Tag: Facebook

WhatsApp begins enforcement of agree or lose access policy

Facebook-owned instant messaging app, WhatsApp has started implementation of its updated terms of service and privacy policy.

WhatsApp users may lose access to their accounts if they do not accept the new terms of service of the messaging app.

A WhatsApp spokesperson had earlier confirmed that all users “must agree” to the new terms by February 8, 2021 if they wish to have continued access to the app.

Already, some WhatsApp users across the world have started seeing the in-app notification about the new terms of service and privacy policy.

WhatsApp’s terms and privacy policy in-app notification

The company informed users about the changes made in the privacy policy and terms of service.

WhatsApp explained how much of users’ data is collected automatically by the messaging app.

“We collect information about your activity on our Services, like service-related, diagnostic, and performance information.

“This includes information about your activity (including how you use our Services, your Services settings, how you interact with others using our Services (including when you interact with a business), and the time, frequency, and duration of your activities and interactions), log files, and diagnostic, crash, website, and performance logs and reports.

“This also includes information about when you registered to use our Services; the features you use like our messaging, calling, Status, groups (including group name, group picture, group description), payments or business features; profile photo, “about” information; whether you are online when you last used our Services (your “last seen”); and when you last updated your “about” information,” WhatsApp explained.

January 6, 2021
Italy court orders Facebook to pay $5 million in damages for copying app

A Milan-based appeals court on Tuesday ordered Facebook to pay 3.83 million Euros ($4.70 million) in damages to an Italian software development company for copying an app, a court document seen by Reuters showed.

The judges said the U.S. group copied their ‘Nearby’ feature from Italy’s Business Competence’s app ‘Faround’, which allows users to identify shops, clubs, restaurants in their surrounding area through geolocalisation.

The court’s decision upheld a 2019 ruling but increased the amount of damages that Facebook will have to pay, initially set at 350,000 Euros.

“We have received the court’s decision and are examining it carefully,” a Facebook spokesman told Reuters.

January 5, 2021
WhatsApp sets single day record on New Year’s eve

WhatsApp on New Year’s eve set single day record with 1.4 billion voice and video calls, making it the most ever calls in a single day on the platform.

This is even as people increasingly turned to technology to stay in touch and get things done in the face of social distancing and stay-at-home mandates in 2020.

According to Facebook, owners of WhatsApp, calling on the app increased by over 50% compared to the same day last year.

On Facebook Messenger, people celebrated with effects, and the top AR effect in the US was “2020 Fireworks”.

“New Year’s Eve 2020 was the biggest day ever for Messenger group video calls (3+ people) in the US, with nearly 2X more group video calls on NYE compared to the average day.

“There were more than 55 million live broadcasts across Facebook and Instagram globally on New Year’s Eve,” the social media platform stated.

Facebook said it’s engineers worked hehind the scenes to drive unprecedented efficiency improvements and make sure infrastructures were more resilient.

“Before COVID-19, New Year’s Eve generated Facebook’s biggest spikes in messaging, photo uploads and social sharing at midnight across the world.

“However, in March 2020, the early days of the pandemic produced traffic spikes that would dwarf New Year’s Eve several times over — and it lasted for months. Behind the scenes, Facebook Engineering came together to drive unprecedented efficiency improvements and make our infrastructure more resilient.

“This work includes load testing, disaster recovery testing and shuffling capacity. This year, New Year’s Eve looked a lot different, and we had engineering teams across Facebook’s apps, ready to support any issue, so the world could ring in 2021,” Caitlin Banford, technical program manager at Facebook stated.

January 4, 2021
Hate speech on Facebook poses ‘acute challenges to human dignity’ – UN expert

An independent UN human rights expert on Wednesday called on Facebook’s Oversight Board to give greater consideration to the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities before making decisions over controversial content, particularly involving hate speech.

“Minorities are the most likely target of online hate speech, and we know that online hate speech against minorities often leads to severe real-world harm, and may even lead to ethnic cleansing and genocide,” said Fernand de Varennes, UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, welcoming the recent news that Facebook’s Oversight Board has accepted its first six cases appealing against decisions to remove content.

“Hate speech online is one of today’s most acute challenges to human dignity and life,” he added.

A UN statement said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg compared the Oversight Board to the social media platform’s own Supreme Court, as an independent body that reviews Facebook moderation decisions.

Facebook’s Community Standards should be brought into line with the understanding of “hate speech” in the recent UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, according to Mr. de Varennes, who viewed the platform’s omission to protect linguistic minorities as troubling and contrary to international human rights law.

The statement said he directed the Board’s attention to Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN General Assembly’s 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, as well as other legal rulings on the rights of minorities.

At the same time, the independent UN expert called the Oversight Board “an innovative and ambitious initiative to regulate online expression, in particular hate speech, which is essential for the effective protection of vulnerable minorities worldwide”.

Moreover, he commended the fact that the Board is made up of prominent experts committed to human rights and freedom of expression, and noted that efforts have been made to ensure impartiality by having an independent trust administer it.

The statement said during 2020, the Special Rapporteur has made “hate speech, Social Media and minorities” his thematic focus.

He convened regional conferences in Europe and Asia, and presided over the UN Forum on Minority Issues in November. Together, the three conventions have made more than 100 recommendations for tackling online hate speech against minorities.

“I look forward to continuing to constructively engage with the Oversight Board and hope I can assist in its institutional development and on issues related to minorities,” Mr. de Varennes said.

Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

December 24, 2020
Why your version of WhatsApp doesn’t support messages

Some WhatsApp users are increasingly receiving this message: “You received a message but your version of WhatsApp doesn’t support it. Update WhatsApp” on their app.

While there are different reasons why users are seeing this message on their WhatsApp, there is no official statement from Facebook, owners of WhatsApp why this is so.

Checks by TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) showed that one of the reasons for this is using a WhatsApp app that is not updated, even though users who have updated WhatsApp had faced a similar challenge.

As WhatsApp keeps releasing new features to its platform, those new features require that your own WhatsApp must be up to date before you can enjoy the features.

So, when a WhatsApp user with a higher version of WhatsApp sends you a message, your outdated WhatsApp may not be able to receive the message.

Also, there are users who make use of the unofficial versions of WhatsApp such as GBWhatsApp, OGWhatsApp and WhatsApp Plus. Some messages from these moded versions of WhatsApp may not be compatible.

Recall that WhatsApp in May 2019 started placing a temporary ban on accounts that use unofficial versions of the instant messaging app. WhatsApp stated that it doesn’t support these third-party apps because it can’t validate their security practices.

With that said, also know that the latest feature – WhatsApp Disappearing message also needs your app to be updated before it can use the feature. So, if you received a disappearing message, you are likely going to see the same message.

So, in order to resolve: “You received a message but your version of WhatsApp doesn’t support it. Update WhatsApp”, you may want to update your official WhatsApp app or if you are not using the official release, switch to official WhatsApp.

How to update WhatsApp

You can easily update WhatsApp from your phone’s application store. Please note if you received a message that isn’t supported by your version of WhatsApp, you’ll need to update WhatsApp. We encourage you to always use the latest version of WhatsApp. Latest versions contain the newest features and bug fixes.

Android

Go to the Google Play Store and search for WhatsApp. Tap Update next to WhatsApp Messenger.

iPhone

Go to the App Store and search for WhatsApp. Tap UPDATE next to WhatsApp Messenger.

KaiOS

Press JioStore or Store on the apps menu. Scroll to the side to select Social, then select WhatsApp. Press OK or SELECT > UPDATE.

How to switch to official WhatsApp app

You might need to backup your chat history before moving to the official WhatsApp app. The name of the unsupported app you’re using determines whether you need to transfer your chat history.

Locate the name of the app by tapping More Options > Settings > Help > App info.

Follow the steps below based on the name of the app: WhatsApp Plus or GB WhatsApp.

If you’re using an app other than WhatsApp Plus or GB WhatsApp, we recommend saving your chat history before downloading the official WhatsApp app.

GB WhatsApp

We recommend following the steps below to save and transfer your chat history. Failure to follow these steps could result in lost chat history.

Wait for your temporary ban to end. The timer will show you the length of the ban.

In GB WhatsApp, tap More options > Chats > Back up chats.

Goto Phone Settings > tap Storage > Files.

Find the folder GB WhatsApp and tap and hold to select it.

In the upper right corner tap More > Rename and rename the folder to “WhatsApp”.

Navigate to the Play Store and download the official WhatsApp app.

In WhatsApp, verify your phone number, and on the Backup found screen, tap Restore> Next.

WhatsApp should load with your existing chats.

WhatsApp Plus

For WhatsApp Plus, if your chat history was previously saved, it should automatically transfer to the official WhatsApp app.

Navigate to the Play Store and download the WhatsApp app. Verify your phone number, and that’s all.

While these will resolve the error message, the only challenge is that you may not be able to view the message even after your WhatsApp is updated. You may need to ask the sender to resend the message.

For questions, comments and any further assistance, drop a message using the comment section below.

December 15, 2020
Facebook faces lawsuits that could force sale of Instagram, WhatsApp

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and nearly every U.S. state sued Facebook Inc on Wednesday, saying that it broke antitrust law and should potentially be broken up.

With the filing of the twin lawsuits, Facebook becomes the second big tech company to face a major legal challenge this fall.

The FTC said in a statement that it would seek an injunction that “could, among other things: require divestitures of assets, including Instagram and WhatsApp.”

In its complaint, the coalition of 46 states, Washington, D.C. and Guam also asked for Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp to be judged to be illegal.

“For nearly a decade, Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals, snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James said the company used vast amounts of money to acquire such rivals before they could threaten the company’s dominance.

Facebook said it is reviewing the FTC and state antitrust complaints.

The company said the government “now wants a do-over with no regard for the impact that precedent would have on the broader business community or the people who choose our products every day.”

The U.S. Justice Department sued Alphabet Inc’s Google in October, accusing the $1 trillion company of using its market power to fend off rivals.

The lawsuits are the biggest antitrust cases in a generation, comparable to the lawsuit against Microsoft Corp in 1998.

The federal government eventually settled that case, but the years long court fight and extended antitrust scrutiny prevented the company from thwarting competitors and is credited with clearing the way for the explosive growth of the internet.

Facebook shares fell as much as 3 per cent after the news before paring losses and were last down 1.7 per cent.

December 10, 2020
Google, Facebook to pay for news content in Australia

Facebook and Google could be obligated to pay news outlets for their content in “world first” legislation set to be introduced to Australia’s parliament on Wednesday.

In one of the most aggressive moves to check the power of the US digital giants, Canberra plans to compel the companies to pay media organisations when their platforms host their content or face millions of dollars in fines.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the new rules, first mooted in July, will be introduced to parliament Wednesday and are expected to come into effect next year.

“This is a huge reform. This is a world first. And the world is watching what happens here in Australia,” he said.

The new media law will apply to Facebook’s “News Feed” and Google searches.

The firms will be mandated to compensate Australian media outlets, including public broadcasters ABC and SBS, who were initially excluded from plans.

The government has decided to exempt other popular platforms such as YouTube and Instagram from the rules.

Measures to force transparency around the closely guarded algorithms that tech firms use to rank content were also watered down.

Frydenberg said the tech giants will now be required to notify media companies only when “conscious changes” to algorithms would have a “significant impact” on search rankings, with 14 days’ notice rather than the 28 days first suggested.

Australia initially proposed a voluntary code of conduct, but toughened its stance after deciding the “unequal bargaining position” between traditional news media businesses and digital platforms would prevent fair deals being struck.

Frydenberg said the two sides would still be encouraged to reach commercial agreements but if that failed they would be sent to binding arbitration.

The initiative has been closely watched around the globe, as news media worldwide have suffered in an increasingly digital economy where advertising revenue is overwhelmingly captured by big tech firms.

Facebook has warned it could block users and media organisations in Australia from sharing news stories if the law comes into effect.

In a blog post in August, the company’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand said the legislation “misunderstands the dynamics of the internet.”

Google in turn has warned that “the way Aussies use Google is at risk”.

An Australian review that led to the proposed changes found that for every $100 spent on online advertising, Google captures $53 while Facebook takes $28 and the rest is shared out among others.

The crisis has been exacerbated by the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with dozens of Australian newspapers closed and hundreds of journalists sacked in recent months.

December 8, 2020
Facebook, YouTube blamed as Vietnam sees rise in jailed activists

Amnesty International has taken aim at Facebook, YouTube and Google as the number of activists imprisoned for expressing their opinion online in Vietnam reaches a record high, a report said on Tuesday.

In its first full investigation into Vietnam since May 2018, Amnesty uncovered 170 prisoners of conscience in the South East Asian nation, with 40 per cent of them behind bars as a result of their social media use.

“In the last decade, the right to freedom of expression flourished on Facebook and YouTube in Vietnam,’’ Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, said in a statement.

“Today, these platforms have become hunting grounds for censors, military cyber-troops and state-sponsored trolls.

“The platforms themselves are not merely letting it happen, they’re increasingly complicit,’’ she said.

In March, Facebook agreed to censor, or geo-block, content deemed anti-state in Vietnam after facing intense pressure from the government. The company stresses that this only affects posts that violate local laws.

Yet in early November, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed in an email to dpa that the Vietnamese government was still threatening to block local access to the site if it did not increase the number of censored posts.

Analysts say the jailing of journalists and activists are a regular occurrence ahead of Vietnam’s National Congress, where a five-year economic plan and leadership changes are decided by the Communist party.

Carl Thayer, a South East Asia expert at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said arrests would likely spike as the congress draws near.

December 1, 2020
Turkey fines Facebook, Twitter, TikTok for defying social media law

Turkey has imposed hefty fines on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and other platforms, for violating a new law that exerts greater control over social media.

The announcement was made, ironically on Twitter, by Deputy Transport and Infrastructure Minister Omer Sayan on Wednesday.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Periscope, YouTube and TikTok, were each fined 10 million lira (1.17 million dollars), Sayan said.

They were penalised for failing to appoint a representative based in Turkey, within the legally mandated deadline.

The law, described as “draconian’’ by rights groups and free speech campaigners, was passed by parliament in July and went into effect in October.

It states that foreign social media platforms accessed by more than 1 million daily users in Turkey would have to appoint legal representatives based in Turkey.

Failure to do so would result in heavy fines, advertising bans and gradually having the platform’s bandwidth slashed, rendering it unusable.

They will also have to store users’ data in Turkey, making it easier for the authorities to access.

Turkish authorities often target social media users over content deemed illegal.

In July, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for greater control over social media which he described as a “source of lies.’’

Erdogan’s anger came after his grandson’s birth announcement prompted attacks on Twitter.

Sayan, however, said he had confidence that the social media networks would comply and appoint representatives.

“Our intent is not to be in conflict with these providers, which serve billions of people around the world,’’ he tweeted.

November 4, 2020
U.S. election: Twitter, Facebook outline action to take if candidate declares premature victory

Social media companies Twitter Inc and Facebook Inc on Monday outlined plans for placing warning labels on posts from U.S. election candidates and campaigns that claim victory in advance of official results.

The moves come as social network platforms brace for what has been an unusual election cycle due to a high number of mail-in ballots that may cause a delay in final results.

Beginning on election night through the inauguration, Twitter said it would place warning labels such as “official sources called this election differently”, or “official sources may not have called the race when this was tweeted”.

Facebook will add specific information in news feed notifications in its apps and in the labels on posts if a candidate or a party declares premature victory, and will continue to show latest results in its Voting Information Centre, it said in a separate statement.

Facebook said it will also monitor a range of issues in real time on Election Day, including reports of voter suppression content, and will remove any attempts to suppress participation or intimidate voters.

U.S.-based accounts with over 100,000 followers and a significant engagement will also be considered for labeling, Twitter said.

Social media companies are under pressure to combat election-related misinformation and prepare for the possibility of violence or poll place intimidation around the November vote.

In an updated blog, Twitter said it would consider state election officials and national news outlets such as ABC News, Associated Press, CNN and Fox News that have independent election decision desks as official sources for results.

Their official Twitter accounts will be exempted from labeling, the company said.

November 3, 2020