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WhatsApp-CCI fracas explained: Why Meta is appealing against a $25.4m fine

The Competition Commission of India has accused Meta-owned WhatsApp of abusing its dominant market position in its 2021 privacy update. Here's all you need to know

Here's how Bluesky, alternative to X is handling explosive growth

Over the past week, Bluesky's growth has exploded, more than doubling to 15 million-plus users as people seek alternatives to X, Facebook and Threads

Meta to appeal US court orders allowing suits over social media addiction

In the states' case, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers sided with 34 attorneys general who filed claims over allegedly harmful effects of the Facebook and Instagram platforms

Facebook, Instagram users in Europe can opt for less personalised ads

Facebook and Instagram users in Europe will get the option to see less personalised ads if they don't want to pay for an ad-free subscription, social media company Meta said Tuesday, bowing to pressure from Brussels over digital competition concerns. Meta Platforms has been offering users in the European Union an ad-free subscription option for about a year to comply with the continent's strict data privacy rules, but regulators had accused the company of giving people a false choice. The company said in a blog post that while people will still be able to choose between the subscription and free versions, it would also start giving users a third option over the coming weeks to see digital ads that are less personalized. This means ads will be targeted at users based only on what they see during their current session on Facebook or Instagram going back no more than two hours, plus minimal personal information such as age, location, gender as well as how they engage with ads. Data fr

Meta gives US military access to its AI, raising ethical concerns for users

The situation highlights the increasing fragility of open source AI software. It also means users of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, some versions of which use Llama may inadvertently

Threads, Bluesky see influx of users after Donald Trump wins election

Bluesky, a decentralised social network originally funded by Twitter, has added more than 700,000 new users in the past week, and now has 14.5 million total accounts

Kerala bypolls: CPI(M) Facebook page hacked, UDF candidate's video posted

With crucial bypolls in Kerala, the ruling CPI(M) faced embarrassment on Sunday after its official Facebook page briefly featured a campaign video of opposition UDF candidate Rahul Mamkootathil, running for the Palakkad Assembly constituency. Initially, the district leadership claimed it was not the official page of the party, but later clarified that the page had been "hacked" to post the video and incite controversy. CPI(M) Pathanamthitta district secretary KP Udayabhanu issued a statement saying the party came to know about the video posted following media reports. "Upon detailed examination, it was found that someone hacked the page, deliberately posted the video to create controversy, took a screenshot, and shared it with the media," Udayabhanu stated. The social media team recovered the page and removed the video promptly. A complaint has been lodged with the cyber police and Facebook authorities. The BJP alleged the incident as evidence of a "deal" between the LDF and UDF i

US Supreme Court hears Facebook bid to escape securities fraud case

The plaintiffs accused Facebook of misleading investors in violation of the Securities Exchange Act, a 1934 federal law that requires publicly traded companies to disclose their business risks

S Korea fines Meta $15 mn for illegally collecting info from Facebook users

South Korea's privacy watchdog on Tuesday fined social media company Meta 21.6 billion won ($15 million) for illegally collecting sensitive personal information from Facebook users, including data about their political views and sexual orientation, and sharing it with thousands of advertisers. It was the latest in a series of penalties against Meta by South Korean authorities in recent years as they increase their scrutiny of how the company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, handles private information. Following a four-year investigation, South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission concluded that Meta unlawfully collected sensitive information about around 980,000 Facebook users, including their religion, political views and whether they were in same-sex unions, from July 2018 to March 2022. It said the company shared the data with around 4,000 advertisers. South Korea's privacy law provides strict protection for information related to personal beliefs, politic

Facebook India Online Services profit 43% to Rs 505 cr, turnover up 9.3%

Social media major Meta's advertisement unit, Facebook India Online Services, has posted a 43 per cent growth in profit to Rs 504.9 crore in the financial year ended on March 31, 2024, according to documents shared by Tofler. The company had posted a profit of Rs 352.91 crore in FY2023. Facebook India Online Services Private Limited is engaged in the business of selling advertising inventory to customers in India and providing IT-enabled support services and design support services to Meta Platforms Inc. The company reported a 9.33 per cent increase in turnover to Rs 3,034.82 crore in FY24 against Rs 2,775.78 crore in FY23. "The company's total expenses for the fiscal were reported as Rs 2,350 crore," Tofler said in a report.

Meta CEO Zuckerberg warns of worsening AI losses after sales narrowly beat

Zuckerberg warned investors Wednesday that Meta will continue to spend significantly on infrastructure and other projects like the metaverse and AI-powered glasses

Meta building AI search engine to cut reliance on Google, Bing: Report

Meta's web crawler will provide conversational answers to users about current events on Meta AI, the company's chatbot on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, according to the report

Meta teams up with IndiaAI to advance open source AI innovation, R&D

Meta on Friday announced a strategic collaboration with 'IndiaAI' at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to drive advancement of open source AI innovation, R&D and skill development in India. This includes the establishment of the Center for Generative AI, Shrijan at IIT Jodhpur and the launch of the 'AI for Skilling and Capacity Building' initiative, in partnership with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The partnership will enable development of indigenous AI applications, and advance skill development in AI. It would also bolster research capabilities with the aim of contributing to India's AI mission of ensuring tech sovereignty and the vision of AI solutions tailor made for India. "Aimed at propelling the advancement of open source artificial intelligence (AI) in India, as part of its Memorandum of Understanding with the 'IndiaAI', Meta today announced a strategic collaboration with IndiaAI at the MeitY," according to a release. IT ..

'Mental health crisis': Meta, Google & TikTok to face addiction claims

The ruling Thursday by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, follows a contrasting June 7 decision by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in favour of the companies

AI will amplify human intelligence, not replace it, says Meta's Yann LeCu

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not going to take over us, it is only going to amplify human intelligence, said Yann LeCun, vice president and chief AI scientist at Meta on Wednesday. Social media giant Meta's first Build with AI Summit in India was held here to discuss AI's transformative role in shaping the future of humankind. "AI assistants will eventually be smarter than us, but we should not feel threatened by that. We should feel empowered by it. It's kind of like everybody would walk around with a staff of smart people working for them. There is nothing better than working with people smarter than you, right? said LeCun in his keynote address. According to him, everybody is going to be smarter because of that. "It's not just people like us in the tech community or in academia. It's going to be everyone. Everyone in India, even in rural areas, can ask questions to their AI assistants in their own language or for health issues, whatever. And it's a very different future that .

Meta bans accounts tracking private jets for Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk

Accounts, which rely on publicly available information to track a jet's location and CO2 emissions, among other details, were banned without warning this week after Meta updated its privacy policy

Celeb-bait ads make Meta turn to facial recognition tech to combat scams

Global launch to help with faster account recovery

Meta lays off staff at WhatsApp, Instagram to align with 'strategic goals'

Meta says it has laid off some employees, including staff at WhatsApp And Instagram, to realign its resources with its strategic goals. A Meta spokesperson confirmed in a statement that some teams were making changes to align with their long-term goals and location strategy. Specific details on the number of impacted employees wasn't disclosed. This includes moving some teams to different locations, and moving some employees to different roles, Meta said in a statement. "In situations like this when a role is eliminated, we work hard to find other opportunities for impacted employees. The Verge, who first reported the layoffs, said cuts were made across teams that include messaging service WhatsApp and Instagram and Meta's virtual reality technology unit Reality Labs. Among those affected was Jane Manchun Wong, a software engineer known for discovering unreleased features in popular social media apps prior to joining Meta in 2023. Meta has had several rounds of layoffs to adjust i

Meta's oversight board seeks public remarks on hate speech moderation

After the Oversight Board raised the issue, Meta's policy subject matter experts reviewed both posts again but confirmed its original decisions were correct

Meta to face lawsuits as states' claim it hooked kids to social media

The social media companies also face hundreds of lawsuits by public school districts alleging the platforms have created a public nuisance