by Glenn CHAPMAN SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday warned of the potential for civil unrest as votes are tallied in a US election that will be “a test” for the social network. Zuckerberg expressed his concern while describing safeguards against misinformation and voter suppression at the leading social network that are intended to avoid the kinds of deception and abuse that played out four years ago. “I’m worried […]
Tag: Zuckerberg
Zuckerberg defends Facebook’s hands-off policy for politicians
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday defended the huge social network’s policy of refraining from fact-checking politicians, saying it’s not the job of tech firms to “censor.” Speaking to students at Georgetown University in Washington, Zuckerberg responded to critics who argued that Facebook is enabling political leaders including President Donald Trump to propagate misinformation. Zuckerberg said the policy — which does not include the fact-checking of political speech or […]
Zuckerberg to ‘go to the mat’ to fight breakup: report
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to “go to the mat” to fight a government attempt to break up the social media giant, according to a report Tuesday based on a leaked audio recording. Tech news site The Verge released leaked comments from a meeting of Facebook employees in July in which Zuckerberg said he would challenge a breakup effort, repeating his argument that splitting the company would not […]
Zuckerberg meets US senators, rejects call to break up Facebook
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg met privately with members of Congress Thursday on a political reconnaissance mission to Washington, where he rejected calls for him to break up the world’s biggest social network. Zuckerberg’s visit with policymakers comes as Facebook faces a myriad of regulatory and legal questions surrounding issues like competition, digital privacy, censorship and transparency in political advertising. A Facebook spokesman said discussions were focusing in part on […]
‘Deepfakes’ pose conundrum for Facebook: Zuckerberg
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday the leading social network is struggling to find ways to deal with “deepfake” videos which have the potential to deceive and manipulate users on a massive scale. Zuckerberg said Facebook is trying to determine whether deepfakes are “a completely different category” of misinformation and added, “there’s a very good case that they are.” Speaking at an on-stage interview at the Aspen Ideas […]
Breakup isn’t the answer: Facebook’s Zuckerberg
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday rejected the idea of breaking up the social media giant as off-target, saying it could hamper the fight against deceit and harmful online content. The Facebook co-founder’s defense of the leading social network came as it reported it recently disabled billions of bogus accounts set up by “bad actors” and that five percent of active accounts are likely fakes. Facebook and its family […]
Facebook seeks tab to promote ‘high quality news’
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Facebook is working on a “news tab” that could be used to financially support “high quality and trustworthy” journalism, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Monday. Zuckerberg made the comments in a video conversation about the future of technology and society with Mathias Doepfner, chairman of German-based media giant Axel Springer. Zuckerberg said he sees interest in building a product separate from its personalized feed that would serve people who […]
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 […]
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 […]
Zuckerberg sees ‘positive’ force of Facebook despite firestorm
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Mark Zuckerberg said Monday he sees Facebook as a largely “positive” force for society as the embattled social network marked its 15th anniversary. Even as Facebook is facing a wave of criticism over issues of manipulation, misinformation, abuse and other social ills, Zuckerberg said it would be a mistake “to overly emphasize the negative” impacts of social media and the internet. The Facebook co-founder and chief executive said […]
Facebook at 15: a titan with grown-up woes
by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Fifteen years after its founding, Facebook has made strides toward Mark Zuckerberg’s goal of connecting the world. But it has also made some huge missteps that have turned some of its cheerleaders into vocal detractors. The online social network founded on February 4, 2004 in Zuckerberg’s Harvard University dorm heads into adolescence with the grown-up burdens of being held accountable for its behavior […]
Civil rights groups call for Facebook to purge Zuckerberg from board
by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Dozens of civil rights groups on Tuesday called on Facebook to purge Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg from its board for blunders including “weaponizing anti-Semitism.” Advocacy and rights group took direct aim at Zuckerberg and Sandberg for Facebook enlisting Definers Public Affairs to conduct research on company critics. “You retained the services of Definers Public Affairs to investigate, undermine and attack our […]





