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What's happening CNET has obtained and is publishing whistleblower disclosures to Congress detailing how Facebook intentionally blocked Australian government pages as a negotiating tactic over a new bill lawmakers were considering. Why it matters The disclosure is the latest in a series of leaks that portray Facebook wielding its power as the world's largest social network in aggressive and potentially damaging ways. What it means for you Lawmakers and regulators around the world are increasingly scrutinizing the tech industry, which could lead to new rules for how companies treat your data. Facebook whistleblowers accused the social network of intentionally blocking Australian government and emergency health official pages last year to influence a proposed law. CNET has obtained and is publishing the whistleblowers' disclosures provided to Congress. Filed with US and Australian authorities in March and April, the documents describe alleged internal efforts at Facebook to break a February 2021 standoff with the Australian government. Australia was considering a bill that would force online platforms, including Facebook, to pay publishers for news items posted on their sites.  » Read More

The Meta-fication of the internet continues with the rebranding of Facebook's mobile payment platform to Meta Pay.Customers can expect to see the name change "soon," according to Stephane Kasriel(Opens in a new window), head of commerce and financial technologies at Meta.Available across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp since 2019, the soon-to-be Meta Pay is used by people and businesses in 160 countries for payments, split charges, gift cash, and to request money in 55 currencies.And while the rebranding is underway, Meta is in the early stages of creating what it calls a simplified "single wallet experience" for people to represent "who they are, what they own, and how they pay," Kasriel said. That is, how users can prove their identity, store digital goods, and, most importantly, have them available in the metaverse."We see this as an important opportunity to bring more people into the financial system," the blog said, highlighting the importance of connecting folks to basic investment services. "We've seen first hand that when people can access financial tools,  » Read More

By Syndicated Content May 11, 2022 | 5:50 PM By Katie Paul(Reuters) – Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc is preparing cutbacks in its Reality Labs division, a strategic unit at the center of its strategy to refocus the company on hardware products and the “metaverse,” a spokesperson confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday.Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth told Reality Labs staffers during a weekly Q&A session on Tuesday to expect the changes to be announced within a week, according to a summary of his comments viewed by Reuters and confirmed by the spokesperson.Meta was not planning layoffs as part of the changes, she added.(Reporting by Katie Paul) Coldwater, MI, USA 71 °F Clear  » Read More

Small figurines are seen in front of displayed Meta logo in this illustration taken February 11, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IlustrationRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMay 11 (Reuters) - Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O) is preparing cutbacks in its Reality Labs division, a unit at the center of the company's strategy to refocus on hardware products and the "metaverse," a spokesperson confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday.Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth told Reality Labs staffers during a weekly Q&A session on Tuesday to expect the changes to be announced within a week, according to a summary of his comments viewed by Reuters.The Meta spokesperson confirmed that Bosworth told staffers the division could not afford to do some projects anymore and would have to postpone others, without specifying which projects would be affected.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comShe said Meta was not planning layoffs as part of the changes.The world's biggest social media company last month told investors that it would scale back costs in 2022,  » Read More

Hello and welcome to Tuesday.Congratulations to The Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times, which picked up Pulitzer Prizes on Monday.Tick, tick — There’s less than two weeks to go before state legislators are supposed to return to Tallahassee for a special session aimed at doing something about the meltdown in Florida’s property insurance market.Here’s what we know right now — There is still no deal, or agreement, on what legislation will be enacted during the week-long special session, which continues to be beset by rumors that other items — can you say data privacy? — will be added to the mix as well.Behind the scenes — Word is that draft legislation is being floated around. There is also optimism that some sort of resolution will be reached to try to deal with a vicious cycle that involves lawsuits, rate hikes, undercapitalized companies, the ever-growing policy count of the state-created Citizens Property Insurance and the continued clout of out-of-state reinsurers. Reinsurers do a good job at pushing back against proposals that would make it easier for in-state insurers to access Florida’s reinsurance fund known as the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.  » Read More

Attorneys for a man who once worked as a content moderator for Facebook have filed a lawsuit accusing the company of exploitative and unsafe working conditions.The case against Meta Platforms FB-Q, Facebook’s parent company, and the outsourcing firm Sama was lodged Tuesday with a court in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.Daniel Motaung’s petition “calls upon Kenya’s courts to order Facebook and its outsourcing companies to end exploitation in its Nairobi moderation hub, where content moderators work in dangerous conditions,” said a statement by Foxglove, a London-based legal non-profit that supports Facebook content moderators.The lawsuit notes that content moderators must view “toxic content” including graphic violence, exposing them to mental health issues. It also seeks orders for Facebook and Sama to respect moderators’ right to unionize.Meta in Nairobi said it takes seriously its responsibility to people who review content for the company and requires its “partners to provide industry-leading pay, benefits and support,” according to a statement issued by the company’s spokeswoman.“We also encourage content reviewers to raise issues when they become aware of them and regularly conduct independent audits to ensure our partners are meeting the high standards we expect of them,” the statement said.  » Read More

(Pocket-lint) - Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced Instagram will test a way for users to display non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on their profiles.A similar feature will also come to Facebook soon. In fact, NFTs could come to several Meta apps, from WhatsApp to Messenger."We're starting building for NFTs, not just in our metaverse and Reality Labs work, but also across our family of apps", Zuckerberg said in a video posted to Facebook on Monday. "We're starting to test digital collectibles on Instagram so that creators and collectors can display their NFTs."Also coming is a way for users to display 3D NFTs in Instagram Stories using augmented reality, Zuckerberg said. The new feature will be built on Spark AR and will allow users to "place digital art in physical spaces." To start, however, users will be able to share NFTs they've created or bought in their feed, Stories, and messages, according to Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri. You won't need to pay any fees "associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible",  » Read More

Author of the article: Head coach Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals hoists the Stanley Cup after his team defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Bruce Bennett /Getty Images The Islanders fired coach Barry Trotz on Monday, ending his run of four seasons behind the bench in New York. Trotz posted a record of 152-102 and was 28-21 in the playoffs with the Islanders. The Islanders went to the conference finals in back-to-back seasons before missing the postseason in 2021-22. General manager Lou Lamoriello has not been shy about making drastic changes in his career. However, Trotz was not thought to be in danger of losing his job. He had one year remaining on his contract. The 59-year-old Trotz has 914 career victories in 23 seasons with Nashville (1998-2014), Washington (2014-18) and the Islanders. Advertisement 2 This advertisement has not loaded yet,  » Read More

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin says he’s still interested in passing major pieces of President Joe Biden’s agenda — but sources close to Manchin, D-W.Va., say Democrats may be making a big mistake by waiting for him to lay out precisely what he’d support.Manchin has expressed interest in passing a bill through the filibuster-proof reconciliation process that would raise taxes, reduce the deficit, cut prescription drug costs and fund energy and climate measures, even though some Democrats fear he is running out the clock. He also began leading bipartisan talks on energy over the last two weeks, prompting worries among Democrats that he’s losing interest in a party-line bill to pass major climate policies.But sources close to Manchin believe Democrats are making an error by passively waiting for him to craft his own detailed legislation, which many in the party have grumbled he should do ever since he rejected Biden’s Build Back Better plan in December.People familiar with Manchin's thinking say he has repeatedly laid out his demands in public but that he’s unlikely to put pen to paper to write a reconciliation bill — that's a job for Democratic leaders.  » Read More

GREENSBORO, N.C. –  The University of Notre Dame softball team, fresh off a three-game sweep of Louisville to close the regular season, has earned the four-seed in the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament this week in Pittsburgh. The Fighting Irish have earned a 39-9 overall record and finished the regular season 16-5 in ACC play this year. Virginia Tech is the top seed in the tournament after clinching last weekend with a 21-2 record in the ACC. Duke is the second seed in the championship tournament with a 19-3 mark in league play. Florida State solidified its three-seed by sweeping NC State in Raleigh this past weekend. The Irish are set to take on fifth-seeded Clemson in the first round Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Clemson finished the season 14-10 in the ACC and 37-14 overall. Rounding out the tournament field is Virginia, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse and NC State. Notre Dame and the Tigers will face off in game four of the tournament Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at Vartabedian Field. The two teams met earlier this season in South Carolina.  » Read More