Metaverse

WhatsApp to end support for old android and iPhones from 2025 - Check list

Older phones cannot support the app's evolving features, which is why WhatsApp will discontinue support for certain systems at specific points in their lifecycle

Apple hits out at Meta platforms' numerous interoperability requests

Under the European Union's landmark Digital Markets Act that took effect last year, Apple must allow rivals and app developers to inter-operate with its own services

EU intensifies demand for Apple to open up iPhone features to rivals

The commission instructed Apple on Wednesday to rework the iOS operating system so that it's more compatible with smartwatches, earbuds, headsets and other devices from competitors

Cambridge Analytica lawsuit: Meta settles with Australia's privacy watchdog

The breaches were first reported by the Guardian in early 2018, and Facebook received fines from regulators in the United States and the UK in 2019

ChatGPT outage reignites debate on risks of large AI system failures

The outage also raised broader concerns about the dependency on a few large tech companies controlling critical platforms

Meta's Instagram says services back up after hours of technical outage

The platforms faced another outage in October, when services were largely restored within an hour

Artificial intelligence democratising discovery ecosystem: Meta's Srinivas

Srinivas also added that this visibility and reach has meant several brands being first launched on Meta platforms - Instagram, Facebook, and Thread

US Supreme Court allows multibillion-dollar class action against Meta

The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors' lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place. The high court dismissed the company's appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward. Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump's first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016. Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company's shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say. Meta already has paid a USD 5.1 billion fine and reached

No inherent conflict between competition, data protection laws, says CCI

The Competition Act supplements data protection regulations by placing heightened responsibilities on dominant firms and there is no inherent conflict or repugnancy between the two laws, according to fair trade watchdog CCI. Besides, the regulator has said a broader view of the concept of user data is crucial in analysing data-related competition concerns in digital markets. The observations are part of the Competition Commission of India's 156-page order imposing a Rs 213.14 crore penalty on social media major Meta for unfair business ways with respect to WhatsApp privacy policy update done in 2021. Elucidating about user data in digital markets, CCI said data-related practices might violate data protection laws but they can also be seen as the imposition of unfair terms under competition law. "This overlap creates a point of intersection between data protection and competition law, with each addressing different aspects of harm. Further, while data protection laws primarily focus

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

EU slaps Meta with 800 mn euro fine over 'abusive' Marketplace practices

European Union regulators hit Facebook parent Meta with a fine of nearly 800 million euros on Thursday for what they call abusive practices involving its Marketplace online classified ads business. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's executive branch and top antitrust enforcer, issued the 797.72 million euro ($841 million) penalty after its long-running investigation found that the company abused its dominant position and engaged in anti-competitive behaviour. Brussels had accused Meta of distorting competition by tying its online classified ad business to its social network, automatically exposing Facebook users to Marketplace whether they want it or not" and shutting out competitors. It was also concerned that Meta was imposing unfair trading conditions with a terms of service that authorised the company to use ad-related data generated from competitors who advertise on Facebook or Instagram to benefit Marketplace. Meta said in a statement that the decision fails to .

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

China adapts Meta's AI model for military use amid US security concerns

The research signals that military analysts within China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) are exploring open-source LLMs, especially those from Meta, as potential tools for defence-related application

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

'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

Govt asks Meta, X to share data on hoax bomb-threat calls: Report

Taking hoax bomb-threat messages and calls seriously, the government has started identifying those behind the menace and asked social media platforms like Meta and X to share data on such messages, sources said. The government has also asked top multinational technology conglomerates to cooperate with it in helping identifying those behind such hoax calls, saying this involves public good. Top sources said the government has traced some people who were behind hoax bomb-threat calls targeting airlines and that action is being taken accordingly. The government sources did not provide any further details on where these hoax calls and messages came from and who were behind those. "The government has told social media companies Meta and X to share data pertaining to such hoax calls and messages made on their platforms targeting several airlines and asked them to cooperate," a senior official said. "They will have to cooperate and provide data since this involves public good at large," h

India holds immense potential in shaping future of AI: Meta's Yann LeCun

LeCun also said that AI won't take over humans, but will amplify human intelligence

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

Global launch to help with faster account recovery

Meta launches initiative with Centre to empower Indians against scams

Kicking off the national campaign, Meta has released an educational film featuring Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana

Meta lays off employees across units at WhatsApp, Instagram, Reality Labs

These terminations are separate from the team restructurings and took place last week