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Facebook could lose billions in revenue as Apple cripples the IDFA, especially if Google follows ... suit with the GAID. Photo by Barefoot Communications on Unsplash Facebook is one of the two most dominant companies in an $80 billion industry that impacts hundreds of billions of dollars, if not trillions, in consumer spend. But a huge percentage of that revenue is now at risk, thanks to an obscure privacy move by Apple at the company’s World Wide Developer Conference in June. The move? Deprecating a mobile device identifier called the IDFA. It’s a super-geeky term in a super-geeky industry: mobile advertising. But it represents a sea change in how advertisers and ad networks target ads to consumers. Good targeting leads to relevant advertising and high returns for both the advertiser and the ad network. Poor targeting? It’s literally worth 50% less by Facebook’s own numbers. The IDFA is the Identifier for Advertisers, and in every existing version of Apple mobile operating system for iPhones and iPads, it’s visible to ad networks and mobile advertisers. Unless consumers opt out in a little-seen out-of-the-way setting, which only about 30% of iPhone users have bothered to turn off. Facebook uses the IDFA — and the Android equivalent from Google, GAID — to accumulate data on what billions of people do in apps. Facebook then uses that data to target app install ads (ads that are aimed at getting you to install a new app or game). Because they have so much data via the IDFA, Facebook is likely to be able to find the people who are most likely to install the app and do specific things inside it. MORE FROM FORBESApple Just Crippled IDFA, Sending An $80 Billion Industry Into UpheavalBy John KoetsierLike register. Or buy something. Or complete a level…

An interesting question was asked Monday on the “Life In Blackfoot” Facebook page.“What kind of small business is Blackfoot missing?”The replies were interesting, and many of them had to do with giving the youth in Blackfoot something to do.Here is a sampling.Kayla Moffat: I think it would be nice to have a place with arcade games/pool tables and such for teens. Seems like all there is for teens is the skate park.Pete Dunham: A nice family friendly pool parlor with fun tournaments and league play. My family and I are likely moving to Blackfoot soon, if the demand/ support is there I have no problem with helping the community and opening up a good and family friendly place for folks of all ages to play pool.A league for teens that is well managed would be great for them.Nicole Dial: Definitely something for kids and teens to do.Bouse Babbitt Buzz: Shoe store.- Stephanie Bemis: How about a shoe/specialty sock store. And carry shoes in bigger sizes that are extremely hard to find?- Nikkie Leavitt: It sucks have to go out of town to find any decent shoes, Basketball, football, running shoes, shoes that are hard to find in bigger sizes. And it’s nicer to be able to try on the shoe before buying.Lou Mac: Sporting goods/shoe store. I remember what an asset Bill’s was when I was a kid.Clarence Worthen: A bike shop.Mary Folkner: A book store.- Debra Baron Wallace: B&R Crafts has a paperback book exchange.Karma Lyn: Pet store.Bob Roberts: Pet store.Jim Thompson: Pet store would be awesome.Jasmine Rose Kendall: A splash pad or swimming area. We only have gravel pits and Rose. The grove isn’t good to swim at. It would be nice to swim in actual pool water because that’s refreshing at times. We have to drive to…

For representational purposes By Express News Service BENGALURU: Acting swiftly on a false video posted on a social media platform, purportedly of a dedicated Covid-19 ward in Victoria Hospital, Central Crime Branch (CCB) police nabbed a man within a few hours after he posted the video. The accused, Sameer Ullah (46), is a resident of Tilaknagar and a timber merchant. On Saturday night, he posted a video from his Facebook profile, Saif Adds. The video is of scores of people wearing masks, gathered in a small space in a hospital, and the person filming it expresses concern that it is a threat to medical staff and patients. Saif Adds claimed it was a scene from Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru. Within minutes, the video went viral. Police, who took up the matter seriously, registered a case with the Cyber Crime police station, under provisions of the Information Technology Act, National Disaster Management Act and IPC. Sleuths zeroed in on the profile of Saif Adds. “Through the IP address and other details, he was traced to Tilaknagar and arrested on Sunday afternoon,” an official said. “The accused claimed that he had got the video on WhatsApp, and the sender had said it was Victoria Hospital, and he posted it without verifying. We are trying to find out who spread this false information,” the official added. JCP (Crime) Sandeep Patil said, “The video which went viral about Victoria Hospital is fake, and has no link to Victoria Hospital or any hospital in Karnataka. People should be careful not to share or forward any false video or message about the pandemic.” The profile of the accused revealed that he had links with some political leaders, and had shared photos of himself with a former minister and police officer. Stay up to date on all…

Australian internet community Ripple has been selected to join the global Facebook Community Accelerator program. Ripple GI, an Australian website and internet group that matches young people with curated career opportunities, is one of 13 web-based communities from across the Asia-Pacific region selected for the prestigious Facebook Community Accelerator program, a global development initiative that aims to help young go-getters expand their skills, influence and communities. Facebook’s Community Accelerator is a six-month program that will give Ripple access to global experts,  coaches and resources to create a customised curriculum for community growth. Ripple, which started in 2016 and has almost 11, 000 members will receive approximately $US30,000, which will be used to enhance both the reach and impact of their Australian community. Grace Clapham, Facebook’s head of community partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region, says Ripple was chosen from a vast array of other communities to join the program. “We received hundreds of applications across four countries in APAC – Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand,” Grace says.  “In the end, it boiled down to communities that are already driving positive, lasting change, but need help to scale their efforts and grow in size. We’re excited to welcome a diverse group of community leaders and look forward to working with them to meet their goals and create further impact in their communities.” Facebook will hand out up to $US3 million globally for the program, helping these selected communities to implement growth plans for their networks with assistance from a dedicated team from Facebook. The Community Accelerator is part of the Facebook Community Leadership Program – a global initiative investing in the leaders who are building communities around the world, bringing people together, offering encouragement, and driving change. Ripple supports purpose-driven young people to harness “their agency” and create impact in every sphere of…

BREAKING NEWS CAL FIRE responding to wildfires near Susanville and Yreka Full Story BREAKING NEWS Eight more cases of Covid-19 in Shasta County announced on Saturday Full Story

Facebook Messenger on iOS and Android has been upgraded with ability for users to share their screen with others.Facebook is expanding Messenger’s screen sharing capability, first available on desktop, to the iOS and Android mobile apps.Users can share their screen with other people one-on-one or in a group video call with up to eight participants.This feature is also being rolled out to Messenger Rooms which allows for up to 16 people in a chat at the same time.“Today, we’re excited to share that we’re expanding the availability of Messenger’s screen sharing feature in video calls and Messenger Rooms to our mobile apps…We know people are trying to stay connected more than ever and screen sharing is the latest feature we’re rolling out to bring people closer together.”Here’s more about how screen sharing in Facebook Messenger works.Screen Sharing in Facebook MessengerUsers can share a live view of their screen for others to see, which will show participants in the chat everything the user is doing on their mobile device.“Screen sharing lets you share a live view of your screen so you can share virtually anything together. Whether you want to share memories from your camera roll, shop together online, co-browse social media, and more…”Screen sharing was previously available on the desktop version of Facebook Messenger. This marks the first time screen sharing has been an option in the mobile app or Messenger Rooms.Speaking of Messenger Rooms – which is an app designed specifically for group chats – it will soon be upgraded with the ability to screen share with up to 50 people.Users who create a Messenger Room will be able to specify who has permission to screen share with the group.The ability to screen share in a Messenger Room can be given to just the room creator, or select participants, or…

SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Allowing millions of Brazilian users of Facebook’s (FB.O) WhatsApp to send money as easily as texts seemed a golden opportunity for the world’s largest social media company. FILE PHOTO: Brazil's Central Bank President Roberto Campos Neto speaks near Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes while leaving Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil April 27, 2020. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File PhotoThe ubiquitous messaging service was finally entering the financial services arena with a payment service in Latin America’s largest economy, after years of questions over how Facebook would make money from it. The June launch, years in the planning, was meant to be the pilot for a potential global rollout - but eight days after going live, the central bank pulled the plug on it. The shock decision underscores the challenge for Facebook in trying to win over financial regulators and the complexities facing watchdogs in assessing the risks of letting tech giants, with their vast network of users, loose in their world. In Brazil, it also raises questions about the communications around the launch. WhatsApp executives and central bank officials had held at least three meetings in the previous 21 months, including two in the week running up to the launch. In the first time he has spoken in detail about the decision, Central Bank President Roberto Campos Neto told Reuters the regulator had not determined how to deal with the proposed payment model - a new phenomenon in Brazil, which has no card money transfer service operated via an app. “Prior to the launch, there was a meeting in which WhatsApp kind of explained its plan, but the central bank was taken by surprise with the launch on June 15,” he said in an interview. The regulator - which said it never received a formal launch request - suspended…

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. On April 3, Terrence K. Williams, a politically conservative actor and comedian who’s been praised by President Donald Trump, assured his nearly 3 million followers on Facebook that Democrats would light ballots on fire or throw them away. Wearing a red “Keep America Great” hat, Williams declared, “If you mail in your vote, your vote will be in Barack Obama’s fireplace.” The video has been viewed more than 350,000 times. On May 8, Peggy Hubbard, a Navy veteran and police officer who this year sought the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois, warned on Facebook that the country was heading toward civil war. “Your democracy, your freedom is being stripped away from you, and if you allow that then everything this country stood for, fought for, bled for is all in vain.” The cause? California’s recent expansion of voting by mail: “The only way you will be able to vote in the upcoming election in November is by mail only,” Hubbard said. The video has attracted more than 209,000 views. On June 27, Pamela Geller, an anti-Muslim activist with nearly 1.3 million followers, weighed in. “Mail-in ballots guarantee that the Democrats will commit voter fraud,” she said on Facebook. There’s no evidence for any of these statements. While California will mail absentee ballots to all registered voters, polling places will also be available. Voter fraud is exceedingly rare, including with mail-in ballots. A recent Washington Post analysis analyzed three states with all-mail elections — Colorado, Oregon and Washington — and found just 372 potential irregularities among 14.6 million votes, or 0.0025%. Facebook’s community standards ban “misrepresentation of who can vote, qualifications for voting, whether a…

Facebook's European headquarters in Dublin's Grand Canal district. Photo: PAThe European Union’s top court on Thursday found that a key framework used to transfer user data by technology giants to the US was invalid, ruling that it does not provide adequate privacy protection to EU citizens.The European Court of Justice nevertheless partially sided with Facebook (FB) by ruling in favour of key contracts used to transfer the data of the bloc’s citizens to other countries, even as it opened up the social media giant to further challenges and called into question their use for transfers to the US.The invalidation of the framework, known as the Privacy Shield, is a blow for the EU, which had hoped that the framework would afford EU citizens the protections outlined within the bloc’s charter of fundamental rights while still allowing data transfers to firms in the US.READ MORE: Apple wins appeal in top court against €13bn EU tax rulingThe core of the issue was on the contradiction between US law, which requires social media firms to hand over user data to national security agencies, and both the charter and the GDPR regulation, which give every EU citizen substantial data privacy rights.It covers about 5,000 US companies, including Facebook, Google (GOOG), and Twitter (TWTR), that handle the data of EU citizens.The European Court of Justice found that contracts known as standard contractual clauses — which are far more routinely used for data transfers than the Privacy Shield — were valid, however.But the court also outlined ways in which specific clauses could be struck down, ruling that such clauses are legal only if the data protections they promise can be assured under the laws of the countries where the data of EU citizens is sent. “Everyone is focusing on Facebook as a familiar household name, but in reality, this is…

Home >Companies >News >Facebook whitepaper says current privacy communication practices insufficient The whitepaper, authored by Erin Egan, vice president and chief privacy officer, Public Policy at Facebook, is part of the Privacy Matters series the social media company has been running (Bloomberg) 1 min read . Updated: 16 Jul 2020, 11:40 AM IST Prasid Banerjee The whitepaper though doesn’t talk about the changes the company is making, and is more of a thought experiment and makes suggestions about how companies can look at designing privacy policies in future NEW DELHI: Facebook on Thursday published a whitepaper calling for privacy policies that are clearer and easier to understand. The whitepaper, authored by Erin Egan, vice president and chief privacy officer, Public Policy at Facebook, is part of the Privacy Matters series the social media company has been running to explain changes it’s making to its privacy practices. The whitepaper though doesn’t talk about the changes the company is making, and is more of a thought experiment and makes suggestions about how companies can look at designing privacy policies in future. “In short, the current practices for informing people about how companies use their data, and the laws setting out transparency requirements, may be insufficient to provide meaningful notice to people," wrote Egan. The paper lays out three questions around how privacy communications are designed, including how organizations, regulators and stakeholders can work together to develop new ways for communicating about privacy, legal and regulatory support for designing “people-centered" practices and how regulators can hold organizations accountable. “Transparency efforts by organizations, as well as the policy frameworks that underlie them, must be built to anticipate and meet varying needs," the whitepaper said. “There are no easy answers, nor has anyone ‘solved’ the problem of how to design transparency to address these needs,"…