Instagram tests desktop feature in professional push June 25, 2021 Instagram is testing a new feature that will allow users to upload posts from their desktops in an effort to woo professional photographers and influencers. The Facebook-owned app, which was founded in 2010, has long resisted developing a web version of its app as the platform is designed for mobile users to post photos on [...]
Lina Khan: How America’s answer to Margrethe Vestager plans to take on Big Tech June 16, 2021 Since taking over as European Commissioner for Competition in 2014, Margrethe Vestager has made her mission clear: to crack down on the ballooning power of Big Tech. The ruthless competition czar has undoubtedly delivered on those ambitions, handing down high-profile fines running into the tens of billions of euros against the likes of Facebook, Apple, [...]
Facebook hit with double data crackdown as UK and EU open competition probes June 4, 2021 Facebook is facing a two-pronged attack after UK and EU regulators both opened investigations into alleged monopolistic behaviour in the tech giant’s use of advertising data. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will examine whether the social media platform has gained an unfair advantage over rivals through how it gathers and uses data for classified [...]
EU set to open antitrust probe into Facebook’s classified ads business May 26, 2021 The EU is said to be on the brink of opening a formal antitrust investigation into Facebook following complaints from rivals about the platform’s classified ads business. Regulators have already sent questions to Facebook and its competitors asking whether the social media site distorted the classified ads market by promoting its Marketplace services for free [...]
Instagram for kids: Boss defends plans for new under-13s app May 26, 2021 The boss of Instagram has defended his company’s plans to develop a new version of the app for under-13s, saying it could help protect children from online harms. Earlier this year it emerged Facebook was working on a spin-off version of the popular photo-sharing app targeting a younger demographic. Currently the platform does not allow [...]
Facebook and Google lobby UK to block Paul Dacre as Ofcom chair May 25, 2021 Facebook and Google are said to have ramped up their lobbying of the UK government amid fears Paul Dacre could be appointed as the next chair of Ofcom. Dacre, the former editor of Daily Mail, has been tipped as the frontrunner to lead the UK’s media watchdog. He is one of four final candidates set [...]
EU to demand tougher pledges from tech giants over fake news May 19, 2021 Tech giants such as Facebook and Google will be forced to make firmer pledges to crack down on misinformation on their platforms on new rules being prepared by the EU. The European Commission is planning to hold social media firms more responsible for curbing the money they make through advertising placed next to false information. [...]
Queen’s speech: Anger over social media safety laws as online scams excluded May 11, 2021 Campaigners have hit out at the government’s decision not to include scams in new legislation aimed at stamping out online harms. Plans to hold tech firms liable for harmful material posted to their platforms moved forward today after the Online Safety Bill was confirmed in the Queen’s Speech. The draft laws will force companies such [...]
Screenshot: Is Trump’s Facebook ban too hot to handle? May 7, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Brits love bent coppers **Is Trump’s Facebook ban too hot to handle? **ITV’s Summer of Love (Island) Media Moment of the Week: Brits love bent coppers Ok, so you might not have been the biggest fan of the Line of Duty season finale on Sunday. In fact, you [...]
Facebook advertising chief issued warning over inflated audience figures April 27, 2021 A top Facebook executive warned colleagues the company must “prepare for the worst” over claims it inflated figures on how many people its adverts could reach, court filings have revealed. Carolyn Everson, vice president of the social media giant’s global business group, wrote in an email in 2017 that the company would be “justifiably” criticised [...]