Intending to get right what Facebook and Twitter have so far been getting wrong, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales is launching a social-media website named “WT: Social” which will compete with both the social media platforms. Instead of going for an ad-funded model, Wales aims to finance it through donations, just like Wikipedia. Like those platforms, WT:Social will let users share ... Read More »
France’s government is seeking to give the authorities the power to trawl social media for signs of tax avoidance and fraud, according to a provision of the budget 2020 draft law that is being debated in parliament. The move would significantly enhance the state’s surveillance apparatus online by letting it collect masses of public data, raising concerns from the ... Read More »
Preparing for an interview feels a lot like dating. In each case, two people that don’t know each other well plan to meet and decide if they want to spend more time together. According to a study of 2,000 Americans, 77% of people researched a potential date on social media prior to their first meeting, looking for insights on their personality, career ... Read More »
Woman holding up sign with hashtag revolution and an urban background. This week speaking at the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago, former President Barack Obama called out those who use social media as a way to shame others, and said that such actions aren’t activism. “That’s not bringing about change. If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not ... Read More »
The Supreme Court will now decide whether social media companies such as Facebook and WhatsApp should allow law enforcement to access encrypted and private social media conversations of citizens. It transferred the various petitions in the matter in different high courts to itself, after a plea filed by Facebook. A bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose said the ... Read More »
Jet8 is taking a new approach to social media and data ownership using blockchain. Chief strategy officer Joshua Thomson sat down with CoinDesk to discuss how his firm is putting users “back in the center of the value chain.” First, the platform enables anyone to create “instagram-like” applications centered on their own interests, hobbies or career. Secondly, members and content creators ... Read More »
We’re sharing too much of our personal data online, even when we think we’re playing it safe. Case in point: this week, Japanese police charged a man with assault after he used his victim’s Instagram selfies–and in particular the reflection in her eyes–to pinpoint her local train station. This is an incredible and alarming story, yet possibly its most incredible feature is ... Read More »
Elon Musk in a deepfake video. THEFAKENING It’s getting easier than ever to create deepfake videos. That’s because the software to make these fake videos (which fool you into thinking President Obama is calling President Trump names or that Elon Musk is a baby) is widely available. Anyone can download the apps on the Dark Web. And after someone superimposes the face of a president ... Read More »
Social media and the news have had a dysfunctional marriage, but they just can’t quit each other. A new survey suggests that even though more Americans are relying on social media for news than ever before, they’re not especially happy about how much control platforms have on the information they consume. Pew Research Center published a report Oct. 2 that revealed that ... Read More »
It’s 2019, yet here we still are, wondering why anyone on social media is still body-shaming. The latest target of the social media vitriol is Jaclyn Hill, who recently took to Twitter to shut down trolls who have been constantly plaguing her feed with negative comments about her body. After one (of many) tweeted Hill rudely questioning, “What happened to your face,” ... Read More »
Techosta Where Tech Starts From