The US warned Tuesday it was considering a complaint at the World Trade Organization over “discriminatory” new taxes on American digital giants such as a Facebook and Google planned by France and other EU nations. “We think the whole theoretical basis of digital service taxes is ill-conceived and the effect is highly discriminatory against US-based multinationals,” Chip Harter, a Treasury official and US delegate for global tax talks, said in Paris. Speaking ahead of two […]
Tag: Facebook
Facebook’s privacy move: major pivot or headfake?
by Rob Lever WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — After building the world’s biggest and most powerful social network in history, Mark Zuckerberg says the future of Facebook is something else. The strategic shift announced this week by Zuckerberg suggests Facebook no longer wants to be a “digital town square,” but a “digital living room” for secure, private communications, in what could be a major transformation on privacy. But Zuckerberg’s announcement also prompted considerable head-scratching on […]
Facebook launches offensive to combat misinformation on vaccines
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Facebook launched an offensive Thursday to suppress the spread of misinformation about vaccines on the 2.3-billion-member social network. The company has faced pressure in recent weeks to tackle the problem, amid outbreaks of measles around the United States attributed to growing numbers of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. US lawmakers have decried the higher incidences of preventable diseases in the wake of a movement against child vaccination, in […]
Zuckerberg sees Facebook future in private, small-scale messaging
by Julie CHARPENTRAT / with Rob LEVER in Washington SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook is moving away from being a “digital town square” to meet growing demands for secure, private messaging on a smaller scale, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday as he outlined a broad vision for transforming the world’s biggest social network. Zuckerberg’s announcement signals a strategic shift for Facebook as it seeks to navigate a drawn-out crisis over privacy and […]
Facebook to restrict foreign political adverts ahead of Indonesia poll
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Facebook has banned political advertisements from outside Indonesia ahead of the country’s presidential poll, just weeks after being heavily criticised by the European Union for not doing enough to counter election meddling. The world’s biggest social network said it was temporarily restricting any paid material from advertisers based outside the Southeast Asian nation that related to politicians, parties or attempts to encourage voter suppression. “We want to make it harder to […]
Facebook’s ‘Workplace’ claims two million users
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — A version of Facebook tailored for businesses collaboration announced Thursday that it has more than two million paying subscribers “Workplace by Facebook” is an enterprise-oriented version of the social network that, instead of distracting workers, lets them connect and collaborate. The software-as-a-service business began as an internal collaboration platform used at Facebook and was launched as a separate business in 2016. Workplace by Facebook went from no paid subscribers […]
Russia’s RT fumes after Facebook blocks ‘popular’ page “In The Now”
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Facebook has blocked a popular page run by Russian state TV channel RT, the channel’s editor said Monday, criticizing the move as an attack on media rights. “We had a subsidiary project in English, In the Now. The project was wildly popular — 2.5 billion views and four million subscribers on Facebook alone!” RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said on her Telegram social network account. She said a report aired by […]
Facebook taps user data to defend workers from threat
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) – Facebook gathers intelligence from its platform to identify people who threaten the firm or its workers, the social network said Thursday in response to media reports of the security tactic. CNBC reported that it interviewed more than a dozen former Facebook security employees, some of whom questioned the ethics of what was portrayed as an unclearly defined practice at the leading social network. Facebook spokesman Anthony Harrison told AFP […]
Palace questions anew Facebook’s choice of Rappler as third party fact-checker
(Eagle News) –The Palace on Wednesday, Feb. 13, questioned anew Facebook’s choice of Rappler as its third party fact-checker. In a statement issued after Rappler’s chief executive officer and executive editor Maria Ressa was arrested for cyberlibel, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace found it “ironic” that Facebook, which he said has “transformed into a platform where netizens exercise their right to free speech” and has “resolve in combating disinformation, misinformation and all kinds […]
Instagram tightens rules on self-injury images
by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Instagram late Thursday announced it is clamping down on images related to self-injury such as cutting. The move came after British Health Secretary Matt Hancock met with social media companies about doing more to safeguard the mental health of teenagers using their platforms. British teenager Molly Russell was found dead in her bedroom in 2017. The 14-year-old had apparently taken her own life, and […]
Germany sets new limits on Facebook data collection
GERMANY (AFP) — Germany’s Federal Competition Office (FCO) said Thursday it would impose new limits on how Facebook collects data from subsidiaries Whatsapp and Instagram, as well as third-party websites with embedded Facebook features such as “Like” buttons. Rather than requiring users to accept that such data can be folded into their Facebook accounts under a one-off agreement to the social network’s terms and conditions, users must in future be asked for their specific consent […]
Two top executives leave Facebook PR team
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Two of Facebook’s top executives in its public relations team are leaving the company, stepping away after the most tumultuous period in the history of the social networking giant. Caryn Marooney put out word on Wednesday that she is quitting her job as leader of Facebook’s communications group after eight years at the social network and is working with chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on finding a replacement. Marooney wrote […]





