Two senior U.S. representatives blasted Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg, noting the platform’s content problems were “systemic” and require deep change beyond just moderation. “Perhaps no single entity is more responsible for the spread of dangerous conspiracy theories at scale or for inflaming anti-government grievance than the one that you started and that you oversee today […]
The giant tech companies whose services are woven into the fabric of social life are now the targets of a widening assault by government competition enforcers. Regulators filed landmark antitrust lawsuits Wednesday against Facebook, the second major government offensive this year against once seemingly untouchable tech behemoths. The Federal Trade Commission and 48 states and […]
As the CEOs of Twitter and Facebook gave assurances of vigorous action against election disinformation, Republicans at a Senate hearing Tuesday pounded the social media companies over political bias, business practices and market dominance, laying the ground for curbs on their long-held legal protections. Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg defended at the Senate […]
Academics, journalists and First Amendment lawyers are rallying behind New York University researchers in a showdown with Facebook over its demand that they halt the collection of data showing who is being micro-targeted by political ads on the world’s dominant social media platform. The researchers say the disputed tool is vital to understanding how Facebook […]
Ever since Russian agents and other opportunists abused its platform in an attempt to manipulate the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Facebook has insisted — repeatedly — that it’s learned its lesson and is no longer a conduit for misinformation, voter suppression and election disruption. But it has been a long and halting journey for the […]
When Facebook and Twitter moved quickly this week to limit the spread of an unverified political story published by the conservative-leaning New York Post, it led to predictable cries of censorship from the right. But it also illustrated the slippery hold even the largest tech companies have on the flow of information, particularly in the […]
Facebook said it’s readied new safeguards for the 2020 U.S. elections that have it better prepared to deal with candidates who prematurely declare victory or contest official results and the possibility of voter intimidation by alleged — and potentially armed — “poll watchers.” In the former case, Facebook plans to halt all political advertisements once […]
President Rodrigo Duterte questioned why he should allow Facebook to continue operating in the Philippines after the social media giant removed accounts he said supported his government’s interests, including fighting insurgents. Facebook said last week it had removed a Philippine network of fake accounts whose operators tried to conceal their identities and used “coordinated inauthentic […]
A group of prominent Facebook critics, including one of the social network’s early investors and a journalist facing jail time in the Philippines, are launching their version of an “oversight board” to rival the company’s own. The group says Facebook is taking too long to set up its oversight panel, which they argue is too […]
Thailand’s government lodged complaints with police Thursday against Facebook and Twitter, alleging they failed to comply with court orders to block content judged illegal under Thai law. Minister of Digital Economy and Society Buddhipongse Punnakanta said at a news conference that it was the first time his ministry has taken such action against the social […]