Facebook has changed its story after initially trying to downplay how it targeted teens with its Research program that a TechCrunch investigation revealed was paying them gift cards to monitor all their mobile app usage and browser traffic. “Less than 5 percent of the people who chose to participate in this market research program were […]
View More Facebook admits 18% of Research spyware users were teens, notCategory: Facebook Policy
Highlights & transcript from Zuckerberg’s 20K-word ethics talk
Mark Zuckerberg says it might be right for Facebook to let people pay to not see ads, but that it would feel wrong to charge users for extra privacy controls. That’s just one of the fascinating philosophical views the CEO shared during the first of his public talks he’s promised as part of his 2019 […]
View More Highlights & transcript from Zuckerberg’s 20K-word ethics talkSenator Warner calls on Zuckerberg to support market research consent rules
In response to TechCrunch’s investigation of Facebook paying teens and adults to install a VPN that lets it analyze all their phone’s traffic, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) has sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg. It admonishes Facebook for not spelling out exactly which data the Facebook Research app was collecting or giving users adequate information […]
View More Senator Warner calls on Zuckerberg to support market research consent rulesFacebook pays teens to install VPN that spies on them
Desperate for data on its competitors, Facebook has been secretly paying people to install a “Facebook Research” VPN that lets the company suck in all of a user’s phone and web activity, similar to Facebook’s Onavo Protect app that Apple banned in June and that was removed in August. Facebook sidesteps the App Store and […]
View More Facebook pays teens to install VPN that spies on themWith trust destroyed, Facebook is haunted by old data deals
As Facebook colonized the rest of the web with its functionality in hopes of fueling user growth, it built aggressive integrations with partners that are coming under newfound scrutiny through a deeply reported New York Times investigation. Some of what Facebook did was sloppy or unsettling, including forgetting to shut down APIs when it cancelled its […]
View More With trust destroyed, Facebook is haunted by old data dealsFacebook ends platform policy banning apps that copy its features
Facebook will now freely allow developers to build competitors to its features upon its own platform. Today Facebook announced it will drop Platform Policy section 4.1, which stipulates “Add something unique to the community. Don’t replicate core functionality that Facebook already provides.” Facebook had previously enforced that policy selectively to hurt competitors that had used […]
View More Facebook ends platform policy banning apps that copy its featuresFacebook must police Today In, its local news digest launching in 400 cities
Facebook has a new area of its app it will have to police for fake news and biased sensationalism. Facebook is launching “Today In”, its local news aggregator it began testing in January, in 400 small to medium-sized US cities. It’s also now testing it in its first overseas spot in Australia. iOS and Android […]
View More Facebook must police Today In, its local news digest launching in 400 citiesTech giants offer empty apologies because users can’t quit
A true apology consists of a sincere acknowledgement of wrong-doing, a show of empathic remorse for why you wronged and the harm it caused, and a promise of restitution by improving ones actions to make things right. Without the follow-through, saying sorry isn’t an apology, it’s a hollow ploy for forgiveness. That’s the kind of […]
View More Tech giants offer empty apologies because users can’t quitInternal Facebook memo sees outgoing VP of comms Schrage take blame for hiring Definers
TechCrunch has obtained an internal memo published by Facebook’s outgoing head of public policy Elliot Schrage in which he blames himself for hiring PR firm Definers. He admits to having the company push negative narratives about competitors, but says Facebook did not ask or pay Definers to publish fake news. COO Sheryl Sandberg left a […]
View More Internal Facebook memo sees outgoing VP of comms Schrage take blame for hiring DefinersFacebook will pass off content policy appeals to a new independent oversight body
Facebook doesn’t want to be the arbiter of decency when it comes to content policy decisions, similar to how it looked to third-party fact checkers rather than becoming an arbiter of truth. Today on a press call with journalists, Mark Zuckerberg announced that a new external oversight committee would be created in 2019 to handle […]
View More Facebook will pass off content policy appeals to a new independent oversight bodyFacebook plans voter drive, partners with Democratic/Republican Institutes
Facebook will push users to register to vote through a partnership with TurboVote, has partnered with the International Republican Institute and International Democratic Institute non-profits to monitor foreign election interference, and will publish a weekly report of trends and issues emerging from its new political ads archive. Facebook has also confirmed that its election integrity […]
View More Facebook plans voter drive, partners with Democratic/Republican Institutes10 critical points from Zuckerberg’s epic security manifesto
Mark Zuckerberg wants you to know he’s trying his damnedest to fix Facebook before it breaks democracy. Tonight he posted a 3,260-word battle plan for fighting election interference. Amidst drilling through Facebook’s strategy and progress, he slips in several notable passages revealing his own philosophy. Zuckerberg has cast off his premature skepticism and is ready […]
View More 10 critical points from Zuckerberg’s epic security manifesto