Facebook’s plans to encrypt its messenger service will be a “disaster” for child safety and law enforcement, a senior National Crime Agency (NCA) director has said. In 2019, Facebook confirmed it was forging ahead with plans to bring end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to its Messenger platform, despite calls from governments that it will make it easier for … Read more
Facebook has said it will direct users on where and how to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as it also announces a ban on misleading information about vaccines in general. The social network claims it has connected over two billion people from 189 countries to information about the disease through its ‘Covid-19 Information Center’ [sic]. Starting … Read more
YouTube has become the latest social network to suspend US President Donald Trump’s account over concerns about “the ongoing potential for violence”. The video sharing site said the account would be inaccessible for “a minimum of seven days”, meaning Trump will not have access until after President-elect Joe Biden takes office. Social networks have been … Read more
The EU Commission has outlined its long-awaited plans to overhaul ageing regulations for digital companies. Under the sweeping plans, the largest tech companies could face hefty fines and the threat of being broken up. The Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act will update the 20-year-old e-Commerce Directive, which regulates digital services in the EU. … Read more
Niche social media platforms like Gab, 4Chan and Telegram have been described as “deeply problematic” due to the amount of misinformation they carry, including broad scepticism over the coronavirus vaccine. Sarah Connolly, who works as director of security and online harms for the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), was asked by … Read more
Millions of children in England are using messaging platforms that they are not old enough to be accessing and the introduction of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) could increase their risk of exploitation, the Children’s Commissioner for England has warned in a report. The Commissioner’s report follows announcements by Facebook – and indications by other social platforms, such as Snap – … Read more
Facebook is facing what may be its greatest legal battle yet, with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and nearly every US state separately filing antitrust lawsuits against the company. The competition watchdog has accused Facebook of engaging in a “bury or buy” strategy to eliminate competition, including by purchasing growing rivals Instagram (acquired in 2012 … Read more
Facebook’s independent Oversight Board has announced the first cases on which it will deliberate, following the opening of user appeals in October. First announced in 2018, the Board will have the final word on what content is permitted on Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram. It was created in response to criticism from various groups, particularly … Read more
Instagram’s owner Facebook has agreed to make it more difficult for users to post advertising content to its photo-sharing platform without clearly labelling it as such. Popular users often sign deals to advertise a product or service on their feed, but the distinction between paid-for content and standard posted content is not always clear. Clear labelling … Read more
During a US Senate Commerce Committee hearing, CEOs of Google, Facebook, and Twitter defended a law that shields them from liability for questionable content on their platforms. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act 1996, which protects companies from liability over content posted by users on their platforms (declaring that the company is not a … Read more