A system designed to keep us docile while extracting value from every aspect of our dulled existence is both an extremely rough plot summary of the 1999 film The Matrix and a description of Facebook.
Just ask the company’s former chief securit…
Category: Social Media Companies
Facebook faces criminal investigation over controversial data sharing deals
As if today couldn’t get any worse for Facebook, the company is now facing a criminal investigation as the result of its controversial data sharing practices.
Federal investigators are scrutinizing partnerships that allowed other companies to access …
Twitter wants to gather more info about reported tweets with personal information
Twitter would now like its users to get specific when reporting tweets containing personal information.
In a tweet on Thursday, Twitter unveiled a new process for users when flagging tweets that contain details like a user’s home address, phone number, or email.
We want to move faster in reviewing reported Tweets that share personal information. Starting today, you’ll be able to tell us more about the Tweet you are reportingpic.twitter.com/quJ2jqlYIt
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) March 7, 2019
Twitter walked its users through the process in a GIF. Upon discovering a tweet with their personal information, a user would tap “Report Tweet” as they would have previously done. After designating the post as “abusive or harmful” and including “private information,” the user will be presented with a list of options detailing the different types of information. Users will be able to check off as many of the options that apply. Read more…
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View More Twitter wants to gather more info about reported tweets with personal informationU.S. users are leaving Facebook, new study shows
Facebook’s bleeding users by the millions in the United States, a new study by Edison Research claims.
The silver lining, though? Most of those users are switching to Facebook-owned Instagram.
Edison Research’s new “The Infinite Dial” study, which looks at digital media consumer behavior in America, has concluded that Facebook now has about 15 million users fewer in the U.S. than it had in 2017.
This might not be visible in Facebook’s quarterly earnings reports, which have shown tremendous growth in that period. In January, Facebook reported it had 2.32 billion monthly active users, a 9% increase year-over-year. But those are global numbers, and Edison Research’s study looks only at users in the U.S., as explained by Edison president Larry Rosin in an interview with Marketplace. Rosin also says that their definition of “usage” may be different than Facebook’s. Read more…
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Twitter says it can tell if you actually believe that bullsh*t you’re spreading
The internet is a confusing place. It’s not always clear if that weird Twitter account spamming your mentions is a well-intentioned idiot or a malicious actor – unless you work for the social media giant itself, that is.
Speaking to a group of security researchers and journalists at the annual RSA conference in San Francisco, Twitter vice president of trust and safety Del Harvey explained that the company is remarkably good at distinguishing between accounts intentionally spreading misinformation and those just plain ignorant of basic facts. Essentially, Harvey explained, Twitter has a pretty good idea whether or not you believe the bullshit you’re spreading. Read more…
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View More Twitter says it can tell if you actually believe that bullsh*t you’re spreadingTwitter says it will publish ‘case studies’ on banned accounts
Twitter may soon start opening up more about some of its most controversial decisions.
The company’s safety team wants to begin publishing public “case studies” explaining Twitter’s decisions to ban or suspend high-profile accounts, said Vijaya Gadde…
Mark Zuckerberg promises to rebuild Facebook as ‘privacy-focused’ social network
Mark Zuckerberg has a plan to fix Facebook, and all it will take is completely rebuilding Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram.
The Facebook CEO published a lengthy post laying out “our vision and principles around building a privacy-focused mess…
Memorialized accounts on Facebook get ‘Tributes’ section
When an owner of a Facebook account dies, the social network often turns it into a “memorialized account,” a special type of profile which can only be moderated by the so called “legacy accounts,” had they been chosen beforehand by the account’s original owner.
In some cases, other users were allowed to post on the account’s timeline, but now, TechCrunch reports that Facebook has launched Tributes, a separate “space on memorialized profiles where friends and family can share memories of a loved one.”
Facebook explains the new feature here. Read more…
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Disabling this Facebook phone number setting is not an option
Facebook is in hot water once again for how it is using the phone number users may have only provided to Facebook for security reasons.
On Twitter on Friday, Jeremy Burge, the editor of Emojipedia, called out Facebook for its phone number lookup settings. Burge found that there is no way to entirely opt out of this setting, which governs the ability of other users to find your Facebook profile by entering your phone number in search. The best you can do is limit who can do this to “Friends.”
SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg: Nobody’s perfect!
What’s potentially most concerning is that some people may have only given Facebook their phone numbers to enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). That is, they gave their phone number to Facebook for security, and Facebook continues to prove that it’s using that number for much more. Read more…
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How to unlock Facebook Messenger’s hidden ‘Dark Mode’
Facebook Messenger users can finally rejoice: There is now an easy way to mitigate late night eye strain and save your battery — as long as you know how to unlock the hidden feature.
In the last few days, Facebook has started quietly rolling out a secret “dark mode” for Messenger that gives the app an inverted, white-text-on-black-background look. The color scheme makes it easier to read messages from the app in the evening.
Facebook has chosen to add this feature in a pretty unconventional way, too: To get the dark mode option in Messenger settings, you need to send someone the “crescent moon” emoji. This one: 🌙 . Read more…
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Facebook lied about how many teens it used for research
You know it’s a good day at Facebook when the words “teenagers,” “research,” and “lying” are in the news.
In January, an investigation from TechCrunch found that Facebook was paying people, including teenagers, $20 to monitor their internet and phone use.
At the time, Facebook said that less than 5 percent of its study participants were teens, and that participants under 18 were required to get parental consent. But now, Facebook has revealed that teens comprised 18 percent of its users — not five.
After TechCrunch’s investigation, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) asked Facebook for more information about the program; Warner was reportedly frustrated with Facebook’s lack of transparency regarding its research programs. Read more…
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Twitter looks to let you hide replies to your tweets
Twitter has been hiding replies from what it deems to be suspect or troll accounts for a little while now.
It’s a neat feature to help filter out questionable replies (or that reply guy), and now Twitter is looking to expand on it, essentially creati…