Snap is channeling Asia’s messaging giants with its move into gaming
Snap is taking a leaf out of the Asian messaging app playbook as its social messaging service enters a new era. The company unveiled a series of new strategies that… Read more »
Category: social media
Australia passes law to hold social media companies responsible for “abhorrent violent material”
On Thursday, Australia lawmakers ushered through what is perhaps the toughest legal measures to hold social media companies accountable for the content they share. Only a few weeks after the… Read more »
China’s Tencent is raising $6 billion through a bond sale
Tencent, Asia’s largest tech firm, is raising $6 billion after the Hong Kong-listed firm announced a new note sale today. Tencent last tapped the markets when it raised $5 billion… Read more »
Ruhnn, a Chinese startup that makes influencers, raises $125M in U.S. IPO
Ruhnn, a company that enables influencers to sell through e-commerce and is plotting to change the face of China’s fashion industry, has raised $125 million after it listed on the… Read more »
New Facebook tool answers the question “Why am I seeing this post?”
Facebook announced today that it is adding a feature called “Why am I seeing this post?” to News Feeds. Similar to “Why am I seeing this ad?,” which has appeared… Read more »
A family tracking app was leaking real-time location data
A popular family tracking app was leaking the real-time locations of more than 238,000 users for weeks after the developer left a server exposed without a password. The app, Family… Read more »
What’s the cost of buying users from Facebook and 13 other ad networks?
Julian Shapiro Contributor Share on Twitter Julian Shapiro is the founder of BellCurve.com, a growth marketing agency that trains you to become a marketing professional. He also writes at Julian.com…. Read more »
PicsArt hits 130 million MAUs as Chinese flock to its photo editing app
If you’re like me, who isn’t big on social media, you’d think that the image filters that come inside most apps will do the job. But for many others, especially… Read more »
Facebook failed to block 20% of uploaded New Zealand shooter videos
Facebook said it removed 1.5 million videos from its site within the first 24 hours after a shooter livestreamed his attack on two New Zealand mosques, killing 50 people. In… Read more »
Facebook removed 1.5m videos of New Zealand terror attack in first 24 hours
Site says it will remove any clip featuring gunman’s footage even if that would not normally break its rules Facebook removed 1.5m copies of the video of the New Zealand… Read more »
Facebook says its new AI technology can detect ‘revenge porn’
Facebook on Friday announced a new artificial intelligence-powered tool that it says will help the social network detect revenge porn — the nonconsensually shared intimate images that, when posted online,… Read more »
Facebook, Instagram and Messenger are down for some users
Facebook and its related family of apps appear to be down for most users right now. There’s not much more information to share at this point, but the web is… Read more »
Periscope cracks down on inauthentic behavior, including fake hearts, follows, chats and more
Twitter’s video streaming app, Periscope, is cracking down on spam and, specifically, fake engagements. The company says it’s updating its policies around how it enforces its anti-spam rules, and is… Read more »
A first look at Twitter’s new prototype app, twttr
Yesterday, Twitter rolled out its much-anticipated prototype application to the first group of testers. We’ve now gotten our hands on the app and can see how the current version differs… Read more »
Facebook’s ad team shoots itself in the foot by pulling Elizabeth Warren campaign ads
Facebook’s gang that couldn’t shoot straight advertising department has made another blunder, this time by pulling Elizabeth Warren campaign ads touting the Senator’s proposal to break up big tech. The… Read more »
Venture investors and startup execs say they don’t need Elizabeth Warren to defend them from big tech
Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful… Read more »
Twitter debuts new analytics tools for publishers focused on improving video engagement
In January at CES 2019 in Las Vegas, Twitter announced that it was developing new tools that would make it easier for publishers to better understand what sort of content… Read more »
UK Far Right activist circumvents Facebook ban to livestream threats
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a Far Right UK activist who was permanently banned from Facebook last week for repeatedly breaching its community standards on hate speech, was nonetheless able to use its… Read more »
Glossier launches its first spin-off brand, a line of Instagram-friendly ‘dialed-up’ beauty extras
Glossier, known for its line of understated makeup products and a cult-following of millennial Instagrammers, is getting colorful with the launch of its first spin-off brand, Glossier Play. The company… Read more »
Facebook won’t let you opt-out of its phone number ‘look up’ setting
Users are complaining that the phone number Facebook hassled them to use to secure their account with two-factor authentication has also been associated with their user profile — which anyone… Read more »
UK parliament calls for antitrust, data abuse probe of Facebook
A final report by a British parliamentary committee which spent months last year investigating online political disinformation makes very uncomfortable reading for Facebook — with the company singled out for… Read more »
Facebook labelled ‘digital gangsters’ by report on fake news
Company broke privacy and competition law and should be regulated urgently, say MPs Facebook deliberately broke privacy and competition law and should urgently be subject to statutory regulation, according to… Read more »
Revealed: Facebook enables ads to target users interested in ‘vaccine controversies’
Social media platforms under pressure by US congressman to crack down on anti-vaccine propaganda, citing Guardian investigations Facebook enables advertisers to promote content to nearly 900,000 people interested in “vaccine… Read more »
No, your tweets aren’t awful. Twitter’s Likes are currently borked.
If you have been experiencing issues with the Like or Retweet count on Twitter and are desperately seeking validation, here it is: yes, it’s Twitter, not you (probably). The company… Read more »
Is Europe closing in on an antitrust fix for surveillance technologists?
The German Federal Cartel Office’s decision to order Facebook to change how it processes users’ personal data this week is a sign the antitrust tide could at last be turning against… Read more »
Fabula AI is using social spread to spot ‘fake news’
UK startup Fabula AI reckons it’s devised a way for artificial intelligence to help user generated content platforms get on top of the disinformation crisis that keeps rocking the world… Read more »
Facebook’s head of comms hits the road after 8 years at the company
Facebook head of communications Caryn Marooney is leaving for greener pastures, she announced today, on Facebook of course. She joins the growing number of executives and high-level employees departing the… Read more »
Fine tech companies that fail to protect children, Labour says
Party would establish new standalone internet regulator if it came to power in next election Labour would establish a new standalone internet regulator with the power to fine tech companies… Read more »
Facebook warned over privacy risks of merging messaging platforms
Facebook’s lead data protection regulator in Europe has asked the company for an “urgent briefing” regarding plans to integrate the underlying infrastructure of its three social messaging platforms. In a… Read more »
Everything you need to know about Facebook, Google’s app scandal
Facebook and Google landed in hot water with Apple this week after two investigations by TechCrunch revealed the misuse of internal-only certificates — leading to their revocation, which led to… Read more »