facebook Facebook Cancels In-Person F8 Developer Conference Over Coronavirus Fears Facebook scraps the physical gathering for its annual F8 developer conference due to the COVID-19 outbreak, opting for live-streamed and local events instead.
facebook Facebook Cancels F8 Developer Conference Over Coronavirus Fears Facebook cancels its annual F8 developer conference due to the COVID-19 outbreak, choosing to replace the in-person gathering with local events and live streams.
instagram Instagram Prototypes Ad Revenue Sharing to Revive Struggling IGTV Instagram is testing an internal prototype for an IGTV Partner Program that allows creators to earn money through mid-video advertisements. This long-awaited monetization effort aims to attract high-quality content to the platform.
facebook Facebook and Venmo Send Cease-and-Desist Letters to Clearview AI Facebook and Venmo are demanding that facial recognition startup Clearview AI stop scraping user photos from their platforms. The controversial company plans to fight back by claiming a First Amendment right to publicly available information.
facebook Tech Giants Scramble to Combat Coronavirus Misinformation Online Major technology companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google are actively working to limit the spread of false information about the coronavirus outbreak on their platforms.
facebook Facebook Rolls Out Global Privacy Tool, Plus ServiceNow and Flipboard Updates Facebook releases its Off-Facebook Activity tool to all users worldwide, allowing them to manage and delete data shared by third-party sites. Meanwhile, ServiceNow acquires Passage AI to boost its chatbot capabilities and Flipboard expands into local news coverage.
netflix Netflix Rejects Ad-Supported Model Despite Investor Pressure Netflix CEO Reed Hastings firmly rejects an ad-supported tier, arguing that competing with Google, Facebook, and Amazon for online ad revenue is too difficult and not worth the privacy trade-offs.
ring Ring Doorbell App Secretly Shares User Data With Multiple Trackers An EFF investigation reveals that the Ring Android app sends highly personal user data to four major marketing and analytics companies without meaningful consent.
facebook Facebook Dismantles Massive Iranian Influence Operation Spanning 20 Nations Facebook removes hundreds of fake Iranian accounts that pose as local residents to manipulate political discussions across more than twenty countries. The social network bases this massive takedown on deceptive behavior rather than the specific content being posted.
apps Facebook Dominates the Decade in App Downloads as Industry Hits $90 Billion App Annie's year and decade in review reveals that Facebook apps claim the top four most-downloaded spots over the past ten years. Meanwhile, the broader app industry sees consumer spending reach $90 billion in 2019 alone.
snopes Snopes Builds Independent Crowdfunding to Fight 2020 Election Disinformation Fact-checking site Snopes launches its own crowdfunding platform to reduce reliance on major tech companies ahead of the 2020 election. The move follows a frustrating partnership with Facebook that highlighted a fundamental mismatch in priorities.
facebook Facebook Buys PlayGiga to Expand Cloud Gaming Efforts Facebook acquires Madrid-based cloud gaming startup PlayGiga for around 78 million euros to enhance its streaming capabilities. The move supports Facebook's broader strategy to grow its gaming business beyond traditional advertising revenue.
instagram Instagram Expands Fact-Checking While Shielding Politicians Instagram partners with 45 fact-checking organizations to hide false content using interstitial warnings, yet it continues to exempt politicians from these rules. The platform also introduces anti-bullying alerts for captions and enforces strict age verification for new users.
instagram Instagram Automatically Flags False Content Shared From Facebook Instagram expands its fact-checking program worldwide and automatically labels known false content shared from Facebook. The platform also penalizes repeat offenders by removing them from Explore and hashtag pages.
facebook Facebook Portal Devices Drop Account Requirement, Add Streaming Apps Facebook's Portal smart displays now allow users to log in with just a WhatsApp account, removing the need for a Facebook profile. The devices also gain new streaming services, business tools, and augmented reality features to boost sluggish sales.