Tag: Internet

Facebook staff to learn Sinhala insults after Sri Lanka riots

by Amal Jayasinghe © Agence France-Presse COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Three months after Sri Lanka was rocked by deadly anti-Muslim riots fuelled by online vitriol, Facebook is training its staff to identify inflammatory content in the country’s local languages. The social network has been seeking penance in Sri Lanka after authorities blocked Facebook in March as incendiary posts by Buddhist hardliners fanned religious violence that left three people dead and reduced hundreds of mosques, homes […]

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Facebook says Chinese phone makers got access to data

  by Glenn Chapman © Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Tuesday confirmed that a Chinese phone maker deemed a national security threat by the US was among companies given access to data on users. Huawei was able to access Facebook data to get the leading social network’s applications to perform on smartphones, according to the California-based company. “Facebook along with many other US tech companies have worked with them and other […]

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Facebook to swap ‘trending’ topics for breaking news

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Friday said it is getting rid of a “trending” topics feature as it tests ways for publishers to deliver reliable breaking news. The Trending feature introduced four years ago listed stories buzzing on Facebook at any given time. “We’re exploring new ways to help people stay informed about timely, breaking news that matters to them, while making sure the news they see on Facebook is from trustworthy […]

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Smartphone market to stay cool this year: forecast

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — International Data Corporation forecast Wednesday that global smartphone sales would cool this year before heating up with help from new 5G networks and India’s vibrant market. An IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker expected smartphone sales to slip two-tenths of a percent this year to total 1.462 billion in a second straight year of slight decline. But IDC predicted that the smartphone market would reignite next year, growing about 3 percent […]

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Global Facebook users to get ‘good’ EU-style safeguards: Zuckerberg

PARIS, France (AFP) — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday that he was rolling out the privacy controls demanded by European regulators to Facebook users worldwide because “everyone cares about privacy”. Speaking at the VivaTech trade fair in Paris a day before new European data protection rules come into force Zuckerberg said Europe’s history had made its citizens particularly wary when it comes to data collection. “There are specific points about history in Europe. If […]

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EU’s new data protection rules come into effect

  by Lachlan Carmichael Agence France Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Union’s new data protection laws came into effect on Friday, with Brussels saying the changes will protect consumers from being like “people naked in an aquarium”. The EU’s so-called General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been blamed for a flood of spam emails and messages in recent weeks as firms rush to request the explicit consent of users to contact them. Even […]

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‘I’m sorry’, Facebook boss tells European lawmakers

  by Lachlan Carmichael Agence France Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg apologized to the European Parliament on Tuesday for the “harm” caused by a huge breach of users’ data and by a failure to crack down on fake news. But Zuckerberg’s appearance failed to satisfy MEPs who accused him of dodging questions and criticised a format that gave the parliament’s political leaders far more time to give long-winded speeches. His livestreamed […]

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More than six million tweets on Harry and Meghan’s big day

  Over six million people tweeted on Prince Harry’s marriage to Meghan Markle, more than three times the number during his older brother’s wedding, social media monitoring firm Visibrain said Sunday. Between 2200 GMT Friday and 2300 GMT Saturday, 6,604,498 tweets were posted worldwide on the royal nuptials, of which 5.2 million bore the hashtag #RoyalWedding, the French firm said. That compared with 1,821,669 tweets across a similar timeframe for Prince William when he married […]

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Facebook’s Zuckerberg agrees to live-stream EU parliament hearing

  BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to live-stream his meeting with European Parliament members as he answers questions in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, a top official said Monday. The meeting on Tuesday with the parliament’s most senior members was initially set to be held behind closed doors. But influential MEPs had pushed for a public hearing following the worst crisis in Facebook’s history. “I have personally discussed […]

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Twitter tweak steps up fight against trolls

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Twitter said Tuesday it was stepping up its long-running battle against online trolls, trying to find offenders by looking at “behavioral signals.” The new approach looks at behavioral patterns of users in addition to the content of the tweets, allowing Twitter to find and mute online bullies and trolls. Even if the offending tweets are not a violation of Twitter policy, they may be hidden from users if they […]

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Facebook makes major management overhaul

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Tuesday confirmed an unprecedented management team shakeup in the aftermath of a major data privacy scandal that has rocked the social network. Co-founder Mark Zuckerberg remained chief of Facebook, with chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg his second-in-command. Chris Cox, a longtime member of Zuckerberg’s inner circle, was put in charge of Facebook’s core application as well as smartphone services Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, the California-based company confirmed. […]

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News agencies hail ‘major step’ by EU to make net giants pay for news

PARIS, France (AFP) — News agencies welcomed Monday what they called a “major step” by the EU parliament’s legal committee asking internet giants to pay for press articles. Officials are hammering out an overhaul of EU copyright rules against the backdrop of free online news that has decimated earnings for traditional media companies. “Very profitable companies, like Facebook and Google, offer users qualified news reporting from publishers including news agencies, but they do not offer […]

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