Data Pricing

Meta is rolling out end-to-end encryption for calls and messages across its Facebook and Messenger platforms, the company announced Thursday. Such encryption means that no one other than the sender and the recipient not even Meta can decipher people's messages. Encrypted chats, first introduced as an optional feature in Messenger in 2016, will now be the standard for all users going forward, according to Messenger head Loredana Crisan. This has taken years to deliver because we've taken our time to get this right, Crisan wrote in a blog post. Our engineers, cryptographers, designers, policy experts and product managers have worked tirelessly to rebuild Messenger features from the ground up. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised, back in 2019, to bring end-to-end encryption to its platforms after the social media company suffered a string of high profile scandals, notably when Cambridge Analytica accessed user data on Facebook. Privacy advocates again shined a spotlight on Meta after

Rising prices of data and devices are a concern for the rapid proliferation of digitisation, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Wednesday. The comments have come against the backdrop of a recent hike of about 57 per cent in the minimum monthly recharge plan by the country's second-largest telco Bharti Airtel. "Rise in cost of data or cost of devices are of concern because they are impediments in rapid digitisation," Chandrasekhar said. The minister said that he is not exactly aware of the hike in mobile services rates by Airtel and the ministry may approach telecom regulator Trai to examine if the hike is going to have a short-term or long-term impact. He said that there has been an impact on prices across the world due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the impact of data price need to be examined. Bharti Airtel has increased the price of its minimum recharge for the 28-day mobile phone service plan by about 57 per cent to Rs 155 in eight circles, ..

Increase in data rates in India limited the user growth of Meta (formerly Facebook) in the December 2021 quarter, the social media major said. Telecom companies Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio had increased their mobile service rates in the range of 18 to 25 per cent in the December quarter. The profit of Meta declined by 8 per cent to USD 10.28 billion in the December 2021 quarter, from USD 11.21 billion in the same period a year ago. "Facebook user growth was impacted by a few headwinds in the fourth quarter. In Asia-Pacific and Rest of World, we believe Covid resurgences during prior periods pulled forward user growth. User growth in India was also limited by an increase in data package pricing. "In addition to these factors, we believe competitive services are negatively impacting growth, particularly with younger audiences," Meta's Chief Financial Officer Dave Wehner said during an earnings call. Its monthly active users (MAUs), however, grew 4 per cent on an an

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in a Jan. 18 email to WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart, had said the new privacy policy terms take away choice from Indian user

The government would be able to improve targeting in welfare schemes and subsidies by reducing errors, the Survey said

The lobby group argues differential data pricing was allowed for years