Tag: Meta

  • Meta Purged Over 17 Mn Pieces Of Bad Content On FB, Insta In India In April |

    New Delhi: Meta said that it took down over 11.6 million pieces of bad content across 13 policies for Facebook and more than 5.4 million pieces of objectionable content across 12 policies for Instagram in India in April. In April, Facebook received 17,124 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism and said that it provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 9,977 cases.

    These include pre-established channels to report content for specific violations, self-remediation flows where they can download their data, avenues to address account hacked issues, etc, Meta said in its monthly report in compliance with the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. (Also Read: Lava Yuva 5G Smartphone Launched With 5000mAh Battery For Under Rs 10,000; Check Specs And Availability)

    “Of the other 7,147 reports where specialised review was needed, we analysed content as per our policies and took action on 4,303 complaints in total. The remaining 2,844 grievances were reviewed but may not have been actioned,” Meta added. (Also Read: SpaceX Will Enable Anyone To Travel To Moon, Mars: Elon Musk)

    On Instagram, the company received 12,924 reports through the Indian grievance mechanism. “Of these, we provided tools for users to resolve their issues in 5,941 cases,” it said. Of the other 6,983 reports where specialised review was needed, Meta analysed content and took action on 3,206 complaints in total. The remaining 3,777 reports were reviewed but may not have been actioned.

    Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports. “We measure the number of pieces of content (such as posts, photos, videos or comments) we take action for going against our standards. Taking action could include removing a piece of content from Facebook or Instagram or covering photos or videos that may be disturbing to some audiences with a warning,” said Meta.

  • CEO Elon Musk Accuses WhatsApp, Claims Meta App Breaches Private User Data Every Night |

    New Delhi: Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has criticised Meta-owned WhatsApp for allegedly exporting users’ data every night. An X (formerly Twitter) user posted that WhatsApp exports user data nightly, which is “analysed and used for targeted advertising, making users the product, not the customer”.

    However, the Meta or WhatsApp are yet to comment on Musk’s allegation. Musk replied, “WhatsApp exports your user data every night”. “Some people still think it is secure,” said the tech billionaire. 

    WhatsApp exports your user data every night.

    Some people still think it is secure. https://t.co/LxDs7t7HSv


    — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 25, 2024

    Computer programmer and video game developer, John Carmack, responded to Musk, saying is there any evidence that the content of messages is ever scanned or transmitted? “I assume usage patterns and routing metadata is collected, and if you invoke a bot in a conversation you are obviously opening it up, but I am still under the impression that the message contents are secure by default,” Carmack posted on X.

    Is there any evidence that the content of messages is ever scanned or transmitted? I assume usage patterns and routing metadata is collected, and if you invoke a bot in a conversation you are obviously opening it up, but I am still under the impression that the message contents…
    — John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) May 25, 2024

    The X owner has attacked Mark Zuckerberg-run Meta Platform in the past too. Earlier this month, the billionaire claimed that Meta is super greedy at taking credit for advertisers who run campaigns on its platform.

    The rivalry between Musk and Zuckerberg is well known. They were apparently set for a “cage fight’ some time back – dubbed as the fight of the century. However, the showdown between the tech leaders never happened.

  • YouTube: The YouTube Election: Social media emerges as key player in Indian polls

    It has been a pretty hectic month for Vijeta Dahiya. The YouTube content researcher has been analysing political themes for infotainment creator Dhruv Rathee, working late nights to help him produce videos on topics concerning Election 2024.

    “Yesterday, I managed to rest a bit after working 34 hours on a fourpart election series, with very little sleep in between,” says Dahiya. The long hours are worth it, he says. “I think these videos are creating a massive on-ground impact. They bring up ideas like democracy and accountability of elected leaders.”

    Dahiya can see people’s enthusiasm reflected in the sudden surge in subscribers over the past month, along with better likes-to-views ratio and a higher number of comments on videos even when the content is critical and not celebratory.According to data from analytics firm Social Blade, Rathee gained 2.5 million subscribers on YouTube in April alone. He has 19.4 million subscribers overall, accumulated over a decade-long journey. Similarly, since January, television journaliststurned-digital news influencers such as Ravish Kumar and Abhisar Sharma, who are known for creating political content on YouTube, have seen a significant bump in monthly views on their channels—a rise of 175% and 115%, respectively, according to data from Social Blade. This is, in many ways, the YouTube election. Dahiya, a writer-filmmaker from Haryana, sees this as a break from the 2019 election for which WhatsApp was the primary channel of digital campaigning. “That period was marked by a flood of fake news and it continues to flourish, making it harder to trace who is receiving what kind of messaging,” he says.AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther StatesET BureauThe “WhatsApp Forward Era”, he says, may have inadvertently paved the way for the YouTube wave in this election. “WhatsApp remains critical for propaganda factories that prefer to work in stealth mode, but someone has to openly call out their misinformation and disinformation,” he says. This is where YouTube steps in. It has over 500 million active users in India, nearly equalling the reach of the Meta-owned WhatsApp in the country.Besides critics and dissenters of the government, political parties, too, have actively built a presence on YouTube in the past year, says Talha Rashid, political strategist and cofounder of Discourse Consulting. Many party leaders have launched YouTube channels to share live streams, rally videos, interviews and more, alongside collaborating with digital influencers for podcasts.A Rest of World report from February noted a two-to-four-fold increase in YouTube subscribers of several political leaders like Raghav Chadha (AAP), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (BJP) and Revanth Reddy (INC) in the second half of 2023. At the time of going to press, AAP had 6.26 million subscribers on its YouTube channel, 360,000 more than the ruling BJP’s 5.9 million. Congress trailed behind the two on YouTube with 4.77 million subscribers. Representatives of these political parties did not respond to ET’s request for a comment.In 2019, parties mainly utilised WhatsApp for targeted digital messaging, with one major party reportedly creating over 200,000 WhatsApp groups for this purpose, says Rashid. This time around, the focus has shifted to producing videos to shape the narrative. Instead of crafting visual and textual messages exclusively for WhatsApp forwards, there’s a trend of circulating 30-second clips from YouTube videos via the platform.

    Rashid says each general election cycle over the last decade has had a different dominant platform for political engagement. “In 2014, Facebook emerged as a central hub for political activities, with parties utilising pages and events for rallies. Facebook even issued alerts on polling day,” he recalls.

    Tube of the timesThe transition from Facebook to WhatsApp and now YouTube indicates how shifts in people’s internet habits often shape the role of social media in electoral processes. The rise of YouTube as a dominant platform for building election narratives and critiquing can be attributed to the TikTokification of content consumption and the emergence of video-editing apps for smartphones, says Meghnad S, a YouTuber who focuses on politics, society and the internet on his channel, Meghnerd. A general dissatisfaction with the coverage of important civic issues in prime-time TV news may have also contributed to a surge in news consumption on YouTube, he adds.

    Further, the deluge of WhatsApp forwards, along with the platform’s campaigns and efforts to combat fake news, might have contributed to the decline in the popularity of “ Whats App University ” . “Anecdotally, I’ve observed increased scepticism towards WhatsApp forwards, particularly in urban areas. There have been instances where members of political party-created WhatsApp groups have called out misinformation being propagated within those groups,” says Meghnad. WhatsApp offers some data to support this. Since 2019, it has set a limit on forwarding messages and channel updates to just five chats at once. In an email, WhatsApp told ET: “The limits imposed on ‘forwards’ have reduced the spread of ‘highly forwarded messages’ on WhatsApp by over 70%.” In 2022, the app added new limits for forwarding messages to groups, where messages that have the “forwarded label” can only be forwarded to one group at a time, rather than five.

    The improvement in internet speeds and the low cost of mobile data have made video browsing on YouTube and elsewhere seamless and more affordable. According to a survey by cable.co.uk covering 200 countries, the average global cost of 1 GB of mobile data has plunged by 68% from $8.8 to $2, between 2019 and 2023. India ranks 7th on the list of countries with the most affordable mobile data plans, with Israel, Italy and Fiji topping it.

    Shahana Sheikh, a PhD candidate at Yale University who is studying election campaigns, says that some of her findings from 2022 foreshadowed the current YouTube trends. “About one and a half years ago, I surveyed over 400 party functionaries from various levels in BJP and SP in Uttar Pradesh. Less than a quarter reported using YouTube for party purposes, including campaigning,” she says. In contrast, among the nearly 2,000 voters who used smartphones, surveyed in the same context, the share of daily YouTube users matched that of daily WhatsApp users. She found this to be the case for both male and female smartphone users. “Political parties seem to have understood the power of YouTube as a platform to reach voters using video content,” adds Sheikh.

    Where’s the money going?The transition is also impacting party expenditures on political advertising. Between February 5 and May 4, 2024, both BJP and Congress allocated more funds for Google Ads for videos alone, than they did for Meta Ads across ad formats. BJP spent `50.4 crore on Google Ads for video content, more than three times what it spent on Meta Ads across all formats —`15.4 crore. Similarly, Congress spent `24.5 crore on Google Ads for video content and `8.1 crore on Meta Ads across various formats during the same period. These expenditure details were obtained from Google’s Ads Transparency Center and Meta’s Ad Library Report.

    While WhatsApp has been busy constraining the virality of forwarded messages, YouTube has been proactively moving in the direction of becoming the go-to digital platform for election news and information. A March post on the Google India blog says, “For news and information related to the 2024 election, YouTube highlights high-quality content from authoritative news sources during key moments, through its ‘Top News’ and ‘Breaking News’ shelves, and news watch page.” Google has also collaborated with the Election Commission of India (ECI) to enable easy discovery of critical voting information. “YouTube shows a variety of election information panels, including on how to register to vote, how to vote and candidate information,” says the blog.

    Challenges on YoutubeWhile YouTube solves the traceability issue in terms of checking misinformation, it has its challenges, says Rohini Lakshané, technologist and interdisciplinary researcher. “On YouTube, a lot of promotional videos of political parties involve influencers who do not disclose paid partnerships. Many of them are in local languages, using cultural references that make it harder for the platform to detect misinformation,” she says.

    According to YouTube, violative content made up 0.11-0.12% of views on its platform in Q4 2023. However, Lakshané quotes a recent study from Tech Global Institute that found that 85% of political content uploaded by Indian influencers across different platforms did not disclose it as sponsored content. Further, being an open platform isn’t always an advantage. “The government, a major regulatory body for these platforms, could potentially request the closure of critical channels,” says Srinivas Kodali, an independent researcher from Hyderabad studying digitisation in India. “An open platform is thus susceptible to easy control,” he adds. Additionally, he questions whether people can access quality content on YouTube when most platforms serve as echo chambers.

    Kodali says that if the Data Protection Act is implemented before the next election, platforms may face increased pressure to combat hate speech, potentially driving most election-related content underground. While he anticipates AI and deepfakes to dominate the digital battleground in the next polling season, the impact of regulations on social media’s role in the electoral process remains uncertain.

  • Indian Techie Laid Off By Tesla Now Earns Rs 4 Crore At Meta; Shares Resume Tips

    In an interview, he mentioned that he has applied to Meta in 2021 after hearing about the company’s “crazy” salary packages. 

  • Will Your WhatsApp Stop Working? Meta Threatens To Stop Chat App Services In India Over Privacy Row |

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  • Apple Removes Meta-Owned WhatsApp And Threads From Its App Store In China; Know Why? |

    New Delhi: The Cupertino-based tech giant Apple has removed the Meta-owned WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China. The company has made this move after the request of the Chinese government. 

    According to The Financial Times reports, the iPhone manufacturer company asserted that the country’s internet regulator Cyberspace Administration of China had ordered the applications’ removal from the App Store because of ‘national security concerns’. 

    “We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” Apple was quoted as saying. According to the report, Meta’s other communications platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger are still available on the App Store in the country. (Also Read: Apple Showcases 5 Indian Filmmakers Chosen For ‘MAMI Select-Filmed on iPhone’)

    According to Rich Bishop, chief executive of the leading international app publisher in China, AppInChina, the apps were delisted after the Chinese government’s internet regulator and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a deadline of April 1 for app developers to register with the government.

    In China, Apple saw a double-digit decline in overall smartphone unit sales in the first six weeks of 2024. iPhone sales fell 24 per cent over the period because of stiff competition, according to Counterpoint Research. (Also Read: Apple Watch Series 9 Available For Only Rs 7,080 On Amazon; Here’s How To Grab Deal With Bank Discount)

    According to Senior Analyst Mengmeng Zhang, “Although the iPhone 15 is a great device, it has no significant upgrades from the previous version, so consumers feel fine holding on to the older-generation iPhones for now”.

    Apart from this, Apple has recently launched the latest beta version of its iOS operating system, termed as iOS 17.5 Beta 2. The new version packs with the new features and functionalities. It will be available to eligible iPhone models after its public release next month. (With Inputs From IANS)

  • Meta's Oversight Board To Check AI-generated Images Posted On Facebook, Instagram

    The first case involves an AI-generated image of a nude woman posted on Instagram, resembling a public figure from India.

  • Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Deploys 40K Team to Secure Global Elections Online |

    New Delhi: Meta, which offers popular apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, has said that as global elections continue to dominate headlines in 2024, no tech company is investing more to protect elections online than the social media giant.

    The company said that currently; it has more than 40,000 people working on safeguarding elections online worldwide. The social media giant claimed that it has invested more than $20 billion so far in building teams and technology to protect elections online.

    General elections will be held in South Africa on May 29 this year. “As the election approaches, we’ll activate a South Africa-specific Elections Operations Centre to identify potential threats and put mitigations in place in real-time,” Meta said in a statement. (Also Read: Elon Musk Set To Meet PM Modi In New Delhi: Know Why Tesla Is Keen On India Entry?)

    The company said it has the largest fact-checking network with partners in South Africa, fact-checking in English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Sotho, and Setswana languages. “We have been working directly with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to help prepare for the elections,” the company informed.

    The company said it has made it easier for its fact-checking partners in South Africa to “find and rate content related to the elections”. “We’ll use keyword detection to group related content in one place, making it easy for fact-checkers to find.” (Also Read: Apple Simplifies iPhone Self-Repair For Consumers; Read Details)

    Before the election day, Meta will launch its ‘Voter Information Unit’ and ‘Election Day Reminder’ features on both the Facebook and Instagram platforms.

  • Zuckerberg Courts Google Deepmind Engineers For Meta: Report |

    New Delhi: Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is making significant strides in bolstering its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly taking a hands-on approach, personally reaching out to experts from rival companies like Google’s DeepMind to join Meta’s AI endeavors.

    Direct Recruitment

    Sources familiar with the matter reveal that Zuckerberg has been sending direct emails to researchers, urging them to switch sides. Meta is also said to be offering jobs without formal interviews and negotiating salaries and incentives to attract top talent, according to reports from The Information. (Also Read: Good News For MGNREGA Employees! Centre Announces Pay Hike: Check State-Wise Wages Here)

    Video Recommendations

    Meta’s AI ambitions are centered around revolutionizing its platform’s video recommendations. Tom Alison, head of Facebook, disclosed Meta’s plan to consolidate recommendation systems into a single powerful AI model. (Also Read: Big Blow To Home Loan Borrowers! HDFC Bank Raises Lending Rates To 9.8%)

    Consolidation Of AI Models

    Previously, Meta used different AI models for various features like Reels, Groups, and Feed. However, the company is now experimenting with more advanced AI methods to bring all recommendations under one system.

    Chip Shortage

    Despite Meta’s ambitious AI plans, the company faces challenges due to a shortage of computer chips. Meta has been a significant buyer of Nvidia’s H100 chips, having spent $4.5 billion in 2023.

    However, with the release of Nvidia’s new Blackwell (or B200) chip, demand has surged, leading to delays in shipments. Meta anticipates waiting until 2025 for shipments, exacerbating their chip shortage predicament.

  • WhatsApp Android To Introduce Feature For High-Quality Media Sharing |

    New Delhi: Meta-owned instant messaging app, WhatsApp, is known for its continuous upgrade in terms of features. This time, it is reportedly introducing a new feature to its Android app, making it easier for users to send high-quality images and videos. This feature aims to streamline the process by allowing users to specify their preferred media quality setting.

    Introduction Of New Feature

    According to reports from WhatsApp update tracker WABetaInfo, the new feature has been identified in the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.7.17 build. This beta version started rolling out to testers on Monday through the Google Play Beta Program. (Also Read: Discounts On Apple iPhone 15, 14, 13 Available On Flipkart: Check Current Prices)

    Media Upload Quality

    The feature introduces a setting option called ‘Media upload quality’ within the Storage and data menu. Users can choose between Standard quality and HD quality for their media uploads. Once a preference is selected, all future media uploads will adhere to this setting. (Also Read: Delhi Man’s Rs 340 Cab Booking Turns Into Rs 648 Nightmare: Here’s What Happened NEXT)

    What New It Brings And How Different From Previous One?

    Previously, users had to manually select their desired media quality with each photo or video upload. However, this upcoming update eliminates the need for repetitive selection by allowing users to set their preferences in the settings.

    Option To Change Quality On Preview Screen

    WhatsApp initially introduced the HD Photo Sharing feature in August 2023, followed by support for high-resolution videos. While users currently have the option to change quality on the preview screen, the new feature defaults to the preference set in the settings.

    Platform Availability

    While the feature has been reported for Android, its availability on iOS or the desktop app remains unconfirmed. Additionally, it’s important to note that none of the current options allow users to send media in its original resolution, especially for large files. To achieve this, users must share media as a document.