latest version of the app, tapping on the call icon will give users options to choose between “Voice call” and “Video call”. WhatsApp now lets Android users make video calls. (WION) × WhatsApp users can only make video calls to users who have the latest version of the app installed on their phones. The call, otherwise, wouldn’t get through. WhatsApp users can only make video calls to users who have the latest version of the app installed on their phones. (WION) × To help you keep a track of your video calls, the call log section in WhatsApp clearly shows who all you made video calls to by putting up a video camera icon against names (contacts). The voice calls, similarly, are indicated by a call icon. The call log section in WhatsApp clearly shows who all you made video calls to by putting up a video camera icon against names (contacts). (WION) × The video call feature on WhatsApp for Android appears a week after it was spotted in the Windows Phone beta. There is no word on when the same feature will make its way to iOS. WhatsApp has been on a feature-updating spree ever since it was acquired by Facebook in February 2014 for $16 billion. (WION)

WhatsApp rolls out video-calling feature for Android

Facebook said its main UK subsidiary generated an 11-million-Pound tax credit in 2015 even as revenues soared, thanks to its tax efficient structure, accounts published on the weekend showed.

Analysts say Facebook generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from UK clients each year but until this year all transactions were booked in Ireland, minimising the social media group&#39;s UK tax bill.

Facebook UK Ltd is funded by affiliates such as the main Irish unit. It received over 210 million Pounds ($261.14 million) in 2015 from these affiliates. But that wasn&#39;t enough to cover its costs and the UK subsidiary reported a loss of 52 million Pounds.

A spokeswoman said Facebook paid all the taxes it was required to under UK law.

&ldquo;We are proud that in 2015 we have continued to grow our business in the UK and created over 300 new high-skilled jobs,&rdquo; she added.

UK politicians, spurred by public anger about corporate tax avoidance, have criticised the tax arrangements of Facebook and other US&nbsp;tech giants in recent years. The companies exploit loopholes in US&nbsp;and international tax rules to pay almost no tax on non-US&nbsp;profits.

Last year, the UK government introduced a new tax to target structures like Facebook&rsquo;s. In March, Facebook said it would begin to report some UK revenues in Britain from 2016, although it&rsquo;s unclear what impact, if any, this change will have on its tax bill.

Facebook&#39;s UK loss was swelled by charges for share incentive schemes, which have not yet vested.

Facebook won&rsquo;t get the benefit of the tax deduction until this happens, which means the company may still have to pay tax for 2015. Excluding the deduction for share schemes, Facebook would have a tax bill of 4 million Pounds for last year.

However, the spokeswoman declined to say if Facebook had paid any tax in respect of 2015.

Facebook reported worldwide net income of $3.7 billion last year, on turnover of $17.9 billion, according to its annual report. European revenue jumped 34 per cent last year to $1.4 billion.

(Reuters)

Until this year all of Facebook's transactions were booked in Ireland, minimising the social media group's UK tax bill

Facebook said its main UK subsidiary generated an 11-million-Pound tax credit in 2015 even as revenues soared, thanks to its tax efficient structure, accounts published on the weekend showed. Analysts say Facebook generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from UK clients each year but until this year all transactions were booked in Ireland, minimising the social media group's UK tax bill. Facebook UK Ltd is funded by affiliates such as the main Irish unit. It received over 210 million Pounds ($261.14 million) in 2015 from these affiliates. But that wasn't enough to cover its costs and the UK subsidiary reported a loss of 52 million Pounds. A spokeswoman said Facebook paid all the taxes it was required to under UK law. “We are proud that in 2015 we have continued to grow our business in the UK and created over 300 new high-skilled jobs,” she added. UK politicians, spurred by public anger about corporate tax avoidance, have criticised the tax arrangements of Facebook and other US tech giants in recent years. The companies exploit loopholes in US and international tax rules to pay almost no tax on non-US profits. Last year, the UK government introduced a new tax to target structures like Facebook’s. In March, Facebook said it would begin to report some UK revenues in Britain from 2016, although it’s unclear what impact, if any, this change will have on its tax bill. Facebook's UK loss was swelled by charges for share incentive schemes, which have not yet vested. Facebook won’t get the benefit of the tax deduction until this happens, which means the company may still have to pay tax for 2015. Excluding the deduction for share schemes, Facebook would have a tax bill of 4 million Pounds for last year. However, the spokeswoman declined to say if Facebook had paid any tax in respect of 2015. Facebook reported worldwide net income of $3.7 billion last year, on turnover of $17.9 billion, according to its annual report. European revenue jumped 34 per cent last year to $1.4 billion. (Reuters)

Facebook reports 11-million-Pound UK tax credit as revenues soar

Facebook on Monday launched a new feature called Marketplace&nbsp;which will allow users of the social networking site to buy and sell with each other.&nbsp;

The feature will appear as a &quot;shop&quot; icon at the bottom of the Facebook app and will allow users to list or search for items on sale in their neighbourhood. Users can adjust their location and search for specific items or categories like clothing, household items or electronics.

&quot;Facebook is where people connect, and in recent years more people have been using Facebook to connect in another way: buying and selling with each other,&quot; product manager Mary Ku said in a blog post.

Facebook said the new product formalises what some members have already been doing in Facebook Groups for years.

&quot;This activity started in Facebook Groups and has grown substantially. More than 450 million people visit, buy and sell Groups each month,&nbsp;from families in a local neighbourhood to collectors around the world.&quot;

The new feature, which is free of cost, puts Facebook squarely in competition with local online selling platforms like Craigslist and eBay.

It will soon be made available to members above 18 years in the United States, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand in the coming days on the Facebook app for iPhone and Android. A desktop version will be launched in the next few months.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

The feature will allow users to list or search for items on sale in their neighbourhood

Facebook on Monday launched a new feature called Marketplace which will allow users of the social networking site to buy and sell with each other. The feature will appear as a "shop" icon at the bottom of the Facebook app and will allow users to list or search for items on sale in their neighbourhood. Users can adjust their location and search for specific items or categories like clothing, household items or electronics. "Facebook is where people connect, and in recent years more people have been using Facebook to connect in another way: buying and selling with each other," product manager Mary Ku said in a blog post. Facebook said the new product formalises what some members have already been doing in Facebook Groups for years. "This activity started in Facebook Groups and has grown substantially. More than 450 million people visit, buy and sell Groups each month, from families in a local neighbourhood to collectors around the world." The new feature, which is free of cost, puts Facebook squarely in competition with local online selling platforms like Craigslist and eBay. It will soon be made available to members above 18 years in the United States, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand in the coming days on the Facebook app for iPhone and Android. A desktop version will be launched in the next few months. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Facebook launches online 'Marketplace' for buying and selling items

The Delhi High Court, while allowing Facebook-owned WhatsApp to enforce its new privacy policy, issued directions to safeguard the interest of the users.

The court stated that WhatsApp could not appropriate data of the users who have been using the popular messaging service since before September 25. 
 
The court added that protection of data would be extended to those who had deleted their accounts and prohibited WhatsApp from using this data for its commercial purpose.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the telecom regulatory body, was also asked to determine if an instant messaging service such as WhatsApp could be could be brought under existing statutory framework. To this, TRAI responded that so far, &quot;instant messaging applications have not yet been brought within the purview of the statutory regulatory framework.&quot;

On August 25, WhatsApp, issued a notification asking its users to accept the changes they made in its terms and conditions. 
 
According to the new terms, the instant messaging app would share the user information it collected with their parent company Facebook and all its group companies for commercial advertising and marketing on its platform.

The information shared would include phone numbers and information on a user&#39;s contact list.

This policy was challenged in the High Court through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by students Karmanya Singh Sareen and Shreya Sethi, who alleged that by sharing information, WhatsApp was &quot;violation of fundamental rights of users.&quot;

The petitioners contended the new policy completely compromised the basic tenet of complete security and protection of privacy of the details and data belonging to users.

It was this basic, yet extremely significant, essential and basic feature of this internet-based messaging service, that attracted many of the users. 
 
However, the instant messaging app, defended its policy by stating that users were not obliged to use the application. Though, no notice was issued to the respondent, WhatsApp chose to enter appearance on its own accord and submitted a short affidavit, on September 19, detailing the key features of its new policy.

In its affidavit, the respondents stated that not only WhatsApp did not store information on its servers beyond 30 days, it also gave the users the option to not share their information with Facebook.

The policy, which is likely to take effect on 25 September, allows users not to accept the new policy by making changes in their WhatsApp settings and un-checking on the box allowing for sharing of information.

In order &quot;to protect interest of users&quot;, the bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal directed WhatsApp to delete information and data of persons who opt out of the service before September 25 and not to share it with Facebook or its group companies. 
 
(This report was first published in DNA)

The app plans to share the user information it has with their parent company Facebook for advertising and marketing purposes

The Delhi High Court, while allowing Facebook-owned WhatsApp to enforce its new privacy policy, issued directions to safeguard the interest of the users. The court stated that WhatsApp could not appropriate data of the users who have been using the popular messaging service since before September 25. The court added that protection of data would be extended to those who had deleted their accounts and prohibited WhatsApp from using this data for its commercial purpose. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the telecom regulatory body, was also asked to determine if an instant messaging service such as WhatsApp could be could be brought under existing statutory framework. To this, TRAI responded that so far, "instant messaging applications have not yet been brought within the purview of the statutory regulatory framework." On August 25, WhatsApp, issued a notification asking its users to accept the changes they made in its terms and conditions. According to the new terms, the instant messaging app would share the user information it collected with their parent company Facebook and all its group companies for commercial advertising and marketing on its platform. The information shared would include phone numbers and information on a user's contact list. This policy was challenged in the High Court through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by students Karmanya Singh Sareen and Shreya Sethi, who alleged that by sharing information, WhatsApp was "violation of fundamental rights of users." The petitioners contended the new policy completely compromised the basic tenet of complete security and protection of privacy of the details and data belonging to users. It was this basic, yet extremely significant, essential and basic feature of this internet-based messaging service, that attracted many of the users. However, the instant messaging app, defended its policy by stating that users were not obliged to use the application. Though, no notice was issued to the respondent, WhatsApp chose to enter appearance on its own accord and submitted a short affidavit, on September 19, detailing the key features of its new policy. In its affidavit, the respondents stated that not only WhatsApp did not store information on its servers beyond 30 days, it also gave the users the option to not share their information with Facebook. The policy, which is likely to take effect on 25 September, allows users not to accept the new policy by making changes in their WhatsApp settings and un-checking on the box allowing for sharing of information. In order "to protect interest of users", the bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal directed WhatsApp to delete information and data of persons who opt out of the service before September 25 and not to share it with Facebook or its group companies. (This report was first published in DNA)

Indian court directs WhatsApp to delete all user data until September 25

A Pakistani Christian has been held for liking and sharing a derogatory picture of the Kaaba, a building in Islam&#39;s most sacred mosque&nbsp;Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. 
 
Nabeel Chohan, who is 18 years of age and hails from Punjab province, had apparently liked and shared a denigrating picture of the Kaaba. 
 
The teenager also had the photo saved on his phone.&nbsp; 
 
One of Chohan&#39;s friends, a Muslim, told police about the incident and later filed a blasphemy case, police official Shahbaz Ahmed told AFP. 
 
&quot;A case of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims and desecrating the religious place has been lodged,&quot; Ahmed further said. 
 
Pakistan has a stringent blasphemy law in the country. As many as 1,300 people have been arrested since 1987 and court punishment ranges from a fine to death sentence. 
 
The blasphemy laws were made stricter between 1980 and 1986 under the military government of General Zia-ul-Haq. 
 
(WION with inputs from AFP)

An 18-year-old youth was arrested for liking a disparaging picture of the Kaaba on social media

A Pakistani Christian has been held for liking and sharing a derogatory picture of the Kaaba, a building in Islam's most sacred mosque Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. Nabeel Chohan, who is 18 years of age and hails from Punjab province, had apparently liked and shared a denigrating picture of the Kaaba. The teenager also had the photo saved on his phone. One of Chohan's friends, a Muslim, told police about the incident and later filed a blasphemy case, police official Shahbaz Ahmed told AFP. "A case of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims and desecrating the religious place has been lodged," Ahmed further said. Pakistan has a stringent blasphemy law in the country. As many as 1,300 people have been arrested since 1987 and court punishment ranges from a fine to death sentence. The blasphemy laws were made stricter between 1980 and 1986 under the military government of General Zia-ul-Haq. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Pakistani Christian held for 'blasphemous' Mecca photo

New proposals around copyright law to shake up how online news and entertainment is paid for in Europe were unveiled by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker in Strasbourg today. &nbsp; 
 
The reform plan aims to bring a fair fight to American video-sharing website,YouTube. 
 
&quot;I want journalists, publishers and authors to be paid fairly for their work, whether it is made in studios or living rooms, whether it is disseminated offline or online, whether it is published via a copying machine or commercially hyperlinked on the web,&quot; Juncker said as he gave his annual State of the Union speech.&nbsp; 
 
Pop stars such as Coldplay and Lady Gaga will hail part of the plan. 
 
The overhaul is meant to bring European copyright law up to date with the digital age to make the world&#39;s largest trading bloc more competitive in a tough global field. 
 
One major change would force internet portals such as Google or Reddit to pay newspaper publishers a licence fee when using small extracts or snippets of news content - most notably on Google News or Huffington Post. 
 
&quot;The commission&#39;s plan to create a copyright for news publishers in Europe is a significant and historic step,&quot; said Carlo Perrone, head of the European Newspaper Publishers&#39; Association. 
 
But, not everyone was happy with the reform plans. 
 
Filmmakers and start-up investors see it as a threat to European innovation and a wrong-headed favour to powerful media groups. 
 
Opponents say this idea punishes smaller publishers and is highly ineffective, as proven when both Germany and Spain created similar systems with neither case producing the badly needed life support to starved newspapers. 
 
&quot;How we share and use the news is in danger. (This plan) won&#39;t lead to more income for news sites, let alone journalists,&quot; said MEP Daniel Dalton, a conservative from Britain. 
 
The commission is also asking that video platforms, such as YouTube or even Facebook, use technology that can track violations of copyright and shut them down. 
 
Cracking down on YouTube is a key demand of some of the world&#39;s biggest music artists who said in a letter to Juncker last June that YouTube was stealing value from streaming services, such as Spotify. 
 
The last time the European Union radically overhauled its copyright laws was in 2001, long before Spotify and YouTube existed. 
 
(WION with inputs from AFP)

The change would force internet portals such as Google to pay newspaper publishers a licence fee when using small extracts of news content

New proposals around copyright law to shake up how online news and entertainment is paid for in Europe were unveiled by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker in Strasbourg today. The reform plan aims to bring a fair fight to American video-sharing website,YouTube. "I want journalists, publishers and authors to be paid fairly for their work, whether it is made in studios or living rooms, whether it is disseminated offline or online, whether it is published via a copying machine or commercially hyperlinked on the web," Juncker said as he gave his annual State of the Union speech. Pop stars such as Coldplay and Lady Gaga will hail part of the plan. The overhaul is meant to bring European copyright law up to date with the digital age to make the world's largest trading bloc more competitive in a tough global field. One major change would force internet portals such as Google or Reddit to pay newspaper publishers a licence fee when using small extracts or snippets of news content - most notably on Google News or Huffington Post. "The commission's plan to create a copyright for news publishers in Europe is a significant and historic step," said Carlo Perrone, head of the European Newspaper Publishers' Association. But, not everyone was happy with the reform plans. Filmmakers and start-up investors see it as a threat to European innovation and a wrong-headed favour to powerful media groups. Opponents say this idea punishes smaller publishers and is highly ineffective, as proven when both Germany and Spain created similar systems with neither case producing the badly needed life support to starved newspapers. "How we share and use the news is in danger. (This plan) won't lead to more income for news sites, let alone journalists," said MEP Daniel Dalton, a conservative from Britain. The commission is also asking that video platforms, such as YouTube or even Facebook, use technology that can track violations of copyright and shut them down. Cracking down on YouTube is a key demand of some of the world's biggest music artists who said in a letter to Juncker last June that YouTube was stealing value from streaming services, such as Spotify. The last time the European Union radically overhauled its copyright laws was in 2001, long before Spotify and YouTube existed. (WION with inputs from AFP)

EU's Juncker unveils radical copyright reform

Facebook-owned photo-sharing app, Instagram, launched a keyword moderation tool on Monday which will allow users to monitor the comments posted on their pictures.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;
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Today we&rsquo;re rolling out improvements to make comments safer for everyone. Read a letter from Kevin Systrom here: <a href="https://t.co/DpUN0Z3Lmk">https://t.co/DpUN0Z3Lmk</a>
&mdash; Instagram (@instagram) <a href="https://twitter.com/instagram/status/775348514335420417">September 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The users will now be able to list words that they find offensive or obscene and those words will be hidden from user&#39;s posts. Either they can use their own list or use the default list provided by the app, Reuters reported. 
 
Instagram users can delete comments by swiping, reporting the comment as offensive and block accounts.&nbsp; 
 
Social media has become an active platform for abusive comments and trolling, celebrities and common people alike are being harassed. 
 
Last month, Justin Bieber deactivated his account on Instagram following hateful comments on a picture he posted. Ghostbuster actor Leslie Jones quit Twitter after she was harassed by users. Twitter permanently suspended a number of user accounts involved in abusing her.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from Reuters) 
 
&nbsp;

Instagram users will now be able to list words that they find offensive or obscene to hide them from the users' posts

Facebook-owned photo-sharing app, Instagram, launched a keyword moderation tool on Monday which will allow users to monitor the comments posted on their pictures. Today we’re rolling out improvements to make comments safer for everyone. Read a letter from Kevin Systrom here: https://t.co/DpUN0Z3Lmk — Instagram (@instagram) September 12, 2016 The users will now be able to list words that they find offensive or obscene and those words will be hidden from user's posts. Either they can use their own list or use the default list provided by the app, Reuters reported. Instagram users can delete comments by swiping, reporting the comment as offensive and block accounts. Social media has become an active platform for abusive comments and trolling, celebrities and common people alike are being harassed. Last month, Justin Bieber deactivated his account on Instagram following hateful comments on a picture he posted. Ghostbuster actor Leslie Jones quit Twitter after she was harassed by users. Twitter permanently suspended a number of user accounts involved in abusing her. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Instagram introduces new feature to moderate comments

Facebook has reversed its decision to remove an iconic photo of a nine-year-old naked girl escaping an attack from the Vietnam War after widespread criticism in Norway, including from their prime minister, who said the photo &quot;shaped world history.&quot; 
 
Facebook, which earlier deleted the picture posted by Norwegian author Tom Edgeland and the country&#39;s prime minister Erna Solberg citing nudity rules, later accepted the validity of the criticism. 
 
&quot;An image of a naked child would normally be presumed to violate our Community Standards, and in some countries might even qualify as child pornography.&nbsp;In this case, we recognise the history and global importance of this image in documenting a particular moment in time,&quot; the company said in a statement.&nbsp; 
 
After Facebook reversed its decision, Solberg told the BBC she was a &quot;happy prime minister.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Egeland, echoed in a tweet,&nbsp;&quot;Now I&#39;m happy!. 
 
Considered one of the war&#39;s defining images, the 1972 picture of a naked Vietnamese girl running from a napalm attack was taken by photographer Nick Ut Cong Huynh for Associated Press and was honoured with the Pulitzer Prize. 
 
Solberg, who is the first head of state to be censured by Facebook, had posted the picture amid a brewing debate in Norway that began after Edgeland&#39;s post was deleted a few weeks back. Norwegians rose to his defence and published the photo in the name of freedom of expression, only to find their posts deleted. 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/napalm%20photo-20160909042421.jpg" />
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The controversy began several weeks ago after Norwegian author Tom Egeland published a post about war photos, illustrated by the iconic picture. It was promptly deleted by Facebook. (Image source: Flickr)
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&quot;While we recognise that this photo is iconic, it&#39;s difficult to create a distinction between allowing a photograph of a nude child in one instance and not others,&quot; a Facebook spokesperson had said in an email to AFP, adding, &quot;We try to find the right balance between enabling people to express themselves while maintaining a safe and respectful experience for our global community.&quot; 
 
Solberg refused to back down, re-posting the photo on her Facebook page, along with several other iconic pictures with sections blacked out, in an attempt to illustrate the absurdity of censoring historic images. 
 
&quot;What Facebook is doing by deleting photos like this, as good as their intentions are, is to edit our common history,&quot; she wrote in a later post. &quot;I hope Facebook will take advantage of this opportunity to review its editorial policy,&quot; she had said earlier. 
 
 
On Friday, Norway&#39;s biggest daily Aftenposten dedicated its front page in its print edition to the photo, and published a two-page open letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. &quot;I write you this letter because I&#39;m concerned by the fact that the biggest media in the world is limiting freedoms instead of trying to broaden them, and because this is happening in a sometimes authoritarian fashion,&quot; editor-in-chief Espen Egil Hansen wrote under the headline &quot;Dear Mark.&quot; 
 
This is not the first time Facebook has been accused of censorship. The company has in the past blocked several artworks. It is to go on trial in France after a schoolteacher accused it of censorship for blocking his account after he posted a photo of a painting by Gustave Courbet called &quot;L&#39;Origine du monde&quot; (The Origin of the World) that shows a woman&#39;s genitals. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

'In this case, we recognize the history and global importance of this image in documenting a particular moment in time,' Facebook said in a statement

Facebook has reversed its decision to remove an iconic photo of a nine-year-old naked girl escaping an attack from the Vietnam War after widespread criticism in Norway, including from their prime minister, who said the photo "shaped world history." Facebook, which earlier deleted the picture posted by Norwegian author Tom Edgeland and the country's prime minister Erna Solberg citing nudity rules, later accepted the validity of the criticism. "An image of a naked child would normally be presumed to violate our Community Standards, and in some countries might even qualify as child pornography. In this case, we recognise the history and global importance of this image in documenting a particular moment in time," the company said in a statement. After Facebook reversed its decision, Solberg told the BBC she was a "happy prime minister." Egeland, echoed in a tweet, "Now I'm happy!. Considered one of the war's defining images, the 1972 picture of a naked Vietnamese girl running from a napalm attack was taken by photographer Nick Ut Cong Huynh for Associated Press and was honoured with the Pulitzer Prize. Solberg, who is the first head of state to be censured by Facebook, had posted the picture amid a brewing debate in Norway that began after Edgeland's post was deleted a few weeks back. Norwegians rose to his defence and published the photo in the name of freedom of expression, only to find their posts deleted. The controversy began several weeks ago after Norwegian author Tom Egeland published a post about war photos, illustrated by the iconic picture. It was promptly deleted by Facebook. (Image source: Flickr) "While we recognise that this photo is iconic, it's difficult to create a distinction between allowing a photograph of a nude child in one instance and not others," a Facebook spokesperson had said in an email to AFP, adding, "We try to find the right balance between enabling people to express themselves while maintaining a safe and respectful experience for our global community." Solberg refused to back down, re-posting the photo on her Facebook page, along with several other iconic pictures with sections blacked out, in an attempt to illustrate the absurdity of censoring historic images. "What Facebook is doing by deleting photos like this, as good as their intentions are, is to edit our common history," she wrote in a later post. "I hope Facebook will take advantage of this opportunity to review its editorial policy," she had said earlier. On Friday, Norway's biggest daily Aftenposten dedicated its front page in its print edition to the photo, and published a two-page open letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. "I write you this letter because I'm concerned by the fact that the biggest media in the world is limiting freedoms instead of trying to broaden them, and because this is happening in a sometimes authoritarian fashion," editor-in-chief Espen Egil Hansen wrote under the headline "Dear Mark." This is not the first time Facebook has been accused of censorship. The company has in the past blocked several artworks. It is to go on trial in France after a schoolteacher accused it of censorship for blocking his account after he posted a photo of a painting by Gustave Courbet called "L'Origine du monde" (The Origin of the World) that shows a woman's genitals. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Facebook reverses decision to censor Vietnam War photo after public criticism

Ohio police department released pictures of a couple OD&#39;d on heroin in their car, along with the woman&#39;s young son in the back seat. The pictures were released as evidence of epidemic drug use and the couple were arrested on charges of child endangerment.&nbsp; 
 
The images were posted on the Facebook page of the East Liverpool police department along with an officer&#39;s report of the incident. 
 
&quot;We are well aware that some may be offended by these images and for that we are truly sorry, but it is time that the non drug using public sees what we are now dealing with on a daily basis,&quot; the department said. 
 
<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/save-20160910034233.jpeg" />
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The image posted by officer Thompson showed the couple unconscious with the woman&#39;s son sitting behind them.
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&quot;The poison known as heroin has taken a strong grip on many communities not just ours, the difference is we are willing to fight this problem until it&#39;s gone and if that means we offend a few people along the way we are prepared to deal with that.&quot; 
 
The post showed James Acord and Rhonda Pasek, unconscious in the front seats of their Ford Explorer, mouths agape, with Pasek&#39;s son sitting in the back.&nbsp; 
 
By Friday afternoon, 24 hours after the images were posted, it had generated 20,000 shares and over 3,000 comments. 
 
According to the police report, Officer Kevin Thompson wrote that Accord&#39;s head was &#39;&#39;bobbing back and forth&#39;&#39;, his speech almost unintelligible. Accord told him he was taking Pasek to the hospital and tried to drive away before completely passing out. 
 
They were revived by emergency medical technicians using several rounds of a drug used to reverse the overdose, Thompson reported. 
 
The officer also found a folded piece of paper with a pink, powdery substance between Pasek&#39;s legs. 
 
The child was taken into custody by child protection services while Pasek was charged with child endangerment and public intoxication charges. 
 
(WION with inputs from Reuters) 
 
 
 
 
 
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The images show the couple unconscious in the front seats of their Ford Explorer, mouths agape, while the woman's son sits in the back

Ohio police department released pictures of a couple OD'd on heroin in their car, along with the woman's young son in the back seat. The pictures were released as evidence of epidemic drug use and the couple were arrested on charges of child endangerment. The images were posted on the Facebook page of the East Liverpool police department along with an officer's report of the incident. "We are well aware that some may be offended by these images and for that we are truly sorry, but it is time that the non drug using public sees what we are now dealing with on a daily basis," the department said. The image posted by officer Thompson showed the couple unconscious with the woman's son sitting behind them. "The poison known as heroin has taken a strong grip on many communities not just ours, the difference is we are willing to fight this problem until it's gone and if that means we offend a few people along the way we are prepared to deal with that." The post showed James Acord and Rhonda Pasek, unconscious in the front seats of their Ford Explorer, mouths agape, with Pasek's son sitting in the back. By Friday afternoon, 24 hours after the images were posted, it had generated 20,000 shares and over 3,000 comments. According to the police report, Officer Kevin Thompson wrote that Accord's head was ''bobbing back and forth'', his speech almost unintelligible. Accord told him he was taking Pasek to the hospital and tried to drive away before completely passing out. They were revived by emergency medical technicians using several rounds of a drug used to reverse the overdose, Thompson reported. The officer also found a folded piece of paper with a pink, powdery substance between Pasek's legs. The child was taken into custody by child protection services while Pasek was charged with child endangerment and public intoxication charges. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Pictures of OD'd Ohio couple go viral on social media

Facebook faced outrage today for repeatedly deleting a historic Vietnam War photo, including in a post by Norway&#39;s premier, which appears to be the first case of the social network censoring a government head. 
 
An active social media user, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg defied Facebook early Friday by posting the photograph, which the US behemoth says violates its nudity rules. 
 
The 1972 picture of a naked Vietnamese girl running from a napalm attack was taken by photographer Nick Ut Cong Huynh for Associated Press and is considered one of the war&#39;s defining images. It was honoured with the Pulitzer Prize. 
 
Solberg&#39;s post was taken down several hours later, deleted by Facebook, she said. 
 
&quot;What Facebook is doing by deleting photos like this, as good as their intentions are, is to edit our common history,&quot; she wrote in a later post. &quot;I hope Facebook will take advantage of this opportunity to review its editorial policy.&quot; 
 
Solberg had posted the picture in the name of freedom of expression amid a brewing debate in Norway. The affair began several weeks ago after Norwegian author Tom Egeland published a post about war photos, illustrated by the iconic picture. It was promptly deleted by Facebook. 
 
Norwegians rose to his defence and published the photo, posts which Facebook also deleted in line with its rules barring nudity. 
 
&quot;While we recognise that this photo is iconic, it&#39;s difficult to create a distinction between allowing a photograph of a nude child in one instance and not others,&quot; a Facebook spokesperson said in an email to AFP. 
 
&quot;We try to find the right balance between enabling people to express themselves while maintaining a safe and respectful experience for our global community,&quot; it said. 
 
Solberg refused to back down, re-posting the photo on her Facebook page, along with several other iconic pictures with sections blacked out, in an attempt to illustrate the absurdity of censoring historic images. 
 
Indecent artworks 
 
Facebook&#39;s moves have sparked fierce reactions in Norway, an ardent defender of civil liberties. 
 
The affair has taken on such proportions that the Norwegian Press Federation has asked the country&#39;s powerful pension fund, the world&#39;s largest sovereign wealth fund, to examine whether the censorship practice was in line with its ethical criteria for investments. 
 
At the end of 2015, the fund owned 0.52 per cent of Facebook. 
 
Traditional media also expressed concern about the moves by Facebook, which has become a key conduit of information for many people. 
 
On Friday, Norway&#39;s biggest daily Aftenposten dedicated its front page in its print edition to the photo, and published a two-page open letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. 
 
&quot;I write you this letter because I&#39;m concerned by the fact that the biggest media in the world is limiting freedoms instead of trying to broaden them, and because this is happening in a sometimes authoritarian fashion,&quot; editor-in-chief Espen Egil Hansen wrote under the headline &quot;Dear Mark.&quot; 
 
&quot;I&#39;m afraid we&#39;re becoming a society where the lowest common denominator determines what is shocking to the global population,&quot; Hansen told AFP.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The information has to be as acceptable in a small village in Pakistan as in an intellectual milieu in Paris. This lowest common denominator is a very dangerous mechanism when it is implemented by the most influential editor-in-chief in the world,&quot; he said in reference to Zuckerberg. 
 
This is not the first time Facebook has been accused of censorship. The company has in the past blocked several artworks. 
 
It is to go on trial in France after a schoolteacher accused it of censorship for blocking his account after he posted a photo of a painting by Gustave Courbet called &quot;L&#39;Origine du monde&quot; (The Origin of the World) that shows a woman&#39;s genitals. 
 
And earlier this year, a Danish lawmaker also complained that Facebook had removed her picture of the Copenhagen statue of the Little Mermaid because of its nudity rules. 
 
(AFP)

The Norwegian PM had posted the iconic picture; the social networking site deleted it saying it violated its nudity rules

Facebook faced outrage today for repeatedly deleting a historic Vietnam War photo, including in a post by Norway's premier, which appears to be the first case of the social network censoring a government head. An active social media user, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg defied Facebook early Friday by posting the photograph, which the US behemoth says violates its nudity rules. The 1972 picture of a naked Vietnamese girl running from a napalm attack was taken by photographer Nick Ut Cong Huynh for Associated Press and is considered one of the war's defining images. It was honoured with the Pulitzer Prize. Solberg's post was taken down several hours later, deleted by Facebook, she said. "What Facebook is doing by deleting photos like this, as good as their intentions are, is to edit our common history," she wrote in a later post. "I hope Facebook will take advantage of this opportunity to review its editorial policy." Solberg had posted the picture in the name of freedom of expression amid a brewing debate in Norway. The affair began several weeks ago after Norwegian author Tom Egeland published a post about war photos, illustrated by the iconic picture. It was promptly deleted by Facebook. Norwegians rose to his defence and published the photo, posts which Facebook also deleted in line with its rules barring nudity. "While we recognise that this photo is iconic, it's difficult to create a distinction between allowing a photograph of a nude child in one instance and not others," a Facebook spokesperson said in an email to AFP. "We try to find the right balance between enabling people to express themselves while maintaining a safe and respectful experience for our global community," it said. Solberg refused to back down, re-posting the photo on her Facebook page, along with several other iconic pictures with sections blacked out, in an attempt to illustrate the absurdity of censoring historic images. Indecent artworks Facebook's moves have sparked fierce reactions in Norway, an ardent defender of civil liberties. The affair has taken on such proportions that the Norwegian Press Federation has asked the country's powerful pension fund, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, to examine whether the censorship practice was in line with its ethical criteria for investments. At the end of 2015, the fund owned 0.52 per cent of Facebook. Traditional media also expressed concern about the moves by Facebook, which has become a key conduit of information for many people. On Friday, Norway's biggest daily Aftenposten dedicated its front page in its print edition to the photo, and published a two-page open letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. "I write you this letter because I'm concerned by the fact that the biggest media in the world is limiting freedoms instead of trying to broaden them, and because this is happening in a sometimes authoritarian fashion," editor-in-chief Espen Egil Hansen wrote under the headline "Dear Mark." "I'm afraid we're becoming a society where the lowest common denominator determines what is shocking to the global population," Hansen told AFP. "The information has to be as acceptable in a small village in Pakistan as in an intellectual milieu in Paris. This lowest common denominator is a very dangerous mechanism when it is implemented by the most influential editor-in-chief in the world," he said in reference to Zuckerberg. This is not the first time Facebook has been accused of censorship. The company has in the past blocked several artworks. It is to go on trial in France after a schoolteacher accused it of censorship for blocking his account after he posted a photo of a painting by Gustave Courbet called "L'Origine du monde" (The Origin of the World) that shows a woman's genitals. And earlier this year, a Danish lawmaker also complained that Facebook had removed her picture of the Copenhagen statue of the Little Mermaid because of its nudity rules. (AFP)

Facebook censors iconic Vietnam War photo, angering Norway

Social media giant Facebook on Friday said that its &#39;trending&#39; feature, where a few popular news topics are listed on the homepage, will be automated to rely on algorithms that will no longer require people to write descriptions for the most &lsquo;popular&rsquo; topics.&nbsp; 
 
This, according to social media giant, will lessen the risk of personal bias in manipulating what props up on the hot topics&rsquo; list.&nbsp; 
 
The move comes in the wake of allegations made by critics that Facebook&rsquo;s trending section was biased against conservative news outlets. The company has denied the allegations.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We looked into these claims and found no evidence of systematic bias,&quot; Facebook reiterated in its blog post on Friday, adding that &quot;making these changes to the product allows our team to make fewer individual decisions about topics.&quot; 
 
Instead of the descriptions, the algorithm will allow users to just see the topic which is trending and the number of people talking about it.&nbsp; 
 
Letting a cursor hover over a topic will show &quot;an automatically selected original news story with an excerpt pulled directly from the top article itself.&quot; 
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<h5>Letting a cursor hover over a topic will show &quot;an automatically selected original news story with an excerpt pulled directly from the top article itself.&quot;</h5>
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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=
Letting a cursor hover over a topic will show &quot;an automatically selected original news story with an excerpt pulled directly from the top article itself.&quot;" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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However, humans will ensure that topics making the news are real-world news and not based on any vague internet trend. That is, they will just verify the quality but not hand-pick the topics to be featured.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Our investigation has revealed no evidence of systematic political bias in the selection or prominence of stories included in the Trending Topics feature,&quot; Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch said in a letter responding to a query from Republican US Senator John Thune, who chairs the commerce committee. 
 
The letter stated that Facebook had updated its terminology and gave reviewers the training that emphasised content decisions were not based on politics or ideology.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;In fact, our analysis indicated that the rates of approval of conservative and liberal topics are virtually identical in Trending Topics.&quot; 
 
Facebook stopped stop relying on external websites and news outlets as its review team became subject to more controls.&nbsp; 
 
Technology news outlet Gizmodo had also reported anonymous allegations that Facebook was deliberately omitting articles with a conservative spin.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from AFP)

The feature will now rely heavily on algorithms that will lessen the risk of personal bias in what comes up in the trending feed

Social media giant Facebook on Friday said that its 'trending' feature, where a few popular news topics are listed on the homepage, will be automated to rely on algorithms that will no longer require people to write descriptions for the most ‘popular’ topics. This, according to social media giant, will lessen the risk of personal bias in manipulating what props up on the hot topics’ list. The move comes in the wake of allegations made by critics that Facebook’s trending section was biased against conservative news outlets. The company has denied the allegations. "We looked into these claims and found no evidence of systematic bias," Facebook reiterated in its blog post on Friday, adding that "making these changes to the product allows our team to make fewer individual decisions about topics." Instead of the descriptions, the algorithm will allow users to just see the topic which is trending and the number of people talking about it. Letting a cursor hover over a topic will show "an automatically selected original news story with an excerpt pulled directly from the top article itself." Letting a cursor hover over a topic will show "an automatically selected original news story with an excerpt pulled directly from the top article itself." However, humans will ensure that topics making the news are real-world news and not based on any vague internet trend. That is, they will just verify the quality but not hand-pick the topics to be featured. "Our investigation has revealed no evidence of systematic political bias in the selection or prominence of stories included in the Trending Topics feature," Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch said in a letter responding to a query from Republican US Senator John Thune, who chairs the commerce committee. The letter stated that Facebook had updated its terminology and gave reviewers the training that emphasised content decisions were not based on politics or ideology. "In fact, our analysis indicated that the rates of approval of conservative and liberal topics are virtually identical in Trending Topics." Facebook stopped stop relying on external websites and news outlets as its review team became subject to more controls. Technology news outlet Gizmodo had also reported anonymous allegations that Facebook was deliberately omitting articles with a conservative spin. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Facebook to make trending news feature more automated

Facebook Inc stock has the potential to climb by more than 20 per cent over the next year given the growing advertising revenue among its platforms, according to a Barron&#39;s report on Sunday.

The social media giant, which traded at just under $124 a share on Friday, has seen a recent acceleration in growth in part because of its increasing mobile ad load, or, the number of ads Facebook can serve up to its users, the report said.

Facebook also has other avenues of ad load growth, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, which have yet to fill up on ads, it said.

Wall Street expects daily average users, which are 1.1 billion now, to reach 1.7 billion in four years. By then, Facebook will have learned more about how to turn its ads into transactions, leading to growth in the advertising rate it charges, Barron&#39;s said.

One concern, however, is Facebook&#39;s appeal to the young, as those under 25 years are spending a lower amount of total mobile time on Facebook compared to other age groups.

Still, Barron&#39;s said that the company could hit $153 a share in a year, which would be a premium price, but not an outlandish one given that investors are paying dearly for rare things like growth, yield and predictability, the report said.

A US financial magazine believes that increasing ad revenues will help the social media network to grow in the next twelve months

Facebook Inc stock has the potential to climb by more than 20 per cent over the next year given the growing advertising revenue among its platforms, according to a Barron's report on Sunday. The social media giant, which traded at just under $124 a share on Friday, has seen a recent acceleration in growth in part because of its increasing mobile ad load, or, the number of ads Facebook can serve up to its users, the report said. Facebook also has other avenues of ad load growth, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, which have yet to fill up on ads, it said. Wall Street expects daily average users, which are 1.1 billion now, to reach 1.7 billion in four years. By then, Facebook will have learned more about how to turn its ads into transactions, leading to growth in the advertising rate it charges, Barron's said. One concern, however, is Facebook's appeal to the young, as those under 25 years are spending a lower amount of total mobile time on Facebook compared to other age groups. Still, Barron's said that the company could hit $153 a share in a year, which would be a premium price, but not an outlandish one given that investors are paying dearly for rare things like growth, yield and predictability, the report said.

Facebook can surge by 20 per cent on ad growth: Report

Facebook on Friday took direct aim at video-loving adolescents, and Snapchat, with the release of a new iPhone app that allows teens to watch clips about the lives of their classmates. 
 
The app, called Lifestage, was released with no fanfare, and is available for anyone to download on iPhone, although seeing profiles of other users is reserved for those 21 years of age or younger. 
 
The social network allows users to make video clips to describe likes, peeves, dance styles, and other aspects of their character. 
 
Those clips are woven together to serve as public profiles that can be viewed by other Lifestage members, provided they are young enough. 
 
A tool in the app lets users block and report older folks. 
 
&quot;Lifestage makes it easy and fun to share a visual profile of who you are with your school network,&quot; the app&#39;s iTunes store description says. 
 
Once enough students at any given school are on the app, it becomes &quot;unlocked&quot;. 
 
&quot;Once your school is unlocked, you can access the profiles of others in your school community (and all over!) so you can get to know people better in your school and nearby schools,&quot; the description said. 
 
Lifestage users are invited to share video snippets whenever they wish. 
 
The app comes as a challenge to Snapchat, the vanishing message service that became a hit with teenagers and which lets members share pictures and video clips. 
 
Lifestage was seen by some as an effort by Facebook to stay connected to young internet users disinclined to take part in the leading social network. 
 
Facebook did not return an AFP request for comment. 
 
Earlier this month, Instagram put its own spin on a key Snapchat feature by letting users post &quot;Stories&quot; that eventually vanish from the Facebook-owned photo-and-video-sharing app. 
 
Instagram Stories encourages people to share ephemeral collages of everyday moments on the app which has built a reputation for allowing people to post highlights from their lives or artistic works. 
 
(AFP)

The app allows users to make video clips to describe likes, peeves, dance styles, and other aspects of their character

Facebook on Friday took direct aim at video-loving adolescents, and Snapchat, with the release of a new iPhone app that allows teens to watch clips about the lives of their classmates. The app, called Lifestage, was released with no fanfare, and is available for anyone to download on iPhone, although seeing profiles of other users is reserved for those 21 years of age or younger. The social network allows users to make video clips to describe likes, peeves, dance styles, and other aspects of their character. Those clips are woven together to serve as public profiles that can be viewed by other Lifestage members, provided they are young enough. A tool in the app lets users block and report older folks. "Lifestage makes it easy and fun to share a visual profile of who you are with your school network," the app's iTunes store description says. Once enough students at any given school are on the app, it becomes "unlocked". "Once your school is unlocked, you can access the profiles of others in your school community (and all over!) so you can get to know people better in your school and nearby schools," the description said. Lifestage users are invited to share video snippets whenever they wish. The app comes as a challenge to Snapchat, the vanishing message service that became a hit with teenagers and which lets members share pictures and video clips. Lifestage was seen by some as an effort by Facebook to stay connected to young internet users disinclined to take part in the leading social network. Facebook did not return an AFP request for comment. Earlier this month, Instagram put its own spin on a key Snapchat feature by letting users post "Stories" that eventually vanish from the Facebook-owned photo-and-video-sharing app. Instagram Stories encourages people to share ephemeral collages of everyday moments on the app which has built a reputation for allowing people to post highlights from their lives or artistic works. (AFP)

Facebook aims for video-loving teens with new Lifestage app

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