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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,"…

Facebook Inc. (FB) has boosted production on its Oculus virtual reality (VR) headset to nearly double the amount compared to last year.According to a July 15 report from Nikkei Asian Review, the social media site has reacted to the uptick in COVID-19 cases throughout the world by calling for a production increase in the second half of 2020. This would be an increase of 50% compared to its entire produced amount for all of 2019.Nikkei’s source says that “the production forecast for the second half of this year could reach at least two million units, which is already around 1.5 times more than its total production output last year.”Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion in 2014. Meanwhile, other tech companies have also introduced their VR versions with Sony (SNE) launching its PlayStation VR in 2015. Additionally, HTC, Samsung Electronics, and Huawei Technologies all introduced various types of headsets later using smartphones for VR screens. Despite the competition, Oculus has become the market leader claiming near 35% market share.On a Q1 earnings call, April 29, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that ad revenue grew 17% annually during the quarter, while its other revenue was “driven primarily by sales of Oculus products.” He stated that Oculus reached $297 million for the quarter which was up 80% from a year ago. According to Zuckerberg, videoconferencing tools could “accelerate some of the trends” in VR despite Oculus’ use being primarily for video games. In light of the pandemic, game console makers like Nintendo (NTDOY) have experienced increased demand for its portable Nintendo Switch device amidst supply constraints. With government lockdowns in Malaysia and the Philippines, a shortage resulted in parts that led to overall delays in production. Third-party sellers cashed-in on the moment by selling the game device for more than double the price on…

A Facebook post by Plum School Director Amy Wetmore has some borough officials calling for her resignation. The post in question was made on July 8 by the school board’s finance committee liaison in a private page called “Black Lives Matter In Plum Boro.” It appears to have been made to start a conversation about race while promoting an article and several books on the subject. However, a segment of her post did not sit well with Plum Mayor Harry Schlegel and Councilman Mike Doyle, both Republicans, and both called for the Plum Democratic Committee chairwoman to step down as school director. “For those who haven’t seen it, there is a heated debate about someone implying Republicans are racist,” the post read. “I would take that statement even further. If you are white and you are living in the United States, you are racist. I say this as a white woman.” Schlegel said at Monday night’s council meeting that her statement paints a very broad negative brush. “Every person in this room, according to her, this council, our police department, are racists,” Schlegel said. “I’m not going to tolerate that. We do not need divisiveness in this community. We have not had any issues like that in the past.” He also said Wetmore’s comments carry more weight as a school board member, and referenced one who resigned last year due to backlash over his social media posts. Brian Wisniewski, a Republican, shared an anti-Muslim post on his personal Facebook page. He stepped down last February. “Elected officials are personally responsible for all their comments,” the mayor said. “They have the freedom of speech. … What is applied to a conservative Republican must be applied to a liberal Democrat. There are no double standards here in Plum. “Inappropriate, defamatory and insulting…

A Facebook post by Plum School Director Amy Wetmore has some borough officials calling for her resignation. The post in question was made on July 8 by the school board’s finance committee liaison in a private page called “Black Lives Matter In Plum Boro.” It appears to have been made to start a conversation about race while promoting an article and several books on the subject. However, a segment of her post did not sit well with Plum Mayor Harry Schlegel and Councilman Mike Doyle, both Republicans, and both called for the Plum Democratic Committee chairwoman to step down as school director. “For those who haven’t seen it, there is a heated debate about someone implying Republicans are racist,” the post read. “I would take that statement even further. If you are white and you are living in the United States, you are racist. I say this as a white woman.” Schlegel said at Monday night’s council meeting that her statement paints a very broad negative brush. “Every person in this room, according to her, this council, our police department, are racists,” Schlegel said. “I’m not going to tolerate that. We do not need divisiveness in this community. We have not had any issues like that in the past.” He also said Wetmore’s comments carry more weight as a school board member, and referenced one who resigned last year due to backlash over his social media posts. Brian Wisniewski, a Republican, shared an anti-Muslim post on his personal Facebook page. He stepped down last February. “Elected officials are personally responsible for all their comments,” the mayor said. “They have the freedom of speech. … What is applied to a conservative Republican must be applied to a liberal Democrat. There are no double standards here in Plum. “Inappropriate, defamatory and insulting…

Mayor Tom Broderick says it happened while he was with family on the 4th of July. ANDERSON, Ind. — The mayor of Anderson could be pressured to resign this week after he says he unintentionally recorded a Facebook Live video where he can heard making remarks about council members.  Mayor Tom Broderick says it happened while he was with family on the 4th of July. In an apology letter addressed to council members, he says his phone was in his pocket and he somehow triggered it to record. About six minutes into the 10-minute recording, Broderick can be heard having a conversation with his son, Evan.  "While digging through the garage for the plywood my son came across an old Herald Bulletin publication displaying the "Best of Madison County," said Broderick. "On the cover was a large picture and headline depicting (councilor) Ty Bibbs, named as bachelor of the year. Ty is also one of the persons who has been in opposition to my efforts." Broderick goes on to write that he and his son began laughing at the headline. That's when Broderick can be heard saying "Those people are driving me nuts, Evan (expletive). I'll be honest, I've been like so excited about it. I don't have to look at most of them most of the time."    The comments have sparked concern among residents, including councilman Bibbs. He called the mayor's behavior "embarrassing" and "unacceptable."      "I am personally and professionally appalled that behind closed doors, this is how (Mayor) Broderick truly feels about "THOSE PEOPLE" and myself," Bibbs wrote in an email. "He also owes the citizens an explanation as to who he believes "THOSE PEOPLE" are and who he exactly believes the "(expletives)" are.  I would hope that "THOSE PEOPLE" are not viewed by (Mayor)…

by: Haylee Brooks Posted: Jul 15, 2020 / 08:39 PM CDT / Updated: Jul 16, 2020 / 06:01 AM CDT BRYANT, Ark.- People in Bryant are fired up over a Facebook post made by a Bryant Firefighter. The Mayor of Bryant called the post racist and inappropriate and said the employee has since been terminated. “It’s a racist comment and a racist post,” said Allen Scott, Mayor of Bryant, “It’s a racist post essentially jabbing Black Lives Matter and it implies that they should pick cotton and its just not appropriate.” Mayor Scott said hours after he learned about the post, Kyle Robertson was fired from the Bryant Fire Department. “When I saw the post of course I thought it was immediately inappropriate for anyone to post, let alone a city employee,” said Scott. Robertson has worked for the Fire Department since 2009 and made his way up the ranks. We did reach out to Robertson for comment, he said he doesn’t want to say anything that would possibly shed a negative light on the department. Robertson also said, “At present, I am at a loss.” “Don’t judge a book by one sentence and this is just one sentence. Really what we are, we are nothing like this,” said Scott. Scott said they are ready to close this chapter and use it to teach other city employees.  “I need to get back with my people and make sure they understand the significance of this and why it’s inappropriate,” said Scott. Scott said this is the first time a situation like this has happened since becoming mayor. He also says he hopes to take the appropriate steps to drive home the standards for city employees.

POCATELLO — An incident reminiscent of Dateline NBC’s hit reality show of the early 2000s, “To Catch a Predator,” unfolded in the Gate City this week resulting in one local man’s arrest.Desmund Shea Borzymowski, 26, of Pocatello, was arrested late Tuesday night and charged with enticing a child through the use of the internet, a felony, after a Pocatello man, inspired by the show Chris Hansen hosted on NBC for several years, posed as a 13-year-old girl online and staged a meeting with Borzymowski to allegedly engage in sexual intercourse, according to the Pocatello Police Department.The Idaho State Journal on Wednesday interviewed the 21-year-old Pocatello man who posed as the 13-year-old girl online on Sunday afternoon. Hours later, that man confronted Borzymowski near the parking lot area of Upper City Creek. The man recorded the encounter using his cell phone and posted the video to a Facebook page he recently created, Idaho Against Child Predators. He requested anonymity due to his fear of retribution and the dangers involved with operating his page.“I was actually watching Chris Hansen videos with my friends over the weekend and came up with this idea to see if there were any child sex predators in our area,” the 21-year-old man, who also organized the Facebook page, said. “Around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, I made one post on this application called Whisper posing as a 13-year-old girl and within minutes I had 15 to 20 people who had messaged me. Within an hour of making that post there was a guy who wanted to meet up.”According to Webwise, Whisper is an anonymous social networking app that involves users posting confessions or statements, either fact or fiction, by superimposing text on a picture. “Whisper’s unique selling point is that it is completely anonymous, with users issued a random…