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BTS, the Grammy-nominated South Korean boy band, will join President Joe Biden next week to talk about “Asian inclusion and representation” and to address hate crimes and discrimination against Asians, the White House announced Thursday. The musical group’s White House visit next Tuesday follows Biden’s trip last week to South Korea, a U.S. ally. Biden has been outspoken about being committed to combating a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. Last year, the Democratic president signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law. Biden and BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, also will discuss diversity and the K-pop group’s platform as youth ambassadors. The band received its first Grammy nomination last year after releasing the song “Dynamite” as a gift to fans isolated by the coronavirus pandemic.  » Read More

Facebook owner Meta has started sending out alerts about changes to its privacy policy from July. So, what’s changed and should you be concerned? Facebook owner Meta has started sending out alerts about changes to its privacy policy from July. ... So, what’s changed and should you be concerned? Getty Images The answer to the first question is not much; the second is more complicated. Facebook is a data-hungry ad giant that collects vast amounts of your data. The social network has been under huge pressure for the last few months after regulator scrutiny and whistleblower allegations. Throw the Apple privacy changes into the mix—which could cost Facebook $12 billion—and it’s a perfect storm for the Mark Zuckerberg-owned social network. In a blog announcing the changes to its privacy policy, Facebook says nothing has changed. Instead, the social media company will now include more information about the data it collects and who it is shared with. This is a good thing, as Facebook has been less than transparent about where data goes.  » Read More

“The app store is not a service. The app store is a disservice to developers,” says Epic CEO Tim Sweeney in his latest interview with The Financial Times. In his never-ending battle against the so-called Apple App Store (and Google) monopoly, the owner of Fortnite tackles the Cupertino policy and calls Facebook an ally on the metaverse. Last year, after Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that the App Store and its guidelines do not violate antitrust laws in the Epic vs. Apple case, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney was convicted that he knows more than the district judge as he said she “erred” on her ruling. Ever since then, Sweeney has been tackling Apple App Store policies, especially when the company lacks to maintain the store as a safe place for users due to scam apps broadly available. In an extensive interview with The Financial Times, he talks about his Metaverse vision with Fortnite, Apple App Store policies, and Meta’s vision on the metaverse while calling it an ally – although he could sue the company over monopoly in the future.  » Read More

Could Facebook have known about ominous direct-message threats made by the gunman before killing at least 21 people? Could they have warned authorities? UVALDE, Texas — Could Facebook have known about ominous direct-message threats made by a gunman who Texas authorities say massacred 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school? Could it have warned the authorities? Texas Gov. Greg Abbott revealed the online messages sent minutes before the Wednesday attack, although he called them posts, which are typically distributed to a wide audience.  Facebook stepped in to note that the gunman sent one-to-one direct messages, not public posts, and that they weren’t discovered until “after the terrible tragedy.” The latest mass shootings in the U.S. by active social-media users may bring more pressure on social media companies to heighten their scrutiny of online communications, even though conservative politicians — Abbott among them — are also pushing social platforms to relax their restrictions on some speech.  » Read More

John Anderes shirt made of eucalyptus and hemp pictured on Monday, May 23, 2022 in Red Wing. The second material is the cause of censorship of advertising by Anderes on Facebook and Instagram.Theodore Tollefson / Post Bulletin RED WING — John Anderes has been in the outdoor retail industry for over 20 years and he has never faced a problem with advertising products he creates online until now. Anderes' latest shirt design is made from eucalyptus and hemp fiber textiles, and it's that second fiber that is a no-no for advertising on social media giants Facebook and Instagram. “I combined those two materials so you get strength and many other attributes out of them. It’s also the softness of the shirt, it’s right out of the box soft. That's kind of the magic of my deal,” said Anderes on the choice of textiles for his new shirt.The shirt itself is still not for sale on the outdoor retail market. Anderes is still negotiating with retailers on inventory deals for the shirt to be in their stores.  » Read More

The tech giant, Meta, has officially rolled out 3D avatars to Instagram stories and direct messages. It has also launched updated avatars for the social media platforms Facebook and Messenger. It is important to note that the new avatars are more customisable, expressive, and easy to use. The avatars have been there on Snapchat for a long time but the feature is new to Meta platforms. The users are excited and interested to know more about the 3D avatars feature. One should note that the update has been implemented five months since Meta has rolled out 3D avatars for Instagram users in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Back in 2020, the 3D avatars first came on Facebook. The brand new update also includes new facial shapes and assistive devices for disabled people.People with disabilities can use assistive devices such as cochlear implants and hearing aids for both ears in different colours. The stickers on Facebook, Instagram DMs and Messenger will also have these updates.Social media users need to know the correct steps to create 3D avatars for Facebook and Instagram so that they can make use of the update correctly.  » Read More

A social media post by Fort Hood’s top headquarters unit regarding “allegations and concerns” from a local sergeant is being widely shared on social media.“We are aware of the allegations and concerns raised by Sgt. Jewel Scott. We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and commanders will investigate and take action as appropriate. Sgt. Scott is safe and in the care of her unit leadership,” III Corps and Fort Hood said on its Facebook page Sunday afternoon. “Our Soldiers can always bring up concerns to their leadership, who will take appropriate action commensurate with Army Standards and values.”The post had more 360 reactions, 160 comments and nearly 120 shares by lunchtime Monday.On her Instagram page last week, Scott posted a collection of videos and posts — known as a “story” on Instagram.“If I end up dead, just know somebody did it,” Scott said in the post.She was not specific about who may have been trying to hurt her or why.At one point,  » Read More

ENCINITAS — Mayor Catherine Blakespear and the City of Encinitas are now under threat of legal action after the 38th State Senate District candidate issued what some residents called a “disingenuous” public apology over the weekend as part of a settlement agreement for blocking her critics on social media, attorneys familiar with the matter informed The Coast News.  Michael Curran, attorney at Carlsbad-based law firm Curran & Curran Law who represents more than a dozen of residents who were reportedly barred from Blakespear’s social media pages, told The Coast News his clients will pursue a government tort claim against the city and Blakespear in both her official capacity as mayor and as a private citizen for violating her sworn oath to protect and uphold the constitution and infringing residents’ free speech rights. If the city does not agree to settlement terms under this action, Curran said the plaintiffs will pursue a lawsuit in state court.  The announcement came just hours after Blakespear — in accordance with the terms of an out-of-court settlement she had previously reached with Curran’s clients —  issued a public apology on her public Facebook page for restricting access to her official mayoral social media pages.   » Read…

/ Live news Issued on: 23/05/2022 - 18:10Modified: 23/05/2022 - 18:08 Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg faces a lawsuit in Washington over his role in the network's privacy practices MANDEL NGAN AFP/File Washington (AFP) – Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was named personally in a Washington lawsuit Monday alleging he played a direct role in decisions that set the stage for the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. The US capital's attorney general argues that Zuckerberg was closely involved in conceiving the framework that allowed the Britain-based consulting firm to harvest over 70 million US Facebook users dataA whistleblower revealed in 2018 that Cambridge Analytica went on to use that data for political purposes, including trying to rally support for Donald Trump."Zuckerberg is not just a figurehead at Facebook; he is personally involved in nearly every decision the company makes," Washington Attorney General Karl Racine wrote in the suit.He added that Zuckerberg's control is baked into the structure of the company,  » Read More

By Elizabeth Culliford(Reuters) – Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc will share more data on targeting choices made by advertisers running political and social-issue ads in its public ad database, it said on Monday.Meta said it would also include detailed targeting information for these individual ads in its “Facebook Open Research and Transparency” database used by academic researchers, in an expansion of a pilot launched last year.“Instead of analyzing how an ad was delivered by Facebook, it’s really going and looking at an advertiser strategy for what they were trying to do,” said Jeff King, Meta’s vice president of business integrity, in a phone interview.The social media giant has faced pressure in recent years to provide transparency around targeted advertising on its platforms, particularly around elections. In 2018, it launched a public ad library, though some researchers criticized it for glitches and a lack of detailed targeting data.Meta said the ad library will soon show a summary of targeting information for social issue, electoral or political ads run by a page.  » Read More