Meta has set up an oversight board to help with strategic decisions which does not conflict with its ideology and help give clear solutions. News 

Meta’s Oversight Board Lifts Ban on Arabic Word: Learn More

Meta’s supervisory board has asked the company to end its ban on the Arabic word “Shaheed,” which roughly translates to martyr in English. The commission’s extensive year-long review revealed that Meta’s current blanket ban on the word “shaheed,” which it had said could glorify or condone terrorism, “has led to widespread and unnecessary censorship that affects the free speech of millions of users.” “Meta should end the blanket ban on ‘shaheed’ because it has had a discriminatory and disproportionate impact on free speech and information sharing, which has heightened concerns…

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Google and other tech giants are set to be investigated on whether they have fallen short in complying with the European Union's Digital Markets Act. News 

EU Digital Markets Act Probes to be Launched Against Apple, Meta, and Google

BRUSSELS: Apple, Meta Platforms and Alphabet’s Google are to be investigated for failing to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. They said the European Commission would announce the investigations in the coming days and make decisions before EU cartel chief Margrethe Vestager’s term ends in November. DMA violations can cost companies up to 10 percent of their global annual revenue. A major EU technology rule requires companies to give users and competitors more choice to ensure a level playing field.…

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Shortly after Instagram and Facebook returned to normalcy, Google's Gmail and YouTube began experiencing issues. Here's what you need to know. News 

Gmail and YouTube Experience Outage Following Restoration of Instagram and Facebook

Late Tuesday, Meta’s Instagram and Facebook and other services struggled with prolonged outages that affected a significant user base. Meta recognized the problems and successfully solved them. Meanwhile, Google, another tech giant, also faced brief disruptions. While Facebook users encountered error messages and unintentionally logged out and were unable to log back in, Instagram users found themselves stuck in their feeds and unable to update and access new content. Soon after the normalization of Instagram and Facebook, problems started to appear in Google’s services. According to outage tracking website Downdetector,…

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Bad content is removed from these platforms as they don't meet the policies that Meta has for these apps in India. News 

Over 22 Million Pieces of Harmful Content Removed from Facebook and Instagram in India

Meta said it removed more than 17.8 million bad content from 13 Facebook policies and more than 4.8 million inappropriate content from 12 Instagram policies in India in January. In January, Facebook received 29,548 complaints through India’s complaint mechanism and said it provided tools for users to resolve issues in 21,060 cases. These include, for example, pre-defined channels for reporting content for certain violations, self-remediation streams where they can download their data, ways to resolve hacked accounts, etc., Meta said in its monthly report under IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital…

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Meta says that links to news are just a fraction of users’ feeds and publishers can still post news content to their own pages on Facebook. News 

Meta to cease payment to news publishers in this country for content on Facebook

Meta Platforms announced it would stop paying Australian news publishers for their content on Facebook, launching a new battle with Canberra, which had pioneered a world law forcing internet giants to sign licensing deals. News publishers and governments like Australia have argued that big tech companies like Facebook and Google benefit unfairly when their platforms include links to news articles. Meta claims that links to news are only a fraction of user feeds, and publishers can still post news content to their own pages on Facebook. Meta announced on its…

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Meta and LG have announced a collaboration to develop next-generation Extended Reality experiences moving forward. Here's what it means. News 

Meta and LG collaborate to develop cutting-edge XR technologies.

Amid intensifying competition for global headsets, Meta and LG announced a partnership on Tuesday to redouble their efforts in augmented reality (XR) projects. It’s worth noting that Meta has a rich history of producing both VR (virtual reality) and MR (mixed-reality) products in its Meta Quest line of products, with recent successes such as the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Through this strategic partnership, both companies plan to leverage and integrate their strengths across multiple products, services and platforms. This announcement follows a recent meeting between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, LG…

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Meta Platforms is planning to release the newest version of its artificial intelligence large language model Llama 3 in July which is expected to be an upgrade on the current model. AI 

Report: Meta to Launch New AI Language Model Llama 3 in July

(Reuters) – Meta Platforms plans to release the latest version of Llama 3, a major language model for artificial intelligence, in July that would provide better answers to controversial questions posed by users, The Information reported on Wednesday. Metascientists try to “loosen” the model so that it can at least provide context for what they consider a controversial query. The effort, which would increase the utility of Meta’s new LLM, comes as rival Google discontinued the image-making feature of its Gemini AI after it produced historical images that were sometimes…

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Threads have started the broad rollout of its save posts feature to users. Read on to know how to save a post. News 

Meta’s Threads is now offering the option to save posts on a wider scale. Here’s a guide on how to use this feature.

Do you like saving posts on Instagram or bookmarking on Twitter? Well, Meta’s Threads lacked this functionality upon release. Now the X competitor has started to spread the feature more widely to its users. This follows Threads’ own previous testing, which began this month and offered a “save messages” option for some users. This allowed them to return to certain messages later. Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the update: “Starting today, we’re rolling out Save on Threads more widely so you can bookmark your favorite posts for later,” he said.…

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Facebook owner Meta will set up a team to tackle disinformation and the abuse of generative artificial intelligence in the runup to European Parliament elections. AI 

Meta’s Strategy to Combat Disinformation and AI Misuse in Europe

BRUSSELS: Facebook owner Meta is setting up a group to combat disinformation and the misuse of generative artificial intelligence in the run-up to June’s European Parliament elections, amid concerns about election tampering and misleading content created by artificial intelligence. The rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence, which can create text, images and videos in seconds in response to prompts, has sparked fears that the new technology could be used to disrupt major elections around the world this year. The European Parliament elections will be held on the 6th-9th. June. Its…

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Meta and other tech companies have reduced the workforce during the period and now Zuckerberg gets candid about some of these decisions. News 

Mark Zuckerberg Explains the Reasons Behind the Surge in Tech Layoffs Over the Past 2-3 Years

Tech companies have been laying off from 2021 until 2023, and early signs this year suggest it won’t be slowing down anytime soon. The likes of Google, Amazon and even Meta have pulled the plug on several projects, cut product teams and rethought their plans for the future. So what are the main reasons for these layoffs and when will it end? Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has shared his views on this matter in a recent interview, where he also walks us through the strategy of tech companies in recent…

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A group of 20 tech companies announced on Friday they have agreed to work together to prevent deceptive artificial intelligence content from interfering with elections across the globe this year. AI 

Tech Giants including OpenAI and Meta Join Forces to Combat AI Election Interference

(Reuters) – A group of 20 technology companies said on Friday they have agreed to work together to prevent fraudulent artificial intelligence content from interfering with elections around the world this year. The rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence (AI), which can create text, images and videos in seconds in response to prompts, has fueled fears that the new technology could be used to influence this year’s major elections, as more than half the world’s population heads to the polls. Signatories to the technical agreement announced at the Munich Security…

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Most tech companies have issued order to their employees that the days of remote and hybrid work are ending and these brands have already done it. News 

Tech Companies Require Employees to Return to the Office

The pandemic is indeed over. Companies that have resorted to remote and hybrid work setups are slowly moving back to the old habits of having people come into the office every week. The technology industry is in the biggest hurry to get employees back to work so they don’t log in their diaries from a mountain station or a beach. These companies aren’t just based in India, we’re talking about some of the biggest names in tech that are making people change the way they work or face serious consequences.…

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According to Meta’s India monthly reports under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the period from January 2023 to December 2023 saw action against 1,21,80,300 crore such content pieces News 

Meta’s Facebook and Instagram took action against more than 100 million pieces of ‘Child Endangerment’ content in 2023.

In 2023, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, rejected more than a million content related to child endangerment caused by nudity, physical abuse and sexual abuse. According to Meta India’s monthly reports, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, from January 2023 to December 2023 targeted 1,21,80,300 million such content. The company said: “We measure the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos or comments) and take action to ensure that they are against our standards. This metric shows the…

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Mark Zuckerberg announced that Threads is testing a new feature allowing users to view trending topics on the platform, similar to X's Trending section. News 

Meta’s Threads to Introduce ‘Today’s Topics’ Feature, Unveiling Current Trends

When Meta’s Threads debuted last year to compete with X (formerly known as Twitter), the user experience was very simple. It lacked tags, a web-based interface, and the ability to independently delete a Threads profile, requiring users to delete their entire Instagram profile. However, Meta has been responsive to user feedback and has gradually introduced various features to the app thanks to its growing user base. Recently, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Threads is testing a new feature that will allow users to view trending topics on the platform.…

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Meta is bringing a bookmark feature that saves posts on the Threads app. (REUTERS) News 

Meta’s Threads app to introduce a new bookmark feature similar to Instagram for saving preferred posts

The Threads app, launched in 2023 as a competitor to Twitter (now X), initially gained popularity but lacked essential features according to users. One highly requested feature was the ability to bookmark posts and reels, similar to Instagram. Threads has now announced that they are testing this bookmark feature. Despite a significant drop in users after its initial surge to 100 million, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently revealed that Threads has now reached over 130 million active users. There is optimism that it may become another platform with billions of…

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Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has confirmed that Meta is testing a 'save post' feature on Threads. Here's what we know so far. News 

Meta’s Threads to Introduce Post Saving Feature in the Near Future

Meta’s X competitor Threads has begun testing a requested “save posts” feature in the app, allowing users to bookmark favorite posts and return to them later. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced the feature in a Threads post on Wednesday, noting that the company just started a limited test. “We’ve started a limited test of a much-requested feature: the ability to save posts in threads. Bookmark your favorite posts and come back to them later, just like you can on Instagram,” Mosseri said. The new recording feature can be used for…

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Meta will challenge in court an EU demand for fees. (REUTERS) News 

Meta Platforms contests EU’s fees for content moderation law

Meta, the owner of Facebook, revealed on Wednesday its intention to legally contest the European Union’s request for fees related to a content moderation law. Last year, the European Commission put Meta on Facebook and Instagram’s list of “very large” online platforms to face tougher rules under the new Digital Services Act (DSA). Companies on the list must pay fees to the Commission, the EU’s executive body, for the implementation of the DSA’s gaming fund. Meta supported the DSA’s goals and had implemented measures to comply, “but we disagree with…

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Under the new policy, Meta will begin labelling images created using artificial intelligence as “imagined with AI” to differentiate them from human-generated content News 

Will self-regulation be enough in the deepfake age as Meta plans to label AI-generated content on Facebook and Instagram?

In a groundbreaking move, Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads — announced a new policy aimed at responding to growing concerns about AI-generated content. Following this practice, it will begin labeling AI-generated images as “AI-illustrated” to distinguish them from human-generated content. Here are the key highlights from Meta’s new policy, which was announced on Tuesday (February 6): Introducing “Imagined with AI” labels on photorealistic images created using Meta’s artificial intelligence feature. Use of visible tags, invisible watermarks, and embedded metadata in image files to indicate AI…

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Ahead of two major elections in India and the US, Meta is adding a feature for people to disclose when they share AI-generated video or audio so the company can add a label to it. News 

Meta to introduce labels for AI-generated content on Facebook and Instagram prior to upcoming elections in the US and India

As policymakers ponder how to curb deepfakes and AI-generated content in a year when India and the United States go to the polls, Meta said on Tuesday that in the coming months it will mark the images users post on Facebook, Instagram and threads that are generated by AI. Meta adds a feature that people can reveal when they share AI-generated video or audio so the company can tag it. “We require people to use this notification and flagging tool when they post organic content with photo-realistic video or realistic-sounding…

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Meta's Oversight Board has determined Facebook video wrongfully suggesting that U.S. President Joe Biden is a pedophile does not violate the company's current rules. News 

Meta’s Oversight Board Struggles to Define Clear Rules for Deepfakes

NEW YORK: Meta’s oversight board has ruled that a Facebook video falsely claiming US President Joe Biden is a pedophile does not violate the company’s current rules, although it considers those rules “inconsistent” and too narrowly focused on content generated by artificial intelligence. The Meta-funded but independent board took up the Biden video case in October in response to a user complaint about an altered seven-second video of the president posted on Meta’s flagship social network. Its ruling on Monday is the first to address Meta’s “manipulated media” policy, which…

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