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Facebook has signed a bevy of renewable energy contracts across the US and Ireland.The eight wind and solar power purchase agreements will total 806MW of additional power when they are completed. Back in 2018, the social media and advertising company pledged to be fully renewably powered by the end of 2020.Greening the gridThe new contracts cover four states - Utah, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee - and numerous developers, including D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments and Apex Clean Energy.In Ireland, Facebook partnered with Brookfield Renewable Partners LP, a company it signed a 10-year deal with back in 2016. After Candian-fund Brookfield acquired local utility Bord Gáis's wind farm business, its Lisheen, Co Tipperary, turbines have powered Facebook's data centers in Clonee.But the facility and its needs are expanding, while Facebook also plans to expand its offices in the region. In late 2018, it agreed to lease the Bankcentre campus in Ballsbridge, giving it space for an additional 5,000 staff - although roughly 2,200 will be relocated from Dublin. The current pandemic has likely slowed such a move, with Facebook saying it expected some of its employees to remain working from home for years to come, but by July 2021 it expects at least half its staff to turn up.To cover all this, it is backing Brookfield's Lisheen III project, which is expected to generate 28.8MW when it launches in 2022.“We appreciate this strong collaboration with Brookfield Renewable and we are excited to be part of bringing this new wind project to the grid,” said Colin Spain, Facebook’s energy manager for EMEA. “We hope it will not only support our operations in Ireland and our goal of 100 percent renewable energy for all of our global operations, but will encourage all stakeholders to work together to bring additional renewables to the grid via corporate…

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Facebook is joining Microsoft in condemning Apple’s App Store policies today. The social media company is launching its Facebook Gaming app for iOS — primarily an app used to watch streamers play video games — but has had to remove the app’s mini games feature to pass Apple’s strict App Store approval process. Facebook isn’t happy about the compromise. “Unfortunately, we had to remove gameplay functionality entirely in order to get Apple’s approval on the standalone Facebook Gaming app — meaning iOS users have an inferior experience to those using Android,” said Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer in a press statement given to The Verge. “We’re staying focused on building communities for the more than 380 million people who play games on Facebook every month — whether Apple allows it in a standalone app or not.” Facebook says it has had the Facebook Gaming app rejected multiple times by Apple in recent months. The company says Apple has cited App Store guideline 4.7 to justify the rejections, claiming the primary purpose of the Facebook Gaming app is to play games. Facebook says it shared usage data from its Android Facebook Gaming app that showed 95 percent of activity is watching streams, but this didn’t change Apple’s stance. Facebook Gaming on iOS lacks its Instant Games. Facebook Apple unveiled an appeal process for situations like this at WWDC back in June, but Facebook says it tried this and failed to convince Apple to overturn its decision. “We even appealed the guideline under the new app review process announced at WWDC,” says a Facebook spokesperson. “We did not receive a response.” Facebook has now been forced to give up and remove games entirely from the standalone app launching on iOS today. The Facebook Gaming app is primarily used to watch streams…

Saying Apple forced changes during months of rejection, the social network is releasing a version for iPhone and iPad users today.Facebook said it had made changes to its Gaming app to get Apple’s approval for its App Store.Credit...FacebookAug. 7, 2020, 6:00 a.m. ETFor six months, Facebook tried to get Apple to approve its new Facebook Gaming app so it could be available in Apple’s App Store. Each time, Apple said no.This week, Facebook said it had acceded to Apple’s demands to change its Gaming app so that it could be distributed to iPhone and iPad users starting on Friday. To comply with Apple’s rules, which prohibit apps if their “main purpose” is distributing software such as games, the social network said it had entirely removed playable games from its new app.Facebook said Apple had essentially used its power over the App Store to force its hand, turning the Gaming app into an inferior experience for iPhone and iPad owners. In addition to playable games, the original version of the app allows users to watch and create live gameplay streams and participate in gaming communities — functions that will still operate in the Apple version.The frustration with Apple extends to Facebook’s highest echelons. In a statement, Sheryl Sandberg, the company’s chief operating officer, said, “Unfortunately, we had to remove gameplay functionality entirely in order to get Apple’s approval on the stand-alone Facebook Gaming app.” She added that Facebook would continue to build communities for those who played games on Facebook, “whether Apple allows it in a stand-alone app or not.”Games are the largest source of revenue for Apple on the App Store, and many tech executives have concluded that Apple blocks game services that could compete with its own products and sales.Apple, without directly addressing Facebook Gaming, said its App Store…

The call from 20 state officials adds to the rising pressure facing Mark Zuckerberg and his company.The state officials also called on Facebook to provide supportive services for people harassed on its social network.Credit...Jim Wilson/The New York TimesAug. 5, 2020, 2:06 p.m. ETTwenty state attorneys general on Wednesday called on Facebook to better prevent messages of hate, bias and disinformation from spreading, and said the company needed to provide more help to users facing online abuse.In a letter to the social media giant, the officials said they regularly encountered people facing online intimidation and harassment on Facebook. They outlined seven steps the company should take, including allowing third-party audits of hate content and offering real-time assistance to users.“We hope to work with you to ensure that fewer individuals suffer online harassment and discrimination, and that it is quickly and effectively addressed when they do,” said the letter, which was addressed to Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, and its chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg. The officials who signed the letter, all of them Democrats, represent states including New York, New Jersey, Illinois and California, as well as the District of Columbia.The letter adds to the rising pressure facing Mr. Zuckerberg and his company to stop disinformation and harassment on Facebook. Civil rights leaders, advertisers and some of the company’s own employees have criticized Facebook for failing to curtail the spread of noxious content. Extremists and conspiracists have turned to social media — most often Facebook, Twitter and YouTube — to circulate falsehoods about the coronavirus pandemic, the coming presidential election and Black Lives Matter protests.ImageFacebook and other social media companies have made some changes to dismantle misinformation and hate on their services. Last month, Twitter announced that it would remove thousands of accounts associated with the fringe conspiracy movement QAnon, saying…

Published: Aug. 5, 2020 at 1:59 p.m. ET Instagram Reels includes a video distribution algorithm similar to TikTok’s that lets consumers see the most popular videos at the moment. Facebook Inc. Facebook Inc. on Wednesday announced its alternative to popular social-media app TikTok at a time when the future of its Chinese corporate owner is in limbo. The unveiling of Instagram Reels continues a long Facebook FB, -0.18% tradition of rolling out features that have been popularized by competing platforms like Snap Inc. SNAP, +0.43% and making them available to Facebook’s billions of users worldwide to grab market share. In the case of Reels, it includes a video distribution algorithm similar to TikTok’s that lets consumers see the most popular videos at the moment. The key, killer feature is the ability to create 15-second videos with editing tools embedded in Instagram’s camera. “Facebook has a mixed track record when it comes to copying other companies’ features. Many of its attempts over the years have failed,” eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson said. “Instagram did it extremely well with Stories, which it copied from Snapchat. I believe Instagram has a similar opportunity with Reels, but it’s not a guaranteed success.” In ordinary times, the prospect of Facebook diving into the shallow end of the pool would be daunting but the social-networking behemoth is the least of worries for ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok. It not only is navigating a possible sale to Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -0.23% but enduring the wrath of the Trump Administration. Read more: Opinion: Trump has no right to demand money from Microsoft-TikTok deal President Donald Trump on Monday said he was ready to approve a deal but only if the U.S. government gets a cut of the sale price. This led to howls of protest from…

News Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Hunton Andrews Kurth are among the law firms that Facebook has hired for a Texas Supreme Court appeal seeking to toss out lawsuits by three sex trafficking victims who have sued over sex trafficking on Facebook and Instagram. Photo: PK Studio/Shutterstock.com Some of Texas’ largest Big Law firms are behind Facebook Inc. in a Texas Supreme Court appeal of rulings that are allowing victims to sue over sex trafficking that happened on Facebook and Instagram. Want to continue reading?Become a Free ALM Digital Reader. Benefits of a Digital Membership: Free access to 3 articles* every 30 days Access to the entire ALM network of websites Unlimited access to the ALM suite of newsletters Build custom alerts on any search topic of your choosing Search by a wide range of topics *May exclude premium content Already have an account? Sign In Now Angela Morris is ALM Media's Texas litigation reporter. She covers lawsuits in all levels of Texas state and federal courts. Based in Austin, Morris earned journalism and government degrees from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006, and since then, has worked primarily as a reporter and writer, but also has skills in videography, photography and podcasts. Follow her on Twitter at @AMorrisReports. More from this author

A pro-Trump ad was removed from Facebook after claims that it contained false information, Fox News has learned.America First Action PAC on Tuesday told Fox News that Facebook removed one of its ads, titled "On Hold," which was placed in Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on July 24. The ad was flagged by Politifact on July 29, according to the PAC."Facebook's decision to take down this ad shows its anti-conservative bias," America First Communications Director Kelly Sadler told Fox News. "America First Action has logged an appeal, but the threat of anti-conservative bias, targeting, and censorship remains ahead of Election Day in November and we must be vigilant in holding big tech, like Facebook accountable."TWITTER EXEC IN CHARGE OF FACT-CHECKING MOCKED TRUMP SUPPORTERS, CALLED MCCONNELL 'BAG OF FARTS'Sadler, during an interview on Fox Business on Tuesday, added that this "is just more bias from these social media companies.""We're going to file an appeal, but there's really little we can do about it," she told host Stuart Varney. "These social media giants are monopolies, and ultimately they make the decision of what runs on their platform."Facebook confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that the ad had, in fact, been fact-checked. A Facebook spokesperson told Fox News that ads that are fact-checked and found to contain false information are not eligible to run as a paid ad on the social media platform.The spokesman added that the videos can, instead, run as original content on the group's page.America First Action, though, said certain versions of the ad were removed in particular states, but the Facebook spokesman said that once the ad was fact-checked as false, all versions would be removed from the platform.The Facebook spokesperson said that if any version of the ad was still running on the platform, it would be due to a lag in Facebook's fact-checking system.The ad…

FACEBOOK IS IN: Facebook has jumped into the music video game. The social media giant has announced it will now license content from Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group for Facebook Watch and via individual artists’ pages. They can be shared, reacted to, or commented on like any other video on Facebook. The move is a step up for Facebook, which previously was able to only share short previews of major label content. The target is industry leader YouTube, which are one of the most popular attractions on that site. TAYLOR SWIFTIES JUSTICE: The word “fan” is short for “fanatic.” Submitted for your approval: the reaction of certain fans of Taylor Swift this week to a relatively good album review. Related Story Coronavirus Continues to Ravage Los Angeles County: 50 New Deaths, 2,303 New Cases Pitchfork senior editor Jillian Mapes gave Swift’s new record folklore a review that called it “a sweater-weather record filled with cinematic love songs and rich fictional details.” Pitchfork uses ratings of multiple staffers to determine a final score, and granted the album and 8 out of 10. Apparently, that wasn’t good enough for ultra-fans, who doxxed Mapes by posting her personal information and taking to social media to wage jihad. Swift has yet to comment on the actions, perhaps because she’s celebrating the overwhelming sales of the album, which topped the 2 million mark in its first week JAPAN IS GOING MUSERK: Music and video rights management firm Muserk has partnered with Video Research of Japan to launch MUSERK V.I.D. The joint venture will service, manage and protect the online rights of the major broadcasters, networks, and production companies of Japan around the world. Japan is the second-largest music market in the world and third-largest YouTube market in the world. Muserk was founded…

Major advertisers on Facebook reduced their spending by millions of dollars in July, but not enough to significantly damage the platform’s revenue. July Boycotters Reduced Spenders Other Top Advertisers 10 5 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY July Boycotters Reduced Spenders 5 MAR MAY JULY JAN Aug. 1, 2020Updated 5:08 p.m. ETThe advertiser boycott of Facebook took a toll on the social media giant, but it may have caused more damage to the company’s reputation than to its bottom line.The boycott, called #StopHateForProfit by the civil rights groups that organized it, urged companies to stop paying for ads on Facebook in July to protest the platform’s handling of hate speech and misinformation. More than 1,000 advertisers publicly joined, out of a total pool of more than 9 million, while others quietly scaled back their spending.The 100 advertisers that spent the most on Facebook in the first half of the year spent $221.4 million from July 1 through July 29, 12 percent less than the $251.4 million spent by the top 100 advertisers a year earlier, according to estimates from the advertising analytics platform Pathmatics. Of those 100, nine companies formally announced a pullback in paid advertising, cutting their spending to $507,500 from $26.2 million.Many of the companies that stayed away from Facebook said they planned to return, and many are mom-and-pop enterprises and individuals that depend on the platform for promotion. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, has emphasized the importance of small business, saying during an earnings call on Thursday that “some seem to wrongly assume that our business is dependent on a few large advertisers.”Facebook said that the top 100 spenders contributed 16 percent of its $18.7 billion in revenue in the second quarter, which ended on June 30. During the first three weeks of July, Facebook said,…