Social Media

Telegram’s Ban in Iran Criticised by President Hassan Rouhani

HIGHLIGHTS Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has criticised the ban on Telegram Rouhani said that the move was “the opposite of democracy” The ban was imposed by the country earlier this week Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has criticised the ban imposed on popular messaging app Telegram by the conservative-run judiciary, saying the move was “the opposite of democracy”. Iran blocked Telegram – widely used by ... Read More »

WhatsApp Business App Has Over 3 Million Users, Says Facebook

WhatsApp Business is only available for Android at the moment WhatsApp Business has an active user base of over 3 million people, Mark Zuckerberg has said. The WhatsApp Business user base was revealed in Facebook’s Q1 2018 earnings call, Venture Beat reportedlate on Wednesday It is a standalone app separate from the other version of WhatsApp used by 1.5 billion people, was launched in January for Android users in six countries – ... Read More »

Snapchat Spectacles 2.0 With Smaller Profile, Water Resistance Unveiled

HIGHLIGHTS First version of the eyewear had failed to catch on with users The sunglasses allow users to record photos, video and audio New glasses will sell for $150, $20 more than the first generation Snapchat on Thursday began selling a new version of its eyewear with built-in cameras after the first version failed to catch on with users of the ... Read More »

Facebook Slammed by UK Lawmakers as CTO Promises Transparency Overhaul

HIGHLIGHTS Facebook CTO was filling in for Zuckerberg in front of British lawmakers Zuckerberg had declined to appear himself Lawmaker said CTO failed to provide full answers on nearly 40 points A top Facebook executive apologised for errors made by the firm and vowed to do more to improve transparency during a four-hour grilling on Thursday from British lawmakers who insisted the ... Read More »

Elon Musk Says AI May Become an Immortal Dictator if Not Regulated

If not regulated or controlled soon, artificial intelligence (AI) could become an “immortal dictator” and there will be no escape for humans, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has warned. In a new documentary on AI, Musk said: “At least when there’s an evil dictator, that human is going to die. But for an AI there would be no death. It would live forever, and then ... Read More »

Facebook Officials Head to Europe to Respond to Data Scandal

HIGHLIGHTS Facebook is responding to concerns over user data misuse The social network has been embroiled in a privacy scandal Facebook COO and CTO will be amongst those doing the rounds Facebook officials will be travelling – or at least making phone calls – to Europe to respond to concerns that the data of as many as 2.7 million people in the European ... Read More »

WhatsApp Says It Collects Very Little Data as Facebook Privacy Scandal Rages On

HIGHLIGHTS WhatsApp says all messages are end-to-end encrypted Experts say information about calls is likely being mined by WhatsApp Group chats also put users at risk, according to privacy experts WhatsApp has attempted to address privacy concerns surrounding its service as parent company Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal continues. The world’s most popular instant messaging service, WhatsApp says it collects very little data and that ... Read More »

Twitter Says Account Removal Requests Jump From India

Between July and December 2017, the Indian government made 315 Twitter account information requests, up from 261 made during the January-June period, and asked the micro-blogging website to remove 144 accounts, up from 102 from the previous period. According to Twitter’s 12th bi-annual Transparency Report that was released late Thursday, the company withheld content in three percent of the account removal requests from the ... Read More »

Facebook ‘Didn’t Do a Good Enough Job’ Protecting Data, Says COO Sheryl Sandberg

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said the social media company failed to protect users’ information during an interview with PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff on Thursday (April 5). “We know that we did not do a good enough job protecting people’s data. I’m really sorry for that,” Sandberg said. The company’s shares have sunk 16 percent, wiping more than $80 billion from its market value ... Read More »

Facebook Asked to Explain Curb on Russia Media Accounts: RIA

Russia’s communications watchdog said on Friday it had asked Facebook to explain why access had been restricted to the Facebook accounts of some Russian media organisations, RIA news agency said. Roskomnadzor said it considered the restrictions to be a continuation of Facebook’s “unfriendly policy towards Russian users,” RIA said. The report did not specify which accounts had been affected, but Roskomnadzor said ... Read More »