HiTechEdge

Tag: Facebook

  • Meta Delaying Rollout of End-to-End Messaging Encryption Until 2023

    Meta Delaying Rollout of End-to-End Messaging Encryption Until 2023

    Meta has said it is delaying the rollout of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) across its messaging services until 2023 over child safety concerns.

    Meta, formerly Facebook, has been working for some time to provide unified E2EE across its various messaging services, including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. The move has been criticized by some legislators over concerns about child safety and the ability to solve, or even prevent, crimes.

    WhatsApp already has E2EE, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in early November the company was rolling out E2EE across Messenger. This plans appear to be paused, according to an article in The Telegraph, by Antigone Davis, Meta Global Head of Safety.

    “We’ll continue engaging with outside experts and developing effective solutions to combat abuse because our work in this area is never done,” says Davis. “We’re taking our time to get this right and we don’t plan to finish the global rollout of end-to-end encryption by default across all our messaging services until sometime in 2023. As a company that connects billions of people around the world and has built industry-leading technology, we’re determined to protect people’s private communications and keep people safe online.”

    The move is sure to disappoint customers and privacy proponents.

  • Facebook Wanted to Attract New Users as Young as 6

    Facebook Wanted to Attract New Users as Young as 6

    Newly discovered revealed are shedding light on Facebook’s marketing goals, including its plans to target new users as young as 6.

    Facebook is increasingly under fire by consumers and lawmakers alike, accused of putting profits ahead of societal good. Frances Haugen, a former product manager, has blown the whistle on some of the company’s most toxic behavior, shining a spotlight on just how much the company ignores the damage its platform causes in the pursuit of profits.

    According to NBC News, one of the documents Haugen’s attorney provided to the SEC and Congress contained an internal blog post that proposed targeting new age groups below 13 years old. One of the age groups included children as young as 6 to 9 years old.

    “These five age groups can be used to define education, transparency, controls and defaults that will meet the needs of young users,” read the Facebook post.

    Needless to say, critics are jumping on the revelation as the latest example of how much Facebook cannot be trusted.

    “Facebook and Instagram have repeatedly shown that they simply can’t be trusted when it comes to the well-being of children and teens,” said James Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit focused on the intersection of children and technology. “They need to focus on cleaning up their existing platforms instead of trying to hook more children to their addictive platforms at younger and younger ages.”

  • WhatsApp Began Rolling Out E2EE Chat Backups Thursday

    WhatsApp Began Rolling Out E2EE Chat Backups Thursday

    WhatsApp started rolling out end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) chat backups on Thursday, fulfilling a promise CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a month ago.

    WhatsApp has offered E2EE for its chats for some time, but cloud backups have not enjoyed the same level of encryption and security. A month ago, Zuckerberg announced the company was adding the feature, and it began rolling out Thursday.

    Zuckerberg announced the rolled in a Facebook post.

    End-to-end encrypted backups for WhatsApp starting to roll out today. Proud of the team for continuing to lead on security for your private conversations.

    According to Engadget, the feature will roll out gradually to ensure reliability for all users.

  • Facebook Makes Changes to Address Children’s Safety and Health

    Facebook Makes Changes to Address Children’s Safety and Health

    In the wake of a reports about how much Facebook’s platforms harm children, the company is making changes in an effort to address concerns.

    Whistleblower Frances Haugen came forward to accuse the company of ignoring its own research that demonstrated just how harmful its platforms are to teens. Haugen even managed to copy tens of thousands of pages of Facebook’s research, adding support to her claims.

    In an interview with Dana Bash, Nick Clegg, VP for Global Affairs, said the company is making changes.

    “We are constantly iterating in order to improve our products,” Clegg told Bash on CNN’s State of the Union. “We cannot, with a wave of the wand, make everyone’s life perfect. What we can do is improve our products, so that our products are as safe and as enjoyable to use.”

    It remains to be seen if Facebook’s efforts will be enough to satiate lawmakers…but we wouldn’t be on it.

  • Signal and Telegram Big Winners Amid Facebook’s Outage

    Signal and Telegram Big Winners Amid Facebook’s Outage

    Signal and Telegram saw millions of people flock to their platforms, thanks to Facebook’s hours-long outage Monday.

    Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp went down late Monday morning, in what is one of the biggest outages the company has ever experienced. Given how much people rely on Messenger and WhatsApp for daily communication — both personal and business — people started looking for alternatives during the outage.

    Telegram saw such an influx of users that it experienced some issues of its own. Meanwhile, Signal said it gained millions of new users in a tweet.

  • Rashes and Hives: Facebook Recalls Quest 2 Foam Facial Interfaces

    Rashes and Hives: Facebook Recalls Quest 2 Foam Facial Interfaces

    Facebook is recalling 4 million foam facial interfaces for its Oculus Quest 2 headset over skin irritation, including rashes and hives.

    The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) posted the recall notice. There have been 5,716 reported incidents of skin irritation, as well as 45 cases that required medical attention. The reported issues included “rashes, swelling, burning, itching, hives, and bumps.”

    The CPSC says the affected units have “serial numbers that start with ‘1WMHH’ and end with a number below ‘1264.’”

    Customers should contact Facebook for a free silicon replacement.

  • TikTok Reaches 3 Billion Downloads, the First Non-Facebook App to Do So

    TikTok Reaches 3 Billion Downloads, the First Non-Facebook App to Do So

    TikTok has hit a major milestone, becoming the first mobile app outside of Facebook’s ecosystem to reach 3 billion downloads.

    TikTok has been one of the fastest growing social media platforms, despite ongoing privacy concerns. The service has now become the first non-Facebook app to cross 3 billion downloads, according to SensorTower.

    “With the 3 billion install milestone, TikTok is the fifth non-game app to join a tier that’s historically been the exclusive domain of Facebook,” writes Stephanie Chan, SensorTower Mobile Insights Strategist. “Based on worldwide installs from the App Store and Google Play and excluding pre-installed apps, the four other apps that have accrued more than 3 billion installs since January 2014 include WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram.”

    The milestone is even more impressive when considering the pressure TikTok has been under, being banned in India and narrowly surviving a US attempt to ban it.

  • Netflix Hires Former EA Exec Mike Verdu to Lead Gaming Venture

    Netflix Hires Former EA Exec Mike Verdu to Lead Gaming Venture

    Netflix is looking to expand beyond TV and movies, hiring former Electronic Arts executive Mike Verdu to lead its video gaming endeavor.

    Streaming platforms are increasingly looking for ways to expand their offerings and increase customer engagement. fuboTV is preparing to offer sports betting and Netflix is looking to expand into video gaming. 

    To help it break into the highly competitive market, Netflix is hiring Mike Verdu as Vice President of Game Development, according to Bloomberg. In addition to EA, Verdu also worked as a vice president at Facebook, helping developers bring their gams to the company’s Oculus VR system.

    Verdu should bring valuable insights and expertise to Netflix, giving it a major leg up in its efforts to break into the market.

  • Facebook Groups Will Be Able to Assign “Experts” to Combat Misinformation

    Facebook Groups Will Be Able to Assign “Experts” to Combat Misinformation

    Facebook is taking another major step in its battle to combat misinformation, allowing groups to assign “experts.”

    Misinformation has become one of the biggest challenges facing social media platforms. From elections to vaccines to current events, misinformation runs rampant on social media. Facebook, in particular, has faced accusations of not doing enough to combat it.

    The company is adding a major new feature that will allow groups to appoint experts, according to CNET. The experts will have a badge next to their name, which will inform other users of their expertise.

    Facebook hopes having experts in groups will help combat misinformation, providing a bit more accountability within groups, rather than them being a complete free-for-all.

  • BEUC File Complaint Against WhatsApp Over Privacy Update

    BEUC File Complaint Against WhatsApp Over Privacy Update

    The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has filed a complaint over WhatsApp’s privacy update.

    Facebook and WhatsApp sparked a furor over a proposed privacy update, in which Facebook would share data from WhatsApp with other Facebook-owned companies. Initially, Facebook said users would be locked out of their accounts if they did not accept the new terms by a certain date.

    The backlash was swift and severe, with many WhatsApp users (including yours truly) closing their accounts. Signal and Telegram, in particular, saw huge increases in their user bases as a result of Facebook’s plans. Facebook postponed the cutoff deadline in response, before finally saying they would not close accounts that did not accept the new terms.

    Despite Facebook walking back its position, the BEUC has filed a complaint, according to SFGate. The BEUC has accused WhatsApp of bombarding users with prompts to accept the new terms, and says the service has not been clear or transparent regarding the terms of the new agreement.

    “WhatsApp has been bombarding users for months with aggressive and persistent pop-up messages to force them to accept its new terms of use and privacy policy,” BEUC Director General Monique Goyens said. “They’ve been telling users that their access to their app will be cut off if they do not accept the new terms. Yet consumers don’t know what they’re actually accepting.”

    The complaint is the latest setback Facebook has faced, and is further demonstration of the increasing importance of privacy to consumers.