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What ban? — Facebook’s efforts to combat extremism remain at odds with engagement goals. Tim De Chant - Mar 25, 2021 3:03 pm UTC Enlarge / Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying before Congress in April 2018. It wasn't his only appearance in DC this decade.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before Congress today, and he may have a few more uncomfortable questions to answer. Among them, why is Facebook autogenerating pages for white supremacist groups? Researchers at the Tech Transparency Project found that Facebook created dozens of pages for groups like the “Universal Aryan Brotherhood Movement” when a user did something as simple as listing it as their employer. Some of the autogenerated pages garnered thousands of likes by the time they were discovered by researchers. TTP also discovered four Facebook groups that had been created by users. The researchers shared their findings with Facebook, which removed most of the pages. Yet, two of the autogenerated pages and all four Facebook groups remained active when the group published its findings.  » Read More

Facebook Inc. could be required to disclose some of its records identifying apps that allegedly misused customer data in a privacy investigation brought on by state Attorney General Maura Healey.The Massachusetts Supreme Court found that some of Facebook’s app records could be turned over to Healey as she has demonstrated substantial need for them, while others may be protected from disclosure. Facebook is a social networking company that operates through its website and mobile app. It has more than one billion daily users and more than two billion active accounts. Data Misuse Sparks Wave of Litigation Healey’s investigation comes on the back of the Cambridge Analytica incident initially reported in March 2018. The incident involved an early version of Facebook Platform, a service that connects Facebook users with third-party app developers and enables users to share Facebook data with the apps and developers. A man named Aleksandr Kogan used an early version of the Platform to access and collect data from as many as 87 million Facebook users worldwide, roughly 70 million in the U.S.  » Read More

Press Releases 03/24/2021 Attorney General Tong Calls on Facebook, Twitter to Stop Spread of Anti-Vaxxer Coronavirus Disinformation (Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today led a coalition of eleven other attorneys general calling on Facebook and Twitter to take stronger measures to stop the spread of anti-vaxxer coronavirus disinformation on their social media platforms. In letters to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, the attorneys general urge both leaders to immediately and fully enforce company guidelines against vaccine misinformation to prevent needless infection and death and to hasten our road to recovery. The availability of safe and effective vaccines means the end of this pandemic is in sight. But our ability to do so quickly and limit further loss of life depends on broad public acceptance of these vaccines. False information regarding the safety of coronavirus vaccines by a small number of individuals lacking medical expertise and often motivated by their own financial interests has reached over 59 million followers on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter,  » Read More

(Adds further details on ruling)By Nate RaymondBOSTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Massachusetts' top court on Wednesday reversed an order requiring Facebook Inc to turn over to state Attorney General Maura Healey records identifying apps the company suspected had misused customer data, but the justices said she ultimately could obtain some materials.The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that while some of Facebook's records were protected from disclosure, Healey had demonstrated a "substantial need" for materials to investigate the social media company's privacy practices following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.Healey and Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.The records stemmed from an internal investigation Facebook launched in 2018 after revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, had improperly gained access to data from as many as 87 million of the social media network's users.Cambridge Analytica provided the data to help Donald Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign.According to court papers, Facebook's internal investigation led it to suspend 69,000 apps, mostly because their developers did not cooperate with the investigation.  » Read More

By BARBARA ORTUTAY | March 23, 2021 at 7:03 AM EDT - Updated March 23 at 11:54 AM (AP) – A new outside report found that Facebook has allowed groups — many tied to QAnon, boogaloo and militia movements — to glorify violence during the 2020 election and in the weeks leading up to the deadly riots on the U.S. Capitol in January. Avaaz, a nonprofit advocacy group that says it seeks to protect democracies from misinformation, identified 267 pages and groups on Facebook that it says spread violence-glorifying material in the heat of the 2020 election to a combined following of 32 million users. More than two-thirds of the groups and pages had names that aligned with several domestic extremist movements, the report found. The first, boogaloo, promotes a second U.S. civil war and the breakdown of modern society. The second is the QAnon conspiracy, which claims that Donald Trump is waging a secret battle against the “deep state” and a sect of powerful Satan-worshipping pedophiles who dominate Hollywood, big business, the media and government.  » Read More

London (CNN Business)Reporters Without Borders has filed a lawsuit against Facebook in France, accusing the platform of failing to provide a "safe" environment for users in violation of its own terms and conditions.The media advocacy group, which is considering filing similar lawsuits in other countries, said France's consumer law is especially well suited to the issue. Misleading consumers is illegal under French law and companies face fines of up to 10% of their annual sales if found in violation. The suit filed with prosecutors in Paris on Monday argues that Facebook (FB) has engaged in "deceptive commercial practices" by allowing disinformation and threats to flourish despite promising users that it will "exercise professional diligence" to create "a safe, secure and error-free environment." The group, which is based in Paris and also known by its French initials RSF, said in a statement that the promises made in Facebook's terms and conditions are "largely mendacious" and contradicted by "the large-scale dissemination of hate speech and false information on its networks."To support its claims,  » Read More

Last Updated: 22nd March, 2021 10:39 IST On the Facebook group, many officers criticized other police officers or chiefs who supported Black Lives Matter protestors, who they called "terrorists," "racist" or "thugs." The chief of police of Mount Pleasant Township Pennsylvania, Lou McQuillan, is listed as one of the administrators of a private Facebook group called "Pittsburgh Area Police Breakroom." On the Facebook group, many officers criticized other police officers or chiefs who supported Black Lives Matter protestors, who they called "terrorists," "racist" or "thugs." McQuillan is currently running for a vacant magisterial district judge post. McQuillan posted an article in June 2017 about a civil settlement being reached in the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. He sarcastically remarked on how the amount of the award was determined, writing, "future earnings? lol What about Ofc Wilson? What about his lost earnings? Joke." Several officers replied that the earnings would have derived from crimes or welfare checks and one posted the theme song from "The Jeffersons." In response to an interview request from the AP,  » Read More

A sex trafficking victim has spoken out about her horrifying ordeal in a warning to vulnerable girls, revealing how a predator used Facebook to lure her when she was just 15 years old.The woman, 24, asked to remain anonymous and was too fearful even to reveal her face as she described her nightmare experience in an interview with 60 Minutes  that aired on Sunday night.She described how a trafficker used Facebook to gain her confidence before raping her and posting an ad on Backpage.com to sell her for sex to strangers.The victim has a pending lawsuit against Facebook, accusing the company of failing to take steps against sex predators on its platform. A Facebook spokesman told DailyMail.com that the company takes strong measures to thwart sex trafficking. A sex trafficking victim has spoken out about her horrifying ordeal in a warning to vulnerable girls, revealing how a predator used Facebook to lure her when she was just 15 years old The victim has a pending lawsuit against Facebook,  » Read More

In the best of times, travel advisors have relied on Facebook groups for support, advice and the sharing of ideas.But in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, these groups have become even more vital to agents’ businesses – not to mention their mental health.“If it wasn’t for one very special colleague Facebook group where we can be very open with each other, I swear I’d be looney toons by now,” said Becky Lukovic of Bella Travel Planning, an affiliate of Travel Experts. “The moral support has been incredible and a lifeline on those days where I just want to hide under the covers. There’s just something about having the support of those who are going through the exact same thing you are. You know they feel you. You know they get you.” On a similar note, shortly after the beginning of the pandemic – March 21, 2020 – Sharon Campbell of Bespoke Travel Group launched the private Travel’s Got Talent Facebook group – for “fun and not for business,” she said,  » Read More

The Reuters Fact Check unit will now review content from Facebook and Instagram users in Israel and Iraq, expanding its media verification expertise ...  » Read More