Facebook News

Facebook exec says 'no plans' to end Trump ban

By AFP

New York - Facebook does not intend to lift the suspension on outgoing President Donald Trump, the platform's second in command Sheryl Sandberg said Monday. "Our ban is indefinite. We have said at least through the transition.

Facebook bans Trump 'indefinitely' for inciting violence

By AFP

San Francisco - Facebook has banned President Donald Trump from the platform "indefinitely" due to his efforts to incite violence at the US Capitol, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday.

Facebook to close Irish units at center of tax dispute

By AFP

Washington - Facebook confirmed Wednesday it was closing its Irish subsidiaries at the center of a dispute on profit shifting to avoid taxes in the United States.

Australia watchdog sues Facebook over 'misleading' VPN app

By AFP

Sydney - Australia's consumer watchdog launched legal action against Facebook on Wednesday, alleging the social media giant "misled" thousands of Australians by collecting user data from a free VPN service advertised as private.

Facebook antitrust suits seek to divest Instagram, WhatsApp

By AFP

Washington - US federal and state antitrust enforcers filed suit against Facebook on Wednesday claiming the social media giant abused its dominant position and seeking to unwind its acquisitions of messaging services Instagram and WhatsApp.

Facebook changing 'race-blind' hate speech policy

By AFP

New York - Facebook on Thursday said it is revising its systems to prioritize blocking slurs against Black people, gays and other groups historically targeted by hateful vitriol, no longer automatically filtering out barbs aimed broadly at whites, men, or America...

Facebook 'supreme court' begins daunting task on content disputes

By AFP

San Francisco - Facebook's "supreme court" tasked with deciding on allowing or removing sensitive and harmful content has begun operations, with a backlog of some 20,000 cases already piling up for the expert panel.

Facebook, Google becoming 'human rights-free zones' in Vietnam: Amnesty

By AFP

Hanoi - Facebook and Google are fast becoming "human rights-free zones" in Vietnam, Amnesty International warned Tuesday, accusing the tech titans of helping censor peaceful dissent and political expression in the country.

Solomon Islands 'planning Facebook ban' over posts criticising govt

By AFP

Honiara - The Solomon Islands is reportedly planning to ban Facebook after the government received harsh criticism on the social media platform, sparking outrage among rights groups and opposition figures in the Pacific island nation.

Facebook unveils machine learning translator for 100 languages

By AFP

Washington - Facebook on Monday unveiled software based on machine learning which the company said was the first to be able to translate from any of 100 languages without relying on English.

Facebook shuts New Zealand party's page ahead of election

By AFP

Wellington - Facebook shut down the page of conspiracy-embracing political party Advance New Zealand on Thursday just two days out from a general election, accusing it of spreading misinformation about the coronavirus.

Facebook shuts New Zealand party's page ahead of election

By AFP

Facebook to ban Holocaust denial content

By AFP

New York - Facebook announced Monday that it will ban content that denies or distorts the Holocaust, describing the move as its latest effort to free the platform of hate.

QAnon sows panic with child trafficking misinformation

By AFP

Paris - A surge in child trafficking misinformation pushed by QAnon conspiracy theorists is stirring public panic, generating violence and interfering with official efforts to protect minors, experts warn.

Facebook letting advertisers sow climate denialism: analysis

By AFP

Washington - Facebook is allowing climate misinformation ads to proliferate despite claiming it is committed to rooting out the problem, a new report by a think tank said Thursday.

Facebook to pause political ads as US election day ends

By AFP

San Francisco - Facebook on Wednesday said it will stop running political or social issue ads after the US polls close on November 3 to reduce chances of confusion or abuse.

Facebook, Instagram ban QAnon conspiracy-linked accounts

By AFP

San Francisco - Facebook on Tuesday announced a ban on all accounts linked to the QAnon conspiracy group, as the social network tries to clamp down on misinformation ahead of the heated US presidential election.

Author promises 'No Filter' look at the Instagram story

By AFP

San Francisco - Less than two years after photo-sharing mobile app Instagram launched a decade ago, its founders made the "gut-wrenching" decision to sell it to Facebook in a $1 billion deal.

Thai protesters angered after parliament delays charter reform

By AFP

Bangkok - Thai lawmakers delayed a decision on constitutional reform Thursday, sparking anger among protesters outside parliament demanding changes to the kingdom's military-scripted charter and reform of the unassailable monarchy.

Protesters rally at Thai parliament as lawmakers debate reform

By AFP

Bangkok - Thousands of Thais protested outside parliament Thursday as lawmakers debated amendments to the kingdom's military-scripted constitution, a key demand of a burgeoning pro-democracy movement alongside calls to reform the unassailable monarchy.

Philippine military to review troop accounts after Facebook purge

By AFP

Manila - The Philippine military said Wednesday it will review the social media accounts of service members after Facebook took down a network linked to state security forces it accused of "coordinated inauthentic behavior".

What is the impact of Apple's new ITP policies on journalism? Special

By Tim Sandle

Apple is upsetting the applecart in such a way that journalists and media properties need to pay attention. Content will no longer be discoverable in the same way and that is set to have a big impact.

Facebook failing to stop political manipulation: fired employee

By AFP

Washington - Facebook has fallen woefully short in stopping political manipulation of the platform by governments around the world, according to a data scientist fired this month by the social network.

Facebook nabs Russia-linked campaign to fuel US chaos

By AFP

San Francisco - Facebook on Tuesday said that it caught a budding Russia-linked campaign to fuel political chaos in the US, working off a tip from the FBI in its latest take-down of coordinated inauthentic behavior at the leading social network.

Indian govt minister accuses Facebook of bias in deepening row

By AFP

New Delhi - India's communications minister on Tuesday accused Facebook of bias against right-wing politics, even after fresh reports about claims that a high-ranking staffer at the social media giant supported the country's Hindu-nationalist ruling party.

Facebook removes accounts of 17-year-old arrested over US shootings

By AFP

San Francisco - Facebook on Wednesday removed accounts of a teenager accused of a deadly shooting spree during protests in the US city of Kenosha, along with pages of a local militia.

Thailand to push for more restriction of online content: minister

By AFP

Bangkok - Thailand is pushing for the removal of 1,000 online posts, videos and other content that "breaks the law", a minister said Wednesday, after Facebook vowed legal action over the censorship of a group discussing the monarchy.

Facebook vows legal action over forced removal of Thai group

By AFP

Bangkok - Facebook said Tuesday it would file a legal challenge against a Thai government order to take down a group where pro-democracy activists held discussions about the monarchy, a taboo subject in the country.

Facebook says it's fielding questions by US regulators

By AFP

San Francisco - Facebook on Thursday said its executives are fielding questions from the US Federal Trade Commission on an antitrust fact-finding mission.

Facebook boots QAnon groups for ties to violence

By AFP

San Francisco - Facebook on Wednesday said it has removed hundreds of groups tied to the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory and imposed restrictions on nearly 2,000 more as part of a crackdown on stoking violence.