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☆ Meta tried to 'build a clone of Snapchat' using data from Onavo, unsealed court documents show
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

An analytics app Meta acquired a decade ago turned into a major source of inspiration for product and business decisions, including its work to "clone" Snapchat. Rosen is Meta's chief information security officer, while Tiger was vice president of engineering until he left Meta in 2022. For several years, Onavo was key to how Meta decided to acquire, launch, and change its products, according to over a dozen court documents unsealed last week in an ongoing lawsuit. After the acquisition, Facebook found through Onavo's data on messaging apps that Snapchat was a top five mobile app and WhatsApp had begun to outpace Facebook Messenger. The company was hailed for its tech that compressed data on mobile phones, allowing apps to run in the background without eating up user data.

Persons: Guy Rosen, Roi Tiger, Rosen, Tiger, Onavo, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Mike Schroepfer, Chris Cox, Javier Olivan, Sandberg, Olivan, Cox, Facebook's, Colin Stretch, WhatsApp, Zuckerberg, Instagram, Snapchat, Stretch, Kali Hays Organizations: Meta, Facebook, Business, Onavo, YouTube, Olivan, TechCrunch Locations: Onavo, Davos, khays@insider.com

☆ Former Meta employee tells Senate company failed to protect teens' safety
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Meta and Facebook logos are seen in this illustration taken February 15, 2022. The employee, Arturo Bejar, worked on well-being for Instagram from 2019 to 2021 and earlier was a director of engineering for Facebook's Protect and Care team from 2009 to 2015, he said. "Every day countless people inside and outside of Meta are working on how to help keep young people safe online," the Meta statement said. In his testimony, Bejar recounted that in one meeting Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox was able to cite precise statistics on teen harms off the top of his head. "I found it heartbreaking because it meant that they knew and that they were not acting on it," said Bejar.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Arturo Bejar, Bejar, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Chris Cox, Katie Paul, Kenneth Li, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Meta, REUTERS, Facebook, Facebook's, Care, Privacy, Technology, Wall Street, Thomson

☆ Meta ignored warnings on Instagram’s harm to teens, whistleblower says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Washington CNN —Meta’s top executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, ignored warnings for years about harms to teens on its platforms such as Instagram, a company whistleblower told a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday. Meanwhile, both parties have united behind blaming Meta for contributing to a nationwide mental health crisis. Bejar’s research “is basically a smoking gun,” Haugen told CNN in an interview Tuesday. “Every day countless people inside and outside of Meta are working on how to help keep young people safe online,” said Meta spokesman Andy Stone in a statement. He said everyday Americans understand “the harm being done” and compared it to harms from smoking.

Persons: Washington CNN —, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Arturo Bejar, Bejar, Zuckerberg, Bejar’s, ” Bejar, Frances Haugen, Instagram, ” Haugen, “, Sheryl Sandberg, ”, Andy Stone, Stone, Connecticut Democratic Sen, Richard Blumenthal ., Josh Hawley, Tennessee Republican Sen, Marsha Blackburn, Adam Mosseri, Sandberg, Chris Cox, Mosseri, ” Blackburn, Louisiana Republican Sen, John Kennedy, we’re, ” Meta, Blumenthal, Cox, Haugen, Hawley, ” Blumenthal, ” CNN’s Samantha Kelly Organizations: Washington CNN, Washington CNN — Meta’s, Facebook, Wall, Meta, CNN, Connecticut Democratic, Big Tech, Tennessee Republican, Louisiana Republican, Wall Street, “ Big Tech, Tobacco Locations: Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal . Missouri, Instagram

☆ Meta failed to act to protect teens, second whistleblower testifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A second Meta whistleblower testified before a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday, this time describing his fruitless efforts to flag the extent of harmful effects its platforms could have on teens to top leadership at the company. Meta leadership was aware of prevalent harms to its youngest users but declined to take adequate action to address it, Bejar told lawmakers on Tuesday. "When I returned in 2019, I thought they didn't know," Bejar testified. Part of the issue, according to Bejar, is that Meta directs resources toward tackling a "very narrow definition of harm." If one user restricts a second user, only the second user will be able to see their own comments on user one's posts.

Persons: Arturo Bejar, Instagram, Bejar, Frances Haugen, Blumenthal, Chris Cox, Cox, Haugen, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Adam Mosseri, Zuckerberg, he'd, Sandberg, Mosseri, Andy Stone, Stone Organizations: Facebook, Privacy, Technology, Capitol, Lawmakers, Law, Meta, Senate Locations: Washington

☆ I asked Meta's Kendall Jenner-inspired AI and ChatGPT for relationship advice. Only one actually responded like a friend.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementI sought out relationship advice from two artificial intelligence chatbots, and their answers delivered similar messages in totally different styles. I asked OpenAI's ChatGPT and Meta's Billie chatbot if I should move in with my boyfriend of three years. AdvertisementAdvertisementShe even asked me to "spill the tea" when I told her I needed relationship advice. I told the chatbot I needed relationship advice, and it answered with 11 general tips for navigating a partnership. ChatGPTUnlike Billie's, ChatGPT's advice felt researched and impartial about my boyfriend's preference for video games over household chores.

Persons: Kendall Jenner, Billie, OpenAI's, chatbots, —, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Billie chatbot, chatbot, Instagram Meta, celebs, Sam Altman, Altman, OpenAI, Chris Cox, there's Organizations: Service

☆ Meta Reports Record Sales as Ad Rebound Continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Salvador Rodriguez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

At WSJ’s Tech Live conference, Meta Platforms Chief Product Officer Chris Cox explains how deepfakes influenced the development of Meta’s AI assistant products. Photo: Nikki Ritcher for The Wall Street JournalFacebook parent Meta Platforms reported its largest quarterly revenue since going public more than a decade ago as demand for advertising picked up and the company continued to reap the benefits of cutting costs and developing new AI technology. Meta’s sales increased to $34.1 billion, up more than 23% compared with a year ago. That represents Meta’s third quarter in a row of rising revenue after the company saw its business shrink for most of 2022. The 23% increase is Meta’s largest year-to-year growth in revenue since the third quarter of 2021.

Persons: Chris Cox, deepfakes, Nikki Ritcher Organizations: WSJ’s Tech, Meta, Wall Street

☆ How Meta Plans to Incorporate AI Into Its Products
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Facebook and Instagram are going through an AI upgrade. Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox discusses the company’s approach to integrating AI into its new and existing products, including chatbots with distinct personalities and connected glasses. Meta Platforms , the parent of Facebook and Instagram, is racing to incorporate generative AI into its family of apps and the metaverse after ChatGPT took the world by storm last November. Playing a central role in this effort is Meta’s chief product officer, Chris Cox .

Persons: Chris Cox, ChatGPT Organizations: Meta, Facebook

☆ OpenAI's Sam Altman has 'deep misgivings' about people becoming friends with AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he had "deep misgivings" about friendships with AI. "We named it ChatGPT and not a person's name very intentionally," he said during WSJ's Tech Live event on Tuesday. AdvertisementAdvertisementOpenAI CEO Sam Altman has misgivings about friendships between humans and AI. AdvertisementAdvertisementAltman's comments come amid a growing number of AI companies putting out chatbots with human-like personality and friendliness as a key feature. When AI startup Replika disabled their chatbots' "erotic role-play" feature, it caused an uproar among users who felt their AI companions had been "lobotomized."

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman's, —, Altman, Joanna Stern, Claude, Character.AI's, Kendall Jenner, Chris Cox, Altman isn't, Insider's Rob Price, OpenAI Organizations: WSJ's Tech, Service, Tech, Public Citizen Locations: Laguna Beach , California

☆ WSJ Tech Live 2023: OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Meta’s Chris Cox to Headline
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Wsj Staff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/wsj-tech-live-2023-full-coverage-c2cb70fa

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ WSJ Tech Live 2023: OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Chris Cox, Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Legend to Headline
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Wsj Staff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ WSJ Tech Live 2023: Open AI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Chris Cox, Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Legend to Headline
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Wsj Staff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Threads is rolling out new features, including one that lets users see their likes, as the platform tries address a huge user slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Threads is rolling out some new features amid a user slump. Threads is rolling out some new features in an apparent attempt to lure back some of its users. Meta has added more Twitter-like features to the app, including one that allows users to see what posts they've liked. Zuckerberg has been pushing for new Threads features to improve retention rates. Meta's chief product officer, Chris Cox, also said the company was working on "retention-driving hooks" to boost daily user rates, per Reuters.

Persons: they've, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Chris Cox Organizations: Morning, Meta, Android, CNN, Reuters

☆ Top Meta executive said the company's name change was a success because it beat out coverage of the 'Facebook Papers' revelations
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mark Zuckerberg called it "ridiculous" to connect a new name to ongoing "Facebook Papers" coverage. Cox said the name change was successful, explaining his measure of success was the amount of press coverage of the name change compared to the whistleblower disclosures. "It was more than double the volume of the Facebook Papers coverage," Cox said on the call. "And it was a really big deal because Facebook Papers was a big story, especially inside the US." Are you a Meta employee or someone else with insight to share?

Persons: Meta's, Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Cox, revel, Frances Haugen, Cox, Sheryl Sandberg, Eric Schiffer, Kali Hays Organizations: Facebook, Morning, Meta, Wall Street Journal, Twitter Locations: khays

☆ The strange, improbable rise of Mark Zuckerberg 3.0
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

In early July, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the latest and perhaps most consequential product in Meta's history: a new model of Mark Zuckerberg. Silicon Valley Zuck was a husband and father with a legacy to build and protect at all costs. Silicon Valley Zuck was suddenly faced with something he'd never dealt with before, shrinking revenue. Still clinging to his persona as Silicon Valley Zuck, Zuckerberg engaged in an all-out media blitz to hawk his vision for the metaverse. They were the sort of people Harvard Zuck would have scoffed at and Silicon Valley Zuck would have gently ignored.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Zuckerberg, Clark Kent, TikTok, Sheryl Sandberg, Mike Schroepfer, Wall, McKinsey Zuck, Rogan, Meta, Harvard Zuck, —, Priscilla Chan, Ray's, pullover, Harvard Zuck —, Dianna, Mick, McDougall, Paul Sakuma, Zuckerberg's, Apple, Facebook, he'd, That's, Frances Haugen, Chris Cox, Zuck, Zach Gibson, Meta's, Sandberg, Marne Levine, who'd, Javier Olivan, he's, bode, Bain, Maher Saba, Lori Goler, He's, He'd, Katie Harbath, it's, Andrew Bosworth, Bosworth, Mark Zuckerberg McKinsey Zuck, Mark Shmulik, Bernstein, Augustus, Julius Caesar, Kali Hays Organizations: Meta, Menlo, Harvard, Apple, McKinsey, Business, Facebook, Cambridge, Capitol, Labs, Menlo Park, Q, Bain & Company, Reality Labs, Wall, Mark Zuckerberg McKinsey, Phillips Exeter Academy, Tech, Twitter Locations: California, Hawaii, United States, Davos, Silicon, contrition, Meta, verbiage, Harvard, Rome

☆ Meta plans 'retention-driving hooks' for Threads as more than half of users leave app
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Meta Platforms executives are heavily focused on boosting retention on their new Twitter rival Threads, after the app lost more than half of its users in the weeks following its buzzy launch, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees on Thursday. Retention of users on the text-based app was better than executives had expected, though it was "not perfect," said Zuckerberg, speaking at an internal company town hall, the audio of which was heard by Reuters. "Obviously, if you have more than 100 million people sign up, ideally it would be awesome if all of them or even half of them stuck around. Meta is looking at adding more "retention-driving hooks" to entice users to return to the app, like "making sure people who are on the Instagram app can see important Threads," said Chief Product Officer Chris Cox. Responding to a question on the proposed "cage match" against Elon Musk, Zuckerberg said he was "not sure if it's going to come together."

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, We're, Chris Cox, Cox, Elon Musk Organizations: Reuters, Meta, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Elon

NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) executives are heavily focused on boosting retention on their new Twitter rival Threads, after the app lost more than half of its users in the weeks following its buzzy launch, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees on Thursday. Retention of users on the text-based app was better than executives had expected, though it was "not perfect," said Zuckerberg, speaking at an internal company town hall, the audio of which was heard by Reuters. Zuckerberg said he considered the drop-off "normal" and expected retention to grow as the company adds more features to the app, including a desktop version and search functionality. Meta is looking at adding more "retention-driving hooks" to entice users to return to the app, like "making sure people who are on the Instagram app can see important Threads," said Chief Product Officer Chris Cox. Reporting by Katie Paul in New York and Sheila Dang in Austin; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, We're, Chris Cox, Cox, Elon Musk, Katie Paul, Sheila Dang, Muralikumar Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Meta, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Elon, Thomson Locations: New York, Austin

☆ Meta's new Threads app gained an 'unprecedented' 150 million downloads in under two weeks. Now it has to keep users happy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

With 150 million downloads, Threads set a new record for app growth far surpassing Pokémon Go. Threads has kept about 100 million active users a week, according to a data research firm. Instagram Threads continued to set a growth record into its second week, surpassing 150 million downloads of the app. 100 million active users a week is about one-fifth of the user base of Twitter, Data.ai added. When Zuckerberg posted on Sunday about hitting 100 million sign-ups, that meant Threads had seen an average of 20 million sign-ups each day.

Persons: Pokémon, Randy Nelson, Nelson, Data.ai, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Cox, I've, Zuckerberg, Cox, Andrew Bosworth, Naomi Gleit, Charles Organizations: Twitter, Meta, Elon, CNBC Locations: Niantic, India, Brazil, US, Mexico, Japan

☆ Of all the apps that have tried to be the Twitter Killer, Meta's Threads is probably the one we're all going to start using
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mark Zuckerberg's Threads is probably the app best poised to take down Elon Musk's Twitter. The door's now open for two billion people to start threading their thoughts in a place that's not Twitter. Meta's slated to debut its new rival to Twitter — an app called Threads — on July 6. Threads' main advantage is probably the number of people already using Instagram, or a reported two billion monthly active users in 2021. Meta's chief product officer, Chris Cox, has called Threads a response to creators and public figures who wanted a platform that's "sanely run."

Persons: Donald Trump's, Elon, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, it's, Morgan Stanley, it's gunning, Chris Cox, Musk, Zuckerberg Organizations: Elon, Twitter, Meta, Facebook

☆ Meta's new Twitter rival, a 'text-based conversation app' called Threads, is available to pre-download in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Instagram's new Twitter-like app, called Threads, is now available for pre-order in the US. The app is expected to officially drop July 6, according to its App Store description. The app, called Threads, is expected to officially drop July 6, according to its App Store description. Over the weekend, several people spotted that the new app was listed on the Google Play app store for Android. The app description currently reads:"Say more with Threads — Instagram's text-based conversation appThreads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what'll be trending tomorrow.

Persons: Alessandro Paluzzi, Alex Heath, Chris Cox, Jack Dorsey, Instagram, Sydney Organizations: Instagram, Morning, Google, Android, Twitter, Sydney Bradley Locations: Italian

☆ Instagram's new Twitter rival 'Threads' appears to be showing up on the European Google Play app store
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Now the Threads app has been spotted on the Google Play app store in Europe. After months of rumors, Instagram's Twitter rival may be hitting the app store soon. Over the weekend, several people spotted that a new app called "Threads" was listed on the Google Play app store for Android. A link to the desktop version of the Google Play app store appears to only be available in European countries, such as Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. The Threads app is currently listed on the Google Play app store in European countries.

Persons: Instagram, Alessandro Paluzzi, Alex Heath, Chris Cox, Oprah, Mark Zuckerberg, Adam Mosseri, Eric Wei, We've, Wei, Daniel Morgan, Sydney, Marta Biino Organizations: Instagram, Google, Morning, Twitter, Android, Meta, Synovus, Sydney Bradley Locations: Europe, Italian, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Meta

☆ A Meta exec appeared to mock Elon Musk by saying that its Twitter competitor will be 'a platform that is sanely run' — reportedly drawing cheers from staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Meta first confirmed in March that it's working on a Twitter competitor codenamed "Project 92." The audience reportedly cheered as he said people wanted a platform that's "sanely run." A Meta executive appeared to make fun of Elon Musk when telling staff about its Twitter competitor, The Verge reported. Twitter has sparked several controversies since Musk took over the platform, like its Twitter Blue subscription service which lets anybody get an official-looking blue checkmark. Executives added Meta's Twitter competitor will work with other apps like Mastodon and Bluesky because it uses the same protocol, ActivityPub, which is made up of decentralized servers, The New York Times reported.

Persons: Meta, Elon, Elon Musk, Chris Cox, We've, Cox, Musk, That's, –, zed him, Oprah, Dalai Lama, Moneycontrol's Organizations: Elon Musk, Twitter, Disney, Street, Meta, New York Times

☆ Apple sure kicked Meta's butt today, right?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Nicholas Carlson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It sure seems a lot better than Meta's headset, if the marketing is to be believed. The setup looked like this:Meta's headset doesn't look quite as sleek as Apple's new Vision Pro. On Monday, Apple announced plans to launch a competing product called the Vision Pro. Here's Apple's Vision Pro…Apple Vision Pro AppleApple Vision Pro AppleHere's Meta's headset…The Meta Quest 3 is expected this fall. So maybe that's why, even though Apple wiped the floor with Meta on Monday, Meta stock was down less than Apple's.

Persons: Chris Cox, Justin Sullivan, Cox, Meta, it's, isn't, That's, they've, It's, Steve Jobs Organizations: Apple, Facebook, Meta, Tech, Apple Apple Locations: Meta's

Does Section 230 apply to generative A.I.? search engines? Typically, search engines are considered vehicles for information rather than content creators, and search companies have benefited from Section 230 protection. Generative A.I. And hallucinations — the falsehoods that generative A.I.

Persons: drafters, ”, Ron Wyden, don’t, Chris Cox, ” Wyden, Eric Goldman Organizations: Democrat, Republican, Microsoft, Google, Santa Clara University Locations: Oregon, California

☆ How 'the dress' broke the internet — and pushed Facebook to force everyone into their own filter bubble
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Ben Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In 2015, a BuzzFeed staffer posted a picture of a dress with the caption, "What color is this dress?" The following is an excerpt from "Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral" by Ben Smith. Jonah saw it differently. From TRAFFIC: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral by Ben Smith. Copyright © Ben Smith, 2023.

☆ The Metaverse, Zuckerber's Tech Obession, Is Officially Dead. ChatGPT Killed It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ed Zitron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The Metaverse, the once-buzzy technology that promised to allow users to hang out awkwardly in a disorientating video-game-like world, has died after being abandoned by the business world. After a much-heralded debut, the Metaverse became the obsession of the tech world and a quick hack to win over Wall Street investors. Once the tech industry turned to a new, more promising trend — generative AI — the fate of the Metaverse was sealed. But the short life and ignominious death of the Metaverse offers a glaring indictment of the tech industry that birthed it. Roblox, an online game platform that has existed since 2004, rode the Metaverse hype wave to an initial public offering and a $41 billion valuation.

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