Shut out by mainstream media and too scared to hustle on the streets, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/bangladesh">Bangladesh</a>'s main opposition party has been reduced to social media lobbying for votes in this week's national elections.

Two weeks into the campaign, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pm-sheikh-hasina-on-top-in-battle-of-the-bangladesh-begums-186170">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina</a> has addressed hundreds of thousands of people in rallies across the country as she seeks a record fourth term.

Public gatherings by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are tiny by comparison.&nbsp;

Its leader <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/khaleda-zia-bangladeshs-fighter-begum-and-former-premier-marred-by-controversies-185022">Khaleda Zia</a> is serving a 17-year jail term for a graft conviction, which the party says is a politically motivated attempt to sideline Hasina's chief rival.&nbsp;

The BNP says many of its candidates have been too scared to campaign in public and fear violent intimidation by ruling party followers or arrest by authorities.

More than 150 of its candidates have been attacked, 15 arrested and thousands of party activists injured in clashes with rivals from the ruling Awami League, according to the BNP.

At least six supporters from both parties have been killed in election clashes.

Fearing bloodshed, the BNP has instead turned to Facebook to canvass support from Bangladesh's 100 million voters ahead of Sunday's election.

An online plea by BNP secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to the nation's younger voters went viral in recent days.

The three-minute video was released on Friday night and was shared tens of thousands of times over the weekend.

The Awami League wants to "create an environment of fear so that you lose interest in voting on the morning of December 30," he says in the post.&nbsp;

"You can prevent vote robbery. Democracy must be saved."

Poetic plea&nbsp;

A recording of a poem recited by young voters urging them to condemn a violent government crackdown on student protests earlier this year also spread like wildfire online.

Pro-Awami League groups have responded by flooding Facebook with videos of Bangladeshi celebrities, each lauding the country's solid economic growth since Hasina's second stint in office began in 2009.

State-run media and many private television stations do not run opposition adverts for fear of government reprisals, said BNP spokesman Sayrul Kabir Khan.&nbsp;

While Awami League campaign ads are ubiquitous on television, "the only medium where we can post our video is Facebook," Khan said.&nbsp;

Authorities last week blocked the BNP website, claiming it contained "indecent" and "obscene" material&nbsp;a move that prompted outrage and accusations of censorship from the opposition. The party's Facebook page was also down for several days.

At the same time, the government has run its own online influence campaign in a bid to shore up votes ahead of the Sunday poll.

Facebook last week said it had suspended nine pages and six accounts linked to "individuals associated with the Bangladesh government" which posted anti-opposition content while masquerading as independent news sources.

Civil society and rights groups have accused the government of silencing dissent and the press with an onerous digital-security law.

Motiur Rahman Chowdhury, the editor of the Bangladeshi tabloid Manabzamin, said Facebook was the last refuge for voices critical of the Awami League's increasing slide towards authoritarianism.

"The opposition is too afraid to campaign freely. The media has been cornered as well. This is the reality," he said.

Shut out by mainstream media and too scared to hustle on the streets, Bangladesh's main opposition party has been reduced to social media lobbying for votes in this week's national elections.

Shut out by mainstream media and too scared to hustle on the streets, Bangladesh's main opposition party has been reduced to social media lobbying for votes in this week's national elections. Two weeks into the campaign, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has addressed hundreds of thousands of people in rallies across the country as she seeks a record fourth term. Public gatherings by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are tiny by comparison. Its leader Khaleda Zia is serving a 17-year jail term for a graft conviction, which the party says is a politically motivated attempt to sideline Hasina's chief rival. The BNP says many of its candidates have been too scared to campaign in public and fear violent intimidation by ruling party followers or arrest by authorities. More than 150 of its candidates have been attacked, 15 arrested and thousands of party activists injured in clashes with rivals from the ruling Awami League, according to the BNP. At least six supporters from both parties have been killed in election clashes. Fearing bloodshed, the BNP has instead turned to Facebook to canvass support from Bangladesh's 100 million voters ahead of Sunday's election. An online plea by BNP secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to the nation's younger voters went viral in recent days. The three-minute video was released on Friday night and was shared tens of thousands of times over the weekend. The Awami League wants to "create an environment of fear so that you lose interest in voting on the morning of December 30," he says in the post. "You can prevent vote robbery. Democracy must be saved." Poetic plea A recording of a poem recited by young voters urging them to condemn a violent government crackdown on student protests earlier this year also spread like wildfire online. Pro-Awami League groups have responded by flooding Facebook with videos of Bangladeshi celebrities, each lauding the country's solid economic growth since Hasina's second stint in office began in 2009. State-run media and many private television stations do not run opposition adverts for fear of government reprisals, said BNP spokesman Sayrul Kabir Khan. While Awami League campaign ads are ubiquitous on television, "the only medium where we can post our video is Facebook," Khan said. Authorities last week blocked the BNP website, claiming it contained "indecent" and "obscene" material a move that prompted outrage and accusations of censorship from the opposition. The party's Facebook page was also down for several days. At the same time, the government has run its own online influence campaign in a bid to shore up votes ahead of the Sunday poll. Facebook last week said it had suspended nine pages and six accounts linked to "individuals associated with the Bangladesh government" which posted anti-opposition content while masquerading as independent news sources. Civil society and rights groups have accused the government of silencing dissent and the press with an onerous digital-security law. Motiur Rahman Chowdhury, the editor of the Bangladeshi tabloid Manabzamin, said Facebook was the last refuge for voices critical of the Awami League's increasing slide towards authoritarianism. "The opposition is too afraid to campaign freely. The media has been cornered as well. This is the reality," he said.

Silent opposition counts on viral votes in Bangladesh election

A Gorakhpur-based doctor and owner of a hospital killed his ex-wife but kept her "alive" on social media for seven months.

The doctor told people his&nbsp;ex-wife was in Assam while simultaneously updating her social media profiles.&nbsp;

Dr Dharmendra Pratap Singh killed his ex-wife Rakhi on June 6, 2018 by throwing her off a cliff in Pokhara, Nepal. He had two employees help him.&nbsp;

Singh and the two aides, PK Singh and Deshdeepak Nishad, were arrested from Gorakhpur's Daudpur area on Saturday and sent to prison.

Rakhi's mobile phone was traced to Guwahati.

Police and her family had continued to believe she was&nbsp;in Assam because her phone was there.

It later emerged that Singh had sent Rakhi's phone to Guwahati through an aide, who dropped it off there.

A Gorakhpur-based doctor and owner of a hospital killed his ex-wife but kept her "alive" on social media for seven months. The doctor told people his ex-wife was in Assam while simultaneously updating her social media profiles.

A Gorakhpur-based doctor and owner of a hospital killed his ex-wife but kept her "alive" on social media for seven months. The doctor told people his ex-wife was in Assam while simultaneously updating her social media profiles. Dr Dharmendra Pratap Singh killed his ex-wife Rakhi on June 6, 2018 by throwing her off a cliff in Pokhara, Nepal. He had two employees help him. Singh and the two aides, PK Singh and Deshdeepak Nishad, were arrested from Gorakhpur's Daudpur area on Saturday and sent to prison. Rakhi's mobile phone was traced to Guwahati. Police and her family had continued to believe she was in Assam because her phone was there. It later emerged that Singh had sent Rakhi's phone to Guwahati through an aide, who dropped it off there.

Doctor kills ex-wife, keeps her 'alive' on social media for 7 months

Social media users question RBI governor Shaktikanta Das's qualification

Social media has overtaken print newspapers as a news source for Americans, researchers said Monday, highlighting the growing importance of services such as Facebook and <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-slammed-after-he-tweets-about-everything-in-myanmar-but-rohingya-crisis-182891">Twitter</a> as well as the troubled state of legacy news organizations.

The Pew Research Centre report found 20 percent of US adults say they often get news via <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/opinion-misinformation-and-biases-infect-social-media-both-intentionally-and-accidentally-146321">social media</a>, compared with 16 percent from newspapers.

In 2016, newspapers were more important that social networks and in 2017 the percentages were roughly even for both sources, according to Pew surveys.

Despite the rise of social media, television remains the most important source for news, cited by 49 percent of American adults, Pew said.

The researchers found sharp differences among age segments in accessing the news, with younger adults far more likely to rely on social media and older consumers favoring television and print.

In the 18-29 age group, social media was the most important news source, cited by nearly three in 10 respondents, with only two percent favoring print newspapers.

A large majority of those 65 and older (81 percent) get news from television, with 39 percent using print newspapers and just eight percent social networks.

"Younger Americans are also unique in that they don't rely on one platform in the way that the majority of their elders rely on TV," said Pew research analyst Elisa Shearer.

"No more than half of those (aged) 18 to 29 and 30 to 49 get news often from any one news platform."

The report, based on a survey of 4,581 US adults in July and August, highlights the ongoing woes of print newspapers, which have been seeing steady readership declines for more than a decade.

A Pew study last year showed total US daily newspaper circulation (print and digital combined) in 2017 was 31 million for weekday and 34 million for Sunday, down 11 and 10 percent, respectively, from the previous year.

Social media has overtaken print newspapers as a news source for Americans, researchers said Monday, highlighting the growing importance of services such as Facebook and Twitter as well as the troubled state of legacy news organizations.

Social media has overtaken print newspapers as a news source for Americans, researchers said Monday, highlighting the growing importance of services such as Facebook and Twitter as well as the troubled state of legacy news organizations. The Pew Research Centre report found 20 percent of US adults say they often get news via social media, compared with 16 percent from newspapers. In 2016, newspapers were more important that social networks and in 2017 the percentages were roughly even for both sources, according to Pew surveys. Despite the rise of social media, television remains the most important source for news, cited by 49 percent of American adults, Pew said. The researchers found sharp differences among age segments in accessing the news, with younger adults far more likely to rely on social media and older consumers favoring television and print. In the 18-29 age group, social media was the most important news source, cited by nearly three in 10 respondents, with only two percent favoring print newspapers. A large majority of those 65 and older (81 percent) get news from television, with 39 percent using print newspapers and just eight percent social networks. "Younger Americans are also unique in that they don't rely on one platform in the way that the majority of their elders rely on TV," said Pew research analyst Elisa Shearer. "No more than half of those (aged) 18 to 29 and 30 to 49 get news often from any one news platform." The report, based on a survey of 4,581 US adults in July and August, highlights the ongoing woes of print newspapers, which have been seeing steady readership declines for more than a decade. A Pew study last year showed total US daily newspaper circulation (print and digital combined) in 2017 was 31 million for weekday and 34 million for Sunday, down 11 and 10 percent, respectively, from the previous year.

Social media has overtaken print as news source for Americans: Pew

Social media platforms like <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/whatsapp-builds-system-to-comply-with-indias-payments-data-storage-norms-170379">Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp</a> and Twitter will soon deploy 'proactive, artificial intelligence (AI) based tools' to check spread of hate messages and rumours inciting violence and crimes against women, Home Ministry officials said Friday.

Anyone found involved in disseminating <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/whatsapp-has-to-follow-indian-laws-says-ravi-shankar-prasad-after-meeting-ceo-160592">fake news creating social tension</a> or pornographic contents inciting sex crimes will be identified, name disclosed and prosecuted.

This was agreed upon after a series of meetings between representatives of the social media platforms and central government officials led by Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, a Home Ministry official said.

The social media sites have agreed to deploy 'proactive, AI-based tools' to check spread of hate messages and rumours inciting violence and crimes against women. Such content will be automatically removed from their platforms, the official said.

There were problems in implementation or enforcement of directives given by law enforcement agencies under the IT Act and the Telegraph Act but the level of compliance has now gone up to 80 per cent from 60 per cent, while the time taken to take such action has gone down, the official said.

The compliance period has come down from 72 hours to 24 hours and it was agreed that if a case is made out in any incident, the person will be identified, name disclosed and he/she will be prosecuted, the official said.

The social media platforms have engaged NGOs working in the field and appointed grievance redressal cell for prompt action.

Earlier, the government had said social media sites were "slow" in removing objectionable or unlawful content which allegedly aided the spread of hate messages, rumours inciting violence and crimes against women and they were warned of strict legal action if they failed to comply with the directives of law enforcement agencies.

In the recent past, some objectionable content which could potentially disrupt public peace or law and order and incite criminal offences, including communal violence, have been posted on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube.

Some of these cases were brought to the notice of the Home Ministry. Action was taken for removal of such content after the intervention of the ministry and the Delhi Police.

During the meetings, specific instances of legal requisitions were shown where the Delhi Police had sought removal of content openly inciting violence but the social platforms' response had been neither "full nor timely", another official said.

Specific legal notices issued by the Delhi Police seeking investigation-related information were also shared with them.

During the series of meetings with all social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Twitter, the government had sensitised them about preventive and other actions to remove unlawful content immediately, another official said.

Gauba had held the meetings in June and October. A series of meetings were conducted by senior officers of the Home Ministry, Delhi Police and police officers of other states to sensitise the country representatives of social media platforms about the gravity of unlawful or objectionable content posted on their platforms, and their possible consequences.

A number of cases have come to the fore in the recent past where social media platforms were used to spread hate messages and rumours inciting violence, including against women, but Internet giants - most of them headquartered outside India - have been allegedly resisting sharing of customer details and message trails citing privacy issues.

However, some social media firms have said they are taking necessary steps to stop misuse of their platforms for the spread of fake news, and rumours and hate messages. &nbsp;

Social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Twitter will soon deploy 'proactive, artificial intelligence (AI) based tools' to check spread of hate messages and rumours inciting violence and crimes against women, Home Ministry officials said Friday.

Social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Twitter will soon deploy 'proactive, artificial intelligence (AI) based tools' to check spread of hate messages and rumours inciting violence and crimes against women, Home Ministry officials said Friday. Anyone found involved in disseminating fake news creating social tension or pornographic contents inciting sex crimes will be identified, name disclosed and prosecuted. This was agreed upon after a series of meetings between representatives of the social media platforms and central government officials led by Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, a Home Ministry official said. The social media sites have agreed to deploy 'proactive, AI-based tools' to check spread of hate messages and rumours inciting violence and crimes against women. Such content will be automatically removed from their platforms, the official said. There were problems in implementation or enforcement of directives given by law enforcement agencies under the IT Act and the Telegraph Act but the level of compliance has now gone up to 80 per cent from 60 per cent, while the time taken to take such action has gone down, the official said. The compliance period has come down from 72 hours to 24 hours and it was agreed that if a case is made out in any incident, the person will be identified, name disclosed and he/she will be prosecuted, the official said. The social media platforms have engaged NGOs working in the field and appointed grievance redressal cell for prompt action. Earlier, the government had said social media sites were "slow" in removing objectionable or unlawful content which allegedly aided the spread of hate messages, rumours inciting violence and crimes against women and they were warned of strict legal action if they failed to comply with the directives of law enforcement agencies. In the recent past, some objectionable content which could potentially disrupt public peace or law and order and incite criminal offences, including communal violence, have been posted on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube. Some of these cases were brought to the notice of the Home Ministry. Action was taken for removal of such content after the intervention of the ministry and the Delhi Police. During the meetings, specific instances of legal requisitions were shown where the Delhi Police had sought removal of content openly inciting violence but the social platforms' response had been neither "full nor timely", another official said. Specific legal notices issued by the Delhi Police seeking investigation-related information were also shared with them. During the series of meetings with all social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Twitter, the government had sensitised them about preventive and other actions to remove unlawful content immediately, another official said. Gauba had held the meetings in June and October. A series of meetings were conducted by senior officers of the Home Ministry, Delhi Police and police officers of other states to sensitise the country representatives of social media platforms about the gravity of unlawful or objectionable content posted on their platforms, and their possible consequences. A number of cases have come to the fore in the recent past where social media platforms were used to spread hate messages and rumours inciting violence, including against women, but Internet giants - most of them headquartered outside India - have been allegedly resisting sharing of customer details and message trails citing privacy issues. However, some social media firms have said they are taking necessary steps to stop misuse of their platforms for the spread of fake news, and rumours and hate messages.

Social media platforms to deploy AI to combat fake news: Home ministry official

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has been accused of inciting hate against India's highest caste after being photographed holding a poster declaring "<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/happy-to-see-the-passion-with-which-youre-leading-pm-modi-meets-twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-177171">smash Brahminical patriarchy</a>" during a visit to the country.

Dorsey was snapped holding the offending poster alongside six women who participated in a discussion last week on the role of Twitter in India, where caste is a flashpoint issue and grievances can turn violent.

The reference to Brahmins, the traditional priestly class who sit atop the rigid caste hierarchy, outraged some Hindus when the photograph was posted online Sunday evening.

"Do you realise that this picture has potential of causing communal riots at a time when several States are going to Assembly Elections in India," tweeted Indian police officer Sandeep Mittal.

Another user, tweeting under the name&nbsp;Prassant DeshPehle (country first), wrote: "Shame on you @jack. Hate against any community or group should be condemned. Spewing hate on one to please the other isn't right."

Late on Monday, Vijaya Gadde, legal, policy and trust and safety lead at Twitter who accompanied Dorsey to India, apologised.

"I'm very sorry for this. It's not reflective of our views. We took a private photo with a gift just given to us - we should have been more thoughtful," she said in a tweet. "Twitter strives to be an impartial platform for all. We failed to do that here &amp; we must do better to serve our customers in India."

Meanwhile, others praised the Twitter chief for touching on the plight of marginalised, low-caste Dalit communities and women in India, a conservative country of 1.25 billion.

"Dalit lynching and oppression, incidents of which we read about every other day, do not cause as much Twitter outrage as Jack Dorsey holding up a placard saying 'End Brahmin Patriarchy'," wrote user Ranjona Banerji.

South Asian historian Audrey Truschke said: "My Twitter feed is full of elite men hyperventilating about Twitter CEO @jack holding a sign that calls out sex-based &amp; caste-based discrimination in India."

"Caste and sexism are real and virulent in modern India. If you want to be angry about something, let it be that reality," she added.

Caste politics can explode into violence in India, where a centuries-old hierarchy has divided Hindus into classes starting with Brahmins and ending with the Dalits -- formerly known as "untouchables".

Although the system has been officially abolished, it still prevails in rural areas and determines where people live, who they marry and what type of work they do.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has been accused of inciting hate against India's highest caste after being photographed holding a poster declaring "smash Brahminical patriarchy" during a visit to the country.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has been accused of inciting hate against India's highest caste after being photographed holding a poster declaring "smash Brahminical patriarchy" during a visit to the country. Dorsey was snapped holding the offending poster alongside six women who participated in a discussion last week on the role of Twitter in India, where caste is a flashpoint issue and grievances can turn violent. The reference to Brahmins, the traditional priestly class who sit atop the rigid caste hierarchy, outraged some Hindus when the photograph was posted online Sunday evening. "Do you realise that this picture has potential of causing communal riots at a time when several States are going to Assembly Elections in India," tweeted Indian police officer Sandeep Mittal. Another user, tweeting under the name Prassant DeshPehle (country first), wrote: "Shame on you @jack. Hate against any community or group should be condemned. Spewing hate on one to please the other isn't right." Late on Monday, Vijaya Gadde, legal, policy and trust and safety lead at Twitter who accompanied Dorsey to India, apologised. "I'm very sorry for this. It's not reflective of our views. We took a private photo with a gift just given to us - we should have been more thoughtful," she said in a tweet. "Twitter strives to be an impartial platform for all. We failed to do that here & we must do better to serve our customers in India." Meanwhile, others praised the Twitter chief for touching on the plight of marginalised, low-caste Dalit communities and women in India, a conservative country of 1.25 billion. "Dalit lynching and oppression, incidents of which we read about every other day, do not cause as much Twitter outrage as Jack Dorsey holding up a placard saying 'End Brahmin Patriarchy'," wrote user Ranjona Banerji. South Asian historian Audrey Truschke said: "My Twitter feed is full of elite men hyperventilating about Twitter CEO @jack holding a sign that calls out sex-based & caste-based discrimination in India." "Caste and sexism are real and virulent in modern India. If you want to be angry about something, let it be that reality," she added. Caste politics can explode into violence in India, where a centuries-old hierarchy has divided Hindus into classes starting with Brahmins and ending with the Dalits -- formerly known as "untouchables". Although the system has been officially abolished, it still prevails in rural areas and determines where people live, who they marry and what type of work they do.

Twitter says sorry after CEO Dorsey is snapped with anti-Brahminism poster

The Kashmir Police is investigating various social media accounts propagating videos of "executions" carried out by militants recently, Inspector General of Police (IGP) S P Pani said here Monday.

Militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen has released two such videos in which two civilians, abducted by the outfit, were killed in front of camera.

"These crimes (on-camera executions carried out by militants) are terror and gruesome crimes. Their propaganda on social media is also a crime. A case already stands registered in this matter and those propagating such type of content, there are some handles which are propagating them, we are investigating them,' Pani said.

The IGP Kashmir was speaking to reporters at the wreath-laying ceremony of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan at Humhama.

Head Constable Chandrika Prasad was killed in a militant attack on a CRPF camp in Kakapora area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district Sunday night.

Pani said police is seeking cooperation of the service-providers to nab people behind propagation of such videos.

"I am sure that with the cooperation of the service provider and other things, we will be able to nail them," he said.

Asked about the arrest of two women allegedly working as over-ground workers of militants, the IGP Kashmir said police is investigating their roles.

"The investigation is on. We will share the details of the investigation findings with you once they come," he said.&nbsp;

The Kashmir Police is investigating various social media accounts propagating videos of "executions" carried out by militants recently, Inspector General of Police (IGP) S P Pani said here Monday.

The Kashmir Police is investigating various social media accounts propagating videos of "executions" carried out by militants recently, Inspector General of Police (IGP) S P Pani said here Monday. Militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen has released two such videos in which two civilians, abducted by the outfit, were killed in front of camera. "These crimes (on-camera executions carried out by militants) are terror and gruesome crimes. Their propaganda on social media is also a crime. A case already stands registered in this matter and those propagating such type of content, there are some handles which are propagating them, we are investigating them,' Pani said. The IGP Kashmir was speaking to reporters at the wreath-laying ceremony of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan at Humhama. Head Constable Chandrika Prasad was killed in a militant attack on a CRPF camp in Kakapora area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district Sunday night. Pani said police is seeking cooperation of the service-providers to nab people behind propagation of such videos. "I am sure that with the cooperation of the service provider and other things, we will be able to nail them," he said. Asked about the arrest of two women allegedly working as over-ground workers of militants, the IGP Kashmir said police is investigating their roles. "The investigation is on. We will share the details of the investigation findings with you once they come," he said.

Police probing social media accounts propagating videos of 'executions' by terrorists: Kashmir IGP

The widely-famous photo-sharing app, Instagram has finally introduced a new feature call "Your Activity" to help users to keep a tab on the time they spend on Instagram.&nbsp;

The new feature can be accessed by clicking on the menu at the upper right corner of your profile page, from there you can find the feature under "Your Activity"&nbsp;which will show you how much time you have spent on the app on average and how much you use it daily.

The official announcement&nbsp;was made in August but&nbsp;the company has&nbsp;started rolling out the feature now.

The new "Your Activity" feature also allows users to restrict their usage, similar to Apple's Screen Time, which prompts a message on the screen you if a user exceeds the permitted time limit.

It also has a feature to temporarily mute push notifications.

The new feature is aimed to give users more control over the app usage amid the discussions related to social media addiction and its effects on mental health worldwide.

According to reports, Facebook will also roll out the same feature soon.&nbsp;

Google is also planning to launch a similar feature with its new Android 9.0. The new Android update is also expected to roll out soon.

The widely-famous photo-sharing app, Instagram has finally introduced a new feature call "Your Activity" to help users to keep a tab on the time they spend on Instagram.

The widely-famous photo-sharing app, Instagram has finally introduced a new feature call "Your Activity" to help users to keep a tab on the time they spend on Instagram. The new feature can be accessed by clicking on the menu at the upper right corner of your profile page, from there you can find the feature under "Your Activity" which will show you how much time you have spent on the app on average and how much you use it daily. The official announcement was made in August but the company has started rolling out the feature now. The new "Your Activity" feature also allows users to restrict their usage, similar to Apple's Screen Time, which prompts a message on the screen you if a user exceeds the permitted time limit. It also has a feature to temporarily mute push notifications. The new feature is aimed to give users more control over the app usage amid the discussions related to social media addiction and its effects on mental health worldwide. According to reports, Facebook will also roll out the same feature soon. Google is also planning to launch a similar feature with its new Android 9.0. The new Android update is also expected to roll out soon.

Now, Instagram lets you check your obsession with new 'Your Activity' feature

Gujarat government is mulling a law to curb the spread of fake news and information on social media, state Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel noted on Monday.

Patel stated that the spread of fake news and misuse of social media will harm the country's unity, peace and security.&nbsp;

"Such misuse of social media would harm the country's unity, peace and security. Inciting conflicts between various castes and communities, spreading religious rumours or about any person is not good," Patel said.

"It is necessary to stop such practice (of spreading fake news and information). While some laws are being enacted (at the Centre), the Gujarat government is also mulling to enact a law in this regard," he added.

The minister further informed that the state government is taking time to formulate such a law to ensure that the citizens do not see it as "censorship" imposed by the government.

"Discussions (in the government) are going on for the last three-four months on how the law can be implemented. People should not feel we are imposing censorship on them," Patel told media.

Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/nationalism-behind-spread-of-fake-news-in-india-bbc-report-176848">a BBC report</a> on Monday stated that people in India share fake news stories with nationalistic messages for "nation-building" purposes without any attempt at fact-checking.

The findings come from extensive research in India, Kenya, and Nigeria into the way ordinary citizens engage with and spread fake news, the British public broadcaster said.

According to the report, there is also an overlap of fake news sources on Twitter and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support networks.

The report, analysing the spread of fake news from the perspective of ordinary citizens, suggests an "overlap between fake news and pro-Modi political activity" in India.

(With inputs from PTI)&nbsp;

Gujarat government is mulling a law to curb the spread of fake news and information on social media, state Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel noted on Monday. Patel stated that the spread of fake news and misuse of social media will harm the country's unity, peace and security.

Gujarat government is mulling a law to curb the spread of fake news and information on social media, state Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel noted on Monday. Patel stated that the spread of fake news and misuse of social media will harm the country's unity, peace and security. "Such misuse of social media would harm the country's unity, peace and security. Inciting conflicts between various castes and communities, spreading religious rumours or about any person is not good," Patel said. "It is necessary to stop such practice (of spreading fake news and information). While some laws are being enacted (at the Centre), the Gujarat government is also mulling to enact a law in this regard," he added. The minister further informed that the state government is taking time to formulate such a law to ensure that the citizens do not see it as "censorship" imposed by the government. "Discussions (in the government) are going on for the last three-four months on how the law can be implemented. People should not feel we are imposing censorship on them," Patel told media. Meanwhile, a BBC report on Monday stated that people in India share fake news stories with nationalistic messages for "nation-building" purposes without any attempt at fact-checking. The findings come from extensive research in India, Kenya, and Nigeria into the way ordinary citizens engage with and spread fake news, the British public broadcaster said. According to the report, there is also an overlap of fake news sources on Twitter and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support networks. The report, analysing the spread of fake news from the perspective of ordinary citizens, suggests an "overlap between fake news and pro-Modi political activity" in India. (With inputs from PTI)

Gujarat govt mulling law to curb fake news on social media: Deputy CM Nitin Patel

US telecom regulator FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Thursday there is a need for greater transparency around operations of online platforms while clarifying that the issue does not fall under his organisation.

"I do think that there might be a conversation about what types of regulations to these platforms. For example, what kind of algorithms are they using to determine what content is seen and what content is not seen when somebody does a Google search, how Facebook feed is defined, when Twitter decides what accounts to suspend? what are the rules behind that."

"The need for transparency that will allow consumers to make better decisions is something that will serve everybody well," Pai told reporters at the India Mobile Congress.&nbsp;

He, however, refrained from commenting on fake information that float through social media platforms as their regulation do not come under his jurisdiction and added that it is difficult for government to define which view is a lie.

Pai said that the US Congress is evaluating right now, where there is a very robust conversation about what types of privacy and data security protections should be embedded in the law.&nbsp;

"I would expect our elected officials over the next several months to continue that conversation. There seems to be a bipartisan agreement between

Republicans and Democrats, and agreement in both houses of Congress that this is an issue that requires legislative attention... This is the topic of hot interest in our legislature," he said.&nbsp;

The FCC which looks after defence of US Communications infrastructure is working on regulation to check spend of funds on companies that are identified as national security threat.&nbsp;

"We have pending rules on integrity of supply chain. One of the proposals we advanced was should we think in the context of federal subsidies distributed to the careers , whether restrict that funding from spent on companies or sectors that have determined by intelligence community or congress a national security threat," Pai said.

He said that this is a ongoing proceeding and yet to be finalised.

When asked about reports that suggest that US has plans to ban chinese telecom gear firms, Pai said that the proposed regulation does not single out any specific company.

"Our proposal is to not single out any particular company but to the extent that the intelligence community or the Congress make determines that any company is a potential security risk. We haven't taken a view on any of the companies but whatever the quantum of risk is, should we prohibit funding from going into those companies," Pai said.&nbsp;

US telecom regulator FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Thursday there is a need for greater transparency around operations of online platforms while clarifying that the issue does not fall under his organisation.

US telecom regulator FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Thursday there is a need for greater transparency around operations of online platforms while clarifying that the issue does not fall under his organisation. "I do think that there might be a conversation about what types of regulations to these platforms. For example, what kind of algorithms are they using to determine what content is seen and what content is not seen when somebody does a Google search, how Facebook feed is defined, when Twitter decides what accounts to suspend? what are the rules behind that." "The need for transparency that will allow consumers to make better decisions is something that will serve everybody well," Pai told reporters at the India Mobile Congress. He, however, refrained from commenting on fake information that float through social media platforms as their regulation do not come under his jurisdiction and added that it is difficult for government to define which view is a lie. Pai said that the US Congress is evaluating right now, where there is a very robust conversation about what types of privacy and data security protections should be embedded in the law. "I would expect our elected officials over the next several months to continue that conversation. There seems to be a bipartisan agreement between Republicans and Democrats, and agreement in both houses of Congress that this is an issue that requires legislative attention... This is the topic of hot interest in our legislature," he said. The FCC which looks after defence of US Communications infrastructure is working on regulation to check spend of funds on companies that are identified as national security threat. "We have pending rules on integrity of supply chain. One of the proposals we advanced was should we think in the context of federal subsidies distributed to the careers , whether restrict that funding from spent on companies or sectors that have determined by intelligence community or congress a national security threat," Pai said. He said that this is a ongoing proceeding and yet to be finalised. When asked about reports that suggest that US has plans to ban chinese telecom gear firms, Pai said that the proposed regulation does not single out any specific company. "Our proposal is to not single out any particular company but to the extent that the intelligence community or the Congress make determines that any company is a potential security risk. We haven't taken a view on any of the companies but whatever the quantum of risk is, should we prohibit funding from going into those companies," Pai said.

Need greater transparency around online media platforms: Ajit Pai

A bug in Facebook's messaging app WhatsApp that allowed hackers to take over users' applications when they attended an incoming call was fixed by Facebook in early October, media report stated.

The bug which was discovered in late August had affected WhatsApp applications on Apple and Android smartphones.

The media also said that the facebook did not respond to reports.

"This is a big deal," Travis Ormandy, a researcher at Google Project Zero which discovered the bug, said on Twitter. "Just ++answering a call from an attacker could completely compromise WhatsApp."

Facebook was recently accused of violating&nbsp;the EU's new privacy law called the General Data Protection Regulation, which came into effect in May.&nbsp;

In the biggest-ever security breach after Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook in late September admitted hackers broke into nearly 50 million users' accounts by stealing their "access tokens" or digital keys.

This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people's accounts.

The hackers also gained access to personal information from third-party apps and services, like Tinder, Spotify, Airbnb, and Instagram, which allow users to sign up using their Facebook login.

According to Facebook, users’ passwords were not revealed in the data breach, though impacted accounts did have to re-log into the social network on Friday. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

A bug in Facebook's messaging app WhatsApp that allowed hackers to take over users' applications when they attended an incoming call was fixed by Facebook in early October, media report stated.

A bug in Facebook's messaging app WhatsApp that allowed hackers to take over users' applications when they attended an incoming call was fixed by Facebook in early October, media report stated. The bug which was discovered in late August had affected WhatsApp applications on Apple and Android smartphones. The media also said that the facebook did not respond to reports. "This is a big deal," Travis Ormandy, a researcher at Google Project Zero which discovered the bug, said on Twitter. "Just ++answering a call from an attacker could completely compromise WhatsApp." Facebook was recently accused of violating the EU's new privacy law called the General Data Protection Regulation, which came into effect in May. In the biggest-ever security breach after Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook in late September admitted hackers broke into nearly 50 million users' accounts by stealing their "access tokens" or digital keys. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people's accounts. The hackers also gained access to personal information from third-party apps and services, like Tinder, Spotify, Airbnb, and Instagram, which allow users to sign up using their Facebook login. According to Facebook, users’ passwords were not revealed in the data breach, though impacted accounts did have to re-log into the social network on Friday.

Facebook fixes bug that let hackers hijack users' WhatsApp application

Facebook has discovered a security issue affecting about 50 million user accounts, the company said on Friday.

Facebook said attackers stole Facebook access tokens through its "view as" feature, which they could then use to take over people's accounts. "View as" is a feature that allows users to see what their own profile looks like to someone else.

"Since we’ve only just started our investigation, we have yet to determine whether these accounts were misused or any information accessed," the company said in a blog post.

Facebook shares fell 3 per cent to $163.78 in afternoon trading.

Facebook is grappling with the worst crisis in its history, vilified for not more zealously guarding the information that users share.

The Silicon Valley-based internet colossus faced intense global scrutiny over the mass harvesting of personal data by Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy that worked for Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign.

The company has admitted up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked in the scandal.

On Thursday, the social media giant who is already under scrutiny for the data breach scandal <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-admits-phone-numbers-may-be-used-target-ads-168195">admitted&nbsp;that it uses the phone numbers provided by users for two-factor authentication&nbsp;to target ads</a>.

Facebook's acknowledgement came after a study by two US universities, first reported by news website Gizmodo, found that phone numbers given to Facebook for two-factor authentication were also used to target advertising.

"We use the information people provide to offer a better, more personalised experience on Facebook, including ads," a Facebook spokesperson has been quoted as saying by news agency AFP.

"We are clear about how we use the information we collect, including the contact information that people upload or add to their own accounts. you can manage and delete contact information you've uploaded at any time."

Two-factor authentication is intended to enhance security by requiring a second step, such as entering codes sent via text messages, as well as passwords to get into accounts.

&nbsp;

Facebook has discovered a security issue affecting about 50 million user accounts, the company said on Friday. Facebook said attackers stole Facebook access tokens through its "view as" feature, which they could then use to take over people's accounts.

Facebook has discovered a security issue affecting about 50 million user accounts, the company said on Friday. Facebook said attackers stole Facebook access tokens through its "view as" feature, which they could then use to take over people's accounts. "View as" is a feature that allows users to see what their own profile looks like to someone else. "Since we’ve only just started our investigation, we have yet to determine whether these accounts were misused or any information accessed," the company said in a blog post. Facebook shares fell 3 per cent to $163.78 in afternoon trading. Facebook is grappling with the worst crisis in its history, vilified for not more zealously guarding the information that users share. The Silicon Valley-based internet colossus faced intense global scrutiny over the mass harvesting of personal data by Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy that worked for Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign. The company has admitted up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked in the scandal. On Thursday, the social media giant who is already under scrutiny for the data breach scandal admitted that it uses the phone numbers provided by users for two-factor authentication to target ads. Facebook's acknowledgement came after a study by two US universities, first reported by news website Gizmodo, found that phone numbers given to Facebook for two-factor authentication were also used to target advertising. "We use the information people provide to offer a better, more personalised experience on Facebook, including ads," a Facebook spokesperson has been quoted as saying by news agency AFP. "We are clear about how we use the information we collect, including the contact information that people upload or add to their own accounts. you can manage and delete contact information you've uploaded at any time." Two-factor authentication is intended to enhance security by requiring a second step, such as entering codes sent via text messages, as well as passwords to get into accounts.

Facebook reveals security incident affecting 50 million users

The Indian government asked Facebook to respond by June 20 the media reports of sharing user data without the consent of the users.

The official statement states, "Recently there are media reports claiming that Facebook has agreements which are allowing phone and other device manufacturers access to its users' personal information, including that of their friends, without taking their explicit consent. The Government of India is deeply concerned about reports of such lapses/violations".

"The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has sought an explanation from Facebook seeking a detailed factual report on the issue. Facebook has been asked to respond by June 20."

Already facing criticism over the data breach scandal, Facebook came under fire again on Wednesday after the reports that it shared data with four Chinese mobile manufacturing firms.

The company also acknowledged the reports on Wednesday and said that it is ending the agreement with Huawei.

The United States also criticised Facebook after Republican and Democratic lawmakers demanded that the social media be more forthcoming about data it has shared with the Chinese companies.

Facebook had earlier revealed 87 million users' account was hacked after a UK-based firm Cambridge Analytica was accused of harvesting Facebook data.

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said the "data-sharing partnerships with other corporations" is part of the ongoing investigation into the reported misuse of Facebook user data by Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook faced criticism in the United States on Wednesday from Republican and Democratic lawmakers who demanded that the social media company be more forthcoming about data it has shared with four Chinese firms

The Indian government asked Facebook to respond by June 20 the media reports of sharing user data without the consent of the users. The official statement states, "Recently there are media reports claiming that Facebook has agreements which are allowing phone and other device manufacturers access to its users' personal information, including that of their friends, without taking their explicit consent. The Government of India is deeply concerned about reports of such lapses/violations". "The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has sought an explanation from Facebook seeking a detailed factual report on the issue. Facebook has been asked to respond by June 20." Already facing criticism over the data breach scandal, Facebook came under fire again on Wednesday after the reports that it shared data with four Chinese mobile manufacturing firms. The company also acknowledged the reports on Wednesday and said that it is ending the agreement with Huawei. The United States also criticised Facebook after Republican and Democratic lawmakers demanded that the social media be more forthcoming about data it has shared with the Chinese companies. Facebook had earlier revealed 87 million users' account was hacked after a UK-based firm Cambridge Analytica was accused of harvesting Facebook data. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said the "data-sharing partnerships with other corporations" is part of the ongoing investigation into the reported misuse of Facebook user data by Cambridge Analytica.

India seeks Facebook's response over reports of data sharing without consent

Sunil Chhetri had made an impassioned plea to all the Indian fans of football legends Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo in India and urged them to please come to watch the country play against Kenya.

With less than 10 days left for the football World Cup to begin, India's all-time highest goal-getter demanded some love and affection for&nbsp;the team.&nbsp;

Chhetri’s appeal left people on social media extremely emotional, resulting in a completely packed stadium during India's clash against Kenya.

Thousands of people turned up to support the team in their international match on Monday after earlier matches saw scant attendance.

And Chhetri too did not disappoint the home crowd with two goals in his 100th international appearance as India won their second successive match of the Intercontinental Cup with a 3-0 victory.

As per a report, nearly 9,000 people were in attendance yesterday for the big clash.

Chhetri, who has earlier witnessed limited crowd to support the team, was overwhelmed after&nbsp;deafening chants of 'India' boomed from the stands.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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Super excited crowd not from where I'm seated. 'India! India!' goes the refrain as it nears time for match to start <a href="https://t.co/S1JFdKiyxO">pic.twitter.com/S1JFdKiyxO</a>
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) <a href="https://twitter.com/cricketwallah/status/1003642317293547521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The&nbsp;supporters even chanted ‘Vande Mataram’ as the teams walked in.

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And now it's A R Rahman's 'Ma Tujhe Salaam'...tremendous atmosphere! <a href="https://t.co/TGh0Oh9sH2">pic.twitter.com/TGh0Oh9sH2</a>
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) <a href="https://twitter.com/cricketwallah/status/1003644408909180929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Rain may have cast a wet blanket over Sunil Chhetri’s 100th appearance in Team India’s blue jersey but the skipper made it memorable by scoring two goals.

After the game, the Blue Tigers walked up to the fans and acknowledged their presence, with the captain taking his players for a lap of honour as his proud family savoured the moment from the stands.

Chhetri also took to the Twitter to express his gratitude for the love and support the team received.

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We promise you that if that’s the kind of support we get every time we play for the country, we will give our lives on the pitch. India, this night was special because we were in this together. Those in the stands shouting, and the ones at home cheering - thank you!
— Sunil Chhetri (@chetrisunil11) <a href="https://twitter.com/chetrisunil11/status/1003694651285442561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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After India's thumping victory, several celebrities also wished him for the team's outstanding performance and Chhetri's 100th match.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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.<a href="https://twitter.com/chetrisunil11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@chetrisunil11</a>: Thank you so much to the fans! You have no idea what this means. A little bit of appreciation goes a long way. We're going to give everything for our country. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvKEN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvKEN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BackTheBlue?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BackTheBlue</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chhetri100?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Chhetri100</a> <a href="https://t.co/75JK2aWIJ5">pic.twitter.com/75JK2aWIJ5</a>
— Aamir Khan⏺️ (@aamir_khann__) <a href="https://twitter.com/aamir_khann__/status/1003695161300303872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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WE ARE PROUD OF YOU CHAMP♥️♥️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SunilChhetri?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SunilChhetri</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvKEN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvKEN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BleedBlue?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BleedBlue</a> <a href="https://t.co/sdgqUZAmpN">pic.twitter.com/sdgqUZAmpN</a>
— Manushi Chillar⏺️ (@Manushichillar1) <a href="https://twitter.com/Manushichillar1/status/1003696152582111232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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A special victory indeed. Well done, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamIndia</a>! Super achievement <a href="https://twitter.com/chetrisunil11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@chetrisunil11</a> on your 100th appearance and the 2 goals :-) <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvKEN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvKEN</a> <a href="https://t.co/bGn1mUPPdr">pic.twitter.com/bGn1mUPPdr</a>
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) <a href="https://twitter.com/sachin_rt/status/1003717732343267328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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While tickets were sold out, there were some empty seats in the nearly 10,000 capacity stadium as rains lashed Mumbai and players battled slushy on-field conditions.&nbsp;

The Intercontinental Cup 2018 is a tournament involving four nations- India, Kenya, New Zealand, and Chinese Taipei.&nbsp;The tournament will act as a practice competition for India's AFC Asian Cup campaign and will also help in forming good relations with the other three countries.

Chhetri is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Indian national team and is an all-time top goalscorer with 61 goals in 100 appearances.

He started his professional career at the age of 17 when he signed a contract with India’s top club Mohun Bagan in 2002.

But he first got to don the India blues in 2005, when he was picked to play against Pakistan in a friendly match, in Pakistan where he scored his maiden international goal at the age of 20.&nbsp;

Thousands of people turned up to support the team in their international match on Monday after earlier matches saw scant attendance.

Sunil Chhetri had made an impassioned plea to all the Indian fans of football legends Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo in India and urged them to please come to watch the country play against Kenya. With less than 10 days left for the football World Cup to begin, India's all-time highest goal-getter demanded some love and affection for the team. Chhetri’s appeal left people on social media extremely emotional, resulting in a completely packed stadium during India's clash against Kenya. Thousands of people turned up to support the team in their international match on Monday after earlier matches saw scant attendance. And Chhetri too did not disappoint the home crowd with two goals in his 100th international appearance as India won their second successive match of the Intercontinental Cup with a 3-0 victory. As per a report, nearly 9,000 people were in attendance yesterday for the big clash. Chhetri, who has earlier witnessed limited crowd to support the team, was overwhelmed after deafening chants of 'India' boomed from the stands. Super excited crowd not from where I'm seated. 'India! India!' goes the refrain as it nears time for match to start pic.twitter.com/S1JFdKiyxO — Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) June 4, 2018 × The supporters even chanted ‘Vande Mataram’ as the teams walked in. And now it's A R Rahman's 'Ma Tujhe Salaam'...tremendous atmosphere! pic.twitter.com/TGh0Oh9sH2 — Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) June 4, 2018 × Rain may have cast a wet blanket over Sunil Chhetri’s 100th appearance in Team India’s blue jersey but the skipper made it memorable by scoring two goals. After the game, the Blue Tigers walked up to the fans and acknowledged their presence, with the captain taking his players for a lap of honour as his proud family savoured the moment from the stands. Chhetri also took to the Twitter to express his gratitude for the love and support the team received. We promise you that if that’s the kind of support we get every time we play for the country, we will give our lives on the pitch. India, this night was special because we were in this together. Those in the stands shouting, and the ones at home cheering - thank you! — Sunil Chhetri (@chetrisunil11) June 4, 2018 × After India's thumping victory, several celebrities also wished him for the team's outstanding performance and Chhetri's 100th match. .@chetrisunil11: Thank you so much to the fans! You have no idea what this means. A little bit of appreciation goes a long way. We're going to give everything for our country. #INDvKEN #BackTheBlue #Chhetri100 pic.twitter.com/75JK2aWIJ5 — Aamir Khan⏺️ (@aamir_khann__) June 4, 2018 × WE ARE PROUD OF YOU CHAMP♥️♥️#SunilChhetri #INDvKEN #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/sdgqUZAmpN — Manushi Chillar⏺️ (@Manushichillar1) June 4, 2018 × A special victory indeed. Well done, #TeamIndia! Super achievement @chetrisunil11 on your 100th appearance and the 2 goals :-) #INDvKEN pic.twitter.com/bGn1mUPPdr — Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 4, 2018 × While tickets were sold out, there were some empty seats in the nearly 10,000 capacity stadium as rains lashed Mumbai and players battled slushy on-field conditions. The Intercontinental Cup 2018 is a tournament involving four nations- India, Kenya, New Zealand, and Chinese Taipei. The tournament will act as a practice competition for India's AFC Asian Cup campaign and will also help in forming good relations with the other three countries. Chhetri is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Indian national team and is an all-time top goalscorer with 61 goals in 100 appearances. He started his professional career at the age of 17 when he signed a contract with India’s top club Mohun Bagan in 2002. But he first got to don the India blues in 2005, when he was picked to play against Pakistan in a friendly match, in Pakistan where he scored his maiden international goal at the age of 20.

Sunil Chhetri's plea: Social media rules in India's victory over Kenya

Actress Rose McGowan, who has been at the centre of the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal, has responded to the disgraced mogul`s indictment on multiple rapes and sex crime charges.

The 44-year-old took to social media to share her views on the latest legal development.

"INDICTED. FINALLY. I`ve been indicted by the media he`s bought out for years to trash me. Now it is a new chapter for both of us," Rose began in her social media post.

"What would others say about you if they didn`t know who you were? Who I am has been told to the world for me in magazines, newspapers, blogs, videos, tabloids."

She continued, "The narrative of me-my story-has been sold to you as a work of fiction. The media often cut you when they can, especially if they`ve been paid off to the journalists and reporters who are safe in their cubicles and do not have to drown in your tears or see the bruises.

"All they see is numbers. Views. Ratings. And all you were told is that I was a horror show.

Someone damaged. Someone off-kilter. Someone not right. Luckily, many worldwide saw through this fiction, sadly, far more continue to hound me with this false narrative without realizing that every evil thing they repeat about me means they are doing the work of a rapist.''

Meanwhile, on Wednesday (local time), the 66-year-old was indicted on charges of rape in the first and third degrees, and criminal sexual act in the first degree.

If found guilty, the Oscar-winning producer could find himself behind bars for up to 25 years, as reported.

Scores of women have come to fore and accused Weinstein of a wide array of misconduct, which ranges from harassment to rape, over decades.

However, maintaining his innocence, Weinstein, whose career has been left in tatters, has always denied non-consensual sex.&nbsp;

The 44-year-old took to social media to share her views on the latest legal development.

Actress Rose McGowan, who has been at the centre of the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal, has responded to the disgraced mogul`s indictment on multiple rapes and sex crime charges. The 44-year-old took to social media to share her views on the latest legal development. "INDICTED. FINALLY. I`ve been indicted by the media he`s bought out for years to trash me. Now it is a new chapter for both of us," Rose began in her social media post. "What would others say about you if they didn`t know who you were? Who I am has been told to the world for me in magazines, newspapers, blogs, videos, tabloids." She continued, "The narrative of me-my story-has been sold to you as a work of fiction. The media often cut you when they can, especially if they`ve been paid off to the journalists and reporters who are safe in their cubicles and do not have to drown in your tears or see the bruises. "All they see is numbers. Views. Ratings. And all you were told is that I was a horror show. Someone damaged. Someone off-kilter. Someone not right. Luckily, many worldwide saw through this fiction, sadly, far more continue to hound me with this false narrative without realizing that every evil thing they repeat about me means they are doing the work of a rapist.'' Meanwhile, on Wednesday (local time), the 66-year-old was indicted on charges of rape in the first and third degrees, and criminal sexual act in the first degree. If found guilty, the Oscar-winning producer could find himself behind bars for up to 25 years, as reported. Scores of women have come to fore and accused Weinstein of a wide array of misconduct, which ranges from harassment to rape, over decades. However, maintaining his innocence, Weinstein, whose career has been left in tatters, has always denied non-consensual sex.

Indicted, Finally: Rose McGowan on Harvey Weinstein

In a bid to make its internet practices safer, Britain has decided to introduce new laws that would outlaw "wild west" elements of the internet.&nbsp;

According to Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, the British government is committed to tackling online hazards as a result of which an Internet Safety Strategy was published on Sunday.

According to the study, 6 in 10 people have witnessed inappropriate or harmful content online while 4 in 10 have experienced online abuse. The report also suggested that four out of 10 people shared that social media companies do not take their concerns seriously.

Hancock noted that the measures taken on Sunday will ensure children's security online and help in making the online space safer despite the great freedoms that it comes with.

According to reports, the British government will collaborate and work with tech companies, children's charities, social media companies and other stakeholders to develop details of the new legislation.

The new legislation will bring areas like social media code of practice, transparency reporting and online advertising into purview.

According to Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, the British government is committed to tackle online hazards as a result of which an Internet Safety Strategy was published on Sunday

In a bid to make its internet practices safer, Britain has decided to introduce new laws that would outlaw "wild west" elements of the internet. According to Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, the British government is committed to tackling online hazards as a result of which an Internet Safety Strategy was published on Sunday. According to the study, 6 in 10 people have witnessed inappropriate or harmful content online while 4 in 10 have experienced online abuse. The report also suggested that four out of 10 people shared that social media companies do not take their concerns seriously. Hancock noted that the measures taken on Sunday will ensure children's security online and help in making the online space safer despite the great freedoms that it comes with. According to reports, the British government will collaborate and work with tech companies, children's charities, social media companies and other stakeholders to develop details of the new legislation. The new legislation will bring areas like social media code of practice, transparency reporting and online advertising into purview.

Britain to outlaw 'wild west' online practices to make internet safer 

Anna Faris says she has made a conscious effort to stay away from the social media chatter surrounding her personal life.

 
The 41-year-old actor, who announced her separation from Chris Pratt in August last year, says she realised after a point of time that she does not need to know everything that is being talked about her online. 
"I think that I just sort of learned to not Google myself, and when my sweet assistant is like, 'Look what just popped up.' I'm like, 'F**k off. I love you but I don't know if I need to know everything'," Faris told Marie Claire magazine.

Recently, comments by Pratt, 38, that going through a divorce "sucks" had invited lot of criticism.But the "Mom" actor feels her ex's remarks may have been blown out of proportion. 
"It feels like it's more dramatic than it is. Chris and I have a great friendship and Jack is so happy and so loved," she said.

The former couple has five-year-old son, Jack together.

Anna Faris doesn't care anymore about what the society says about her. She has simply learned not to google herself at all. She also speaks about her relationship with her husband even after they have got divorced

Anna Faris says she has made a conscious effort to stay away from the social media chatter surrounding her personal life. The 41-year-old actor, who announced her separation from Chris Pratt in August last year, says she realised after a point of time that she does not need to know everything that is being talked about her online. "I think that I just sort of learned to not Google myself, and when my sweet assistant is like, 'Look what just popped up.' I'm like, 'F**k off. I love you but I don't know if I need to know everything'," Faris told Marie Claire magazine. Recently, comments by Pratt, 38, that going through a divorce "sucks" had invited lot of criticism.But the "Mom" actor feels her ex's remarks may have been blown out of proportion. "It feels like it's more dramatic than it is. Chris and I have a great friendship and Jack is so happy and so loved," she said. The former couple has five-year-old son, Jack together.

Anna Faris: Chris and I have a great friendship

Twitter Inc urged its more than 330 million users to change their passwords after a glitch caused some to be stored in readable text on its internal computer system rather than disguised by a process known as "hashing".&nbsp;

The social network disclosed the issue in a blog post and series of Tweets on Thursday afternoon, saying it had resolved the problem and an internal investigation had found no indication passwords were stolen or misused by insiders. Still, it urged all users to consider changing their passwords.

"We fixed the bug and have no indication of a breach or misuse by anyone," Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said in a Tweet. "As a precaution, consider changing your password on all services where you’ve used this password."&nbsp;

The blog did not say how many passwords were affected. A person familiar with the company's response said the number was "substantial" and that they were exposed for "several months."

The disclosure comes as lawmakers and regulators around the world scrutinize the way that companies store and secure consumer data, after a string of security incidents at Equifax Inc , Facebook Inc and Uber Technologies Inc.&nbsp;

The European Union is due later this month to start enforcing a strict new privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation, that includes steep fees for violators.

Twitter discovered the bug a few weeks ago and has reported it to some regulators, said the person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.&nbsp;

The US&nbsp;Federal Trade Commission, which investigates companies accused of deceptive practices related to data security, declined comment on the password glitch.

The agency settled with Twitter in 2010 over accusations the site had “serious lapses” in data security that let hackers access private user data on two occasions. The settlement called for audits of Twitter's data security program every other year for 10 years.

The glitch was related to Twitter`s use of "hashing" and caused passwords to be written on an internal computer log before the scrambling process was completed, the blog said. &nbsp;

"We are very sorry this happened," the Twitter blog said.

Twitter's share price was down 1 percent in extended trade at $30.35, after gaining 0.4 percent during the session.

The company advised users to take precautions to ensure that their accounts are safe, including changing passwords and enabling Twitter's two-factor authentication service to help prevent accounts from being hijacked.

The glitch was related to Twitter`s use of "hashing" and caused passwords to be written on an internal computer log before the scrambling process was completed, the blog said

Twitter Inc urged its more than 330 million users to change their passwords after a glitch caused some to be stored in readable text on its internal computer system rather than disguised by a process known as "hashing". The social network disclosed the issue in a blog post and series of Tweets on Thursday afternoon, saying it had resolved the problem and an internal investigation had found no indication passwords were stolen or misused by insiders. Still, it urged all users to consider changing their passwords. "We fixed the bug and have no indication of a breach or misuse by anyone," Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said in a Tweet. "As a precaution, consider changing your password on all services where you’ve used this password." The blog did not say how many passwords were affected. A person familiar with the company's response said the number was "substantial" and that they were exposed for "several months." The disclosure comes as lawmakers and regulators around the world scrutinize the way that companies store and secure consumer data, after a string of security incidents at Equifax Inc , Facebook Inc and Uber Technologies Inc. The European Union is due later this month to start enforcing a strict new privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation, that includes steep fees for violators. Twitter discovered the bug a few weeks ago and has reported it to some regulators, said the person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The US Federal Trade Commission, which investigates companies accused of deceptive practices related to data security, declined comment on the password glitch. The agency settled with Twitter in 2010 over accusations the site had “serious lapses” in data security that let hackers access private user data on two occasions. The settlement called for audits of Twitter's data security program every other year for 10 years. The glitch was related to Twitter`s use of "hashing" and caused passwords to be written on an internal computer log before the scrambling process was completed, the blog said. "We are very sorry this happened," the Twitter blog said. Twitter's share price was down 1 percent in extended trade at $30.35, after gaining 0.4 percent during the session. The company advised users to take precautions to ensure that their accounts are safe, including changing passwords and enabling Twitter's two-factor authentication service to help prevent accounts from being hijacked.

Twitter urges all users to change passwords after glitch

Lately, I can't log onto Facebook without being asked to consider my own motivations for using the site.

As a researcher who focuses on online communities, I'm accustomed to this running meta-narrative about what it is I'm actually doing online — but usually, that narrative plays inside my head, not all the way down the feed I'm scrolling through.

It's like my research questions have sprung to life these days: What's Facebook all about, anyway? Is this even fun? If it's not fun … what is it, exactly?

This is an exciting time in the very short history of social media use.

Facebook's users are becoming critical of the systems into which they’ve been conscripted. This is an important moment: Will public opinion follow the same well-worn cycle of outrage and acceptance, or will it jump the tracks and begin engaging Facebook on new, more challenging terms?

Researchers have been asking tough questions about Facebook for the past decade, but even armed with the most prestigious credentials, they pose a much smaller threat than educated consumers. And without consumer outrage, government regulation seems unlikely to move forward.

'Sound and fury'

So far, at least in my own feed, the same old script is being followed to the letter. The soul-searching is punctuated by passionate cris-de-coeur from the feed's more opinionated characters: Wake up, sheeple! If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product — remember? Quit Facebook! Encrypt your data! Smash your phone under the heel of your steel-toed boots!

Next, right on cue, the incisive social commentators swoop in to remind us that these calls are coming from inside the house. "Pretty ironic that you're posting all this stuff on Facebook!" To which everyone silently rolls their eyes in resignation.

Cue the gallows humor about how we're all under constant surveillance, rinse and repeat. The human condition's same old two-step. Sound and fury, signifying nothing.

That this discursive cycle was triggered by the revelations earlier this year that voter profiling company Cambridge Analytica obtained the Facebook data of 50 million American accounts is beside the point.

This is only the latest in a long series of such leaks about data mining. In 2017, approximately 200 million registered voters' personal data stored by voter profiling company Deep Root Analytics was accidentally made public. The previous year, Russian hackers accessed a large cache of voter information owned by the Democratic National Committee.

What this latest go-round is revealing is that these are industry practices that will carry on undisturbed, regardless of what Mark Zuckerberg says or does. This is not a Zuckerberg problem anymore it's a problem with an advertising model that is the industry standard.

Most of us Facebook users have been on the platform for about a decade, and perhaps our outrage is our growing pains.

We've gained some critical distance through time spent on the platform. We are less easily distracted by the ostensible fun the platform offers. And we appear to be compelled to ask questions about Facebook we've never asked before

Must ask different questions

Fenwick McKelvey, co-director of the Media History Research Centre at Concordia University’s Milieux Institute for Art, Culture and Technology, wishes that the media would start asking different questions about how data is being used by platforms like Facebook.

"The media narrative still assumes that the goal of these platforms (like Facebook) is to expose people to information," McKelvey told me. "But it's less and less about that — the goal is to manage and control people's behaviour.”

Among the urgent questions media commentators should be asking, McKelvey believes, is how online advertisers are deploying user data to subtly nudge people. He provides the illustrative example of SnapChat — a company with relatively strong privacy settings in place — that leaks data to advertisers with dizzying granularity that reflects the industry standard.

Through SnapChat's protocols, your phone informs advertisers how much time passes between the moment you're served one of their ads and the moment you make a purchase at their business, either online or in person.

Every time you walk into a retailer with your phone's location services on, you are leaking data about your consumption habits.

Perhaps we should be burrowing even deeper into Facebook's business practices.

Facebook tends to rely on the fact that most of its data collection practices are laid bare in its terms of service. But according to Martin French, an assistant professor of sociology at Concordia, Facebook’s notion of "consent" is flimsy at best.

Most unaware of how their data is being used

"Facebook reportedly changed its policies after 2015 to stop app developers accessing information on app users' network. But for me, the question is: Are Facebook users, in the real world, actually aware of the changing ways their data is being used, and the policies that purportedly govern these uses?" wonders French.

French posits that based on research that has been done on who reads and understands social media privacy policies, most users are unaware of how their data is actually being used. The "consent" that Facebook is talking about when they refer to an agreement with their users is not really a kind of consent that conforms to any dictionary definition of that term.

The consensus among social scientists who study life online is that whatever dynamics play out online have offline analogs.

We've had a decade to incorporate Facebook into our lives, and like any learning process, our success with it has been uneven.

We're at a critical moment as users of Facebook. It's our responsibility to educate ourselves about the implications of our participation. Deactivating our accounts won't change how our personal data is valued to advertisers.

But perhaps, as we become mature users of social media, we can begin to demand that limits be set on how and when our data is bought and sold.

*Kathryn Jezer-Morton is a Doctoral student, at Concordia University

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-we-stay-on-facebook-its-complicated-93906">original article</a>.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Facebook's users are becoming critical of the systems into which they’ve been conscripted

Lately, I can't log onto Facebook without being asked to consider my own motivations for using the site. As a researcher who focuses on online communities, I'm accustomed to this running meta-narrative about what it is I'm actually doing online — but usually, that narrative plays inside my head, not all the way down the feed I'm scrolling through. It's like my research questions have sprung to life these days: What's Facebook all about, anyway? Is this even fun? If it's not fun … what is it, exactly? This is an exciting time in the very short history of social media use. Facebook's users are becoming critical of the systems into which they’ve been conscripted. This is an important moment: Will public opinion follow the same well-worn cycle of outrage and acceptance, or will it jump the tracks and begin engaging Facebook on new, more challenging terms? Researchers have been asking tough questions about Facebook for the past decade, but even armed with the most prestigious credentials, they pose a much smaller threat than educated consumers. And without consumer outrage, government regulation seems unlikely to move forward. 'Sound and fury' So far, at least in my own feed, the same old script is being followed to the letter. The soul-searching is punctuated by passionate cris-de-coeur from the feed's more opinionated characters: Wake up, sheeple! If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product — remember? Quit Facebook! Encrypt your data! Smash your phone under the heel of your steel-toed boots! Next, right on cue, the incisive social commentators swoop in to remind us that these calls are coming from inside the house. "Pretty ironic that you're posting all this stuff on Facebook!" To which everyone silently rolls their eyes in resignation. Cue the gallows humor about how we're all under constant surveillance, rinse and repeat. The human condition's same old two-step. Sound and fury, signifying nothing. That this discursive cycle was triggered by the revelations earlier this year that voter profiling company Cambridge Analytica obtained the Facebook data of 50 million American accounts is beside the point. This is only the latest in a long series of such leaks about data mining. In 2017, approximately 200 million registered voters' personal data stored by voter profiling company Deep Root Analytics was accidentally made public. The previous year, Russian hackers accessed a large cache of voter information owned by the Democratic National Committee. What this latest go-round is revealing is that these are industry practices that will carry on undisturbed, regardless of what Mark Zuckerberg says or does. This is not a Zuckerberg problem anymore it's a problem with an advertising model that is the industry standard. Most of us Facebook users have been on the platform for about a decade, and perhaps our outrage is our growing pains. We've gained some critical distance through time spent on the platform. We are less easily distracted by the ostensible fun the platform offers. And we appear to be compelled to ask questions about Facebook we've never asked before Must ask different questions Fenwick McKelvey, co-director of the Media History Research Centre at Concordia University’s Milieux Institute for Art, Culture and Technology, wishes that the media would start asking different questions about how data is being used by platforms like Facebook. "The media narrative still assumes that the goal of these platforms (like Facebook) is to expose people to information," McKelvey told me. "But it's less and less about that — the goal is to manage and control people's behaviour.” Among the urgent questions media commentators should be asking, McKelvey believes, is how online advertisers are deploying user data to subtly nudge people. He provides the illustrative example of SnapChat — a company with relatively strong privacy settings in place — that leaks data to advertisers with dizzying granularity that reflects the industry standard. Through SnapChat's protocols, your phone informs advertisers how much time passes between the moment you're served one of their ads and the moment you make a purchase at their business, either online or in person. Every time you walk into a retailer with your phone's location services on, you are leaking data about your consumption habits. Perhaps we should be burrowing even deeper into Facebook's business practices. Facebook tends to rely on the fact that most of its data collection practices are laid bare in its terms of service. But according to Martin French, an assistant professor of sociology at Concordia, Facebook’s notion of "consent" is flimsy at best. Most unaware of how their data is being used "Facebook reportedly changed its policies after 2015 to stop app developers accessing information on app users' network. But for me, the question is: Are Facebook users, in the real world, actually aware of the changing ways their data is being used, and the policies that purportedly govern these uses?" wonders French. French posits that based on research that has been done on who reads and understands social media privacy policies, most users are unaware of how their data is actually being used. The "consent" that Facebook is talking about when they refer to an agreement with their users is not really a kind of consent that conforms to any dictionary definition of that term. The consensus among social scientists who study life online is that whatever dynamics play out online have offline analogs. We've had a decade to incorporate Facebook into our lives, and like any learning process, our success with it has been uneven. We're at a critical moment as users of Facebook. It's our responsibility to educate ourselves about the implications of our participation. Deactivating our accounts won't change how our personal data is valued to advertisers. But perhaps, as we become mature users of social media, we can begin to demand that limits be set on how and when our data is bought and sold. *Kathryn Jezer-Morton is a Doctoral student, at Concordia University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Why do we stay on Facebook? It's complicated

The Uttar Pradesh police have launched a manhunt for two men who allegedly assaulted a woman and uploaded the video on social media.&nbsp;

The incident took place at Kannauj`s Samdhan district in Uttar Pradesh.

The girl was initially reluctant to file a case fearing defamation but went ahead after the video of the incident was uploaded on social media by the accused.&nbsp;

Police registered a case against the accused on Sunday evening.&nbsp;

Speaking to the media, the sister of the victim said, "If the accused are not hanged or given life imprisonment, we will give up our lives."

The accused identified as Talib and Salman gang-raped the woman near a well in the locality on April 24 of which the woman did not inform her family.&nbsp;

The incident came to light when the men uploaded an explicit video of the act on social media, following which the woman along with her family immediately filed a case with the local police.

The police informed that the case has been registered and the accused men will be caught soon.&nbsp;

Further investigation is underway.&nbsp;

The girl was initially reluctant to file a case fearing defamation but went ahead after the video of the incident was uploaded on social media by the accused.

The Uttar Pradesh police have launched a manhunt for two men who allegedly assaulted a woman and uploaded the video on social media. The incident took place at Kannauj`s Samdhan district in Uttar Pradesh. The girl was initially reluctant to file a case fearing defamation but went ahead after the video of the incident was uploaded on social media by the accused. Police registered a case against the accused on Sunday evening. Speaking to the media, the sister of the victim said, "If the accused are not hanged or given life imprisonment, we will give up our lives." The accused identified as Talib and Salman gang-raped the woman near a well in the locality on April 24 of which the woman did not inform her family. The incident came to light when the men uploaded an explicit video of the act on social media, following which the woman along with her family immediately filed a case with the local police. The police informed that the case has been registered and the accused men will be caught soon. Further investigation is underway.

Uttar Pradesh: Family of rape victim demand justice

Britain's health minister Jeremy Hunt threatened to impose new regulations on social media firms unless they did more to protect young people using their services.

Hunt said the groups were "turning a blind eye" to the effect social media had on children's well-being - an accusation that comes as Facebook and others face heightened scrutiny worldwide over their impact and influence.

Google's UK operation said it was committed to protecting children and had introduced features to help parents set screen time limits. There was no immediate comment from Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and other firms.

Hunt did not say what kind of regulations the government could impose, but gave the companies an April deadline to come up with measures to tackle cyber bullying and control the amount of time youngsters spent online.

"I am concerned that your companies seem content with a situation where thousands of users breach your own terms and conditions on the minimum user age," Hunt said in a letter sent to tech firms and reported in the Sunday Times.

"I fear that you are collectively turning a blind eye to a whole generation of children being exposed to the harmful emotional side effects of social media prematurely."

In an article in the same newspaper, Hunt said there had been a few welcome moves to improve children's online protection, but that the overall response had been "extremely limited" and that a voluntary approach might not be enough.&nbsp

"An industry that boasts some of the brightest minds and biggest budgets should have been able to rise to the challenge," he added.

Hunt's comments came alongside the announcement of a government review of the impact that sites like Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat have on children's mental health.

Britain has clashed with internet companies on several fronts in recent years over payment of taxes, action against the spread of fake news and extremist material, and their use of personal data.

Google UK's Public Policy Manager, Katie O’Donovan, said the company had also introduced an online safety course for children.

“Along with all parents, we understand the challenge of helping children make the most of the internet in a safe and responsible way," she added.

Google UK's Public Policy Manager, Katie O’Donovan, said the company had also introduced an online safety course for children

Britain's health minister Jeremy Hunt threatened to impose new regulations on social media firms unless they did more to protect young people using their services. Hunt said the groups were "turning a blind eye" to the effect social media had on children's well-being - an accusation that comes as Facebook and others face heightened scrutiny worldwide over their impact and influence. Google's UK operation said it was committed to protecting children and had introduced features to help parents set screen time limits. There was no immediate comment from Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and other firms. Hunt did not say what kind of regulations the government could impose, but gave the companies an April deadline to come up with measures to tackle cyber bullying and control the amount of time youngsters spent online. "I am concerned that your companies seem content with a situation where thousands of users breach your own terms and conditions on the minimum user age," Hunt said in a letter sent to tech firms and reported in the Sunday Times. "I fear that you are collectively turning a blind eye to a whole generation of children being exposed to the harmful emotional side effects of social media prematurely." In an article in the same newspaper, Hunt said there had been a few welcome moves to improve children's online protection, but that the overall response had been "extremely limited" and that a voluntary approach might not be enough. "An industry that boasts some of the brightest minds and biggest budgets should have been able to rise to the challenge," he added. Hunt's comments came alongside the announcement of a government review of the impact that sites like Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat have on children's mental health. Britain has clashed with internet companies on several fronts in recent years over payment of taxes, action against the spread of fake news and extremist material, and their use of personal data. Google UK's Public Policy Manager, Katie O’Donovan, said the company had also introduced an online safety course for children. “Along with all parents, we understand the challenge of helping children make the most of the internet in a safe and responsible way," she added.

Britain may regulate young people's use of social media: Minister

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday asked the people to exercise caution on news items being circulated on the social media as in many cases they are fake.

Speaking at a gathering of cable TV operators here, Banerjee asked them to stay vigilant and urged them not to beam news items involving communal violence that can fuel trouble and unrest elsewhere.

She requested the operators to felicitate government messages to be broadcast via cable TV to control such situations.

"Fake news is circulating in a big way. Fake news incite people leading to unrest. People should be aware of these and stay cautious," Banerjee said.

Quality should be maintained in serials where negativity is rampant causing social degradation, she said.

On Tuesday's nor'wester that left 18 dead and scores injured, Banerjee said, "We don't have any control on natural calamities. But at least, we should not create man-made disasters."

The cable operators told her that their financial condition worsened after the digital system was introduced replacing the analogue system and the 25,000 odd cable operators in the state are in a sorry state of affairs.

The chief minister today set up a committee to solve their problems.

The committee includes Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, Labour Minister Malay Ghatak, Youth and Sports Minister Arup Biswas, the Commissioner of Police, and representatives of broadcasters and cable operators.

The state government will try to get a tripartite agreement to protect the interests of all, she said.

Banerjee also asked cable operators to come under the fold of MSMEs and announced several social security schemes for them and their families.

Quality should be maintained in serials where negativity is rampant causing social degradation, she said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday asked the people to exercise caution on news items being circulated on the social media as in many cases they are fake. Speaking at a gathering of cable TV operators here, Banerjee asked them to stay vigilant and urged them not to beam news items involving communal violence that can fuel trouble and unrest elsewhere. She requested the operators to felicitate government messages to be broadcast via cable TV to control such situations. "Fake news is circulating in a big way. Fake news incite people leading to unrest. People should be aware of these and stay cautious," Banerjee said. Quality should be maintained in serials where negativity is rampant causing social degradation, she said. On Tuesday's nor'wester that left 18 dead and scores injured, Banerjee said, "We don't have any control on natural calamities. But at least, we should not create man-made disasters." The cable operators told her that their financial condition worsened after the digital system was introduced replacing the analogue system and the 25,000 odd cable operators in the state are in a sorry state of affairs. The chief minister today set up a committee to solve their problems. The committee includes Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, Labour Minister Malay Ghatak, Youth and Sports Minister Arup Biswas, the Commissioner of Police, and representatives of broadcasters and cable operators. The state government will try to get a tripartite agreement to protect the interests of all, she said. Banerjee also asked cable operators to come under the fold of MSMEs and announced several social security schemes for them and their families.

Mamata urges people to exercise caution on fake news

Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has asked the interior ministry to crack down on any individual or groups involved in posting blasphemous material about the Hindu religion, after the minority community leaders protested against a wave of online hate speech hurting their religious sentiments.

The directive came yesterday after a picture of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan depicted as a Hindu god was doing the rounds on social media.

The Speaker issued the directive following a protest by Hindu legislators who said that their religion was being smeared in a wave of hate speech online, the Dawn reported.

The issue was raised by Ramesh Lal who presented an example of the blasphemous content, a picture of a Hindu deity with Imran's face, the report said.

Such posts have deeply hurt the religious sentiments of more than four million Hindus living in Pakistan. The lawmaker said that such offences were covered by cyber laws and should not remain unpunished, it said.

Demanding legal action against the perpetrators for posting blasphemous content, he asked the speaker to order an inquiry into the matter.

Another parliamentarian Lal Chand Malhi said there was evidence of a malicious online campaign targeting the minority community and desecrating images that were revered by millions of Pakistani Hindus.

In response to the complaints, Speaker Sadiq directed Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry to complete the inquiry within seven days.

He also directed the state minister to lodge a case against the culprits with the Federal Investigation Agency.

Lal said he along with Malhi prepared a complaint letter which will be handed over to Chaudhry.

He said that the social media campaign against the Hindu community had been going on for two weeks.

Earlier in the house, PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said his party fully supported the Hindu community.

He alleged that such content was being generated by the social media wing of a political party.

Commenting on the PTI allegation, Chaudhry said the government strongly condemned all such acts.

He said the internet was full of blasphemous content that was used not only to hurt the feelings of the Hindu community but also to insult Muslims.

Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had in the past also taken up the issue of blasphemous content on Facebook and even asked the social networking websites to not allow such offensive posts.

Tallal Chaudhry assured the house that his ministry would investigate the online attacks on the Hindu faith and seek out the culprits. 
&nbsp

The directive came yesterday after a picture of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan depicted as a Hindu god was doing the rounds on social media

Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has asked the interior ministry to crack down on any individual or groups involved in posting blasphemous material about the Hindu religion, after the minority community leaders protested against a wave of online hate speech hurting their religious sentiments. The directive came yesterday after a picture of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan depicted as a Hindu god was doing the rounds on social media. The Speaker issued the directive following a protest by Hindu legislators who said that their religion was being smeared in a wave of hate speech online, the Dawn reported. The issue was raised by Ramesh Lal who presented an example of the blasphemous content, a picture of a Hindu deity with Imran's face, the report said. Such posts have deeply hurt the religious sentiments of more than four million Hindus living in Pakistan. The lawmaker said that such offences were covered by cyber laws and should not remain unpunished, it said. Demanding legal action against the perpetrators for posting blasphemous content, he asked the speaker to order an inquiry into the matter. Another parliamentarian Lal Chand Malhi said there was evidence of a malicious online campaign targeting the minority community and desecrating images that were revered by millions of Pakistani Hindus. In response to the complaints, Speaker Sadiq directed Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry to complete the inquiry within seven days. He also directed the state minister to lodge a case against the culprits with the Federal Investigation Agency. Lal said he along with Malhi prepared a complaint letter which will be handed over to Chaudhry. He said that the social media campaign against the Hindu community had been going on for two weeks. Earlier in the house, PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said his party fully supported the Hindu community. He alleged that such content was being generated by the social media wing of a political party. Commenting on the PTI allegation, Chaudhry said the government strongly condemned all such acts. He said the internet was full of blasphemous content that was used not only to hurt the feelings of the Hindu community but also to insult Muslims. Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had in the past also taken up the issue of blasphemous content on Facebook and even asked the social networking websites to not allow such offensive posts. Tallal Chaudhry assured the house that his ministry would investigate the online attacks on the Hindu faith and seek out the culprits.

Act against those who hurt Hindus' religious sentiments: Pakistan Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to Interior Minister

With social media giant Facebook embroiled in data breach scandal, a quest for alternative online networking platforms is turning into reality. According to reports, Orkut's founder has announced the entry of a new social networking platform 'hello' into the Indian market.&nbsp;

Orkut Buyukkokten-led social networking platform, 'Hello', aims is to create positive, meaningful, authentic connections and sustained social engagement, Buyukkokten noted.&nbsp;

"If you look at social media today, it has isolated people instead of bringing them closer. It has become more about broadcasting than sharing. We need a fresh start. Hello is built around interest-based communities where users with same interests can connect, leading to true connections," Buyukkokten told media.

Buyukkokten-led Orkut was once a social media rage in countries like India and Brazil but was shut down in 2014 with the rise of rival networking websites like Twitter, Facebook and others.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I'm so excited to be coming to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/India?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#India</a>! Win tickets to a special <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hello?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#hello</a> event with me: <a href="https://t.co/5EjYVpgZRI">https://t.co/5EjYVpgZRI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/orkut?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#orkut</a> <a href="https://t.co/P3JEoTjMvJ">pic.twitter.com/P3JEoTjMvJ</a>
— Orkut Buyukkokten (@orkut) <a href="https://twitter.com/orkut/status/981376472777613312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

"We started in Brazil in July 2016... About 35,000 users were a part of our beta testing in the Indian market. Orkut was huge in India and I'm delighted to say hello to India once again," Buyukkokten noted.

"When a user signs up, they are asked about five things that they are passionate about and then get recommendations that are non-intrusive. We also ensure that every advertiser has a profile on hello (for greater accountability)," he said adding that no user information is shared with third-party applications.

Buyukkokten's next stop to roll out the application would likely be the US as well as countries like France and Germany.

The 'Hello' application is available in India on App Store and Google Play.

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

The 'Hello' application is available in India on Android App Store and Google Play

With social media giant Facebook embroiled in data breach scandal, a quest for alternative online networking platforms is turning into reality. According to reports, Orkut's founder has announced the entry of a new social networking platform 'hello' into the Indian market. Orkut Buyukkokten-led social networking platform, 'Hello', aims is to create positive, meaningful, authentic connections and sustained social engagement, Buyukkokten noted. "If you look at social media today, it has isolated people instead of bringing them closer. It has become more about broadcasting than sharing. We need a fresh start. Hello is built around interest-based communities where users with same interests can connect, leading to true connections," Buyukkokten told media. Buyukkokten-led Orkut was once a social media rage in countries like India and Brazil but was shut down in 2014 with the rise of rival networking websites like Twitter, Facebook and others. I'm so excited to be coming to #India! Win tickets to a special #hello event with me: https://t.co/5EjYVpgZRI #orkut pic.twitter.com/P3JEoTjMvJ — Orkut Buyukkokten (@orkut) April 4, 2018 × "We started in Brazil in July 2016... About 35,000 users were a part of our beta testing in the Indian market. Orkut was huge in India and I'm delighted to say hello to India once again," Buyukkokten noted. "When a user signs up, they are asked about five things that they are passionate about and then get recommendations that are non-intrusive. We also ensure that every advertiser has a profile on hello (for greater accountability)," he said adding that no user information is shared with third-party applications. Buyukkokten's next stop to roll out the application would likely be the US as well as countries like France and Germany. The 'Hello' application is available in India on App Store and Google Play. (With inputs from agencies)

Delighted to say 'Hello' to India again: Orkut founder rolls out new social networking app 

India's much-loved comedian and controversy's most loved celeb, Kapil Sharma again made headlines as he abused a Journalist on Twitter for showing him in a negative light. A day after the incident Kapil Sharma is again in the news after his ex-girlfriend Preety Simoes opened up about his past relationship with Kapil.

Producer Preety Simoes, a former manager of Kapil Sharma also showed concern about his mental health as she said that throughout their dating period she had never even heard an abuse from him and the Kapil Sharma she knows is ''very intelligent, bright, young, and dynamic man."

Simoes also targetted Kapil's current girlfriend Ginni Chatrath saying that "it is most certainly his girlfriend Ginni Chatrath or maybe some other friend" who made these tweets.

"I am hoping it’s not Kapil who has posted these tweets. The Kapil I know is a very intelligent, bright, young and dynamic man. It’s most certainly his girlfriend Ginni Chatrath or maybe some friend, who is using his phone and doing all this. And if this is what Ginni and her one year with Kapil has brought him to, I feel sorry for both of them — Kapil for the choices he has made, and Ginni, because she didn’t know how to handle a Kapil Sharma," an English daily quoted Simoes as saying.

She also added that "this is a sick man’s behaviour. As for those abuses, in 8 years of my life with him, where we were in a [romantic] relationship as well, I’ve never heard him abuse. I was shocked to hear such condescending way of talking about women. Whoever the journalist’s daughter is, I apologise to the woman. It’s really sad what he said on record."

On Friday Kapil Sharma went on a rant against a media on Twitter for giving him a negative feedback on his latest show "Family time with Kapil Sharma".

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/kapil-sharma-and-vickey-lalwani-on-twitter-war-admits-account-was-not-hacked-128882">He also filed a police complaint</a> on Saturday against a journalist and his ex-managers Neeti Simoes and Preeti Simoes accusing them of trying to extort 25 Lakh rupees from him.

He also alleged that the journalist has harassed him.

After the abusive rant on twitter, Kapil Sharma made a tweet clarifying that his <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/kapil-sharma-goes-on-an-abusive-twitter-rant-later-claims-account-was-hacked-128798">account was 'hacked'</a>. However, he later revealed that it was indeed him and his tweets were deleted by his team and the account was not hacked.

The comedian turned actor Kapil Sharma made a comeback to television with his new show recently.

But there are media reports saying that the show might go off air soon as the show failed in received positive feedback from the audience. &nbsp;

Producer Preety Simoes also a former manager of Kapil Sharma showed concern about his mental health as she said that throughout their dating period she had never even heard an abuse from him

India's much-loved comedian and controversy's most loved celeb, Kapil Sharma again made headlines as he abused a Journalist on Twitter for showing him in a negative light. A day after the incident Kapil Sharma is again in the news after his ex-girlfriend Preety Simoes opened up about his past relationship with Kapil. Producer Preety Simoes, a former manager of Kapil Sharma also showed concern about his mental health as she said that throughout their dating period she had never even heard an abuse from him and the Kapil Sharma she knows is ''very intelligent, bright, young, and dynamic man." Simoes also targetted Kapil's current girlfriend Ginni Chatrath saying that "it is most certainly his girlfriend Ginni Chatrath or maybe some other friend" who made these tweets. "I am hoping it’s not Kapil who has posted these tweets. The Kapil I know is a very intelligent, bright, young and dynamic man. It’s most certainly his girlfriend Ginni Chatrath or maybe some friend, who is using his phone and doing all this. And if this is what Ginni and her one year with Kapil has brought him to, I feel sorry for both of them — Kapil for the choices he has made, and Ginni, because she didn’t know how to handle a Kapil Sharma," an English daily quoted Simoes as saying. She also added that "this is a sick man’s behaviour. As for those abuses, in 8 years of my life with him, where we were in a [romantic] relationship as well, I’ve never heard him abuse. I was shocked to hear such condescending way of talking about women. Whoever the journalist’s daughter is, I apologise to the woman. It’s really sad what he said on record." On Friday Kapil Sharma went on a rant against a media on Twitter for giving him a negative feedback on his latest show "Family time with Kapil Sharma". He also filed a police complaint on Saturday against a journalist and his ex-managers Neeti Simoes and Preeti Simoes accusing them of trying to extort 25 Lakh rupees from him. He also alleged that the journalist has harassed him. After the abusive rant on twitter, Kapil Sharma made a tweet clarifying that his account was 'hacked'. However, he later revealed that it was indeed him and his tweets were deleted by his team and the account was not hacked. The comedian turned actor Kapil Sharma made a comeback to television with his new show recently. But there are media reports saying that the show might go off air soon as the show failed in received positive feedback from the audience.

Ex blames girlfriend for Kapil Sharma's abusive tweets

Social media giant Facebook is planning to launch an&nbsp;unsend a message feature like Whatsapp for Facebook messenger as well.

The new feature will take several months to launch.

Facebook made the announcement after there were reports that Facebook has retracted Facebook messages sent by its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.

Few other executives of the organization's messages were also reportedly retracted from the recipients' inboxes.

After which the company announced that no more messages of Zuckerberg will be retracted until the features get available for all users.

The retraction of Zuckerburg's messages has reportedly struck many Facebook users as a violation of trust with Facebook.

According to a report by tech blog, 'Techcrunch' users will have an option of sending their messages by setting a specific expiration time of the sent message and the time will run out the message will automatically be the chat thread.

Though this is just an initial plan for the feature. The company may build another way to unsend their messages from the messenger.

Another subsidiary of Facebook, an instant messaging app Whatsapp has this unsend message feature from November 2017.

Whatsapp users can delete their sent texts by going to 'delete for me only' option.

The new feature will take several months to launch

Social media giant Facebook is planning to launch an unsend a message feature like Whatsapp for Facebook messenger as well. The new feature will take several months to launch. Facebook made the announcement after there were reports that Facebook has retracted Facebook messages sent by its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Few other executives of the organization's messages were also reportedly retracted from the recipients' inboxes. After which the company announced that no more messages of Zuckerberg will be retracted until the features get available for all users. The retraction of Zuckerburg's messages has reportedly struck many Facebook users as a violation of trust with Facebook. According to a report by tech blog, 'Techcrunch' users will have an option of sending their messages by setting a specific expiration time of the sent message and the time will run out the message will automatically be the chat thread. Though this is just an initial plan for the feature. The company may build another way to unsend their messages from the messenger. Another subsidiary of Facebook, an instant messaging app Whatsapp has this unsend message feature from November 2017. Whatsapp users can delete their sent texts by going to 'delete for me only' option.

After secretly deleting Zuckerberg's messages, Facebook to launch unsend a message feature for everyone

Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it would end its partnerships with several large data brokers who help advertisers target people on the social network, a step that follows a scandal over how Facebook handles personal information.

The world's largest social media company is under pressure to improve its handling of data after disclosing that information about 50 million Facebook users wrongly ended up in the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook adjusted the privacy settings on its service on Wednesday, giving users control over their personal information in fewer taps.

Facebook has for years given advertisers the option of targeting their ads based on data collected by companies such as Acxiom Corp and Experian PLC.

The tool has been widely used among certain categories of advertisers - such as automakers, luxury goods producers and consumer packaged goods companies - who do not sell directly to consumers and have relatively little information about who their customers are, according to Facebook.

"While this is common industry practice, we believe this step, winding down over the next six months, will help improve people`s privacy on Facebook," Graham Mudd, a Facebook product marketing director, said in a statement.

Shares in Acxiom traded down more than 10 percent to $25 after Facebook`s announcement after the bell. Shares in other data brokers were largely unchanged. A representative for Acxiom could not immediately be reached for comment.

Facebook declined to comment on how the change could affect its ad revenue.

Advertisers would still be able to use third-party data services to measure how well their ads performed by examining purchasing data, Facebook said.

Facebook`s website lists nine third-party data providers that it has worked with, including Acxiom, Experian, Oracle Data Cloud , TransUnion and WPP PLC .

None of the companies could immediately be reached for comment.

Facebook on Wednesday also put all its privacy settings on one page and made it easier to stop third-party apps from using personal information. Privacy settings had previously been spread over at least 20 screens, Facebook said.

Facebook said in a blog post it had been working on the updates for some time but sped things up to appease users` anger over how the company uses data and as lawmakers around the globe call for regulation.

Facebook`s shares closed up 0.5 percent at $153.03 on Wednesday. They are still down more than 17 percent since March 16, when Facebook first acknowledged that user data had been improperly channelled in 2014 via a third-party app to Cambridge Analytica, which was later hired by Donald Trump`s 2016 presidential campaign.

The data leak has raised investor concerns that any failure by big tech companies to protect privacy could deter advertisers, who are Facebook`s lifeblood and lead to tougher regulation.

SCRUTINY FROM LAWMAKERS

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly apologised for the mistakes the company made and has promised to crack down on abuse of the Facebook platform and restrict developers` access to user information.

There is a new Facebook page - called Access Your Information - where users can see what they have shared and manage it.

"The biggest difference is ease of access in settings, which fulfils Mark Zuckerberg`s promise to make the privacy process and permissions more transparent to users," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said.

It was uncertain whether the changes will satisfy lawmakers.

They have announced ahead of a stringent European Union data law which comes into force in May. It requires companies to give people a "right to portability" - to take their data with them - and imposes fines of up to 4 percent of global revenue for companies breaking the law.

Lawmakers in the United States and Britain are still clamouring for Zuckerberg himself to explain how users` data ended up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica.

He plans to testify before Congress, a source briefed on the matter said on Tuesday. Facebook has said it has received invitations to testify and that it is talking to legislators.

Zuckerberg and the CEOs of Alphabet Inc and Twitter Inc have been invited to testify at an April 10 hearing on data privacy. The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and U.S. Senate Commerce Committee have also asked Zuckerberg to appear at a hearing.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into Facebook, and attorneys representing 37 states are also pressing Zuckerberg to explain what happened.

Facebook adjusted the privacy settings on its service on Wednesday, giving users control over their personal information in fewer taps.

Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it would end its partnerships with several large data brokers who help advertisers target people on the social network, a step that follows a scandal over how Facebook handles personal information. The world's largest social media company is under pressure to improve its handling of data after disclosing that information about 50 million Facebook users wrongly ended up in the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. Facebook adjusted the privacy settings on its service on Wednesday, giving users control over their personal information in fewer taps. Facebook has for years given advertisers the option of targeting their ads based on data collected by companies such as Acxiom Corp and Experian PLC. The tool has been widely used among certain categories of advertisers - such as automakers, luxury goods producers and consumer packaged goods companies - who do not sell directly to consumers and have relatively little information about who their customers are, according to Facebook. "While this is common industry practice, we believe this step, winding down over the next six months, will help improve people`s privacy on Facebook," Graham Mudd, a Facebook product marketing director, said in a statement. Shares in Acxiom traded down more than 10 percent to $25 after Facebook`s announcement after the bell. Shares in other data brokers were largely unchanged. A representative for Acxiom could not immediately be reached for comment. Facebook declined to comment on how the change could affect its ad revenue. Advertisers would still be able to use third-party data services to measure how well their ads performed by examining purchasing data, Facebook said. Facebook`s website lists nine third-party data providers that it has worked with, including Acxiom, Experian, Oracle Data Cloud , TransUnion and WPP PLC . None of the companies could immediately be reached for comment. Facebook on Wednesday also put all its privacy settings on one page and made it easier to stop third-party apps from using personal information. Privacy settings had previously been spread over at least 20 screens, Facebook said. Facebook said in a blog post it had been working on the updates for some time but sped things up to appease users` anger over how the company uses data and as lawmakers around the globe call for regulation. Facebook`s shares closed up 0.5 percent at $153.03 on Wednesday. They are still down more than 17 percent since March 16, when Facebook first acknowledged that user data had been improperly channelled in 2014 via a third-party app to Cambridge Analytica, which was later hired by Donald Trump`s 2016 presidential campaign. The data leak has raised investor concerns that any failure by big tech companies to protect privacy could deter advertisers, who are Facebook`s lifeblood and lead to tougher regulation. SCRUTINY FROM LAWMAKERS Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly apologised for the mistakes the company made and has promised to crack down on abuse of the Facebook platform and restrict developers` access to user information. There is a new Facebook page - called Access Your Information - where users can see what they have shared and manage it. "The biggest difference is ease of access in settings, which fulfils Mark Zuckerberg`s promise to make the privacy process and permissions more transparent to users," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said. It was uncertain whether the changes will satisfy lawmakers. They have announced ahead of a stringent European Union data law which comes into force in May. It requires companies to give people a "right to portability" - to take their data with them - and imposes fines of up to 4 percent of global revenue for companies breaking the law. Lawmakers in the United States and Britain are still clamouring for Zuckerberg himself to explain how users` data ended up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica. He plans to testify before Congress, a source briefed on the matter said on Tuesday. Facebook has said it has received invitations to testify and that it is talking to legislators. Zuckerberg and the CEOs of Alphabet Inc and Twitter Inc have been invited to testify at an April 10 hearing on data privacy. The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and U.S. Senate Commerce Committee have also asked Zuckerberg to appear at a hearing. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into Facebook, and attorneys representing 37 states are also pressing Zuckerberg to explain what happened.

Facebook cuts ties to data brokers in blow to targeted ads

By&nbspEllis Cashmore*

A number of Unidentified Flying Objects have landed around the world. What are their intentions? To destroy us? To bring peace on earth? Or just observe us earthlings and our perplexing little maneuvers? Do they come in peace or war? It’s impossible to know at the moment because they just sit there, day after day, week after week, without indicating whether they are just tourists or permanent residents.

North Korea, we understand, has already decided and issued a stark warning it is priming its nuclear reactors. The UFOs communicate something to us, but it’s incoherent. The grammar is unintelligible, so we’re not sure what to do. We could take our time in trying to translate the message and figure out what the UFOs’ inhabitants want (if indeed they want anything) and what they have to offer. After all, they could bring unimaginable benefits. But we’ll need time to try to arrange meetings and ponder the possibilities. Or we could simply open fire and try to bomb them out of existence.

As with this outlandish imaginary presence, there really isn’t a way we know for sure whether social media are a good or a bad thing. All we know for certain is that it’s arrived and shows no signs of disappearing. Like the make-believe UFOs, social media occupy a great, great deal of our attention, and after an initial period of doubt in the early 2000s (Facebook was launched in 2004, YouTube in 2005 and Twitter in 2006), they have become permanent fixtures.

Doom and Foreboding&nbsp

And yet, we still haven’t made up our minds about whether they are dangerous (like the invaders in HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds), or beneficial (like the benevolent Vulcans from Star Trek), or whether they’ll deliver on a utopian promise but take in return our identities and culture (as did the Overlords in Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End).

Traditional media are full of doom, foreboding and warnings of the baneful effects of using social media. If scholars, researchers, politicians and sundry self-appointed experts are to be believed, we have a perfect nightmare of mental-health problems, addictions as debilitating as many drug dependencies and “separation anxieties” if we are parted from a screen device for just an hour.

The media, for the most part, accept these warnings uncritically. Consider the following selection of headlines: “The under-5s glued to screens for four hours each day” (The Daily Mail) “Electroshock Therapy for Internet Users?” (The New York Times) “How to stop checking your smartphone in the middle of the night” (The Telegraph) “We now spend 1.3 years of our lives choosing what to watch” (ShortList) “Fraudster addicted to TV SHOPPING stole £370,000 from her employer” (Coventry Telegraph) “Video game addiction ‘contributes to depression and anxiety’” (i) and “Facebook, Twitter and Google have become a ‘recruiting platform for terrorism'” (The Telegraph).

Collectively, they provide a prodigious inventory of conditions, some mental, others physical, all undesirable. Much of the research on which these warnings is conducted by psychologists, neuroscientists and health researchers. Few seem interested in the social, cultural or historical contexts in which social media use takes place, or the perspectives of the people who engage in the activity. As such, they present the view of experts, not users and usually the human costs, rather than the cultural benefits, such as the #MeToo and #enough movements.

The perplexing paradox of social media is that it appears to turn its enthusiastic devotees into alien abductees who are wholeheartedly complicit in their own abduction. So, when an august body such as the United Nations pronounces that that social media has had a “determining role” in anti-Rohingya Muslim violence in Myanmar, and “substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict,” it prompts a questions about the influence of social media — in particular Facebook — on its users.&nbsp

Facebook itself is presumably convinced enough to remove the pages of the anti-Islamic group Britain First and its leaders from its platform, explaining that the decision to remove the pages was made after Britain First had ignored a final warning about the posting of material that broke its community standards.

Cyber Consciousness 

While this chimes with common-sense ideas of decency and moral rectitude, it’s uncomfortably out of sync with the freedom of information ethos that characterized not just Facebook but all social media in their growth. The spirit of social media, as manifested in its users’ aspirations and attitudes, was to share information openly and with impunity and without any attempt to prevent certain ideas, memories, thoughts or any other element of culture that could be passed on, copied and spread — memes — emerging into the cyber-consciousness.

No wonder users laugh at scaremongering media that routinely issue caveats about the proliferation of fake news. They mistrust all news equally, whatever its provenance. Far from being the credulous, wide-eyed ingénues they are often mistaken to be, Screenagers are savvy, discerning and cute enough to know the difference between hokum and actuality. They don’t need a working knowledge of Foucault (though many have that too) to realize that what passes as truth is made possible by the discourse that commissions it rather than its relationship to fact.

What we’re witnessing, though probably without knowing it, is a slow dismantling of one generation’s confidence in established sources of information and its replacement with a kind of all-purpose skepticism. No wonder people despair. “You have to believe something, or someone!” they’d insist. But Screenagers have been reared in a wonderful world of seemingly unlimited information theirs is a holistic approach to knowledge — they believe that all things, like all people, are interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.

“How do you define objective truth?” is not a question to ask a Screenager. “Says who?” or “What’s the source?” or “Who stands to gain if we believe it?” are nearer the mark. I write as a co-researcher on an international online project in which the responses of 2,000 Screenagers (you’ll have gathered this is the term we use to describe the current generation of smartphone-tablet-computer-users) were solicited on a range of subjects, from politics to personal health, and how these are being reshaped by screen devices. The results will be published later this year as Screen Society, the title reflecting the cultural transformation that’s taken place over the past decade.

At the moment, we humans are still apprehensive, as we would be if those UFOs had taken up residence and not revealed their intentions. We went through all this in the 1950s and early 1960s when televisions multiplied like those Tribbles in the Star Trek universe. Shortened attention spans, telly-addiction and family breakups were some of the predicted maladies these have all resurfaced, of course. Neither we nor the society we make up will unspool as a result of social media. Like every other piece of technology it has no immanent qualities. So, it is pointless trying to determine whether it’s good or evil. Social media are best judged on their potential, which is, as everyone now realizes, colossal.

No wonder people are concerned: These media are changing us, our children and practically every conceivable aspect of society just as profoundly as the steam engine did in the 18th century.&nbsp&nbsp

&nbsp

*Ellis Cashmore is visiting professor of sociology at Aston University and has previously worked at the universities of Hong Kong and Tampa.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Social media are changing us, our children and practically every conceivable aspect of society just as profoundly as the steam engine did in the 18th century.

By&nbspEllis Cashmore* A number of Unidentified Flying Objects have landed around the world. What are their intentions? To destroy us? To bring peace on earth? Or just observe us earthlings and our perplexing little maneuvers? Do they come in peace or war? It’s impossible to know at the moment because they just sit there, day after day, week after week, without indicating whether they are just tourists or permanent residents. North Korea, we understand, has already decided and issued a stark warning it is priming its nuclear reactors. The UFOs communicate something to us, but it’s incoherent. The grammar is unintelligible, so we’re not sure what to do. We could take our time in trying to translate the message and figure out what the UFOs’ inhabitants want (if indeed they want anything) and what they have to offer. After all, they could bring unimaginable benefits. But we’ll need time to try to arrange meetings and ponder the possibilities. Or we could simply open fire and try to bomb them out of existence. As with this outlandish imaginary presence, there really isn’t a way we know for sure whether social media are a good or a bad thing. All we know for certain is that it’s arrived and shows no signs of disappearing. Like the make-believe UFOs, social media occupy a great, great deal of our attention, and after an initial period of doubt in the early 2000s (Facebook was launched in 2004, YouTube in 2005 and Twitter in 2006), they have become permanent fixtures. Doom and Foreboding And yet, we still haven’t made up our minds about whether they are dangerous (like the invaders in HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds), or beneficial (like the benevolent Vulcans from Star Trek), or whether they’ll deliver on a utopian promise but take in return our identities and culture (as did the Overlords in Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End). Traditional media are full of doom, foreboding and warnings of the baneful effects of using social media. If scholars, researchers, politicians and sundry self-appointed experts are to be believed, we have a perfect nightmare of mental-health problems, addictions as debilitating as many drug dependencies and “separation anxieties” if we are parted from a screen device for just an hour. The media, for the most part, accept these warnings uncritically. Consider the following selection of headlines: “The under-5s glued to screens for four hours each day” (The Daily Mail) “Electroshock Therapy for Internet Users?” (The New York Times) “How to stop checking your smartphone in the middle of the night” (The Telegraph) “We now spend 1.3 years of our lives choosing what to watch” (ShortList) “Fraudster addicted to TV SHOPPING stole £370,000 from her employer” (Coventry Telegraph) “Video game addiction ‘contributes to depression and anxiety’” (i) and “Facebook, Twitter and Google have become a ‘recruiting platform for terrorism'” (The Telegraph). Collectively, they provide a prodigious inventory of conditions, some mental, others physical, all undesirable. Much of the research on which these warnings is conducted by psychologists, neuroscientists and health researchers. Few seem interested in the social, cultural or historical contexts in which social media use takes place, or the perspectives of the people who engage in the activity. As such, they present the view of experts, not users and usually the human costs, rather than the cultural benefits, such as the #MeToo and #enough movements. The perplexing paradox of social media is that it appears to turn its enthusiastic devotees into alien abductees who are wholeheartedly complicit in their own abduction. So, when an august body such as the United Nations pronounces that that social media has had a “determining role” in anti-Rohingya Muslim violence in Myanmar, and “substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict,” it prompts a questions about the influence of social media — in particular Facebook — on its users. Facebook itself is presumably convinced enough to remove the pages of the anti-Islamic group Britain First and its leaders from its platform, explaining that the decision to remove the pages was made after Britain First had ignored a final warning about the posting of material that broke its community standards. Cyber Consciousness While this chimes with common-sense ideas of decency and moral rectitude, it’s uncomfortably out of sync with the freedom of information ethos that characterized not just Facebook but all social media in their growth. The spirit of social media, as manifested in its users’ aspirations and attitudes, was to share information openly and with impunity and without any attempt to prevent certain ideas, memories, thoughts or any other element of culture that could be passed on, copied and spread — memes — emerging into the cyber-consciousness. No wonder users laugh at scaremongering media that routinely issue caveats about the proliferation of fake news. They mistrust all news equally, whatever its provenance. Far from being the credulous, wide-eyed ingénues they are often mistaken to be, Screenagers are savvy, discerning and cute enough to know the difference between hokum and actuality. They don’t need a working knowledge of Foucault (though many have that too) to realize that what passes as truth is made possible by the discourse that commissions it rather than its relationship to fact. What we’re witnessing, though probably without knowing it, is a slow dismantling of one generation’s confidence in established sources of information and its replacement with a kind of all-purpose skepticism. No wonder people despair. “You have to believe something, or someone!” they’d insist. But Screenagers have been reared in a wonderful world of seemingly unlimited information theirs is a holistic approach to knowledge — they believe that all things, like all people, are interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole. “How do you define objective truth?” is not a question to ask a Screenager. “Says who?” or “What’s the source?” or “Who stands to gain if we believe it?” are nearer the mark. I write as a co-researcher on an international online project in which the responses of 2,000 Screenagers (you’ll have gathered this is the term we use to describe the current generation of smartphone-tablet-computer-users) were solicited on a range of subjects, from politics to personal health, and how these are being reshaped by screen devices. The results will be published later this year as Screen Society, the title reflecting the cultural transformation that’s taken place over the past decade. At the moment, we humans are still apprehensive, as we would be if those UFOs had taken up residence and not revealed their intentions. We went through all this in the 1950s and early 1960s when televisions multiplied like those Tribbles in the Star Trek universe. Shortened attention spans, telly-addiction and family breakups were some of the predicted maladies these have all resurfaced, of course. Neither we nor the society we make up will unspool as a result of social media. Like every other piece of technology it has no immanent qualities. So, it is pointless trying to determine whether it’s good or evil. Social media are best judged on their potential, which is, as everyone now realizes, colossal. No wonder people are concerned: These media are changing us, our children and practically every conceivable aspect of society just as profoundly as the steam engine did in the 18th century. *Ellis Cashmore is visiting professor of sociology at Aston University and has previously worked at the universities of Hong Kong and Tampa. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Social media occupy a great deal of our attention

In the wake of the ongoing turmoil faced by the social media giant Facebook, Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group took to Twitter on Monday contemplating the possibility of an alternative to Facebook.

"Beginning to wonder if it’s time to consider having our own social networking company," the 62-year-old tweeted.

Mahindra also noted that the alternative social networking platform must be "very widely owned, professionally managed and willingly regulated".

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Beginning to wonder if it’s time to consider having our own social networking company that is very widely owned&professionally managed&willingly regulated.Any relevant Indian start-ups out there?If any young teams have such plans I’d like to see if I can assist with seed capital <a href="https://t.co/nBSkQk0hCp">pic.twitter.com/nBSkQk0hCp</a>
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) <a href="https://twitter.com/anandmahindra/status/978258270300327936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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He welcomed young leaders and entrepreneurs of the country for&nbspplans and ideas on similar lines.&nbsp

"Any relevant Indian start-ups out there? If any young teams have such plans I’d like to see if I can assist with seed capital," read Mahindra's tweet.&nbsp

Going by the strong footing and capital gains that the Mahindra groups enjoy, the possibility of its investment in a similar project would not come as a surprise. Tech Mahindra,&nbspMahindra Group's IT wing, is one of the top software exporters in the country.

Mahindra welcomed young leaders and entrepreneurs of the country for plans and ideas on similar lines

In the wake of the ongoing turmoil faced by the social media giant Facebook, Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group took to Twitter on Monday contemplating the possibility of an alternative to Facebook. "Beginning to wonder if it’s time to consider having our own social networking company," the 62-year-old tweeted. Mahindra also noted that the alternative social networking platform must be "very widely owned, professionally managed and willingly regulated". Beginning to wonder if it’s time to consider having our own social networking company that is very widely owned&professionally managed&willingly regulated.Any relevant Indian start-ups out there?If any young teams have such plans I’d like to see if I can assist with seed capital pic.twitter.com/nBSkQk0hCp — anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 26, 2018 × He welcomed young leaders and entrepreneurs of the country for&nbspplans and ideas on similar lines. "Any relevant Indian start-ups out there? If any young teams have such plans I’d like to see if I can assist with seed capital," read Mahindra's tweet. Going by the strong footing and capital gains that the Mahindra groups enjoy, the possibility of its investment in a similar project would not come as a surprise. Tech Mahindra,&nbspMahindra Group's IT wing, is one of the top software exporters in the country.

Facebook crisis: Anand Mahindra considers 'having own social networking company'

A little girl desperate to get a puppy took full advantage of the whole Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Daughter of Brendan Greeley an economics journalist, tweeted a picture on Wednesday in which his eight-year-old daughter had asked for puppy in writing.

As the journalist is following the scandal through the newspaper, she wrote &quot;CAN I PLEASE GET A PUPPY?&quot; is bold writing above the news headline.

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Ok, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/teampuppy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#teampuppy</a>, you win. We&#39;re getting a puppy. Here&#39;s the deal: we&#39;ll clean up poop. But you have to donate to the SPCA. <a href="https://twitter.com/AoDespair?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AoDespair</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jk_rowling</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/mollywood?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mollywood</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/chucktodd?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@chucktodd</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MaraLiasson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MaraLiasson</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AADaddario?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AADaddario</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MoorgateMermaid?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@moorgatemermaid</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCJonSopel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bbcjonsopel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KatiePhang?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katiephang</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SusanPage?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@susanpage</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SRuhle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SRuhle</a> <a href="https://t.co/OVZLE5WKd3">https://t.co/OVZLE5WKd3</a> <a href="https://t.co/kMU5IGuGQE">pic.twitter.com/kMU5IGuGQE</a>
&mdash; Brendan Greeley (@bhgreeley) <a href="https://twitter.com/bhgreeley/status/976907780555669504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
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In no time the tweet got 30,000 retweets and 1.5 lakh &quot;likes&quot;&nbsp;as people also started requesting Greely to get his daughter a puppy.

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We told her she could have a puppy. You win, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/teampuppy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#teampuppy</a>. You win. <a href="https://t.co/lg16vPlUiX">pic.twitter.com/lg16vPlUiX</a>
&mdash; Brendan Greeley (@bhgreeley) <a href="https://twitter.com/bhgreeley/status/976963525477355521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The tweet was also reportedly retweeted by famous author JK Rowling.

Finally on Wednesday Greeley informed Twitter that they are getting a puppy and also requested people who had asked Greeley to get a puppy to donate to the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals.

 
&nbsp;

Daughter of Brendan Greeley, an economics journalist, tweeted a picture on Wednesday in which his 8-year-old daughter had asked for a puppy in writing

A little girl desperate to get a puppy took full advantage of the whole Cambridge Analytica scandal. Daughter of Brendan Greeley an economics journalist, tweeted a picture on Wednesday in which his eight-year-old daughter had asked for puppy in writing. As the journalist is following the scandal through the newspaper, she wrote "CAN I PLEASE GET A PUPPY?" is bold writing above the news headline. Ok, #teampuppy, you win. We're getting a puppy. Here's the deal: we'll clean up poop. But you have to donate to the SPCA. @AoDespair @jk_rowling @mollywood @chucktodd @MaraLiasson @AADaddario @moorgatemermaid @bbcjonsopel @katiephang @susanpage @SRuhle https://t.co/OVZLE5WKd3 pic.twitter.com/kMU5IGuGQE — Brendan Greeley (@bhgreeley) March 22, 2018 × In no time the tweet got 30,000 retweets and 1.5 lakh "likes" as people also started requesting Greely to get his daughter a puppy. We told her she could have a puppy. You win, #teampuppy. You win. pic.twitter.com/lg16vPlUiX — Brendan Greeley (@bhgreeley) March 22, 2018 × The tweet was also reportedly retweeted by famous author JK Rowling. Finally on Wednesday Greeley informed Twitter that they are getting a puppy and also requested people who had asked Greeley to get a puppy to donate to the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals.

Little girl uses Cambridge Analytica scandal to get puppy

Indian cricket Hardik Pandya issued an official statement on Wednesday after a local Rajasthan court directed Jodhpur police to file an FIR&nbsp;over a derogatory tweet on Bhimrao Ambedkar.

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My statement. <a href="https://t.co/P67YZLJqsl">pic.twitter.com/P67YZLJqsl</a>
&mdash; hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) <a href="https://twitter.com/hardikpandya7/status/976825971457363968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
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In his tweet, Hardik Pandya said:&nbsp;&quot;I would like to take this opportunity to clarify that no such tweet and/or statement, whether on Twitter or any other form of media has been issued by me. The tweet in question was posted by a fake account using my name and display image.&quot;

&quot;I use only my verified&nbsp;twitter handle to make official communications via Twitter and the said tweet was posted by a spurious account, pretending to be me,&quot; the statement added.

The official statement further said:&nbsp;&quot;I have the utmost respect for Dr BR Ambedkar, the Indian Consitution and the many communities that call India their home and I would not indulge in making any kind of statement which is derogatory and /or which insults the sentiments of any community. I use social media to interact with my fans and I believe that in this age of social media must be vigilant of misinformation and act responsibly.&quot;

Fake account of Hardik Pandya on Twitter with account handle&nbsp;@sirhardik3777 had tweeted&nbsp;&ldquo;Kaun ambedkar???? Wahi jisne dogla kanoon aur sanvidhan banaya ya wo jisne #aarakshan naam ki bimari desh mein failai #HegdeInsultsAmbedkar #TuedayThoughts&rdquo;.

However, the tweet was published in December but it started doing the rounds on social media through a screenshot posted in a WhatsApp group in January.

Offended by the tweet an advocate in Rajasthan moved court for&nbsp;action against the cricketer.

The account from which derogatory comment was tweeted seems to have been deleted or deactivated as it is no longer&nbsp;available.

&nbsp;

Indian cricket Hardik Pandya issued an official statement on Wednesday after a local Rajasthan court directed Jodhpur police to file an FIR over a derogatory tweet on Bhimrao Ambedkar

Indian cricket Hardik Pandya issued an official statement on Wednesday after a local Rajasthan court directed Jodhpur police to file an FIR over a derogatory tweet on Bhimrao Ambedkar. My statement. pic.twitter.com/P67YZLJqsl — hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) March 22, 2018 × In his tweet, Hardik Pandya said: "I would like to take this opportunity to clarify that no such tweet and/or statement, whether on Twitter or any other form of media has been issued by me. The tweet in question was posted by a fake account using my name and display image." "I use only my verified twitter handle to make official communications via Twitter and the said tweet was posted by a spurious account, pretending to be me," the statement added. The official statement further said: "I have the utmost respect for Dr BR Ambedkar, the Indian Consitution and the many communities that call India their home and I would not indulge in making any kind of statement which is derogatory and /or which insults the sentiments of any community. I use social media to interact with my fans and I believe that in this age of social media must be vigilant of misinformation and act responsibly." Fake account of Hardik Pandya on Twitter with account handle @sirhardik3777 had tweeted “Kaun ambedkar???? Wahi jisne dogla kanoon aur sanvidhan banaya ya wo jisne #aarakshan naam ki bimari desh mein failai #HegdeInsultsAmbedkar #TuedayThoughts”. However, the tweet was published in December but it started doing the rounds on social media through a screenshot posted in a WhatsApp group in January. Offended by the tweet an advocate in Rajasthan moved court for action against the cricketer. The account from which derogatory comment was tweeted seems to have been deleted or deactivated as it is no longer available.

Cricketer Hardik Pandya clarifies on Ambedkar tweet

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