At a time when tech giants have come under fire for failing to protect the private data of their users, Twitter took over one of its user’s accounts for fun and then tweeted jokes about reading the account’s private messages. The account, to be clear, was willingly volunteered for this prank by social media consultant […]
View More Twitter took over a user’s account and joked about reading their DMsCategory: social media platforms
Nigerian fintech startup OneFi acquires payment company Amplify
Lagos based online lending startup OneFi is buying Nigerian payment solutions company Amplify for an undisclosed amount. OneFi will take over Amplify’s IP, team, and client network of over 1000 merchants to which Amplify provides payment processing services, OneFi CEO Chijioke Dozie told TechCrunch. The move comes as fintech has become one of Africa’s most […]
View More Nigerian fintech startup OneFi acquires payment company AmplifySnap is under NDA with UK Home Office discussing how to centralize age checks online
Snap is under NDA with the UK’s Home Office as part of a working group tasked with coming up with more robust age verification technology that’s able to robustly identify children online. The detail emerged during a parliamentary committee hearing as MPs in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) questioned Stephen Collins, […]
View More Snap is under NDA with UK Home Office discussing how to centralize age checks onlinePeriscope cracks on inauthentic behavior including fake hearts, follows, chats and more
Twitter’s video streaming app, Periscope, is cracking down on spam and, specifically, fake engagements. The company says it’s updating its policies around how it enforces its anti-spam rules, and is making improvements in terms of how those rules are enforced. This means users will see increased enforcement actions, Periscope notes – and these may even […]
View More Periscope cracks on inauthentic behavior including fake hearts, follows, chats and moreUK Far Right activist circumvents Facebook ban to livestream threats
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a Far Right UK activist who was permanently banned from Facebook last week for repeatedly breaching its community standards on hate speech, was nonetheless able to use its platform to livestream harassment of an anti-fascist blogger whom he doorstepped at home last night. UK-based blogger Mike Stuchbery detailed the intimidating incident in a […]
View More UK Far Right activist circumvents Facebook ban to livestream threatsThe gaming clips service, Medal has bought Donate Bot for direct donations, and payments
The Los Angeles-based video gaming clipping service, Medal, has made its first acquisition as it rolls out new features to its user base. The company has acquired the Discord -based donations and payments service Donate Bot to enable direct payments and other types of transactions directly on its site. Now, the company is rolling out […]
View More The gaming clips service, Medal has bought Donate Bot for direct donations, and paymentsUK parliament calls for antitrust, data abuse probe of Facebook
A final report by a British parliamentary committee which spent months last year investigating online political disinformation makes very uncomfortable reading for Facebook — with the company singled out for “disingenuous” and “bad faith” responses to democratic concerns about the misuse of people’s data. In the report, published today, the committee has also called for […]
View More UK parliament calls for antitrust, data abuse probe of FacebookDating apps face questions over age checks after report exposes child abuse
The UK government has said it could legislate to require age verification checks on users of dating apps, following an investigation into underage use of dating apps published by the Sunday Times yesterday. The newspaper found more than 30 cases of child rape have been investigated by police related to use of dating apps including Grindr and Tinder […]
View More Dating apps face questions over age checks after report exposes child abuseFabula AI is using social spread to spot ‘fake news’
UK startup Fabula AI reckons it’s devised a way for artificial intelligence to help user generated content platforms get on top of the disinformation crisis that keeps rocking the world of social media with antisocial scandals. Even Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has sounded a cautious note about AI technology’s capability to meet the complex, contextual, messy […]
View More Fabula AI is using social spread to spot ‘fake news’Justice Department: No evidence of vote hacking during 2018 election
There is “no evidence to date” that any foreign government had a material impact on voting machines or infrastructure during the 2018 midterm elections, according to a new classified report sent to the president. That’s the view from the Justice Department and Homeland Security, which were commissioned to report back following an order from President […]
View More Justice Department: No evidence of vote hacking during 2018 electionOnline platforms still not clear enough about hate speech takedowns: EC
In its latest monitoring report of a voluntary Code of Conduct on illegal hate speech, which platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube signed up to in Europe back in 2016, the European Commission has said progress is being made on speeding up takedowns but tech firms are still lagging when it comes to providing feedback […]
View More Online platforms still not clear enough about hate speech takedowns: ECBrexit backer’s insurance firm and leave campaign fined £120k by data watchdog
The UK’s data protection watchdog has issued fines against a pro-Brexit campaign, Leave.EU, and an insurance company owned by the largest individual donor to the leave cause, Arron Banks’ Eldon Insurance. The penalties have been handed down for what the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) dubs “serious breaches of electronic marketing laws” during the 2016 referendum on […]
View More Brexit backer’s insurance firm and leave campaign fined £120k by data watchdog