Facebook will pay users $5 for their voice memo to improve speech detection
Following a controversy last year where the social media company listened in on voice memos sent via its Messenger App, it is now asking to pay for them.
Facebook, Amazon, Google teaming up with WHO to stop coronavirus misinformation
Facebook, Amazon, and Google were among the tech companies in a meeting with the WHO that focused on stopping the spread of misinformation on the coronavirus.
More than Bloomberg: Facebook OKs influencers working with political campaigns
Following Michael Bloomberg's sponsored meme drop on Instagram, the social media giant is issuing new guidelines for creators working with political campaigns.
Digital Trends Live: MWC cancellation, fact-checking Facebook, and more
On this Digital Trends Live, we discuss the biggest trending stories in tech, including the cancellation of the MWC, Reuters fact-checks Facebook, and more.
Instagram may soon bring back the reverse-chronological feed
Instagram may bring back the old reverse-chronological feed. It's experimenting with a new Latest Posts tab, but that's in the testing phase and far from public release.
Facebook’s latest experimental app lets you document your hobbies
Facebook has released a new, experimental app called Hobbi, which allows users to document and keep tabs on the progress of their favorite hobbies and projects.
Facebook hires Reuters to fact-check posts, but politicians can still lie in ads
Facebook is trying to fight fake news and misinformation on its platform by hiring Reuters to fact-check, but it’s still not fact-checking political ads.
Facebook delays the launch of its dating app in Europe over privacy concerns
The Data Protection Commission (DPC), an independent consumer protection agency, announced it was “very concerned” about Facebook Dating.
Facebook removes some Russian, Iranian accounts for spreading fake memes
Facebook removed fake accounts, pages, and groups originating from Russia, Iran, Vietnam, and Myanmar because of what it calls coordinated inauthentic behavior.
WhatsApp follows Facebook and YouTube to over 2 billion monthly users
Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp announced in a blog post that its 11-year-old app now hosts over 2 billion monthly users -- up from 1.5 billion in 2017.
Facebook’s Twitter account taken over by hacker group OurMine
OurMine, a group known for hacking the accounts of celebrities, NFL players, and tech CEOs, took over Facebook's Twitter account briefly on Friday afternoon.
Instagram may finally let influencers make money off their IGTV videos
Instagram may finally share a piece of its $20 billion ad revenue with creators. The social network is found to be testing a monetization platform for IGTV.
WhatsApp fixes bug that could have allowed hackers to read your desktop files
WhatsApp patched a security loophole in its desktop apps last month that could have potentially allowed hackers to access your computer’s local files.
Facebook teaches us all how web privacy works with Messenger Kids
Facebook Messenger Kids wants to help young users understand online privacy through in-app education. The in-app pop-up joins additional tools for the kids messaging app, including more parental controls and the ability for parents to download their child's data.
WhatsApp ends support for millions of smartphones around the world
WhatsApp no longer supports smartphones on Android versions 2.3.7 and older, and iOS 8 and older. Affected people will have to upgrade their OS or their device.
Zuckerberg spins Facebook’s indifference to truth as a commitment to ‘freedom’
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has taken a defiant stand against his critics, saying the site would stand up for free expression, even if it pissed people off. Earlier this year, Facebook announced that it would not ban political ads that lie to voters, in what was seen as an abdication of responsibility.
After years of scandals, Facebook is finally starting to feel the fallout
After a mixed earnings report and huge drop in share price, it looks like Facebook’s rocky past might finally be catching up to the social network in real ways.
Facebook forced to pay $550 million settlement over facial recognition lawsuit
Facebook has to pay Illinois members as part of a settlement. The company violated Illinois biometric privacy laws in its photo tagging using facial recognition.
Digital Trends Live: Facebook’s off-activity tool, Super Bowl players talk tech
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, hosts Greg Nibler and Luke Larsen dive into the biggest trending tech topics of the day, including Facebook’s “Off-Facebook Activity” tool, Ring’s data sent to third parties, the UK allows Huawei 5G, Atari’s video game-themed hotels, and more.
The Off-Facebook Activity tool lets you take control of your shared data
Facebook is hoping to be more transparent about your data and activity by expanding a new privacy feature to the U.S. and the rest of the world. The Off-Facebook Activity tool allows users to see and control their personal data that other apps and websites share with the social network.
Instagram wants to be both YouTube and TikTok, but it’s succeeding at neither
Instagram's dismissal of the IGTV button on its main app signals the video platform's growing troubles as competitors like TikTok continue to rise. IGTV, while trying to take on both TikTok and YouTube, has evolved into a confusing offering and pushed users to look elsewhere for their vertical content.
Latest beta update brings dark mode to WhatsApp; here’s how to try it yourself
At long last, WhatsApp is embracing the dark side. The Facebook-owned instant messaging app, after months of testing, has begun rolling out a dark mode toggle to Android users on the beta channel. The new black theme works across the entire app and even overhauls the backdrop of the settings menu.
Another partner backs out of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency
Yet another partner of Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency known as Libra has backed out of the deal. The British telecommunications operator Vodafone announced its departure from Facebook’s Libra Association on Tuesday. In total, eight companies have now backed out of Libra.
TikTok beats Facebook, Messenger in 2019 with over 700 million downloads
TikTok was downloaded more than 700 million times in 2019, beating Facebook and Messenger and behind only WhatsApp. The music video app's top market in terms of downloads was India, despite a brief ban in April, but most of its revenue was earned in China, the home market of owner Bytedance.
Cost of Oculus Go stand-alone VR headset permanently slashed by $50
The Oculus Go stand-alone virtual reality headset received a permanent $50 price cut, bringing the price tag of the 32GB version to $149 and the 64GB version to $199. There are certain limitations with the Oculus Go compared to the Oculus Quest, but it is still a capable device for basic VR experiences.
Joe Biden’s plan to save democracy would kill the internet
In a recent interview, presidential candidate Joe Biden said that he thinks Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act should be revoked, claiming it protects Facebook and others from responsibility for misinformation. If that were to happen, it would break the internet as we know it.
WhatsApp will be ad-free because Facebook has a better plan to make money off it
Facebook has shelved its plan to bring ads to WhatsApp Status. However, the decision was unlikely to have been driven by a moral call. Instead, Facebook has apparently found a more lucrative and scalable monetization route than ads. Here's what seems to have motivated the decision.
WhatsApp: Facebook shelves plan to fill app with ads, report claims
Facebook has reportedly backpedaled on plans to bring ads to WhatsApp. The social networking giant has apparently disbanded the team that was working on the idea, and removed code from the app. The founders of the messaging app, who quit a couple of years ago, always said they never wanted to see ads on the service.
Mayor Pete thinks Zuckerberg is too powerful and it’s time to break up Facebook
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg criticized Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, saying that he has too much power and that the social network should be broken up. In a new interview with the New York Times editorial board, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, voiced his concerns over Facebook.
Apple rejects U.S. Attorney General request to unlock another phone
The question of privacy vs law enforcement's access to our data looms large again, as U.S. Attorney General William Barr asks Apple to unlock the phone of another alleged shooter. But as the government insists on having backdoor access to our phones, tech companies say that's not how encryption works.
Mark Zuckerberg says he’s not making any more New Year’s resolutions
For years now, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has gone public with his New Year’s resolutions. But in a message posted online this week, the Zuck said that while he’s been happy to set himself new challenges at the start of each year, it’s now time to do things a little differently.
Facebook won’t ban political ads that lie to voters ahead of the 2020 election
Facebook has decided not to back down from its policy that allows political ads containing false or misleading information ahead of the 2020 U.S. election, choosing instead to allow users to see fewer political ads in their feed.
Digital Trends Live: Day 2 from the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show
It’s day 2 of the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show, which means another special edition of Digital Trends Live. Join hosts Greg Nibler and Maude Garrett as they bring you a full day of coverage, highlights, and other trending tech stories, including Samsung’s bezel-less 8K display, Facebook's deepfakes ban, and more.
Why a deepfake ban won’t solve Facebook’s real problems
Facebook leaves a large loophole in its deepfake policy in the form of satire and parody. This will be hard to enforce, from an operational and enforcement standpoint. In addition, if Facebook is serious about combating misinformation, deepfakes are not where it should be focusing, experts say.
You’ve got a privacy problem, FTC commissioner tells Apple and Facebook
Privacy today is untenable, argues Rebecca Slaughter, a commissioner with the Federal Trade Commission. It sounds apparent to you and I, but it was something of a slap in the face to the other folks on a Tuesday panel at CES 2020: Privacy execs from both Facebook and Apple.
Comedian’s Facebook followers raise a colossal $30M for Aussie bushfire aid
Australian comedian Celeste Barber only aimed to raise $30,000 with her online fundraising campaign to help those affected by the bushfires in her home country. But her social media followers have given way, way more, so far donating $30 million in the space of just four days.
Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Facebook says it’s banning deepfakes
Two days before Facebook is set to appear at a House Energy and Commerce hearing, the social network has announced it’s banning all forms of deepfakes. However, the policy doesn’t come into effect for parodies, satire, or clips that have been edited solely to omit or change the order of words.
New Messenger users now required to sign up for Facebook too
A Facebook account is now a requirement for people who are signing up for Messenger when a phone number was previously enough. The change was made to simplify the process, according to a spokesperson, but it may also have something to do with the company's plans for its messaging apps.