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Facebook wants to win back Gen Z users by transforming itself into more of a tool for young people to navigate adulthood better. The social media platform announced a redesign last week that caters to what execs believe younger people want to see more of. But Meta, the parent company of Facebook, noticed that young adults active on the platform tend to use its community-centric features like Facebook Marketplace and groups. “One is just: What do young people want — particularly young adults, Gen Z, ages 18 through 29 — from a social app these days? “Nearly all Facebook users are telling us they’re there to keep up with friends and family.

Persons: Tom Alison, Gen, ” Alison, Colleen McClain, “ Young, ” McClain, Zers, ”, Cami Thorstenson, Thorstenson, She’s, Erin Carter, —, ” Gabrielle McKay, Meta, “, it’s Organizations: Facebook, ” Banking, Pew Research Center, New Locations: Minneapolis, North Carolina, New York, New York City

☆ Why the 2024 Campaign Is Ripe for Conspiracy Theories - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Julia Angwin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It took minutes after the shooting at Donald Trump’s campaign rally on Saturday for misinformation to begin circulating on social media. Perhaps Mr. Trump was shot in the chest. The platform X, formerly known as Twitter, promoted conspiracy theories sporting hashtags like “#falseflag” and “#staged” (alleging that the shooting was staged to gain sympathy for Mr. Trump) among its trending topics. We’ve just experienced the first serious attempted assassination of a presidential candidate in the social media age. Mr. Trump’s surprise victory was attributed partly to his campaign’s strategy of flooding the social media airwaves — an effort supported by a covert Russian influence campaign and a trove of misused Facebook data.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, We’ve, Mark Scott, ”, Trump’s Organizations: Twitter, Big Tech Locations: Italian, U.S, Russian

☆ Facebook has a plan to win over Gen Z. Don't laugh.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In a 2023 Pew survey on teen internet use, only about one-third of US teens ages 13 to 17 said they used Facebook. Compare that with Pew's 2014 survey, when 71% of teens said they used Facebook. AdvertisementSecondly, Facebook is hoping to lure back young adults with offerings like Marketplace, Dating, Groups, and Events. And I don't think Facebook Dating is a huge hit. I know it seems improbable that Facebook could become cool for Gen Z, but don't count it out — they just might pull this off.

Persons: Meta, —, Elon Musk's, I'm, Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg Organizations: Service, Facebook, Pew, Facebook —, Meta, Craigslist, mojo, TikTok

☆ Breaking down Trump’s attacks on the daughter of the judge in his New York hush-money trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The judge ruled that Trump’s “dangerous rhetoric” threatens the integrity of the looming trial, which is scheduled to begin April 15. Here are the facts about Trump’s recent attacks against Merchan’s daughter, and how this sideshow could affect the first-ever criminal trial of a former American president. He deployed this same tactic in the New York case, but went even farther by targeting Merchan’s adult daughter, Loren Merchan. He used the image to argue that Loren Merchan and her father are biased against him. “The X, formerly Twitter, account being attributed to Judge Merchan’s daughter no longer belongs to her since she deleted it approximately a year ago,” court spokesman Al Baker said last week.

Persons: Donald Trump, Judge Juan Merchan, Trump, Merchan’s, don’t, Stormy Daniels, Loren Merchan, Merchan, ”, Joe Biden, didn’t, ‘ Get, ’, Loren Merchan’s, Kamala Harris ’, Biden, Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, Katie Hobbs, Adam Schiff, Trump’s, Schiff, Laura Loomer, Judge Merchan’s, Al Baker, Loren, “, Judge Merchan, Attorney Alvin Bragg, ” Merchan, Joey Jackson, CNN’s Dana Bash, ” Jackson, that’s, ” CNN’s Daniel Dale, Jeremy Herb, David Wright Organizations: Washington CNN, Democratic, Trump, Super Liberal Democrat, ‘, ‘ Get Trump, New York, CNN, Authentic, Michigan Gov, Arizona Gov, Democratic Party of Wisconsin, House Democrats, California, Senate, The Spectator, Twitter, Manhattan, Attorney Locations: New York, American, “, Arizona, York

☆ Data centers are booming. Their need for power is causing utilities to retreat on green energy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Daniel Geiger | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Katie Hobbs at Google's September announcement of a a new $600 million data center in Mesa, Arizona. The amount of electricity needed to power data centers in the U.S. is expected to more than double by 2030, according to McKinsey. "With data centers, you're going to do all of the above to have capacity to meet those loads." Utilities struggle to meet data center loads while cutting carbonThe utility-level impact of the data center industry's energy demand reaches beyond Phoenix. In preliminary documents, it has identified data centers as "the major source of load growth during 2023-2038."

Persons: Karla Moran, Moran, Katie Hobbs, you've, Terry Boston, James Glynn, Glynn, Caryn Potter, it's, OPPD, that's, David Corbin, Corbin, Valerie Plesch, Aaron Ruby, Devon Smiley, Smiley, Lee Kestler, Ruby, George Frey, Wendy Bridges, Bridges, Jill Hanks, Hanks, Potter, Meghin Delaney, Reno, Kestler, EdgeCore, Hunter Holman, Delaney, Holman Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Digital Realty, Arizona Gov, McKinsey, PJM, Columbia University's Center, Global Energy Policy, Southwest Energy Efficiency, Utilities, Omaha Public Power, Sierra Club's, The Washington, Getty, Dominion Energy, Dominion, Blackstone, KKR, APS, Phoenix, Goodyear, NV Energy, Reno, Bay Area, Silver State, Western Resource Locations: Phoenix, Salt, Mesa , Arizona, City, Mesa, U.S, Arizona, Phoenix . Omaha , Nebraska, New York, Sierra Club's Nebraska, Woodbridge , Virginia, Virginia, Nebraska, OPPD, Eagle Mountain , Utah, Brookfield, Seattle, Goodyear, Bay, Nevada, Reno, Las Vegas, North

☆ How to stop Meta from using some of your personal data to train generative AI models
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In a related blog post on how it uses data for generative AI, Meta says it collects public information on the web in addition to licensing data from other providers. Blog posts, for example, can include personal information, such as someone's name and contact information, Meta said. CNBC contacted Meta for information about whether that first-party information will continue to be used in training its generative AI models. Here's how you can delete some of your Facebook data used for training generative AI models:Go to the "Generative AI Data Subject Rights" form on Meta's privacy policy page about generative AI. The first option lets people access, download, or correct any of their personal information gleaned from third-party sources that's used to train generative AI models.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, hasn't, that's, they're Organizations: Facebook, Meta, CNBC, Microsoft Locations: Canada, Switzerland

New York CNN —Anyone in the United States who had a Facebook account in the past 16 years has roughly one week left to file for payment in a data privacy settlement case. That includes roughly 70 million US-based users’ private Facebook data that was accessed by the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which had been working for the Trump presidential campaign in 2016. That hearing is scheduled for September 7 at 1 pm PT, according to the Facebook user privacy settlement website. Facebook users were allowed to “opt out” of being in the settlement class and preserve their right to sue. By joining the “settlement class,” and claiming a payment, you will no longer be able to sue Facebook or join others’ lawsuits against Facebook for matters covered by the settlement.

Persons: everyone’s, — Organizations: New, New York CNN, Meta, Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, Trump Locations: New York, United States

☆ How Cooking Videos Took Over the World
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Priya Krishna | Umi Syam | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

Cooking videos have never been more persuasive, more inescapable, more addictive, more entertaining. How Cooking Videos Took Over The WorldVideos on TikTok with the #foodtok hashtag have been viewed more than 64 billion times. But cooking videos are not only an unavoidable part of being online — they’ve also infiltrated physical spaces. That is what makes these videos so engaging.”Today, there isn’t just one way to make a successful cooking video. But the evolution of cooking videos represents a broader shift: Algorithms and artificial intelligence increasingly drive everyday behaviors and can stifle creativity.

Persons: they’ve, Julia Child, Joyce Chen, ”, Ashley Rose Young, —, John Gara, … TikTok, Covid, Sunny Xun Liu, “, Bennett, Hetal Vasavada, soothingly, Althea Brown, Frankenfood, Gara, Bacon, Ahmad Alzahabi, Liu, Vasavada, that’s, they’re Organizations: Department of Motor Vehicles, Smithsonian Institution, Food Network, “ East, YouTube, Facebook, Stanford Social Media, “ Locations: New York City, United States, TikTok, Denver

☆ Across rural America, data center development booms as investors race to cater to artificial intelligence
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Data center development is booming and AI is expected to stoke already growing demand. Demand is sapping power grids in major markets and pushing data center development across the US. The project's neighbors include Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon – all of whom have similar plans, or are already underway with major data center projects. The message came after a torrid period of growth by the data center industry in that region. Wes Swenson, Nova's CEO, said the Reno region was becoming increasingly popular for data center development because of its access to power.

Persons: Matt McCollister, Martin Peck, Lincoln Rackhouse, Peck, Blackstone, Jonathan Gray, Drew Angerer, Bard, Gray, Pat Lynch, Robbie Sovie, Sovie, Georgia Power, Skybox, Rob Morris, Morris, George Frey, Novva, Wes Swenson, Nova's, Swenson, CBRE, Lynch Organizations: stoke, Lincoln Property Company, Harrison Street, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Lincoln, Carrier, QTS, Dominion Energy, Dominion, Washington DC, APS, QuadReal, Georgia, Reuters, Data Centers, CIM Group Locations: Ohio, New Albany, Columbus, Northern Virginia, Dallas, Phoenix, Silicon Valley, Chicago, Virginia, Loudoun County, Washington, Arizona, Southwest, Lithia Springs , Georgia, Atlanta, Vancouver, Hutto , Texas, Austin, Eagle Mountain , Utah, Reno , Nevada, Storey County, Reno, Silicon, Salt Lake City, West Jordan , Utah, CBRE

The lawyers said in the filing that the $725 million settlement is the largest data-privacy recovery in history and the largest private settlement Facebook has ever agreed to. Meta and an outside lawyer for the company from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the fee request on Thursday. While a 25% fee amounts to $181,250,000, the fees paid from the settlement fund would be about $180,449,782, the lawyers wrote. The company and its outside law firm, Gibson Dunn, already paid about $800,217 in sanctions, which can be deducted from the total fees, they wrote. The company did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which the judge granted preliminary approval of in March.

Persons: Keller Rohrback, Fonti, Auld, Derek Loeser, Lesley Weaver, Bleichmar Fonti, Dunn, Crutcher, Gibson Dunn, Vince Chhabria, Meta, Read, Sara Merken, Leigh Jones Organizations: San, Facebook, Meta, Gibson, U.S, Cambridge, Thomson Locations: San Francisco federal

☆ Meta slapped with record $1.3 billion EU data privacy fine over transfer of Facebook data to US
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The European Data Protection Board announced the fine in a statement Monday, saying it followed an inquiry into Facebook (FB) by the Irish Data Protection Commission, the chief regulator overseeing Meta’s operations in Europe. The fine is the largest ever levied under Europe’s signature data privacy law, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. Meta has also been ordered to cease the processing of personal data of European users in the United States within six months. Meta’s infringement is “very serious since it concerns transfers that are systematic, repetitive and continuous,” said Andrea Jelinek, chair of the European Data Protection Board. EU and US policymakers were on a “clear path” to resolving this conflict under a new transatlantic Data Privacy Framework.

☆ Meta warned that its record $1.3 billion fine sets a 'dangerous precedent' when the internet is already 'fracturing under pressure from authoritarian regimes'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta was handed a record $1.3 billion fine by the European Union on Monday. That was over concerns that Facebook data transferred to the US could be used to spy on European citizens. Meta warned that its record $1.3 billion fine "sets a dangerous precedent" related to online freedoms in a statement released Monday. "At a time where the internet is fracturing under pressure from authoritarian regimes, like-minded democracies should work together to promote and defend the idea of the open internet," the statement added. Meta has been given a five-month grace period to stop transferring Facebook users' data to the US.

REUTERS/Dado RuvicMay 17 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) is set to face a record European Union privacy fine related to data transfer of Facebook's EU users to U.S. servers for failing to comply with a warning by a top EU court, two sources familiar with the matter said. The penalty will be higher than the previous record 746 million euros ($821.20 million) fine for Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), according to the sources. Meta declined to comment, while the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) and the European Commission did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. EU regulators led by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon have been finalising a ban on the legal tool used by Facebook to transfer European user data because of concerns U.S. intelligence agencies could access the information. Europe's highest court ruled in 2020 that an EU-U.S. data transfer agreement was invalid, citing surveillance concerns.

☆ Premarket stocks: Here's what we know about First Republic Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —First Republic Bank has been teetering on the edge for weeks. The San Francisco-based lender could be next in the line to collapse, following in the footsteps of former competitors Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The FDIC, Federal Reserve, White House and First Republic did not respond to requests for comment about those reports. The stock’s trading was halted numerous times both days as its rapid decline triggered volatility-triggered timeouts by the New York Stock Exchange. “It’s becoming clearer each day” that First Republic is “toast,” said Don Bilson at Gordon Haskett, in a note Wednesday.

☆ Meta stock jumps after company reports first revenue growth in nearly a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The company also reported that profits declined by nearly a quarter compared to the same period in the prior year to $5.7 billion. The company said it expects revenue to grow again in the current quarter compared to the prior year. Like other tech companies, Meta has also recently read investor cues and taken to playing up its focus on artificial intelligence rather than the metaverse. The shift comes as Meta contends with the popularity of AI tools from tech firms like Microsoft and OpenAI. In his statement with the results Wednesday, Zuckerberg said: “Our AI work is driving good results across our apps and business.”

☆ You can now apply for your share of a $725 million Facebook data privacy settlement. Here’s how
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Facebook users who had an active account at any point between May 2007 and December 2022 can now apply to receive a piece of parent company Meta’s $725 million settlement related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The California judge overseeing the case granted preliminary approval of the settlement late last month, and Facebook users can now apply for a cash payment as part of a settlement. The claim form — which requires a few personal details and information about a user’s Facebook account — can be filled out online or printed and submitted by mail. It’s not yet clear how much each settlement payment will be. “Over the last three years we revamped our approach to privacy and implemented a comprehensive privacy program.

☆ Irish regulator has month to make order on EU-US Facebook data transfers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBLIN, April 13 (Reuters) - Ireland's data regulator has one month to make an order on blocking Facebook's transatlantic data flows, European Union regulators said on Thursday. EU regulators led by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) Helen Dixon have been finalising a ban on the legal tool used by Facebook to transfer European user data because of concerns U.S. intelligence agencies could access the information. Dixon, who is lead regulator for Facebook parent Meta (META.O) because its European headquarters are in Ireland, last month said the ban could be in place by mid-May. While the statement did not say what the decision was, Dixon has said other regulators had not disputed her order to ban the data transfer mechanism. Officials have said a new EU-U.S. data protection framework, which aims to offer EU citizens the same level of data protection as under European law, may be ready by July.

☆ Meta considering a standalone social network that sounds a lot like Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The concept is similar to Reddit or Discord, but a departure from how Meta’s other platforms function. If Meta’s new platform were decentralized, it could allow third parties to build apps and features into the platform, potentially giving users experiences beyond what Meta itself might build. Meta declined to comment beyond its statement, including in response to questions about the new platform’s potential features or a timeline for launch. Many of them had an early jump in users following Musk’s takeover at Twitter, but have since struggled to gain widespread adoption. But its growth has slowed in recent months, in part as users struggle with the somewhat less straightforward and user-friendly nature of a decentralized platform.

☆ U.S. senators question Meta over Chinese, Russian access to Facebook data -statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators said on Monday they had sent a letter to Meta (META.O) CEO Mark Zuckerberg questioning the company about documents that they say reveal that Facebook developers in China and Russia had access to user data. "It appears from these documents that Facebook has known, since at least September 2018, that hundreds of thousands of developers in countries Facebook characterized as 'high-risk,' including the People’s Republic of China (PRC), had access to significant amounts of sensitive user data," Democrat Mark Warner and Republican Marco Rubio wrote in the letter, which was released in a statement by their offices. Reporting by Rami AyyubOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meta agrees to pay $725 million to settle lawsuit over Cambridge Analytica data leak
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Facebook parent company Meta has agreed to pay $725 million to settle a longstanding class action lawsuit accusing it of allowing Cambridge Analytica and other third parties to access private user information and misleading users about its privacy practices. The proposed settlement would end the legal battle that began four years ago, shortly after the company disclosed that the private information of as many as 87 million Facebook users was obtained by Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm that worked with the Trump campaign. The data leak sparked an intense international scandal for Facebook, drawing the scrutiny of regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. They estimated that between 250 and 280 million people may be eligible for payments as part of the class action settlement. But the improper sharing of Facebook data triggered a cascade of events that has culminated in investigations and lawsuits.

☆ Read Mark Zuckerberg's deposition about Facebook user data, released years later thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mark Zuckerberg told the SEC in 2019 he'd heard news of Cambridge Analytica and the 2016 US election. He was "curious" to understand the group's use of Facebook then, per a newly released deposition. The deposition with the SEC was released thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request. A newly released deposition of Zuckerberg's questioning in 2019 by the US Securities and Exchange Commission is another piece of the puzzle. In a House hearing in 2018, Representative Anna Eshoo, a Democratic Representative from California, asked Zuckerberg pointedly about Cambridge Analytica.

☆ Zuckerberg weighed naming Cambridge Analytica as a concern in 2017, months before data leak was revealed
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The data leak prompted a global outcry that led to hearings, an apology tour from Zuckerberg and Facebook’s $5 billion privacy settlement with the US government. Zuckerberg’s remarks in the deposition offer the clearest picture yet of what Zuckerberg knew about Cambridge Analytica, and when. But according to the court documents, Zuckerberg had originally proposed naming Russian foreign intelligence and Cambridge Analytica in the same breath. Zuckerberg testified that the reference to Cambridge Analytica was removed after a staffer recommended against naming specific organizations. But the improper sharing of Facebook data triggered a cascade of events that has culminated in numerous investigations and lawsuits.

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec 19 (Reuters) - Mark Zuckerberg considered saying in a 2017 speech that Facebook was looking into "organizations like Cambridge Analytica," according to details from a deposition of him by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Zuckerberg in the deposition also acknowledges asking colleagues in January 2017 to assess Cambridge's claims about its influence in elections. Media reports in March 2018 suggested that Cambridge kept leveraging Facebook data, prompting government investigations related to data protection practices that Facebook settled in the United States for at least $5.1 billion. In the draft obtained by the SEC, Zuckerberg proposed saying: "We are already looking into foreign actors including Russian intelligence, actors in other former Soviet states and organizations like Cambridge Analytica." Zamaan Qureshi, policy advisor for consumer advocacy group The Real Facebook Oversight Board, said the deposition should increase users' doubts of Meta.

☆ Metaverse-obsessed Mark Zuckerberg refuses to cut costs. It's no wonder the stock tanked
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Club holding Meta Platforms (META) reported mixed third-quarter results and weak forward guidance after the closing bell Wednesday. While beating expectations, revenue for Q3 dropped 4% to $27.71 billion. As for profitability, Family of Apps operating income came in at $9.34 billion, short versus expectations of $9.65 billion. Facebook Global Average Revenue per User (ARPU): $9.41 versus expectations of $9.83. Capital expenditures (capex) guidance was tightened to a range of $32 billion to $33 billion versus $30 billion to $34 billion previously forecast and above the $30.41 billion consensus.

☆ Rohingya seek reparations from Facebook for role in massacre
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

But some very narrow minded and very nationalist types escalated hate against Rohingya on Facebook,” he said. Instead, Meta’s algorithms “proactively amplified and promoted content” on Facebook, which incited violent hatred against the Rohingya beginning as early as 2012. And they are asking Meta to pay reparations for its role in the violent repression of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, which the U.S. declared a genocide earlier this year. “These algorithms are really dangerous to our human rights. The Rohingya refugees are seeking unspecified reparations from the Menlo Park, California-based social media giant for its role in perpetuating genocide.

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