Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg conceded on Wednesday that the company's planned digital currency Libra was a "risky project," but sought to reassure sceptical US&nbsp;lawmakers that it could lower the cost of electronic payments and open up the global financial system to more people.

Sporting a suit and tie, Zuckerberg also fended off aggressive questions on election interference, free speech, hate groups and fake news from members of the US&nbsp;House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

Representative Maxine Waters, the panel's fiery Democratic chair, quizzed Zuckerberg on Facebook's steps to combat misinformation and voter suppression ahead of the November 2020 US&nbsp;presidential election. She also suggested policymakers should consider breaking up Facebook.

Waters had previously called for halting the Libra project before its planned 2020 launch and has drafted legislation that would bar tech companies from entering financial services.

"It would be beneficial for all if Facebook concentrates on addressing its many existing deficiencies and failures before proceeding any further on the Libra project," Waters told Zuckerberg two days after Facebook disclosed it had removed a network of Russian accounts targeting US&nbsp;voters on its Instagram platform.

Bipartisan criticism

Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike blasted Facebook for failing to crack down on online child exploitation and political misinformation, and for data privacy lapses. Several said they did not trust Facebook to help provide financial services to its 2.4 billion users given the past scandals.

"Facebook’s internal model was for a long time was 'Move fast and break things.' Mr&nbsp;Zuckerberg, we do not want to break the international monetary system," said Representative Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat.

Zuckerberg said Facebook would insist on US&nbsp;regulatory approval before launching Libra, which is being established by a Switzerland-based consortium including venture capital firms and nonprofits. He said Facebook would even leave the Libra Association if other companies sought to launch the currency without that sign-off.

Libra has faltered in recent weeks amid sustained criticism from lawmakers and regulators globally over fears it may aid money laundering and upend the global financial system. Several financial partners including Mastercard, Visa, PayPal and eBay have abandoned the project.&nbsp;

Representative Ann Wagner, a Republican, pressed Zuckerberg on why so many companies abandoned the Libra effort. “You’ve lost these stable partners and I find it highly concerning," she said. "Why do a number of these founding members have concerns of whether you’re up to the task of meeting our money laundering and regulatory standards?"

The 35-year old Facebook CEO conceded that those companies dropped out because Libra is a "risky project" and that he was not sure it would even work. During his testimony, the price of bitcoin versus the US&nbsp;dollar tumbled to a five-month low.&nbsp;

Facebook has 'work to do'

Calm and composed, Zuckerberg navigated the hostile room without major slip-ups and was even afforded a gentle rib by Democratic Representative Katie Porter, who complimented him on his short haircut.

The CEO last appeared before Congress in April 2018 when he fielded 10 hours of questions over two days from House and Senate panels on political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica's misuse of Facebook customer data to interfere in the 2016 US&nbsp;presidential election.

On Wednesday, he acknowledged Facebook's mistakes, saying he understood the social media giant was not the "ideal messenger" for the Libra project and that the company has "work to do to build trust." But he said past missteps should not stand in the way of Libra, based in Switzerland.

"The vision here is to make it so that people can send money to each other as easily and cheaply as it is sending a text message."

Zuckerberg was unable though to make material commitments on behalf of Libra because Facebook no longer controls the project, sometimes to the frustration of lawmakers.

On October&nbsp;14, the Libra Association comprising 21 members agreed articles of association laying out how the organization will be governed, as required by Swiss law. Most decisions will require a majority vote of the group's governing council, meaning Facebook will not call the shots.

Lawmakers also touched on other hot button issues, including diversity, inclusion, and charges brought by the housing regulator in March, still pending, alleging Facebook violated fair lending laws.

Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat, hammered Zuckerberg, saying she viewed Facebook's efforts to address civil rights abuses as insufficient, calling them "appalling and disgusting."

Some Republicans did offer support for Zuckerberg and the Libra project, arguing the government should not stop the private sector from innovating.

"I have my own qualms about Facebook and Libra and the shortcomings of Big Tech," said Representative Patrick McHenry, the top Republican on the panel. "But if history has taught us anything, it’s better to be on the side of American innovation"

Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg conceded on Wednesday that the company's planned digital currency Libra was a "risky project," but sought to reassure sceptical US lawmakers that it could lower the cost of electronic payments and open up the global financial system to more people.

Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg conceded on Wednesday that the company's planned digital currency Libra was a "risky project," but sought to reassure sceptical US lawmakers that it could lower the cost of electronic payments and open up the global financial system to more people. Sporting a suit and tie, Zuckerberg also fended off aggressive questions on election interference, free speech, hate groups and fake news from members of the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Representative Maxine Waters, the panel's fiery Democratic chair, quizzed Zuckerberg on Facebook's steps to combat misinformation and voter suppression ahead of the November 2020 US presidential election. She also suggested policymakers should consider breaking up Facebook. Waters had previously called for halting the Libra project before its planned 2020 launch and has drafted legislation that would bar tech companies from entering financial services. "It would be beneficial for all if Facebook concentrates on addressing its many existing deficiencies and failures before proceeding any further on the Libra project," Waters told Zuckerberg two days after Facebook disclosed it had removed a network of Russian accounts targeting US voters on its Instagram platform. Bipartisan criticism Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike blasted Facebook for failing to crack down on online child exploitation and political misinformation, and for data privacy lapses. Several said they did not trust Facebook to help provide financial services to its 2.4 billion users given the past scandals. "Facebook’s internal model was for a long time was 'Move fast and break things.' Mr Zuckerberg, we do not want to break the international monetary system," said Representative Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat. Zuckerberg said Facebook would insist on US regulatory approval before launching Libra, which is being established by a Switzerland-based consortium including venture capital firms and nonprofits. He said Facebook would even leave the Libra Association if other companies sought to launch the currency without that sign-off. Libra has faltered in recent weeks amid sustained criticism from lawmakers and regulators globally over fears it may aid money laundering and upend the global financial system. Several financial partners including Mastercard, Visa, PayPal and eBay have abandoned the project. Representative Ann Wagner, a Republican, pressed Zuckerberg on why so many companies abandoned the Libra effort. “You’ve lost these stable partners and I find it highly concerning," she said. "Why do a number of these founding members have concerns of whether you’re up to the task of meeting our money laundering and regulatory standards?" The 35-year old Facebook CEO conceded that those companies dropped out because Libra is a "risky project" and that he was not sure it would even work. During his testimony, the price of bitcoin versus the US dollar tumbled to a five-month low. Facebook has 'work to do' Calm and composed, Zuckerberg navigated the hostile room without major slip-ups and was even afforded a gentle rib by Democratic Representative Katie Porter, who complimented him on his short haircut. The CEO last appeared before Congress in April 2018 when he fielded 10 hours of questions over two days from House and Senate panels on political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica's misuse of Facebook customer data to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election. On Wednesday, he acknowledged Facebook's mistakes, saying he understood the social media giant was not the "ideal messenger" for the Libra project and that the company has "work to do to build trust." But he said past missteps should not stand in the way of Libra, based in Switzerland. "The vision here is to make it so that people can send money to each other as easily and cheaply as it is sending a text message." Zuckerberg was unable though to make material commitments on behalf of Libra because Facebook no longer controls the project, sometimes to the frustration of lawmakers. On October 14, the Libra Association comprising 21 members agreed articles of association laying out how the organization will be governed, as required by Swiss law. Most decisions will require a majority vote of the group's governing council, meaning Facebook will not call the shots. Lawmakers also touched on other hot button issues, including diversity, inclusion, and charges brought by the housing regulator in March, still pending, alleging Facebook violated fair lending laws. Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democrat, hammered Zuckerberg, saying she viewed Facebook's efforts to address civil rights abuses as insufficient, calling them "appalling and disgusting." Some Republicans did offer support for Zuckerberg and the Libra project, arguing the government should not stop the private sector from innovating. "I have my own qualms about Facebook and Libra and the shortcomings of Big Tech," said Representative Patrick McHenry, the top Republican on the panel. "But if history has taught us anything, it’s better to be on the side of American innovation"

Facebook's Zuckerberg grilled in US Congress on digital currency, privacy, elections

Facebook's Zuckerberg testifies before U.S. House panel. Watch video to know more.

Facebook's Zuckerberg testifies before United States House panel

Facebook has announced steps to combat misinformation and voter suppression ahead of the November 2020 US&nbsp;presidential election, on the same day it disclosed the removal of a network of Russian accounts targeting US&nbsp;voters on Instagram.

Facebook said on Monday it would increase transparency through measures such as showing more information about the confirmed owner of a Facebook page and more prominently labeling content that independent fact-checkers have marked as false.

The social media giant has come under fire in recent weeks over its policy of exempting ads run by politicians from fact-checking, drawing ire from Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren.

Last week, Facebook CEO Mark <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/zuckerberg-defends-facebooks-approach-to-free-speech-draws-line-on-china-257158">Zuckerberg defended</a> the policy, saying social media had introduced transformative avenues for speech that should not be shut down.

That same day, the Biden campaign called for the removal of an ad run by a super PAC campaign group, not a politician, that it said contained false claims about the former vice president.

Katie Harbath, Facebook's head of global elections policy, said in response that if the now inactive ad ran again, it would be sent to Facebook's third-party fact-checkers.

On Monday, Facebook said would be putting into effect its planned ban on paid ads that tell people in the United States not to vote. Zuckerberg told reporters on a conference call that the ban on voter misinformation would also apply to ads run by politicians.

The company will start labeling state-controlled media on its page and in the site's ad library. In a blog post, Facebook said it planned to expand this labeling to specific posts on both Facebook and Instagram early next year.

Facebook, Twitter&nbsp;and YouTube, the video-streaming service of Alphabet's Google, all recently came under scrutiny after showing ads from Chinese state-controlled media that criticized Hong Kong protesters.

This month, the Senate committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US&nbsp;election said that the Kremlin’s best-known propaganda arm increased its social media activity after that vote.

"The bottom line here is that elections have changed significantly since 2016 and Facebook has changed too." Zuckerberg said on Monday.

"We face increasingly sophisticated attacks from nation states like Russia, Iran and China, but I'm confident we're more prepared."

Theories that China has interfered in US&nbsp;elections are absurd and laughable, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

If someone says China interfered in the US&nbsp;election, they should provide proof, said Hua. China has never had any interest in interfering with other countries' internal affairs, she said.

Moscow and Tehran have also repeatedly denied the allegations.

Facebook will introduce a new US&nbsp;presidential candidate spend tracker to show how much they have spent on political ads as part of the company's efforts to make its ad library easier to use, Zuckerberg said.

Facebook launched an online library of political ads in 2018, but the database has been criticized by researchers as being poorly maintained and failing to provide useful ad targeting information.

The company plans to heighten protection of the Facebook and Instagram accounts of candidates, elected officials and their teams through a program called Facebook Protect. Participants in the program will be required to turn on two-factor authentication and their accounts will be monitored for signs of hacking.

Facebook has announced steps to combat misinformation and voter suppression ahead of the November 2020 US presidential election, on the same day it disclosed the removal of a network of Russian accounts targeting US voters on Instagram.

Facebook has announced steps to combat misinformation and voter suppression ahead of the November 2020 US presidential election, on the same day it disclosed the removal of a network of Russian accounts targeting US voters on Instagram. Facebook said on Monday it would increase transparency through measures such as showing more information about the confirmed owner of a Facebook page and more prominently labeling content that independent fact-checkers have marked as false. The social media giant has come under fire in recent weeks over its policy of exempting ads run by politicians from fact-checking, drawing ire from Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren. Last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the policy, saying social media had introduced transformative avenues for speech that should not be shut down. That same day, the Biden campaign called for the removal of an ad run by a super PAC campaign group, not a politician, that it said contained false claims about the former vice president. Katie Harbath, Facebook's head of global elections policy, said in response that if the now inactive ad ran again, it would be sent to Facebook's third-party fact-checkers. On Monday, Facebook said would be putting into effect its planned ban on paid ads that tell people in the United States not to vote. Zuckerberg told reporters on a conference call that the ban on voter misinformation would also apply to ads run by politicians. The company will start labeling state-controlled media on its page and in the site's ad library. In a blog post, Facebook said it planned to expand this labeling to specific posts on both Facebook and Instagram early next year. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the video-streaming service of Alphabet's Google, all recently came under scrutiny after showing ads from Chinese state-controlled media that criticized Hong Kong protesters. This month, the Senate committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election said that the Kremlin’s best-known propaganda arm increased its social media activity after that vote. "The bottom line here is that elections have changed significantly since 2016 and Facebook has changed too." Zuckerberg said on Monday. "We face increasingly sophisticated attacks from nation states like Russia, Iran and China, but I'm confident we're more prepared." Theories that China has interfered in US elections are absurd and laughable, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. If someone says China interfered in the US election, they should provide proof, said Hua. China has never had any interest in interfering with other countries' internal affairs, she said. Moscow and Tehran have also repeatedly denied the allegations. Facebook will introduce a new US presidential candidate spend tracker to show how much they have spent on political ads as part of the company's efforts to make its ad library easier to use, Zuckerberg said. Facebook launched an online library of political ads in 2018, but the database has been criticized by researchers as being poorly maintained and failing to provide useful ad targeting information. The company plans to heighten protection of the Facebook and Instagram accounts of candidates, elected officials and their teams through a program called Facebook Protect. Participants in the program will be required to turn on two-factor authentication and their accounts will be monitored for signs of hacking.

Facebook announces steps to clamp down on misinformation ahead of 2020 election

A hashtag for deleting Facebook has begun trending again after it was revealed that CEO Mark Zuckerberg had reportedly held informal meetings with conservative influencers.

#DeleteFacebook trends after secret meetings revealed

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-tightens-political-advert-rules-for-singapore-252233">Mark Zuckerberg</a> defended on Thursday his decision to encrypt the company's messaging services, despite concerns about its impact on child exploitation and other criminal activity.

The United States, Britain and Australia signed an open letter earlier in the day calling for <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-justice-department-to-open-antitrust-investigation-against-facebook-252174">Facebook</a> to suspend its encryption plan, saying it would hinder the fight against child abuse and terrorism.

Zuckerberg, speaking in a livestream of the company's weekly internal Q&amp;A session, said he had been aware of child exploitation risks before announcing his encryption plan and acknowledged that it would reduce tools to fight the problem.

"When we were deciding whether to go to end-to-end encryption across the different apps, this was one of the things that just weighed the most heavily on me," he said.

Addressing an employee question about online child abuse, Zuckerberg acknowledged that losing access to the content of messages would mean "you're fighting that battle with at least a hand tied behind your back."

But he said he was "optimistic" that Facebook would be able to identify predators even in encrypted systems using the same tools it used to fight election interference, like patterns of activity and links between accounts on different platforms.

Watch: Facebook suspends thousands of Apps

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He also suggested the company might further limit the ways adults can interact with minors on Facebook's platforms.

Zuckerberg announced his plan to pivot the company toward more private forms of communication in March, capping months of internal debate over the merits of encryption, three sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

Inside the company, privacy engineers and others eager to shed the legacy of the Cambridge Analytica scandal saw the move as a win, as did product managers watching the steady uptick of growth at Facebook's encrypted messaging service WhatsApp.

But members of Facebook's safety team familiar with the child exploitation risks argued against the plan, raising deep concerns through the group's leaders and in large company meetings with senior executives, the sources said.

The United States, Britain and Australia said in their joint letter that they had engaged with Facebook on the issue, but that the company had not committed to addressing their "serious concerns" about the impact of its proposals.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also met with Zuckerberg and other senior leaders of Facebook, who offered assurances that child safety was important to them.

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg defended on Thursday his decision to encrypt the company's messaging services, despite concerns about its impact on child exploitation and other criminal activity.

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg defended on Thursday his decision to encrypt the company's messaging services, despite concerns about its impact on child exploitation and other criminal activity. The United States, Britain and Australia signed an open letter earlier in the day calling for Facebook to suspend its encryption plan, saying it would hinder the fight against child abuse and terrorism. Zuckerberg, speaking in a livestream of the company's weekly internal Q&A session, said he had been aware of child exploitation risks before announcing his encryption plan and acknowledged that it would reduce tools to fight the problem. "When we were deciding whether to go to end-to-end encryption across the different apps, this was one of the things that just weighed the most heavily on me," he said. Addressing an employee question about online child abuse, Zuckerberg acknowledged that losing access to the content of messages would mean "you're fighting that battle with at least a hand tied behind your back." But he said he was "optimistic" that Facebook would be able to identify predators even in encrypted systems using the same tools it used to fight election interference, like patterns of activity and links between accounts on different platforms. Watch: Facebook suspends thousands of Apps × He also suggested the company might further limit the ways adults can interact with minors on Facebook's platforms. Zuckerberg announced his plan to pivot the company toward more private forms of communication in March, capping months of internal debate over the merits of encryption, three sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters. Inside the company, privacy engineers and others eager to shed the legacy of the Cambridge Analytica scandal saw the move as a win, as did product managers watching the steady uptick of growth at Facebook's encrypted messaging service WhatsApp. But members of Facebook's safety team familiar with the child exploitation risks argued against the plan, raising deep concerns through the group's leaders and in large company meetings with senior executives, the sources said. The United States, Britain and Australia said in their joint letter that they had engaged with Facebook on the issue, but that the company had not committed to addressing their "serious concerns" about the impact of its proposals. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also met with Zuckerberg and other senior leaders of Facebook, who offered assurances that child safety was important to them.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg defends encryption, despite child safety concerns

Facebook rolled out its <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/400-million-facebook-users-phone-numbers-exposed-in-privacy-lapse-reports-247741">online dating service</a> for the United States on Thursday, a move taking on rivals such as smartphone app Tinder.

The free "Facebook Dating" site which was announced last year and already available in other countries will allow users to link their Facebook and Instagram post to a separate dating profile.

It will seek to facilitate connections among the more than two billion users of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/now-facebook-tightens-rules-for-us-political-advertisers-ahead-of-2020-polls-246223">social network worldwide</a>.

"Facebook Dating allows you to match with friends of friends and/or people not in your friend circle," said a blog post from Nathan Sharp, head of the project.

One of the features, "secret crush" which allows people to connect if they both secretly express interest in each other.

"Facebook Dating won't match you with friends, unless you choose to use Secret Crush and you both add each other to your list," Sharp said.

"Finding a romantic partner is deeply personal, which is why we built Dating to be safe, inclusive and opt-in. Safety, security and privacy are at the forefront of this product."

Sharp said users will have the ability to report and block anyone,and prohibit people from sending photos, links, payments or videos in messages.

Users may share their "stories" posts from the network, which are short video segments, which will help the service be "authentic in a way that a typical dating profile can't," according to Sharp.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, in announcing the plan last year, said it was being designed for "real, long-term relationships, not just hookups."

He pointed out that one in three marriages in the United States start online and that some 200 million Facebook users identify as being single.

Facebook may have an advantage over rivals in that it can allow people to share profiles and images from their social media profiles.

The dating service will be free to users, unlike some rivals which offer both free and paid plans.

Facebook Dating has already been launched in 19 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Surinam, Thailand, Uruguay and Vietnam.&nbsp;

It is set to launch in Europe in 2020.

Facebook rolled out its online dating service for the United States on Thursday, a move taking on rivals such as smartphone app Tinder. The free "Facebook Dating" site which was announced last year and already available in other countries will allow users to link their Facebook and Instagram post to a separate dating profile.

Facebook rolled out its online dating service for the United States on Thursday, a move taking on rivals such as smartphone app Tinder. The free "Facebook Dating" site which was announced last year and already available in other countries will allow users to link their Facebook and Instagram post to a separate dating profile. It will seek to facilitate connections among the more than two billion users of the social network worldwide. "Facebook Dating allows you to match with friends of friends and/or people not in your friend circle," said a blog post from Nathan Sharp, head of the project. One of the features, "secret crush" which allows people to connect if they both secretly express interest in each other. "Facebook Dating won't match you with friends, unless you choose to use Secret Crush and you both add each other to your list," Sharp said. "Finding a romantic partner is deeply personal, which is why we built Dating to be safe, inclusive and opt-in. Safety, security and privacy are at the forefront of this product." Sharp said users will have the ability to report and block anyone,and prohibit people from sending photos, links, payments or videos in messages. Users may share their "stories" posts from the network, which are short video segments, which will help the service be "authentic in a way that a typical dating profile can't," according to Sharp. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, in announcing the plan last year, said it was being designed for "real, long-term relationships, not just hookups." He pointed out that one in three marriages in the United States start online and that some 200 million Facebook users identify as being single. Facebook may have an advantage over rivals in that it can allow people to share profiles and images from their social media profiles. The dating service will be free to users, unlike some rivals which offer both free and paid plans. Facebook Dating has already been launched in 19 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Surinam, Thailand, Uruguay and Vietnam. It is set to launch in Europe in 2020.

Facebook launches online dating service in US

Phone numbers linked to more than 400 million Facebook accounts were listed online in the latest privacy lapse for the social media giant, US media reported Wednesday.

An exposed server stored 419 million records on users across several databases -- including 133 million US accounts, more than 50 million in Vietnam, and 18 million in Britain, according to technology news site TechCruch.

The databases listed Facebook user IDs -- unique digits attached to each account -- the profiles' phone numbers, as well as the gender listed by some accounts and their geographical locations, technology website TechCrunch reported.

Watch: Facebook tightens rules on political ads

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The server was not password protected, meaning anyone could access the databases and remained online until late Wednesday when TechCrunch contacted the site's host.

Facebook confirmed parts of the report but downplayed the extent of the exposure, saying that the number of accounts so far confirmed was around half of the reported 419 million.

It added that many of the entries were duplicates and that the data was old.

"The dataset has been taken down and we have seen no evidence that Facebook accounts were compromised," a Facebook spokesperson told AFP.

Following the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, when a firm used Facebook's lax privacy settings to access millions of users' personal details, the company disabled a feature that allowed users to search the platform by phone numbers.

The exposure of a user's phone number leaves them vulnerable to spam calls, SIM-swapping -- as recently happened to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey -- with hackers able to force-reset the passwords of the compromised accounts.

Phone numbers linked to more than 400 million Facebook accounts were listed online in the latest privacy lapse for the social media giant, US media reported Wednesday.

Phone numbers linked to more than 400 million Facebook accounts were listed online in the latest privacy lapse for the social media giant, US media reported Wednesday. An exposed server stored 419 million records on users across several databases -- including 133 million US accounts, more than 50 million in Vietnam, and 18 million in Britain, according to technology news site TechCruch. The databases listed Facebook user IDs -- unique digits attached to each account -- the profiles' phone numbers, as well as the gender listed by some accounts and their geographical locations, technology website TechCrunch reported. Watch: Facebook tightens rules on political ads × The server was not password protected, meaning anyone could access the databases and remained online until late Wednesday when TechCrunch contacted the site's host. Facebook confirmed parts of the report but downplayed the extent of the exposure, saying that the number of accounts so far confirmed was around half of the reported 419 million. It added that many of the entries were duplicates and that the data was old. "The dataset has been taken down and we have seen no evidence that Facebook accounts were compromised," a Facebook spokesperson told AFP. Following the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, when a firm used Facebook's lax privacy settings to access millions of users' personal details, the company disabled a feature that allowed users to search the platform by phone numbers. The exposure of a user's phone number leaves them vulnerable to spam calls, SIM-swapping -- as recently happened to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey -- with hackers able to force-reset the passwords of the compromised accounts.

400 million Facebook users' phone numbers exposed in privacy lapse: Reports

Facebook Inc is tightening its political ad rules in the United States, it said on Wednesday, requiring new disclosures for its site and photo-sharing platform Instagram ahead of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-federal-trade-commission-probes-facebooks-acquisition-practices-report-240072">US presidential election</a> in November 2020.

The social media giant is introducing a "confirmed organisation" label for US political advertisers who show government-issued credentials to demonstrate their legitimacy.

All advertisers <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-to-create-privacy-panel-pay-5-billion-to-us-to-settle-data-breach-allegations-238141">running ads on politics</a> or social issues will also have to post their contact information, even if they are not seeking the official label.

Advertisers must comply by mid-October or risk having their ads cut off.

Under scrutiny from regulators since Russia allegedly used social media platforms to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election, Facebook has been rolling out ad transparency tools country by country since last year.

Since May 2018, Facebook has required political advertisers in the United States to put a "paid for by" disclaimer on their ads. But the company said some had used misleading disclaimers or tried to register as organizations that do&nbsp;not exist.

"In 2018 we did see evidence of misuse in these disclaimers and so this is our effort to strengthen the process," said Sarah Schiff, product manager at Facebook.

Last year, Vice News journalists managed to place ads on behalf of figures and groups including US Vice President Mike Pence and "Islamic State." Just last week, Facebook banned conservative news outlet The Epoch Times from advertising on the platform after it used different pages to push pro-Trump ads.

Paid Facebook ads have become a major tool for political campaigns and other organizations to target voters.

President Donald Trump's re-election campaign has spent about $9.6 million this year on ads on the site, making him the top spender among 2020 candidates, according to Bully Pulpit Interactive, a Democratic firm that tracks digital ad spending.

Last year, Facebook began requiring political advertisers to submit a US mailing address and identity document. Under the new rules, they will also have to supply a phone number, business email and website.

To get a "confirmed organization" label, advertisers must submit a Federal Election Commission ID number, tax-registered organization ID number, or government website domain matching an official email.

Facebook has continuously revamped its policies around political advertising, which differ by country.

In 2018, it launched an online library of political ads, although the database has been criticized by researchers for being poorly maintained and failing to provide useful ad targeting information.

Facebook Inc is tightening its political ad rules in the United States, it said on Wednesday, requiring new disclosures for its site and photo-sharing platform Instagram ahead of the US presidential election in November 2020.

Facebook Inc is tightening its political ad rules in the United States, it said on Wednesday, requiring new disclosures for its site and photo-sharing platform Instagram ahead of the US presidential election in November 2020. The social media giant is introducing a "confirmed organisation" label for US political advertisers who show government-issued credentials to demonstrate their legitimacy. All advertisers running ads on politics or social issues will also have to post their contact information, even if they are not seeking the official label. Advertisers must comply by mid-October or risk having their ads cut off. Under scrutiny from regulators since Russia allegedly used social media platforms to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election, Facebook has been rolling out ad transparency tools country by country since last year. Since May 2018, Facebook has required political advertisers in the United States to put a "paid for by" disclaimer on their ads. But the company said some had used misleading disclaimers or tried to register as organizations that do not exist. "In 2018 we did see evidence of misuse in these disclaimers and so this is our effort to strengthen the process," said Sarah Schiff, product manager at Facebook. Last year, Vice News journalists managed to place ads on behalf of figures and groups including US Vice President Mike Pence and "Islamic State." Just last week, Facebook banned conservative news outlet The Epoch Times from advertising on the platform after it used different pages to push pro-Trump ads. Paid Facebook ads have become a major tool for political campaigns and other organizations to target voters. President Donald Trump's re-election campaign has spent about $9.6 million this year on ads on the site, making him the top spender among 2020 candidates, according to Bully Pulpit Interactive, a Democratic firm that tracks digital ad spending. Last year, Facebook began requiring political advertisers to submit a US mailing address and identity document. Under the new rules, they will also have to supply a phone number, business email and website. To get a "confirmed organization" label, advertisers must submit a Federal Election Commission ID number, tax-registered organization ID number, or government website domain matching an official email. Facebook has continuously revamped its policies around political advertising, which differ by country. In 2018, it launched an online library of political ads, although the database has been criticized by researchers for being poorly maintained and failing to provide useful ad targeting information.

Now, Facebook tightens rules for US political advertisers ahead of 2020 polls

WhatsApp will roll out its payments service in India this year following a year-long pilot, its global chief Will Cathcart has said, as the Facebook-owned messaging giant taps an upsurge in digital payments in its dominant market.

WhatsApp is ubiquitous across India, where data consumption is surging thanks to cheap internet, but a full launch of its payments feature had been delayed amid some false messages circulating on the platform that have led to mob lynching and more government scrutiny, according to local media.

The Menlo Park, California-based firm has also been trying to comply with Indian regulations including data storage norms that require all payments-related data to be stored locally.

"It's a regulatory approval question in India at this point," Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday on the company's earnings conference call in reference to WhatsApp Pay.

"We're also working beyond India in a number of other countries and hope to have this rolled out to a large per cent of the people who use WhatsApp within the next year," he added.

WhatsApp now has about 400 million users in India, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, encompassing almost a third of India's population of 1.3 billion. The person did not wish to be named because they were not authorised to discuss the matter with the media.

WhatsApp's payments feature would compete with a crowded market in India that includes Alphabet Inc's Google Pay, Softbank- and Alibaba-backed Paytm and Walmart's PhonePe, all of which are used, especially in cities, to pay for everything from groceries to Uber rides.

Digital payments, lending and e-wallet services have been growing rapidly in India, led by a government push to bring more of the country's cash-loving merchants and consumers into the formal economy.

"Payments services are critical to ... bringing millions more people into India's fast-growing digital economy," Will Cathcart, WhatsApp's global head, said in New Delhi on Thursday.

Cathcart was speaking at an event held to announce a tie-up with India's top government think tank NITI Aayog to promote women's entrepreneurship.

"We can't wait to provide this service to our users across India this year," Cathcart said.

WhatsApp will use India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) standard used by many other digital payments services, which is growing rapidly — UPI processed over 750 million transactions last month, rising from about 246 million a year earlier.

WhatsApp will roll out its payments service in India this year following a year-long pilot, its global chief Will Cathcart has said, as the Facebook-owned messaging giant taps an upsurge in digital payments in its dominant market.

WhatsApp will roll out its payments service in India this year following a year-long pilot, its global chief Will Cathcart has said, as the Facebook-owned messaging giant taps an upsurge in digital payments in its dominant market. WhatsApp is ubiquitous across India, where data consumption is surging thanks to cheap internet, but a full launch of its payments feature had been delayed amid some false messages circulating on the platform that have led to mob lynching and more government scrutiny, according to local media. The Menlo Park, California-based firm has also been trying to comply with Indian regulations including data storage norms that require all payments-related data to be stored locally. "It's a regulatory approval question in India at this point," Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday on the company's earnings conference call in reference to WhatsApp Pay. "We're also working beyond India in a number of other countries and hope to have this rolled out to a large per cent of the people who use WhatsApp within the next year," he added. WhatsApp now has about 400 million users in India, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, encompassing almost a third of India's population of 1.3 billion. The person did not wish to be named because they were not authorised to discuss the matter with the media. WhatsApp's payments feature would compete with a crowded market in India that includes Alphabet Inc's Google Pay, Softbank- and Alibaba-backed Paytm and Walmart's PhonePe, all of which are used, especially in cities, to pay for everything from groceries to Uber rides. Digital payments, lending and e-wallet services have been growing rapidly in India, led by a government push to bring more of the country's cash-loving merchants and consumers into the formal economy. "Payments services are critical to ... bringing millions more people into India's fast-growing digital economy," Will Cathcart, WhatsApp's global head, said in New Delhi on Thursday. Cathcart was speaking at an event held to announce a tie-up with India's top government think tank NITI Aayog to promote women's entrepreneurship. "We can't wait to provide this service to our users across India this year," Cathcart said. WhatsApp will use India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) standard used by many other digital payments services, which is growing rapidly — UPI processed over 750 million transactions last month, rising from about 246 million a year earlier.

WhatsApp to roll out payments feature in India this year

The Federal Trade Commission is set to announce on Wednesday that Facebook Inc has agreed to a sweeping settlement of significant allegations it mishandled user privacy and pay $5 billion, two people briefed on the matter said.

As part of the settlement, Facebook will agree to create a board committee on privacy and will agree to new executive certifications that users' privacy is being properly protected, the people said.

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg will have to certify every three months that the company is properly safeguarding user privacy, a person briefed on the matter said.

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the FTC will allege Facebook misled users about its handling of their phone numbers and its use of two-factor authentication as part of a wide-ranging complaint that accompanies a settlement ending the government's privacy probe, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Separately, the US&nbsp;Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to announce a related settlement with Facebook for around $100 million over allegations it failed to disclose risks to investors over its privacy practices. The Wall Street Journal reported the SEC settlement earlier.

The Post also reported the FTC also plans to allege Facebook provided insufficient information to about 30 million users about a facial recognition tool, an issue identified earlier by Consumer Reports.

The settlement comes amid growing concern among US policymakers about the privacy of online users and has sparked calls for new legal protections in Congress. Separately, the US Justice Department said late Tuesday it is launching a broad antitrust probe into the competitive practices of large tech companies like Facebook.

Two people briefed on the matter confirmed the Post report the FTC will not require Facebook to admit guilt as part of the settlement. The settlement will need to be approved by a federal judge and will contain other significant allegations of privacy lapses, the people said.

The fine will mark the largest civil penalty ever paid to the FTC.

The FTC and Facebook declined to comment.

The FTC confirmed in March 2018 it had opened an investigation into allegations Facebook inappropriately shared information belonging to 87 million users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. The probe has focused on whether the data sharing violated a 2011 consent agreement between Facebook and the regulator and then widened to include other privacy allegations.

A person briefed on the matter said the phone number, facial recognition and two-factor authentication issues were not part of the initial Cambridge Analytica probe.

Some in Congress have criticised the reported $5 billion penalties, noting Facebook in 2018 had $55.8 billion in revenue and $22.1 billion in net income. Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, said last week the fine should be $50 billion.

While the deal resolves a major regulatory headache for Facebook, the Silicon Valley firm still faces further potential antitrust probes as the FTC and Justice Department undertake a wide-ranging review of competition among the biggest US tech companies. Facebook is also facing public criticism from President Donald Trump and others about its planned cryptocurrency Libra over concerns about privacy and money laundering.

The Cambridge Analytica missteps, as well as anger over hate speech and misinformation on its platform, have prompted calls from people ranging from presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren to a Facebook co-founder, Chris Hughes, for the government to force the social media giant to sell Instagram, which it bought in 2012, and WhatsApp, purchased in 2014.

But the company's core business has proven resilient, as Facebook blew past earnings estimates in the past two quarters. Facebook is set to report earnings on Wednesday.

The Federal Trade Commission is set to announce on Wednesday that Facebook Inc has agreed to a sweeping settlement of significant allegations it mishandled user privacy and pay $5 billion, two people briefed on the matter said.

The Federal Trade Commission is set to announce on Wednesday that Facebook Inc has agreed to a sweeping settlement of significant allegations it mishandled user privacy and pay $5 billion, two people briefed on the matter said. As part of the settlement, Facebook will agree to create a board committee on privacy and will agree to new executive certifications that users' privacy is being properly protected, the people said. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg will have to certify every three months that the company is properly safeguarding user privacy, a person briefed on the matter said. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the FTC will allege Facebook misled users about its handling of their phone numbers and its use of two-factor authentication as part of a wide-ranging complaint that accompanies a settlement ending the government's privacy probe, citing two people familiar with the matter. Separately, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to announce a related settlement with Facebook for around $100 million over allegations it failed to disclose risks to investors over its privacy practices. The Wall Street Journal reported the SEC settlement earlier. The Post also reported the FTC also plans to allege Facebook provided insufficient information to about 30 million users about a facial recognition tool, an issue identified earlier by Consumer Reports. The settlement comes amid growing concern among US policymakers about the privacy of online users and has sparked calls for new legal protections in Congress. Separately, the US Justice Department said late Tuesday it is launching a broad antitrust probe into the competitive practices of large tech companies like Facebook. Two people briefed on the matter confirmed the Post report the FTC will not require Facebook to admit guilt as part of the settlement. The settlement will need to be approved by a federal judge and will contain other significant allegations of privacy lapses, the people said. The fine will mark the largest civil penalty ever paid to the FTC. The FTC and Facebook declined to comment. The FTC confirmed in March 2018 it had opened an investigation into allegations Facebook inappropriately shared information belonging to 87 million users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. The probe has focused on whether the data sharing violated a 2011 consent agreement between Facebook and the regulator and then widened to include other privacy allegations. A person briefed on the matter said the phone number, facial recognition and two-factor authentication issues were not part of the initial Cambridge Analytica probe. Some in Congress have criticised the reported $5 billion penalties, noting Facebook in 2018 had $55.8 billion in revenue and $22.1 billion in net income. Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, said last week the fine should be $50 billion. While the deal resolves a major regulatory headache for Facebook, the Silicon Valley firm still faces further potential antitrust probes as the FTC and Justice Department undertake a wide-ranging review of competition among the biggest US tech companies. Facebook is also facing public criticism from President Donald Trump and others about its planned cryptocurrency Libra over concerns about privacy and money laundering. The Cambridge Analytica missteps, as well as anger over hate speech and misinformation on its platform, have prompted calls from people ranging from presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren to a Facebook co-founder, Chris Hughes, for the government to force the social media giant to sell Instagram, which it bought in 2012, and WhatsApp, purchased in 2014. But the company's core business has proven resilient, as Facebook blew past earnings estimates in the past two quarters. Facebook is set to report earnings on Wednesday.

Facebook to create privacy panel, pay $5 billion to US to settle data breach allegations

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/rajya-sabha-passes-national-investigation-agency-amendment-bill-236691">US regulator imposes $5 billion fine on Facebook over privacy probe</a>

The US government today imposed $5 billion fine on&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;as part of its privacy probe. Despite repeated promises to its billions of users worldwide that they could control how their personal information is shared, Facebook undermined consumers' choices," FTC chairman Joe Simons said in a statement.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pleased-to-hand-over-charge-to-boris-johnson-says-theresa-may-in-british-parliament-238188">Pleased to hand over charge to Boris Johnson, says Theresa May in British Parliament</a>

Outgoing British PM Theresa May took her questions from MPs for the last time&nbsp;in House of Commons&nbsp;ahead of submitting her resignation to the Queen on Wednesday.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ready-for-negotiations-but-will-not-surrender-rouhani-on-standoff-with-us-238156">Ready for negotiations but will not surrender: Rouhani on standoff with US</a>

Iran is ready for "just" negotiations but not if they mean surrender, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani&nbsp;said on Wednesday, without saying what talks he had in mind.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-court-extends-hafiz-saeeds-judicial-remand-for-14-more-days-238155">Pakistan court extends Hafiz Saeed's judicial remand for 14 more days</a>

26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa Saeed was arrested by Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on July 17 in connection with charges related to terror financing.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/lok-sabha-passes-unlawful-activities-prevention-amendment-bill-238169">Lok Sabha passes Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill</a>

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday after a heated debate.&nbsp;During a discussion on the Bill, Home Minister Amit Shah said tough laws were required to end terrorism and asserted that the amendment does not encroach on powers of states.

&nbsp;

US regulator imposes $5 billion fine on Facebook over privacy probe The US government today imposed $5 billion fine on Facebook as part of its privacy probe. Despite repeated promises to its billions of users worldwide that they could control how their personal information is shared, Facebook undermined consumers' choices," FTC chairman Joe Simons said in a statement.

US regulator imposes $5 billion fine on Facebook over privacy probe The US government today imposed $5 billion fine on Facebook as part of its privacy probe. Despite repeated promises to its billions of users worldwide that they could control how their personal information is shared, Facebook undermined consumers' choices," FTC chairman Joe Simons said in a statement. Pleased to hand over charge to Boris Johnson, says Theresa May in British Parliament Outgoing British PM Theresa May took her questions from MPs for the last time in House of Commons ahead of submitting her resignation to the Queen on Wednesday. Ready for negotiations but will not surrender: Rouhani on standoff with US Iran is ready for "just" negotiations but not if they mean surrender, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, without saying what talks he had in mind. Pakistan court extends Hafiz Saeed's judicial remand for 14 more days 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa Saeed was arrested by Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on July 17 in connection with charges related to terror financing. Lok Sabha passes Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday after a heated debate. During a discussion on the Bill, Home Minister Amit Shah said tough laws were required to end terrorism and asserted that the amendment does not encroach on powers of states.

News brief: Big stories of the day

Fraudsters are out to cash in on interest in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-lamakers-propose-barring-big-tech-companies-from-offering-financial-services-digital-currencies-236125">Facebook-backed digital currency Libra</a>, hawking bogus buying opportunities at online venues including the social network itself.

Libra is to launch next year, overseen by an association based in Europe, but as with other hot topics it has been seized on by nefarious characters intent on tricking people with false accounts, pages, and information.

Fake Libra opportunities or offerings have popped up on Facebook's main social network and its image-centric online community Instagram, &nbsp;according to a report Monday in the Washington Post.

Several Libra-themed deceptive accounts were removed from the Facebook platform after the California-based company was alerted by the Post, according to the publication.

Some of the fake accounts used the official Facebook logo and photos of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/if-facebooks-libra-wants-to-become-a-bank-it-must-must-seek-new-banking-charter-trump-235162">chief executive Mark Zuckerberg</a>.&nbsp;

"<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-needs-very-high-standard-for-libra-coin-us-treasury-steven-mnuchin-236268">Facebook</a> removes ads and Pages that violate our policies when we become aware of them, and we are constantly working to improve detection of scams on our platforms," the internet titan said in response to an AFP inquiry.

The Libra Association was reported to be working with Facebook to get deceptive pages about the currency deleted.

Criminals routinely seize on hot topics to try to dupe people online, from natural disasters and major tragedies to celebrity news.

A buylibracoins.com website accessible Monday offered a fake chance to buy the digital currency, encouraging potential victims to share contact details of friends in a referral program.

Fraudsters were said to be set also hunting for victims at other online venues such as Twitter and YouTube.

Financial upheaval

The rise of fake Libra offerings comes as Facebook tries to dispel worries and build trust in what it hopes will be a global currency that gives life-changing financial tools to people around the world.

G7 finance ministers and central bankers last week dealt a blow to Facebook's planned new cryptocurrency Libra, issuing a barrage of warnings about its dangers for the global economy at a two-day meeting outside Paris.

Facebook in June unveiled its plans for Libra in an announcement greeted with concern by governments and critics of the social network behemoth, whose reputation has already been tarnished by its role in spreading fake information and extremist videos.

Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major global economies "agreed that projects such as Libra may affect monetary sovereignty and the functioning of the international monetary system," France, the current G7 chair, said in a statement.

It said projects like Libra with a "global and potentially systemic footprint... raise serious regulatory and systemic concerns, as well as wider policy issues, which both need to be addressed before such projects can be implemented."

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his concerns about Libra and other cryptocurrencies which he had made clear in White House news conference this month were shared by G7 counterparts.

Libra is widely regarded as a challenger to dominant global player bitcoin. Expected to launch in the first half of 2020, Libra is designed to be backed by a basket of currency assets to avoid the wild swings of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Fraudsters are out to cash in on interest in Facebook-backed digital currency Libra, hawking bogus buying opportunities at online venues including the social network itself.

Fraudsters are out to cash in on interest in Facebook-backed digital currency Libra, hawking bogus buying opportunities at online venues including the social network itself. Libra is to launch next year, overseen by an association based in Europe, but as with other hot topics it has been seized on by nefarious characters intent on tricking people with false accounts, pages, and information. Fake Libra opportunities or offerings have popped up on Facebook's main social network and its image-centric online community Instagram, according to a report Monday in the Washington Post. Several Libra-themed deceptive accounts were removed from the Facebook platform after the California-based company was alerted by the Post, according to the publication. Some of the fake accounts used the official Facebook logo and photos of chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. "Facebook removes ads and Pages that violate our policies when we become aware of them, and we are constantly working to improve detection of scams on our platforms," the internet titan said in response to an AFP inquiry. The Libra Association was reported to be working with Facebook to get deceptive pages about the currency deleted. Criminals routinely seize on hot topics to try to dupe people online, from natural disasters and major tragedies to celebrity news. A buylibracoins.com website accessible Monday offered a fake chance to buy the digital currency, encouraging potential victims to share contact details of friends in a referral program. Fraudsters were said to be set also hunting for victims at other online venues such as Twitter and YouTube. Financial upheaval The rise of fake Libra offerings comes as Facebook tries to dispel worries and build trust in what it hopes will be a global currency that gives life-changing financial tools to people around the world. G7 finance ministers and central bankers last week dealt a blow to Facebook's planned new cryptocurrency Libra, issuing a barrage of warnings about its dangers for the global economy at a two-day meeting outside Paris. Facebook in June unveiled its plans for Libra in an announcement greeted with concern by governments and critics of the social network behemoth, whose reputation has already been tarnished by its role in spreading fake information and extremist videos. Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major global economies "agreed that projects such as Libra may affect monetary sovereignty and the functioning of the international monetary system," France, the current G7 chair, said in a statement. It said projects like Libra with a "global and potentially systemic footprint... raise serious regulatory and systemic concerns, as well as wider policy issues, which both need to be addressed before such projects can be implemented." US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his concerns about Libra and other cryptocurrencies which he had made clear in White House news conference this month were shared by G7 counterparts. Libra is widely regarded as a challenger to dominant global player bitcoin. Expected to launch in the first half of 2020, Libra is designed to be backed by a basket of currency assets to avoid the wild swings of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Fraudsters exploit interest in Libra digital currency

US regulators have approved a $5 billion penalty to be levied on Facebook to settle a probe into the social network's <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/washington-sues-facebook-over-cambridge-analytica-row-185389">privacy and data protection lapses</a>, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The newspaper said the Federal Trade Commission approved the settlement in a 3-2 vote, with the two Democratic members of the consumer protection agency dissenting.

According to the report, the deal, which would be the largest penalty imposed over privacy violations, still needs approval from the Justice Department before it is finalised.

Facebook did not immediately respond to an AFP query on the agreement.

The settlement would be in line with Facebook's estimate earlier this year when it said it expected to pay $3 billion to $5 billion for legal settlements on "user data practices."

The FTC announced last year it reopened its investigation into a 2011 privacy settlement with Facebook after revelations that personal data on tens of millions of users was hijacked by the political consultancy <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cambridge-analytica-files-for-voluntary-bankruptcy-in-us-137870">Cambridge Analytica</a>, working on the Donald Trump campaign in 2016.

Facebook has also faced questions about whether it improperly shared user data with business partners in violation of the earlier settlement.

The leading social network with more than two billion users worldwide has also been facing inquiries on privacy from authorities in US states and regulators around the world.

Some Facebook critics have argued the company should face tougher sanctions including monitoring of its data practices, or that chief executive Mark Zuckerberg should be personally liable for penalties.

Charlotte Slaiman of the consumer group Public Knowledge said it was not immediately clear if the settlement would require changes to Facebook's business practices, but suggested that the partisan split on the vote was a bad omen.

"I'm hopeful that additional conditions placed on Facebook's business practices will be forthcoming," Slaiman said in a statement.

"Those conditions should protect not just user privacy, but also the users' opportunity to easily leave Facebook for a competitor if they choose."

US regulators have approved a $5 billion penalty to be levied on Facebook to settle a probe into the social network's privacy and data protection lapses, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

US regulators have approved a $5 billion penalty to be levied on Facebook to settle a probe into the social network's privacy and data protection lapses, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The newspaper said the Federal Trade Commission approved the settlement in a 3-2 vote, with the two Democratic members of the consumer protection agency dissenting. According to the report, the deal, which would be the largest penalty imposed over privacy violations, still needs approval from the Justice Department before it is finalised. Facebook did not immediately respond to an AFP query on the agreement. The settlement would be in line with Facebook's estimate earlier this year when it said it expected to pay $3 billion to $5 billion for legal settlements on "user data practices." The FTC announced last year it reopened its investigation into a 2011 privacy settlement with Facebook after revelations that personal data on tens of millions of users was hijacked by the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, working on the Donald Trump campaign in 2016. Facebook has also faced questions about whether it improperly shared user data with business partners in violation of the earlier settlement. The leading social network with more than two billion users worldwide has also been facing inquiries on privacy from authorities in US states and regulators around the world. Some Facebook critics have argued the company should face tougher sanctions including monitoring of its data practices, or that chief executive Mark Zuckerberg should be personally liable for penalties. Charlotte Slaiman of the consumer group Public Knowledge said it was not immediately clear if the settlement would require changes to Facebook's business practices, but suggested that the partisan split on the vote was a bad omen. "I'm hopeful that additional conditions placed on Facebook's business practices will be forthcoming," Slaiman said in a statement. "Those conditions should protect not just user privacy, but also the users' opportunity to easily leave Facebook for a competitor if they choose."

US regulators approve $5 billion fine on Facebook in data breach probe: Report

Facebook Inc evacuated four buildings and two people were being evaluated for possible exposure to the nerve agent sarin on Monday after a package at the social media company's Silicon Valley mail facility tested positive for the toxic compound.

The people who came in contact with the suspicious package at about 11 am PT (1800 GMT) did not show any symptoms of exposure to sarin, said Jon Johnston, fire marshal for the city of Menlo Park, California, where <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-inc-chief-executive-mark-zuckerberg-says-delay-in-flagging-fake-pelosi-video-was-execution-mistake-230784">Facebook</a> is based.

"The (Facebook) facility tests all of the packages that come in and they had a positive test, so they just initiated their standard protocol. Now we're just waiting to verify whether that’s true or not," he said.

Fire personnel were preparing to enter the mail facility at around 6 pm to assess the packages, Johnston said.

Facebook spokesman Anthony Harrison said the company evacuated four buildings following the positive test and was cooperating with police in the investigation.

"Authorities have not yet identified the substance found. As of now, three of the evacuated buildings have been cleared for repopulation," Harrison said.

Agents from the San Francisco office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation were responding to the scene, a spokesman for the agency said.

Sarin, a potent toxic compound that disrupts the nervous system, has been used as a chemical weapon. Exposure can be fatal.

Facebook Inc evacuated four buildings and two people were being evaluated for possible exposure to the nerve agent sarin on Monday after a package at the social media company's Silicon Valley mail facility tested positive for the toxic compound.

Facebook Inc evacuated four buildings and two people were being evaluated for possible exposure to the nerve agent sarin on Monday after a package at the social media company's Silicon Valley mail facility tested positive for the toxic compound. The people who came in contact with the suspicious package at about 11 am PT (1800 GMT) did not show any symptoms of exposure to sarin, said Jon Johnston, fire marshal for the city of Menlo Park, California, where Facebook is based. "The (Facebook) facility tests all of the packages that come in and they had a positive test, so they just initiated their standard protocol. Now we're just waiting to verify whether that’s true or not," he said. Fire personnel were preparing to enter the mail facility at around 6 pm to assess the packages, Johnston said. Facebook spokesman Anthony Harrison said the company evacuated four buildings following the positive test and was cooperating with police in the investigation. "Authorities have not yet identified the substance found. As of now, three of the evacuated buildings have been cleared for repopulation," Harrison said. Agents from the San Francisco office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation were responding to the scene, a spokesman for the agency said. Sarin, a potent toxic compound that disrupts the nervous system, has been used as a chemical weapon. Exposure can be fatal.

Facebook evacuates four buildings after possible sarin exposure

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mark-zuckerbergs-deepfake-video-posted-on-instagram-226388">Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg </a>on Wednesday said his social media company took too long to flag as false an altered video of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that appeared to show the Democratic Representative slurring and tripping through a speech.

Zuckerberg, speaking at a conference in Aspen Colorado, said the slow response was "an execution mistake on our side."

The video, a type of realistic alteration known as a "deep fake," was slowed to make Pelosi's speech seem slurred and edited to make it appear that she repeatedly stumbled over her words. After the video surfaced last month, it was widely shared on Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc's YouTube.

YouTube took down the video, citing policy violations, but <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-spends-226-million-to-keep-mark-zuckerberg-safe-209975">Facebook</a> did not remove the clip, only limiting its distribution and telling users trying to share it that it might be misleading.

"It took a while for our system to flag the video and for our fact checkers to rate it as false... and during that time it got more distribution than our policies should have allowed," Zuckerberg said.

Pelosi criticized Facebook's refusal to remove the video and said the incident had convinced her the company knowingly enabled Russian election interference.

Misinformation through altered videos is a rising concern in the run-up to the 2020 US presidential election, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) is now being used to produce clips that look genuine and realistically appear to show people saying words they have not spoken. The term "deep fake" is a combination of "deep learning" and "fake."

After the Pelosi video, Zuckerberg himself was portrayed in a spoof deep fake video on Instagram in which he appears to say "whoever controls the data, controls the future." Facebook, which owns Instagram, did not to take down the video.

Zuckerberg said Facebook is considering developing a specific policy on deep fakes.

"This is a little bit of sausage making here because we are going through the policy process of thinking through what the deep fake policy should be," he said. "This is certainly an important area as the AI technology gets better."

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said his social media company took too long to flag as false an altered video of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that appeared to show the Democratic Representative slurring and tripping through a speech.

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said his social media company took too long to flag as false an altered video of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that appeared to show the Democratic Representative slurring and tripping through a speech. Zuckerberg, speaking at a conference in Aspen Colorado, said the slow response was "an execution mistake on our side." The video, a type of realistic alteration known as a "deep fake," was slowed to make Pelosi's speech seem slurred and edited to make it appear that she repeatedly stumbled over her words. After the video surfaced last month, it was widely shared on Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc's YouTube. YouTube took down the video, citing policy violations, but Facebook did not remove the clip, only limiting its distribution and telling users trying to share it that it might be misleading. "It took a while for our system to flag the video and for our fact checkers to rate it as false... and during that time it got more distribution than our policies should have allowed," Zuckerberg said. Pelosi criticized Facebook's refusal to remove the video and said the incident had convinced her the company knowingly enabled Russian election interference. Misinformation through altered videos is a rising concern in the run-up to the 2020 US presidential election, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) is now being used to produce clips that look genuine and realistically appear to show people saying words they have not spoken. The term "deep fake" is a combination of "deep learning" and "fake." After the Pelosi video, Zuckerberg himself was portrayed in a spoof deep fake video on Instagram in which he appears to say "whoever controls the data, controls the future." Facebook, which owns Instagram, did not to take down the video. Zuckerberg said Facebook is considering developing a specific policy on deep fakes. "This is a little bit of sausage making here because we are going through the policy process of thinking through what the deep fake policy should be," he said. "This is certainly an important area as the AI technology gets better."

Facebook Chief Mark Zuckerberg says delay in flagging fake Pelosi video was 'execution mistake'

In a world first,<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/libra-facebook-unveils-cryptocurrency-meant-to-be-new-global-currency-228282"> Facebook</a> has agreed to hand over the identification data of French users suspected of hate speech on its platform to judges, France's minister for digital affairs Cedric O said on Tuesday.

O, whose father is South Korean, is one of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/emmanuel-macron-says-new-ukraine-peace-talks-possible-under-volodymyr-zelensky-228118">French President Emmanuel Macron</a>'s earliest followers, and has been influential in shaping the president's thinking on Big Tech as an advisor at the Elysee Palace in the first two years of Macron's presidency.

The decision by the world's biggest social media network comes after successive meetings between <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mark-zuckerbergs-deepfake-video-posted-on-instagram-226388">Zuckerberg</a> and Macron, who wants to take a leading role globally on the regulation of hate speech and the spread of false information online.

So far, Facebook has cooperated with French justice on matters related to terrorist attacks and violent acts by transferring the IP addresses and other identification data of suspected individuals to French judges who formally demanded it.

Following a meeting between Nick Clegg, Facebook's head of global affairs, and O last week, the social media company has extended this cooperation to hate speech.

"This is huge news, it means that the judicial process will be able to run normally," O told Reuters in an interview. "It's really very important, they're only doing it for France."

O, who said he had been in close contact with Clegg over the last few days on the issue, said Facebook's decision was the result of an ongoing conversation between the internet giant and the French administration.

Since his nomination as a minister in March, O has made the fight against hate speech online a key priority through regular contacts with Facebook's top executives, including founder Mark Zuckerberg.Facebook declined to comment.

Strong Signal

"It is a strong signal in terms of regulation," said Sonia Cisse, a counsel at law firm Linklaters, adding that it was a world first. "Hate speech is no longer considered part of freedom of speech, it's now on the same level as terrorism."

With Facebook's latest move, France is now a clear frontrunner in the quest to regulate big social media outlets, and other platforms might follow suit, Cisse said.

The discussions on how to best regulate tech giants began with a Zuckerberg-Macron meeting last year, followed by a report on tech regulation last month that Facebook's founder considered could be a blueprint for wider EU regulation.

Facebook had refrained from handing over identification data of people suspected of hate speech because it was not compelled to do so under U.S.-French legal conventions and because it was worried countries without an independent judiciary could abuse it.

France's parliament, where Macron's ruling party has a comfortable majority, is debating legislation that would give the new regulator the power to fine tech companies up to 4% of their global revenue if they don't do enough to remove hateful content from their network.

O also signalled his openness to see French startups being snapped up by larger U.S. companies, in a spite of recent measures taken by Macron's government to bolster anti-takeover rules to protect the country's strategic companies.

"My only goal is to spur the creation of a lot of companies," he said. "I have no problem with the fact that some of them are bought by U.S. companies, as long as they don't have critical technology."

Too Big

The minister is also reluctant to support the idea of breaking up companies like Facebook or Google, whose size, weight on the Internet and financial firepower have turned them into systemic players just as much as big banks.

Facebook has been called a social media monopoly by co-founder Chris Hughes, and calls for a break-up of the group have intensified.

"We cannot impose very tough obligations on Western companies and dismantle them because they are very big, and not do the same thing with Chinese companies that enter the Western market," he said, referring to groups like Alibaba and Tencent.

A graduate of France's top business school, HEC, O combines political experience - he was an aide to Dominique Strauss-Khan, like many of the tight group of "Macron Boys" who propelled him to power - and a stint in the private sector, at engine maker Safran.

At the Elysee, he was in charge of advising Macron on the French government's vast portfolio of stakes in French companies, having to deal with hot corporate sagas such as Renault-Nissan, as well as handling relations with Big Tech.

In a world first, Facebook has agreed to hand over the identification data of French users suspected of hate speech on its platform to judges, France's minister for digital affairs Cedric O said on Tuesday.

In a world first, Facebook has agreed to hand over the identification data of French users suspected of hate speech on its platform to judges, France's minister for digital affairs Cedric O said on Tuesday. O, whose father is South Korean, is one of French President Emmanuel Macron's earliest followers, and has been influential in shaping the president's thinking on Big Tech as an advisor at the Elysee Palace in the first two years of Macron's presidency. The decision by the world's biggest social media network comes after successive meetings between Zuckerberg and Macron, who wants to take a leading role globally on the regulation of hate speech and the spread of false information online. So far, Facebook has cooperated with French justice on matters related to terrorist attacks and violent acts by transferring the IP addresses and other identification data of suspected individuals to French judges who formally demanded it. Following a meeting between Nick Clegg, Facebook's head of global affairs, and O last week, the social media company has extended this cooperation to hate speech. "This is huge news, it means that the judicial process will be able to run normally," O told Reuters in an interview. "It's really very important, they're only doing it for France." O, who said he had been in close contact with Clegg over the last few days on the issue, said Facebook's decision was the result of an ongoing conversation between the internet giant and the French administration. Since his nomination as a minister in March, O has made the fight against hate speech online a key priority through regular contacts with Facebook's top executives, including founder Mark Zuckerberg.Facebook declined to comment. Strong Signal "It is a strong signal in terms of regulation," said Sonia Cisse, a counsel at law firm Linklaters, adding that it was a world first. "Hate speech is no longer considered part of freedom of speech, it's now on the same level as terrorism." With Facebook's latest move, France is now a clear frontrunner in the quest to regulate big social media outlets, and other platforms might follow suit, Cisse said. The discussions on how to best regulate tech giants began with a Zuckerberg-Macron meeting last year, followed by a report on tech regulation last month that Facebook's founder considered could be a blueprint for wider EU regulation. Facebook had refrained from handing over identification data of people suspected of hate speech because it was not compelled to do so under U.S.-French legal conventions and because it was worried countries without an independent judiciary could abuse it. France's parliament, where Macron's ruling party has a comfortable majority, is debating legislation that would give the new regulator the power to fine tech companies up to 4% of their global revenue if they don't do enough to remove hateful content from their network. O also signalled his openness to see French startups being snapped up by larger U.S. companies, in a spite of recent measures taken by Macron's government to bolster anti-takeover rules to protect the country's strategic companies. "My only goal is to spur the creation of a lot of companies," he said. "I have no problem with the fact that some of them are bought by U.S. companies, as long as they don't have critical technology." Too Big The minister is also reluctant to support the idea of breaking up companies like Facebook or Google, whose size, weight on the Internet and financial firepower have turned them into systemic players just as much as big banks. Facebook has been called a social media monopoly by co-founder Chris Hughes, and calls for a break-up of the group have intensified. "We cannot impose very tough obligations on Western companies and dismantle them because they are very big, and not do the same thing with Chinese companies that enter the Western market," he said, referring to groups like Alibaba and Tencent. A graduate of France's top business school, HEC, O combines political experience - he was an aide to Dominique Strauss-Khan, like many of the tight group of "Macron Boys" who propelled him to power - and a stint in the private sector, at engine maker Safran. At the Elysee, he was in charge of advising Macron on the French government's vast portfolio of stakes in French companies, having to deal with hot corporate sagas such as Renault-Nissan, as well as handling relations with Big Tech.

In a world first, Facebook to give data on hate speech suspects to French courts

Facebook is set Tuesday to unveil a bid to bring <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebooks-cryptocurrency-based-payments-system-gets-big-backers-reports-227004">cryptocurrency payments</a> into the mainstream, reportedly with the endorsement of governments and financial giants.&nbsp;

The world's biggest social network is expected to outline details of a virtual currency launching next year that it hopes will avoid the rollercoaster volatility of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-plans-cryptocurrency-launch-next-year-report-221431">"blockchain" technologies</a> such as bitcoin.&nbsp;

Facebook is setting up a consortium called "Libra" which, according to the Wall Street Journal, has been joined by more than a dozen companies including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Uber.

The companies along with venture capitalists and telecommunications firms will reportedly invest around $10 million each into the consortium.

Facebook has been trying to ward off hostile regulatory scrutiny after a series of privacy abuses and the spread of fake news.

The consortium will be managed externally and will seek to build trust among consumers by pegging the virtual coin to a basket of currencies including the dollar and euro, the Journal said.

Facebook has already sought blessings from the US Treasury and the Bank of England, the BBC reported last month.

Regulators have been reticent about cryptocurrencies, not only due to potential abuse by criminals but the wild swings in their value harming consumers.

With more than two billion users across its platforms, which include WhatsApp and Instagram, Facebook could have the clout to bring cryptocurrency out of the fringes and emulate the likes of WeChat in China, where the US site is banned.

WeChat allows its users to chat, shop and play games without leaving its platform, generating more revenue by offering a one-stop portal.&nbsp;

Buffeted by the privacy storms, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has promised a new direction for Facebook built around smaller groups, private messaging and payments.

But it will need to overcome questions of trust and privacy, not least over how financial data will be stored. Some analysts are betting that the heavyweight Libra consortium will help to do that.

Facebook's crypto initiative could facilitate shopping, applications and gaming, and would leverage its broad user base in Asia, RBC analyst Mark Mahaney said in a research note last week.

It "may prove to be one of the most important initiatives in the history of the company to unlock new engagement and revenue streams", he wrote.

Facebook is set Tuesday to unveil a bid to bring cryptocurrency payments into the mainstream, reportedly with the endorsement of governments and financial giants.

Facebook is set Tuesday to unveil a bid to bring cryptocurrency payments into the mainstream, reportedly with the endorsement of governments and financial giants. The world's biggest social network is expected to outline details of a virtual currency launching next year that it hopes will avoid the rollercoaster volatility of "blockchain" technologies such as bitcoin. Facebook is setting up a consortium called "Libra" which, according to the Wall Street Journal, has been joined by more than a dozen companies including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Uber. The companies along with venture capitalists and telecommunications firms will reportedly invest around $10 million each into the consortium. Facebook has been trying to ward off hostile regulatory scrutiny after a series of privacy abuses and the spread of fake news. The consortium will be managed externally and will seek to build trust among consumers by pegging the virtual coin to a basket of currencies including the dollar and euro, the Journal said. Facebook has already sought blessings from the US Treasury and the Bank of England, the BBC reported last month. Regulators have been reticent about cryptocurrencies, not only due to potential abuse by criminals but the wild swings in their value harming consumers. With more than two billion users across its platforms, which include WhatsApp and Instagram, Facebook could have the clout to bring cryptocurrency out of the fringes and emulate the likes of WeChat in China, where the US site is banned. WeChat allows its users to chat, shop and play games without leaving its platform, generating more revenue by offering a one-stop portal. Buffeted by the privacy storms, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has promised a new direction for Facebook built around smaller groups, private messaging and payments. But it will need to overcome questions of trust and privacy, not least over how financial data will be stored. Some analysts are betting that the heavyweight Libra consortium will help to do that. Facebook's crypto initiative could facilitate shopping, applications and gaming, and would leverage its broad user base in Asia, RBC analyst Mark Mahaney said in a research note last week. It "may prove to be one of the most important initiatives in the history of the company to unlock new engagement and revenue streams", he wrote.

Facebook all set to unveil new cryptocurrency

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mark-zuckerbergs-deepfake-video-posted-on-instagram-226388">Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg</a> did not knowingly violate an agreement with the regulator supervising the company's management of users' personal data, the social media giant said Wednesday as it addressed an issue that has been under federal investigation for the past year.

Facebook was required to provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with emails, some from 2012, suggesting that Zuckerberg was personally aware of but neglected to address the fact that external applications had access to massive amounts of personal data without Facebook users' knowledge, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The newspaper added that it did not have access to the documents but that anonymous sources had described their contents.

"We have fully cooperated with the FTC's investigation to date and provided tens of thousands of documents, emails and files," said a Facebook spokesperson.

"At no point did Mark or any other Facebook employee knowingly violate the company's obligations under the FTC consent order nor do any emails exist that indicate they did."

The FTC reopened investigations into whether Facebook violated a 2011 settlement with the regulator on protecting user data following revelations last year that personal data from tens of millions of users was hijacked by the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica as it worked on Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

The 2011 court-approved agreement required Facebook to notify users when it shares data with third parties and bars the social network from deceptive practices.

The investigation could result in a record fine running into billions of dollars.

Despite the controversies, some 2.7 billion people use at least one of the "family" of the company's applications, including the core Facebook network, Instagram, and messaging applications WhatsApp and Messenger.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not knowingly violate an agreement with the regulator supervising the company's management of users' personal data, the social media giant said Wednesday as it addressed an issue that has been under federal investigation for the past year.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not knowingly violate an agreement with the regulator supervising the company's management of users' personal data, the social media giant said Wednesday as it addressed an issue that has been under federal investigation for the past year. Facebook was required to provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with emails, some from 2012, suggesting that Zuckerberg was personally aware of but neglected to address the fact that external applications had access to massive amounts of personal data without Facebook users' knowledge, the Wall Street Journal reported. The newspaper added that it did not have access to the documents but that anonymous sources had described their contents. "We have fully cooperated with the FTC's investigation to date and provided tens of thousands of documents, emails and files," said a Facebook spokesperson. "At no point did Mark or any other Facebook employee knowingly violate the company's obligations under the FTC consent order nor do any emails exist that indicate they did." The FTC reopened investigations into whether Facebook violated a 2011 settlement with the regulator on protecting user data following revelations last year that personal data from tens of millions of users was hijacked by the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica as it worked on Donald Trump's presidential campaign. The 2011 court-approved agreement required Facebook to notify users when it shares data with third parties and bars the social network from deceptive practices. The investigation could result in a record fine running into billions of dollars. Despite the controversies, some 2.7 billion people use at least one of the "family" of the company's applications, including the core Facebook network, Instagram, and messaging applications WhatsApp and Messenger.

Facebook says CEO did not ignore personal data issues

According to social media giant Facebook, it has removed more than 3 billion fake accounts from October to March, twice as many as the previous six months. Watch the full video to know more.

In 6 months, Facebook removed more than 3 billion fake accounts

Facebook has been in contact with US and British financial regulators with a view to launching its own cryptocurrency next year, the BBC reported on Friday.&nbsp;

"GlobalCoin" would work with a new digital payments system in about a dozen countries, starting in the first quarter of 2020, the broadcaster said on its website.

Previous reports have said<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/i-started-facebook-i-run-it-and-im-responsible-for-what-happens-here-zuckerberg-at-joint-senate-committee-hearing-129702"> Facebook</a> is taking a serious look at blockchain technology under its "Project Libra", in part to tackle doubts about privacy among its many users following a series of scandals.

But the targeted date appears new. The BBC said Facebook had already spoken to Bank of England governor Mark Carney and to officials at the US Treasury and was expected to flesh out its plans this northern hemisphere summer.

Facebook's currency would be "stable coin", a digital unit pegged to the dollar in contrast to more anarchic means of virtual payment such as bitcoin, according to earlier reporting by Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal among others.

With more than two billion users across its platforms, which include WhatsApp and Instagram, Facebook could have the clout to take cryptocurrency mainstream and emulate the likes of WeChat in China, where the US site is banned.

WeChat allows its users to chat, shop and play games without leaving its platform, generating more revenue by offering a one-stop portal.&nbsp;

Facebook chief <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-breakup-could-boost-china-rivals-sheryl-sandberg-219504">Mark Zuckerberg</a> has said that adding e-commerce is the logical evolution of the company's advertising-based business model.&nbsp;

But such a step is likely to invite more intense regulatory scrutiny at a time when Facebook is already under a cloud for abuses of privacy and the spread of fake news.&nbsp;

Facebook said it had disabled 2.19 billion fake accounts in the first quarter of this year, nearly double the number of the three months prior.

But Zuckerberg on Thursday rejected the idea of breaking up the social media giant, saying that would hamper the fight against deceit and harmful online content.

Facebook has been in contact with US and British financial regulators with a view to launching its own cryptocurrency next year, the BBC reported on Friday. "GlobalCoin" would work with a new digital payments system in about a dozen countries, starting in the first quarter of 2020, the broadcaster said on its website.

Facebook has been in contact with US and British financial regulators with a view to launching its own cryptocurrency next year, the BBC reported on Friday. "GlobalCoin" would work with a new digital payments system in about a dozen countries, starting in the first quarter of 2020, the broadcaster said on its website. Previous reports have said Facebook is taking a serious look at blockchain technology under its "Project Libra", in part to tackle doubts about privacy among its many users following a series of scandals. But the targeted date appears new. The BBC said Facebook had already spoken to Bank of England governor Mark Carney and to officials at the US Treasury and was expected to flesh out its plans this northern hemisphere summer. Facebook's currency would be "stable coin", a digital unit pegged to the dollar in contrast to more anarchic means of virtual payment such as bitcoin, according to earlier reporting by Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal among others. With more than two billion users across its platforms, which include WhatsApp and Instagram, Facebook could have the clout to take cryptocurrency mainstream and emulate the likes of WeChat in China, where the US site is banned. WeChat allows its users to chat, shop and play games without leaving its platform, generating more revenue by offering a one-stop portal. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has said that adding e-commerce is the logical evolution of the company's advertising-based business model. But such a step is likely to invite more intense regulatory scrutiny at a time when Facebook is already under a cloud for abuses of privacy and the spread of fake news. Facebook said it had disabled 2.19 billion fake accounts in the first quarter of this year, nearly double the number of the three months prior. But Zuckerberg on Thursday rejected the idea of breaking up the social media giant, saying that would hamper the fight against deceit and harmful online content.

Facebook plans to launch its own 'GlobalCoin' cryptocurrency next year: Report

In what could spell further embarrassment for social media giant Facebook, a massive database containing the contact information of millions of Instagram influencers, celebrities and brand accounts has been found online. Reports suggest, as many as 49 million accounts have been compromised.&nbsp;

The database was left exposed without a password online, allowing anyone to access it.

According to reports, each record contained public data scraped from influencer Instagram accounts, including their bio, profile picture, the number of followers they have, if they’re verified and their location by city and country.

The database also contained their private contact information, such as the Instagram account owner’s email address and phone number.

According to Facebook, scraping data of any kind is prohibited on Instagram, but it's still unclear how the data was procured or how it may have been used. &nbsp;

As Facebook works to emphasize privacy, it will have to address Instagram's vulnerabilities as well.

This discovery comes just after Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook has been heavily criticised by the European leaders.&nbsp;

Just like Friday, the European Commission - which is the independent executive arm of the European Union - rebuked tech giants Google, Facebook and Twitter for not doing enough to tackle fake news.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-says-it-stored-millions-of-unencrypted-instagram-passwords-211684">Just last month, Facebook released a blog post</a> wherein it said that "millions" of Instagram users had their passwords stored in unencrypted form on internal servers, Facebook said Thursday, raising its original estimate of tens of thousands.

"We discovered additional logs of Instagram passwords being stored in a readable format. We now estimate that this issue impacted millions of Instagram users," Facebook said in a blog post.

"We will be notifying these users as we did the others. Our investigation has determined that these stored passwords were not internally abused or improperly accessed," the social network said.

Facebook, Instagram's parent company, revealed last month that the unencrypted passwords of hundreds of millions of users had been stored, putting the number of Instagram users affected in the tens of thousands, news agency AFP reported.&nbsp;

In what could spell further embarrassment for social media giant Facebook, a massive database containing the contact information of millions of Instagram influencers, celebrities and brand accounts has been found online.

In what could spell further embarrassment for social media giant Facebook, a massive database containing the contact information of millions of Instagram influencers, celebrities and brand accounts has been found online. Reports suggest, as many as 49 million accounts have been compromised. The database was left exposed without a password online, allowing anyone to access it. According to reports, each record contained public data scraped from influencer Instagram accounts, including their bio, profile picture, the number of followers they have, if they’re verified and their location by city and country. The database also contained their private contact information, such as the Instagram account owner’s email address and phone number. According to Facebook, scraping data of any kind is prohibited on Instagram, but it's still unclear how the data was procured or how it may have been used. As Facebook works to emphasize privacy, it will have to address Instagram's vulnerabilities as well. This discovery comes just after Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook has been heavily criticised by the European leaders. Just like Friday, the European Commission - which is the independent executive arm of the European Union - rebuked tech giants Google, Facebook and Twitter for not doing enough to tackle fake news. Just last month, Facebook released a blog post wherein it said that "millions" of Instagram users had their passwords stored in unencrypted form on internal servers, Facebook said Thursday, raising its original estimate of tens of thousands. "We discovered additional logs of Instagram passwords being stored in a readable format. We now estimate that this issue impacted millions of Instagram users," Facebook said in a blog post. "We will be notifying these users as we did the others. Our investigation has determined that these stored passwords were not internally abused or improperly accessed," the social network said. Facebook, Instagram's parent company, revealed last month that the unencrypted passwords of hundreds of millions of users had been stored, putting the number of Instagram users affected in the tens of thousands, news agency AFP reported.

Instagram in trouble as nearly 50 million users' data gets leaked online

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said Friday a breakup of big US technology would not address "underlying issues" facing the sector and suggested that such a move could help rivals in China.

Sandberg, interviewed on CNBC television, was asked about the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-rejects-co-founder-chris-hughes-call-for-breakup-senator-urges-us-antitrust-probe-217370"> latest calls to break up Facebook </a>and other major Silicon Valley firms which dominate key sectors.

"You could break us up, you could break other tech companies up, but you actually don't address the underlying issues people are concerned about,” Sandberg said in the interview.

Sandberg said the social network used by more than two billion people was working to address concerns about election security, online violence promotion and data protection, but that a breakup might only serve to help competitors from China.

"While people are concerned with the size and power of tech companies, there's also a concern in the United States with the size and power of Chinese companies, and the realisation that those companies are not going to be broken up," she said.

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The comments come a week after one of Facebook's co-founders, Chris Hughes, said in an essay "it's time to break up Facebook," warning that it has gained too much power over what people see online.

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has also called for a breakup that could require Facebook to spin off its Instagram and WhatsApp units.

Sandberg maintained that Facebook's teams are working hard on safety and security issues, echoing comments since the company came under fire over a series of missteps including the leaking of data in 2016 to a consultancy working for Donald Trump.

"We know at Facebook we have a real possibility to do better and earn back people’s trust," she said.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said this week he was optimistic about progress toward a new regulatory framework that would apply to internet platforms.

"Overall I think in order for people to trust the internet... &nbsp;there needs to be the right regulation put in place," Zuckerberg said after meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss a report called "Creating a French Response to Make Social Media Responsible."

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said Friday a breakup of big US technology would not address "underlying issues" facing the sector and suggested that such a move could help rivals in China.

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said Friday a breakup of big US technology would not address "underlying issues" facing the sector and suggested that such a move could help rivals in China. Sandberg, interviewed on CNBC television, was asked about the latest calls to break up Facebook and other major Silicon Valley firms which dominate key sectors. "You could break us up, you could break other tech companies up, but you actually don't address the underlying issues people are concerned about,” Sandberg said in the interview. Sandberg said the social network used by more than two billion people was working to address concerns about election security, online violence promotion and data protection, but that a breakup might only serve to help competitors from China. "While people are concerned with the size and power of tech companies, there's also a concern in the United States with the size and power of Chinese companies, and the realisation that those companies are not going to be broken up," she said. × The comments come a week after one of Facebook's co-founders, Chris Hughes, said in an essay "it's time to break up Facebook," warning that it has gained too much power over what people see online. Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has also called for a breakup that could require Facebook to spin off its Instagram and WhatsApp units. Sandberg maintained that Facebook's teams are working hard on safety and security issues, echoing comments since the company came under fire over a series of missteps including the leaking of data in 2016 to a consultancy working for Donald Trump. "We know at Facebook we have a real possibility to do better and earn back people’s trust," she said. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said this week he was optimistic about progress toward a new regulatory framework that would apply to internet platforms. "Overall I think in order for people to trust the internet... there needs to be the right regulation put in place," Zuckerberg said after meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss a report called "Creating a French Response to Make Social Media Responsible."

Facebook breakup could boost China rivals: Sheryl Sandberg

Facebook announced Wednesday it would tighten access to its live streaming feature as New Zealand's <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/new-zealand-votes-to-amend-gun-laws-after-christchurch-attack-209275">premier Jacinda Ardern</a> and French leader Emmanuel Macron prepared to launch the global "Christchurch Call" initiative to tackle the spread of extremism online.

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has been under intense pressure since March when a white supremacist gunman used Facebook Live to stream his rampage at two mosques in the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/new-zealand-has-not-yet-seen-intel-linking-sri-lanka-bombings-to-christchurch-pm-212941"> New Zealand city of Christchurch</a>, which left 51 people dead.

The California-based platform said it would ban Facebook Live users who shared extremist content and seek to reinforce its own internal controls to stop the spread of offensive videos.

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"Following the horrific recent terrorist attacks in New Zealand, we've been reviewing what more we can do to limit our services from being used to cause harm or spread hate," Facebook vice-president of integrity Guy Rosen said in a statement.

&nbsp;

Ardern and Macron will later issue the Christchurch Call to fight the spread of hateful and terror-related content along with leaders from Britain, Canada, Norway, Jordan and Senegal, who will also be in Paris.

The largely symbolic initiative is intended to keep up the pressure on social media companies who face growing calls from politicians across the world to stop their platforms being abused.

"It's an action plan, it's the start of something," Ardern told CNN in an interview on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Many countries have already tightened legislation to introduce penalties for companies that fail to take down offensive content once it is flagged by authorities.

"We need to get in front of this (problem) before harm is done," Ardern added. "This is not just about regulation, but bringing companies to the table and saying they have a role too."&nbsp;

The political meeting in Paris will run in parallel to an initiative launched by Macron called "Tech for Good" which will bring together 80 tech chiefs to discuss how to harness technologies for the common good.

The heads of US tech giants Wikipedia, Uber, Twitter, Microsoft and Google will attend, but not Zuckerberg who held private one-to-one talks with Macron last week.

The social network giant will instead be represented by its vice president for global affairs and communications Nick Clegg, the former British deputy premier.

"I've spoken to Mark Zuckerberg directly twice now... and he did give Facebook's support for this call to action," Ardern said.

The US government has not endorsed the Christchurch Call and will only be represented at a junior level at a meeting of G7 digital ministers which is also taking place on Wednesday in Paris.

In an opinion piece in The New York Times over the weekend, Ardern said the Christchurch massacre underlined "a horrifying new trend" in extremist atrocities.

"It was designed to be broadcast on the internet. The entire event was livestreamed... the scale of this horrific video's reach was staggering," she wrote.

Ardern said Facebook removed 1.5 million copies of the video within 24 hours of the attack, but she still found herself among those who inadvertently saw the footage when it auto-played on their social media feeds.

Around 8,000 New Zealanders called a mental health hotline after seeing the video, she told CNN.

"(We're) asking both nations and private corporations to make changes to prevent the posting of terrorist content online, to ensure its efficient and fast removal and to prevent the use of livestreaming as a tool for broadcasting terrorist attacks," she wrote in The Times.

In Wednesday's statement, Facebook acknowledged the inadequacy of its own systems.

"One of the challenges we faced in the days after the attack was a proliferation of many different variants of the video of the attack," vice-president of integrity Rosen said.

"People -- not always intentionally -- shared edited versions of the video which made it hard for our systems to detect."

New Zealand officials said Ardern found a natural partner for the fight against online extremism in Macron, who has repeatedly stated that the status quo is unacceptable.

"Macron was one of the first leaders to call the prime minister after the attack, and he has long made removing hateful online content a priority," New Zealand's ambassador to France, Jane Coombs, told journalists on Monday.

"It's a global problem that requires a global response," she said.

A French presidential source said it was time for tech companies to "anticipate how their features will be exploited."

Firms themselves will be urged to come up with concrete measures, the source said, for example by reserving live broadcasting to social media accounts whose owners have been identified.

Facebook announced Wednesday it would tighten access to its live streaming feature as New Zealand's premier Jacinda Ardern and French leader Emmanuel Macron prepared to launch the global "Christchurch Call" initiative to tackle the spread of extremism online.

Facebook announced Wednesday it would tighten access to its live streaming feature as New Zealand's premier Jacinda Ardern and French leader Emmanuel Macron prepared to launch the global "Christchurch Call" initiative to tackle the spread of extremism online. Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has been under intense pressure since March when a white supremacist gunman used Facebook Live to stream his rampage at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, which left 51 people dead. The California-based platform said it would ban Facebook Live users who shared extremist content and seek to reinforce its own internal controls to stop the spread of offensive videos. "Following the horrific recent terrorist attacks in New Zealand, we've been reviewing what more we can do to limit our services from being used to cause harm or spread hate," Facebook vice-president of integrity Guy Rosen said in a statement. Ardern and Macron will later issue the Christchurch Call to fight the spread of hateful and terror-related content along with leaders from Britain, Canada, Norway, Jordan and Senegal, who will also be in Paris. The largely symbolic initiative is intended to keep up the pressure on social media companies who face growing calls from politicians across the world to stop their platforms being abused. "It's an action plan, it's the start of something," Ardern told CNN in an interview on Wednesday. Many countries have already tightened legislation to introduce penalties for companies that fail to take down offensive content once it is flagged by authorities. "We need to get in front of this (problem) before harm is done," Ardern added. "This is not just about regulation, but bringing companies to the table and saying they have a role too." The political meeting in Paris will run in parallel to an initiative launched by Macron called "Tech for Good" which will bring together 80 tech chiefs to discuss how to harness technologies for the common good. The heads of US tech giants Wikipedia, Uber, Twitter, Microsoft and Google will attend, but not Zuckerberg who held private one-to-one talks with Macron last week. The social network giant will instead be represented by its vice president for global affairs and communications Nick Clegg, the former British deputy premier. "I've spoken to Mark Zuckerberg directly twice now... and he did give Facebook's support for this call to action," Ardern said. The US government has not endorsed the Christchurch Call and will only be represented at a junior level at a meeting of G7 digital ministers which is also taking place on Wednesday in Paris. In an opinion piece in The New York Times over the weekend, Ardern said the Christchurch massacre underlined "a horrifying new trend" in extremist atrocities. "It was designed to be broadcast on the internet. The entire event was livestreamed... the scale of this horrific video's reach was staggering," she wrote. Ardern said Facebook removed 1.5 million copies of the video within 24 hours of the attack, but she still found herself among those who inadvertently saw the footage when it auto-played on their social media feeds. Around 8,000 New Zealanders called a mental health hotline after seeing the video, she told CNN. "(We're) asking both nations and private corporations to make changes to prevent the posting of terrorist content online, to ensure its efficient and fast removal and to prevent the use of livestreaming as a tool for broadcasting terrorist attacks," she wrote in The Times. In Wednesday's statement, Facebook acknowledged the inadequacy of its own systems. "One of the challenges we faced in the days after the attack was a proliferation of many different variants of the video of the attack," vice-president of integrity Rosen said. "People -- not always intentionally -- shared edited versions of the video which made it hard for our systems to detect." New Zealand officials said Ardern found a natural partner for the fight against online extremism in Macron, who has repeatedly stated that the status quo is unacceptable. "Macron was one of the first leaders to call the prime minister after the attack, and he has long made removing hateful online content a priority," New Zealand's ambassador to France, Jane Coombs, told journalists on Monday. "It's a global problem that requires a global response," she said. A French presidential source said it was time for tech companies to "anticipate how their features will be exploited." Firms themselves will be urged to come up with concrete measures, the source said, for example by reserving live broadcasting to social media accounts whose owners have been identified.

Facebook to curb live streaming amid pressure over 'Christchurch Call'

Facebook has sued South Korean data analytics company, Rankwave, for allegedly misusing data in its advertising and marketing services, the social media giant said in a statement.

Rankwave ran applications on the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/facebook-under-pressure-to-censor-hate-speech-217637"> Facebook platform</a> which have since been suspended by the social media company.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in a court in California, US, Jessica Romero, the director of litigation and compliance of the platform said in a statement.

"Facebook was investigating Rankwave’s data practices in relation to its advertising and marketing services. Rankwave failed to cooperate with our efforts to verify their compliance with our policies, which we require of all developers using our platform," Romero said.

The American company suspects that Rankwave could have used user data collected through its applications for its own commercial purposes.

"By filing the lawsuit, we are sending a message to developers that Facebook is serious about enforcing our policies, including requiring developers to cooperate with us during an investigation," Romero added.

So far, Rankwave has not commented on the lawsuit.&nbsp;

The case could again tarnish the image of the social network and its security measures on the processing of personal data after data from millions of users was compromised by British data analysis firm Cambridge Analytica for political purposes.

What appeared to be an inoffensive fun app in the form of a personality quiz encouraged millions of users to share data about themselves.

Facebook alleges that Rankwave was slurping up user data based on Facebook activity that was then sold on to advertising clients of the South Korean data handling company.&nbsp;

Facebook's demand against Rankwave was presented the same day that the president and co-founder of the American company, Mark Zuckerberg, met in Paris with French <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-rejects-co-founder-call-for-breakup-senator-urges-us-antitrust-probe-217697">President Emmanuel Macron</a>, at a time when France is preparing to toughen its legislation on social networks.

Facebook has sued South Korean data analytics company, Rankwave, for allegedly misusing data in its advertising and marketing services, the social media giant said in a statement.

Facebook has sued South Korean data analytics company, Rankwave, for allegedly misusing data in its advertising and marketing services, the social media giant said in a statement. Rankwave ran applications on the Facebook platform which have since been suspended by the social media company. The lawsuit was filed Friday in a court in California, US, Jessica Romero, the director of litigation and compliance of the platform said in a statement. "Facebook was investigating Rankwave’s data practices in relation to its advertising and marketing services. Rankwave failed to cooperate with our efforts to verify their compliance with our policies, which we require of all developers using our platform," Romero said. The American company suspects that Rankwave could have used user data collected through its applications for its own commercial purposes. "By filing the lawsuit, we are sending a message to developers that Facebook is serious about enforcing our policies, including requiring developers to cooperate with us during an investigation," Romero added. So far, Rankwave has not commented on the lawsuit. The case could again tarnish the image of the social network and its security measures on the processing of personal data after data from millions of users was compromised by British data analysis firm Cambridge Analytica for political purposes. What appeared to be an inoffensive fun app in the form of a personality quiz encouraged millions of users to share data about themselves. Facebook alleges that Rankwave was slurping up user data based on Facebook activity that was then sold on to advertising clients of the South Korean data handling company. Facebook's demand against Rankwave was presented the same day that the president and co-founder of the American company, Mark Zuckerberg, met in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, at a time when France is preparing to toughen its legislation on social networks.

Facebook sues South Korean analytics firm for misuse of data

Facebook Inc quickly rejected a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/facebook-co-founder-says-it-is-time-to-break-up-the-company-217297">call from co-founder Chris Hughes on Thursday to split </a>the world's largest social media company in three, while lawmakers urged the US Justice Department to launch an antitrust investigation.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-unwittingly-auto-generating-terror-content-us-whistleblower-centre-217365">Facebook</a> has been under scrutiny from regulators around the world over data sharing practices as well as hate speech and misinformation on its networks. Some US&nbsp;lawmakers have pushed for action to break up big tech companies as well as federal privacy regulation.

"We are a nation with a tradition of reining in monopolies, no matter how well-intentioned the leaders of these companies may be. Mark's power is unprecedented and un-American," Hughes, a former college roommate of Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, wrote in a lengthy New York Times opinion piece.

Facebook's social network has more than 2 billion users. It also owns WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, each used by more than 1 billion people. Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.

Facebook rejected Hughes' call for WhatsApp and Instagram to be made into separate companies and said the focus should instead be on regulating the internet. Zuckerberg will be in Paris on Friday to discuss internet regulation with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"Facebook accepts that with success comes accountability. But you don't enforce accountability by calling for the break up of a successful American company," Facebook spokesman Nick Clegg said in a statement.

"Accountability of tech companies can only be achieved through the painstaking introduction of new rules for the internet. That is exactly what Mark Zuckerberg has called for."

Late on Thursday, Senator Mike Crapo, the Republican who chairs the banking committee and Sherrod Brown, the top Democrat, asked Facebook to answer questions about a potential cryptocurrency-based payments system using its social network and its data collection.

The letter also asked questions about consumer privacy protections and if it had information about users' creditworthiness.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, told CNBC he thinks Facebook should be broken up and that the Justice Department's antitrust division needs to begin an investigation.

Antitrust law makes such a proposal tough to execute because the government would have to take the company to court and win. It is rare to break up a company but not unheard of, with Standard Oil and AT&amp;T being the two biggest examples.

SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY

Hughes co-founded Facebook in 2004 at Harvard with Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz. He left Facebook in 2007, and has said in a LinkedIn post he made half a billion dollars for his three years of work.

"It's been 15 years since I co-founded Facebook at Harvard, and I haven't worked at the company in a decade. But I feel a sense of anger and responsibility," Hughes said.

Facebook lost several executives after a bruising series of privacy and disinformation scandals since 2016. The founders of Instagram and WhatsApp have left, as has the executive who took over WhatsApp last year.

Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, who had been at the company for 13 years and was one of Zuckerberg's closest lieutenants, stepped down in March around the same time Facebook announced a pivot towards more private messaging.

He later cited "artistic differences" with Zuckerberg as his reason for leaving, without elaborating.

Critics say the company's pivot to privacy, which will introduce more encrypted communications, will restrict Facebook's ability to police propaganda, hate speech and other abusive behaviours. Cox focused on improving tools to catch banned content in recent years.

Despite its scandals, the company's core business has proven resilient. Facebook has blown past earnings estimates in the past two quarters and its stock price barely budged in response to Hughes' opinion piece.

Hughes suggested Zuckerberg should be held responsible for privacy and other lapses at the company, echoing a call earlier this month by Democratic US Senator Ron Wyden to hold the CEO individually liable for "repeated violations" of privacy.

"The government must hold Mark accountable. For too long, lawmakers have marvelled at Facebook's explosive growth and overlooked their responsibility to ensure that Americans are protected and markets are competitive," Hughes said.

LAWMAKER PRESSURE

Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 presidential election, has vowed to break up Facebook, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google if elected.

"Today's big tech companies have too much power—over our economy, our society, &amp; our democracy. They've bulldozed competition, used our private info for profit, hurt small businesses &amp; stifled innovation. It's time to #BreakUpBigTech," Warren said on Twitter on Thursday.

Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, said in a statement he agreed in retrospect that US regulators should not have approved Facebook's acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp.

"The way forward is to heavily scrutinize future mergers and to ensure no company has anti-competitive platform privileges," Khanna said.

In one of a number of scandals to hit the company, Facebook is accused of inappropriately sharing information belonging to 87 million users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook has been in advanced talks with the US&nbsp;Federal Trade Commission to settle a year-old investigation and said last month it expected to spend between $3 billion and $5 billion.

On Monday, Republican and Democratic US senators criticized reported plans for the settlement, calling on the FTC to impose harsher penalties and more restrictions on Facebook's business practices.

Hughes said he last met with Zuckerberg in the summer of 2017, several months before the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke.

"Mark is a good, kind person. But I'm angry that his focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks," Hughes said.

Adam Mosseri, Facebook's previous head of news feed who recently took over Instagram, responded to Hughes on Twitter.

"Regulation is important and necessary, but I'm not convinced breaking us up is the right path. Would love to chat about it if you're open," Mosseri said.

Facebook Inc quickly rejected a call from co-founder Chris Hughes on Thursday to split the world's largest social media company in three, while lawmakers urged the US Justice Department to launch an antitrust investigation.

Facebook Inc quickly rejected a call from co-founder Chris Hughes on Thursday to split the world's largest social media company in three, while lawmakers urged the US Justice Department to launch an antitrust investigation. Facebook has been under scrutiny from regulators around the world over data sharing practices as well as hate speech and misinformation on its networks. Some US lawmakers have pushed for action to break up big tech companies as well as federal privacy regulation. "We are a nation with a tradition of reining in monopolies, no matter how well-intentioned the leaders of these companies may be. Mark's power is unprecedented and un-American," Hughes, a former college roommate of Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, wrote in a lengthy New York Times opinion piece. Facebook's social network has more than 2 billion users. It also owns WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, each used by more than 1 billion people. Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014. Facebook rejected Hughes' call for WhatsApp and Instagram to be made into separate companies and said the focus should instead be on regulating the internet. Zuckerberg will be in Paris on Friday to discuss internet regulation with French President Emmanuel Macron. "Facebook accepts that with success comes accountability. But you don't enforce accountability by calling for the break up of a successful American company," Facebook spokesman Nick Clegg said in a statement. "Accountability of tech companies can only be achieved through the painstaking introduction of new rules for the internet. That is exactly what Mark Zuckerberg has called for." Late on Thursday, Senator Mike Crapo, the Republican who chairs the banking committee and Sherrod Brown, the top Democrat, asked Facebook to answer questions about a potential cryptocurrency-based payments system using its social network and its data collection. The letter also asked questions about consumer privacy protections and if it had information about users' creditworthiness. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, told CNBC he thinks Facebook should be broken up and that the Justice Department's antitrust division needs to begin an investigation. Antitrust law makes such a proposal tough to execute because the government would have to take the company to court and win. It is rare to break up a company but not unheard of, with Standard Oil and AT&T being the two biggest examples. SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY Hughes co-founded Facebook in 2004 at Harvard with Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz. He left Facebook in 2007, and has said in a LinkedIn post he made half a billion dollars for his three years of work. "It's been 15 years since I co-founded Facebook at Harvard, and I haven't worked at the company in a decade. But I feel a sense of anger and responsibility," Hughes said. Facebook lost several executives after a bruising series of privacy and disinformation scandals since 2016. The founders of Instagram and WhatsApp have left, as has the executive who took over WhatsApp last year. Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, who had been at the company for 13 years and was one of Zuckerberg's closest lieutenants, stepped down in March around the same time Facebook announced a pivot towards more private messaging. He later cited "artistic differences" with Zuckerberg as his reason for leaving, without elaborating. Critics say the company's pivot to privacy, which will introduce more encrypted communications, will restrict Facebook's ability to police propaganda, hate speech and other abusive behaviours. Cox focused on improving tools to catch banned content in recent years. Despite its scandals, the company's core business has proven resilient. Facebook has blown past earnings estimates in the past two quarters and its stock price barely budged in response to Hughes' opinion piece. Hughes suggested Zuckerberg should be held responsible for privacy and other lapses at the company, echoing a call earlier this month by Democratic US Senator Ron Wyden to hold the CEO individually liable for "repeated violations" of privacy. "The government must hold Mark accountable. For too long, lawmakers have marvelled at Facebook's explosive growth and overlooked their responsibility to ensure that Americans are protected and markets are competitive," Hughes said. LAWMAKER PRESSURE Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 presidential election, has vowed to break up Facebook, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google if elected. "Today's big tech companies have too much power—over our economy, our society, & our democracy. They've bulldozed competition, used our private info for profit, hurt small businesses & stifled innovation. It's time to #BreakUpBigTech," Warren said on Twitter on Thursday. Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, said in a statement he agreed in retrospect that US regulators should not have approved Facebook's acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. "The way forward is to heavily scrutinize future mergers and to ensure no company has anti-competitive platform privileges," Khanna said. In one of a number of scandals to hit the company, Facebook is accused of inappropriately sharing information belonging to 87 million users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. Facebook has been in advanced talks with the US Federal Trade Commission to settle a year-old investigation and said last month it expected to spend between $3 billion and $5 billion. On Monday, Republican and Democratic US senators criticized reported plans for the settlement, calling on the FTC to impose harsher penalties and more restrictions on Facebook's business practices. Hughes said he last met with Zuckerberg in the summer of 2017, several months before the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke. "Mark is a good, kind person. But I'm angry that his focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks," Hughes said. Adam Mosseri, Facebook's previous head of news feed who recently took over Instagram, responded to Hughes on Twitter. "Regulation is important and necessary, but I'm not convinced breaking us up is the right path. Would love to chat about it if you're open," Mosseri said.

Facebook rejects co-founder Chris Hughes call for breakup, senator urges US antitrust probe

Facebook Inc co-founder and former Mark Zuckerberg roommate Chris Hughes has called for the break up of the social network in an opinion piece in the New York Times.

"We are a nation with a tradition of reining in monopolies, no matter how well-intentioned the leaders of these companies may be. Mark's power is unprecedented and un-American," Hughes wrote on Thursday.

Facebook owns the largest social network with more than 2 billion users across the world. It also owns WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, each used by more than 1 billion people.

Hughes co-founded Facebook in 2004 at Harvard with the company's Chief Executive Officer Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz. He quit Facebook in 2007.

"It's been 15 years since I co-founded Facebook at Harvard, and I haven't worked at the company in a decade. But I feel a sense of anger and responsibility," said Hughes, who later was an online strategist for Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign.

The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In one of a number of security and privacy scandals to hit the company, Facebook is accused of inappropriately sharing information belonging to 87 million users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

Hughes said he last met with Zuckerberg in the summer of 2017, several months before the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke.

"Mark is a good, kind person. But I'm angry that his focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks," Hughes said.

"And I'm worried that Mark has surrounded himself with a team that reinforces his beliefs instead of challenging them."

Hughes is not alone in asking for the break-up of Facebook. Some lawmakers have called for federal privacy regulation and anti-trust action to break up big tech companies.

Facebook Inc co-founder and former Mark Zuckerberg roommate Chris Hughes has called for the break up of the social network in an opinion piece in the New York Times.

Facebook Inc co-founder and former Mark Zuckerberg roommate Chris Hughes has called for the break up of the social network in an opinion piece in the New York Times. "We are a nation with a tradition of reining in monopolies, no matter how well-intentioned the leaders of these companies may be. Mark's power is unprecedented and un-American," Hughes wrote on Thursday. Facebook owns the largest social network with more than 2 billion users across the world. It also owns WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, each used by more than 1 billion people. Hughes co-founded Facebook in 2004 at Harvard with the company's Chief Executive Officer Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz. He quit Facebook in 2007. "It's been 15 years since I co-founded Facebook at Harvard, and I haven't worked at the company in a decade. But I feel a sense of anger and responsibility," said Hughes, who later was an online strategist for Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In one of a number of security and privacy scandals to hit the company, Facebook is accused of inappropriately sharing information belonging to 87 million users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. Hughes said he last met with Zuckerberg in the summer of 2017, several months before the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke. "Mark is a good, kind person. But I'm angry that his focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks," Hughes said. "And I'm worried that Mark has surrounded himself with a team that reinforces his beliefs instead of challenging them." Hughes is not alone in asking for the break-up of Facebook. Some lawmakers have called for federal privacy regulation and anti-trust action to break up big tech companies.

Facebook co-founder says it is time to break up the company

As part of a revamp unveiled Tuesday Facebook aims to foster real-world relationships and make the platform a more intimate place for groups of friends.

The new features were introduced in a revamped Facebook app as the embattled social network embarks on a new strategy emphasizing private communications and small groups.

"As the world gets bigger and more connected, we need that sense of intimacy more than ever," Mark Zuckerberg said as he opened the F8 developer conference for the social networking giant.

"That's why I believe the future is private."

The new app made available to US users Tuesday aims for a new direction for Facebook: it eliminates the blue background and offers a range of new ways to connect, in line with Zuckerberg's vision to move away from the "digital town square" to a "digital living room."

Facebook's shift comes response to criticism over failing to curb misinformation and manipulation of the platform used by 2.3 billion people, and missteps on handling of private user data.

"It can be hard to find your sense of purpose when you are connected to billions of people at the same time," Zuckerberg told the developers gathered in San Jose, California.

"Privacy gives us the freedom to be ourselves."

The redesigned application, to be followed by a new Facebook website, symbolizes changes in how Facebook runs its business, Zuckerberg said.

"I know we don't exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly," he said. "But I am committed to starting a new chapter for our product."

Dogs and politics

Changes announced Tuesday put groups at the centre of the experience and add dating, friend-making and events features intended to promote people getting together in real life, Facebook's new app head Fidji Simo told AFP ahead of F8.

The redesign is meant to make it easier for users to take part in communities, whether based on friendships, family ties or common interests, according to Simo.

"It's definitely part of Mark's bigger vision," she said.

The new design gives users more options for private and group connections.

While counterintuitive, Facebook sees the change as potentially bringing people with opposing political viewpoints together rather than separating them in "filter bubbles."

"We are seeing that groups can bridge people across dividing lines," Simo said.

"If you are a dog lover, you will find people who are dog lovers across all divides, political or otherwise," she added.

A "Meet New Friends" feature being gradually rolled out will let users opt into getting acquainted with others interested in fresh connections in shared communities.

An "Events" tab will expedite making real world, local plans with online friends.

Hidden crushes

Facebook also announced it is expanding its dating feature to 14 more countries including the Philippines, Singapore, Brazil and Chile.

A new feature called "Secret Crush" will let people signal which friends they are interested in romantically, but only letting the object of their fancy know it if that person makes similar interest known on a private crush list.

"We think there is a lot of potential in developing these relationships," Simo said.

"It's all built with privacy in mind, and with the goal of building meaningfully long-term relationships and not just hookups."

The ability for people in small groups to be able to communicate securely and privately is seen as essential to making the social network more intimate.

There are tens of millions of active groups on Facebook, and more than 400 million people belong to groups at the social network.

Leaner, faster Messenger

Separately, Facebook unveiled a Messenger app overhaul that makes the mobile software leaner, faster and more of an energy miser.

"We rewrote practically all of the code from scratch," Facebook head of messaging product Stan Chudnovsky told AFP.

"We made Messenger the fastest private communication hub on the planet."

Features built into the new Messenger app used by some 1.3 billion people build on the social network's broader vision of small-group-sharing in "virtual living rooms," according to Chudnovsky.

Facebook also announced it's Portal video call device would be available internationally starting with Canada in June and Europe later this year, and would allow calls over the WhatsApp messaging platform.

The Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest headsets, starting at $399, will begin shipping on May 21, expanding Facebook's move into virtual reality and gaming, the company said.

As part of a revamp unveiled Tuesday Facebook aims to foster real-world relationships and make the platform a more intimate place for groups of friends. The new features were introduced in a revamped Facebook app as the embattled social network embarks on a new strategy emphasizing private communications and small groups.

As part of a revamp unveiled Tuesday Facebook aims to foster real-world relationships and make the platform a more intimate place for groups of friends. The new features were introduced in a revamped Facebook app as the embattled social network embarks on a new strategy emphasizing private communications and small groups. "As the world gets bigger and more connected, we need that sense of intimacy more than ever," Mark Zuckerberg said as he opened the F8 developer conference for the social networking giant. "That's why I believe the future is private." The new app made available to US users Tuesday aims for a new direction for Facebook: it eliminates the blue background and offers a range of new ways to connect, in line with Zuckerberg's vision to move away from the "digital town square" to a "digital living room." Facebook's shift comes response to criticism over failing to curb misinformation and manipulation of the platform used by 2.3 billion people, and missteps on handling of private user data. "It can be hard to find your sense of purpose when you are connected to billions of people at the same time," Zuckerberg told the developers gathered in San Jose, California. "Privacy gives us the freedom to be ourselves." The redesigned application, to be followed by a new Facebook website, symbolizes changes in how Facebook runs its business, Zuckerberg said. "I know we don't exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly," he said. "But I am committed to starting a new chapter for our product." Dogs and politics Changes announced Tuesday put groups at the centre of the experience and add dating, friend-making and events features intended to promote people getting together in real life, Facebook's new app head Fidji Simo told AFP ahead of F8. The redesign is meant to make it easier for users to take part in communities, whether based on friendships, family ties or common interests, according to Simo. "It's definitely part of Mark's bigger vision," she said. The new design gives users more options for private and group connections. While counterintuitive, Facebook sees the change as potentially bringing people with opposing political viewpoints together rather than separating them in "filter bubbles." "We are seeing that groups can bridge people across dividing lines," Simo said. "If you are a dog lover, you will find people who are dog lovers across all divides, political or otherwise," she added. A "Meet New Friends" feature being gradually rolled out will let users opt into getting acquainted with others interested in fresh connections in shared communities. An "Events" tab will expedite making real world, local plans with online friends. Hidden crushes Facebook also announced it is expanding its dating feature to 14 more countries including the Philippines, Singapore, Brazil and Chile. A new feature called "Secret Crush" will let people signal which friends they are interested in romantically, but only letting the object of their fancy know it if that person makes similar interest known on a private crush list. "We think there is a lot of potential in developing these relationships," Simo said. "It's all built with privacy in mind, and with the goal of building meaningfully long-term relationships and not just hookups." The ability for people in small groups to be able to communicate securely and privately is seen as essential to making the social network more intimate. There are tens of millions of active groups on Facebook, and more than 400 million people belong to groups at the social network. Leaner, faster Messenger Separately, Facebook unveiled a Messenger app overhaul that makes the mobile software leaner, faster and more of an energy miser. "We rewrote practically all of the code from scratch," Facebook head of messaging product Stan Chudnovsky told AFP. "We made Messenger the fastest private communication hub on the planet." Features built into the new Messenger app used by some 1.3 billion people build on the social network's broader vision of small-group-sharing in "virtual living rooms," according to Chudnovsky. Facebook also announced it's Portal video call device would be available internationally starting with Canada in June and Europe later this year, and would allow calls over the WhatsApp messaging platform. The Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest headsets, starting at $399, will begin shipping on May 21, expanding Facebook's move into virtual reality and gaming, the company said.

Got a crush on another Facebook user? The social network will help you connect

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave access to sensitive user data to dozens of app developer friends, according to thousands of leaked documents. Zuckerberg reportedly used the data as a reward to third party companies and developers who either had a favourable relationship with company executives or spent considerable amounts on ads.

Leaked documents reveal Facebook secrets

Facebook Inc more than doubled the money it spent on Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's security in 2018 to $22.6 million, a regulatory filing showed on Friday.

Zuckerberg has drawn a base salary of $1 for the past three years, and his "other" compensation was listed at $22.6 million, most of which was for his personal security.

Nearly $20 million went towards security for Zuckerberg and his family, up from about $9 million the year prior. Zuckerberg also received $2.6 million for personal use of private jets, which the company said was part of his overall <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-shuts-more-accounts-aimed-at-political-meddling-177243">security programme</a>.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-restores-services-after-global-outage-203386">Facebook </a>has in the past few years faced public outcry over its role in Russia's alleged influence on the 2016 US&nbsp;presidential election and has come under fire following revelations that Cambridge Analytica obtained personal data from millions of Facebook profiles without consent.&nbsp;

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg took home $23.7 million in 2018 compared to $25.2 million last year.

Separately, Facebook said Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings would vacate his seat on the social media company's board and not be nominated for re-election.

Hastings' departure comes as the Menlo Park-based company beefs up its push into videos. Hastings has served on Facebook's board since 2011.

The company also said it would nominate PayPal's senior vice president of core markets, Peggy Alford, to its board in place of University of North Carolina President Emeritus Erskine Bowles, who will also not be re-nominated.

Facebook shares closed at $179.07 Friday evening.

Facebook Inc more than doubled the money it spent on Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's security in 2018 to $22.6 million, a regulatory filing showed on Friday.

Facebook Inc more than doubled the money it spent on Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's security in 2018 to $22.6 million, a regulatory filing showed on Friday. Zuckerberg has drawn a base salary of $1 for the past three years, and his "other" compensation was listed at $22.6 million, most of which was for his personal security. Nearly $20 million went towards security for Zuckerberg and his family, up from about $9 million the year prior. Zuckerberg also received $2.6 million for personal use of private jets, which the company said was part of his overall security programme. Facebook has in the past few years faced public outcry over its role in Russia's alleged influence on the 2016 US presidential election and has come under fire following revelations that Cambridge Analytica obtained personal data from millions of Facebook profiles without consent. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg took home $23.7 million in 2018 compared to $25.2 million last year. Separately, Facebook said Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings would vacate his seat on the social media company's board and not be nominated for re-election. Hastings' departure comes as the Menlo Park-based company beefs up its push into videos. Hastings has served on Facebook's board since 2011. The company also said it would nominate PayPal's senior vice president of core markets, Peggy Alford, to its board in place of University of North Carolina President Emeritus Erskine Bowles, who will also not be re-nominated. Facebook shares closed at $179.07 Friday evening.

Facebook spends $22.6 million to keep Mark Zuckerberg safe

Britain will make social media bosses personally liable for harmful content and shut down offending platforms under a "world-leading" government plan published Monday in response to the spread of online abuses and crimes.

The long-delayed and eagerly anticipated proposals lay the groundwork for legislation that could be passed in the coming months.

They were drawn up after consultations with social media moguls such as Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg and have faced little resistance from other platforms that have also been blamed for inciting harmful behaviour online.

But some of the proposals have sparked concerns from free speech groups.

"What we're proposing today is that companies that deal with user-generated content should take greater responsibility for keeping those users safe," culture and media minister Jeremy Wright told BBC radio.

"These are world-leading proposals."

Australia also fast-tracked legislation last week that threatened jailed time for social media executives who failed to enact the "expeditious removal" of footage of terrorism and other odious crimes.

Punitive sanctions

Australia's laws came in direct response to last month's live broadcast by Facebook and YouTube of the slaying of 50 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand.

Britain's initiative was born out of public anger over the 2017 suicide of a 14-year-old girl who followed social media accounts about depression and self-harm.

The proposed UK regulations would see social media companies accept "duty of care" obligations that require them to identify and remove "online harms".

Those that fail would be first issued warnings and then hit progressively with more punitive sanctions.

The government paper suggests that these include "the creation of new liability (civil fines or extended to criminal liability) for individual senior managers".

The most serious would see internet service providers block non-compliant websites and apps.

"This would only be considered as an option of last resort and deploying such an option would be a decision for the independent regulator alone," the plan says.

The regulations would only apply in Britain and should have no immediate impact on users elsewhere in the world.

But they may prompt other governments to take notice and follow suit.

Wright suggested the fines would be substantial.

He noted that those available to European Union authorities implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules on data privacy reached "up to four per cent of a company's turnover".

"We think we should be looking at something comparable here," Wright told BBC television.

Minefield of problems

Wright's office is navigating a minefield of problems regulating an industry that largely functions outside the bounds of existing legislation -- and whose harms are open to interpretation and remain undefined.

A joint letter sent by media executives to the British government in February stressed that legislation must be "technically possible to implement in practice... (and) be targeted at specific harms".

The government paper lists both "harms with a clear legal definition" and "harms with a less clear legal definition".

The first includes terrorist activity and a range of cyber-stalking and hate crimes.

The second lists disinformation and "violent content" as a whole.

What types of harm fall where would be established by a new regulator whose enforcement powers would be funded by the social media companies themselves.

Libertarian ethos

The social media boom was born in the spirit of a libertarian Silicon Valley ethos of innovation and non-interference from the government.

But the industry is now facing a litany of dangers that range from the spread of state propaganda to promotion of teen suicide and live streaming or murders and serious crimes.

The techUK industry lobby group admitted Monday that platforms' attempts at self-regulation have fallen short.

But it also urged the government to avoid "creating discrepancies in law between the online and offline worlds".

Twitter UK public policy chief Katy Minshall said her platform would work with the government "to strike an appropriate balance between keeping users safe and preserving the open, free nature of the internet."

Britain's Article 19 free speech group also warned that the proposed legislation "could violate individuals' rights to freedom of expression and privacy".

Britain will make social media bosses personally liable for harmful content and shut down offending platforms under a "world-leading" government plan published Monday in response to the spread of online abuses and crimes.

Britain will make social media bosses personally liable for harmful content and shut down offending platforms under a "world-leading" government plan published Monday in response to the spread of online abuses and crimes. The long-delayed and eagerly anticipated proposals lay the groundwork for legislation that could be passed in the coming months. They were drawn up after consultations with social media moguls such as Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg and have faced little resistance from other platforms that have also been blamed for inciting harmful behaviour online. But some of the proposals have sparked concerns from free speech groups. "What we're proposing today is that companies that deal with user-generated content should take greater responsibility for keeping those users safe," culture and media minister Jeremy Wright told BBC radio. "These are world-leading proposals." Australia also fast-tracked legislation last week that threatened jailed time for social media executives who failed to enact the "expeditious removal" of footage of terrorism and other odious crimes. Punitive sanctions Australia's laws came in direct response to last month's live broadcast by Facebook and YouTube of the slaying of 50 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand. Britain's initiative was born out of public anger over the 2017 suicide of a 14-year-old girl who followed social media accounts about depression and self-harm. The proposed UK regulations would see social media companies accept "duty of care" obligations that require them to identify and remove "online harms". Those that fail would be first issued warnings and then hit progressively with more punitive sanctions. The government paper suggests that these include "the creation of new liability (civil fines or extended to criminal liability) for individual senior managers". The most serious would see internet service providers block non-compliant websites and apps. "This would only be considered as an option of last resort and deploying such an option would be a decision for the independent regulator alone," the plan says. The regulations would only apply in Britain and should have no immediate impact on users elsewhere in the world. But they may prompt other governments to take notice and follow suit. Wright suggested the fines would be substantial. He noted that those available to European Union authorities implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules on data privacy reached "up to four per cent of a company's turnover". "We think we should be looking at something comparable here," Wright told BBC television. Minefield of problems Wright's office is navigating a minefield of problems regulating an industry that largely functions outside the bounds of existing legislation -- and whose harms are open to interpretation and remain undefined. A joint letter sent by media executives to the British government in February stressed that legislation must be "technically possible to implement in practice... (and) be targeted at specific harms". The government paper lists both "harms with a clear legal definition" and "harms with a less clear legal definition". The first includes terrorist activity and a range of cyber-stalking and hate crimes. The second lists disinformation and "violent content" as a whole. What types of harm fall where would be established by a new regulator whose enforcement powers would be funded by the social media companies themselves. Libertarian ethos The social media boom was born in the spirit of a libertarian Silicon Valley ethos of innovation and non-interference from the government. But the industry is now facing a litany of dangers that range from the spread of state propaganda to promotion of teen suicide and live streaming or murders and serious crimes. The techUK industry lobby group admitted Monday that platforms' attempts at self-regulation have fallen short. But it also urged the government to avoid "creating discrepancies in law between the online and offline worlds". Twitter UK public policy chief Katy Minshall said her platform would work with the government "to strike an appropriate balance between keeping users safe and preserving the open, free nature of the internet." Britain's Article 19 free speech group also warned that the proposed legislation "could violate individuals' rights to freedom of expression and privacy".

UK takes aim at social networks that fail to quash 'hateful' content

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg called Saturday for governments to play a "more active role" in regulating the internet, urging more countries to adopt versions of sweeping European rules aimed at safeguarding user privacy.

Facebook and other internet giants have long resisted <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australian-watchdog-calls-for-more-scrutiny-of-google-facebook-182777">government intervention</a>, but the leading social network has reversed course amid growing calls for regulation, in an apparent bid to help steer the debate.

"I believe we need a more active role for governments and regulators," Zuckerberg wrote in an op-ed published in The Washington Post.

"By updating the rules for the internet, we can preserve what's best about it -- the freedom for people to express themselves and for entrepreneurs to build new things -- while also protecting society from broader harms," he said.

Zuckerberg argues that new regulations are needed in four areas: harmful content, protection of elections, privacy and data portability.

Facebook has drawn fire over all four, from hate speech on the platform and the recent live streaming of attacks on mosques in New Zealand, to its use in foreign efforts to meddle in elections and concerns over its collection of personal user data.

Addressing protection of user privacy, Zuckerberg said he would support more countries adopting rules in line with the European Union's sweeping General Data Protection Regulation, which gives regulators sweeping powers to sanction organizations which fail to adhere to heightened standards of security when processing personal data.

"I believe it would be good for the internet if more countries adopted regulation such as GDPR as a common framework," Zuckerberg wrote, also calling for regulation to guarantee data portability between services.

On harmful content, Zuckerberg said he agreed with lawmakers who have argued that "we have too much power over speech," saying that "third-party bodies" could set standards on distribution of harmful material and "measure companies against those standards."

And on elections, Zuckerberg noted that existing laws are focused on candidates and elections instead of "divisive political issues where we've seen more attempted interference," urging legislation to be updated to "reflect the reality of the threats."

"The rules governing the internet allowed a generation of entrepreneurs to build services that changed the world and created a lot of value in people's lives," Zuckerberg wrote.

"It's time to update these rules to define clear responsibilities for people, companies and governments going forward."

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg called Saturday for governments to play a "more active role" in regulating the internet, urging more countries to adopt versions of sweeping European rules aimed at safeguarding user privacy.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg called Saturday for governments to play a "more active role" in regulating the internet, urging more countries to adopt versions of sweeping European rules aimed at safeguarding user privacy. Facebook and other internet giants have long resisted government intervention, but the leading social network has reversed course amid growing calls for regulation, in an apparent bid to help steer the debate. "I believe we need a more active role for governments and regulators," Zuckerberg wrote in an op-ed published in The Washington Post. "By updating the rules for the internet, we can preserve what's best about it -- the freedom for people to express themselves and for entrepreneurs to build new things -- while also protecting society from broader harms," he said. Zuckerberg argues that new regulations are needed in four areas: harmful content, protection of elections, privacy and data portability. Facebook has drawn fire over all four, from hate speech on the platform and the recent live streaming of attacks on mosques in New Zealand, to its use in foreign efforts to meddle in elections and concerns over its collection of personal user data. Addressing protection of user privacy, Zuckerberg said he would support more countries adopting rules in line with the European Union's sweeping General Data Protection Regulation, which gives regulators sweeping powers to sanction organizations which fail to adhere to heightened standards of security when processing personal data. "I believe it would be good for the internet if more countries adopted regulation such as GDPR as a common framework," Zuckerberg wrote, also calling for regulation to guarantee data portability between services. On harmful content, Zuckerberg said he agreed with lawmakers who have argued that "we have too much power over speech," saying that "third-party bodies" could set standards on distribution of harmful material and "measure companies against those standards." And on elections, Zuckerberg noted that existing laws are focused on candidates and elections instead of "divisive political issues where we've seen more attempted interference," urging legislation to be updated to "reflect the reality of the threats." "The rules governing the internet allowed a generation of entrepreneurs to build services that changed the world and created a lot of value in people's lives," Zuckerberg wrote. "It's time to update these rules to define clear responsibilities for people, companies and governments going forward."

Facebook chief  Zuckerberg wants 'more active' govt role regulating internet

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