Search results for "social media platform"

Russia fines Facebook, Telegram over banned content

Russian authorities on Thursday ordered Facebook and the messaging app Telegram to pay steep fines for failing to remove banned content, a move that could be part of growing government efforts to tighten control over social media platforms amid political dissent. A Moscow court fined Facebook a total of 17 million rubles (roughly $236,000) and […]

Facebook suspends Trump for 2 years, then will reassess

Facebook announced Friday that former President Donald Trump’s accounts will be suspended for two years, freezing his presence on the social network until early 2023, following a finding that Trump stoked violence ahead of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. At the end of the suspension, the company will assess whether Trump’s “risk […]

Nigerian government-enforced Twitter suspension takes effect

Millions of Nigerians were unable to access Twitter Saturday after the government enforced an indefinite suspension of the microblogging platform’s operations in Nigeria. The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria said in a statement that its members have suspended access to Twitter in compliance with a government directive to do so. The Nigeria government […]

EU gives TikTok a month to respond to consumer complaints

The European Commission said on Friday it has given the Chinese-owned video app TikTok one month to answer complaints from a European consumer group over its commercial practices. The EU’s executive arm said it has started discussions involving the social media platform and the national consumer authorities following an alert launched earlier this year by […]

EU beefs up disinformation code to prevent digital ad profit

European Union officials unveiled plans Wednesday to beef up the bloc’s code of practice on online disinformation, with the aim of preventing digital ad companies from profiting off of “fake news.” EU officials said they were strengthening the three-year-old voluntary code to make it more effective at fighting the false information flooding tech platforms. “We […]

Report says Myanmar internet a 'virtual battlefield'

Myanmar’s military rulers are seeking to limit access to the internet to an internal network of only “whitelisted” sites to quash opposition to their seizure of power, according to a report by the International Crisis Group. It likened the internet to a “virtual battlefield” where the military is struggling to gain an edge because it […]

Russia won't block Twitter, but partial slowdown to continue

Russian authorities on Monday backed away from threats to block Twitter, saying that the social media platform deleted most of the banned content identified by Moscow and expressed “readiness and interest in building a constructive dialogue.” Russia’s state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said it decided not to block Twitter in light of these developments, an announcement […]

2 on trial as China enforces online control amid pandemic

Two amateur computer coders taken by police from their Beijing homes last year were standing trial Tuesday in a case that illustrates the Chinese government’s growing online censorship and heightened sensitivity to any deviation from the official narrative on its COVID-19 response. Authorities have not said specifically why Chen Mei, 28, and Cai Wei, 27, […]

Online speech shield under fire as Trump Facebook ban stays

Lurking beneath Facebook’s decision on whether to continue Donald Trump’s suspension from its platform is a far more complex and consequential question: Do the protections carved out for companies when the internet was in its infancy 25 years ago make sense when some of them have become global powerhouses with almost unlimited reach? The companies […]

Facebook board's Trump decision could have wider impacts

Since the day after the deadly Jan. 6 riots on the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump’s social media accounts have been silent — muzzled for inciting violence using the platforms as online megaphones. On Wednesday, his fate on Facebook, the biggest social platform around, will be decided. The company’s quasi-independent Oversight Board will announce […]