Facebook unveils $100m support package for news industry March 30, 2020 Facebook today said it will invest $100m (£80.6m) to support the news industry as the coronavirus crisis decimates advertising revenue. The social media firm said $25m will be given as emergency grant funding for local news through the Facebook Journalism Project, while $75m will be granted as additional marketing spend for news organisations around the [...]
Coronavirus: Whatsapp usage jumps 40 per cent during lockdown March 25, 2020 Whatsapp usage has surged since the outbreak of coronavirus as people increasingly turn to the social media app to stay connected. Overall, the messaging platform has enjoyed a 40 per cent increase in usage, rising to 51 per cent for countries in the late phase of the pandemic. The largest rise came in Spain, where [...]
Facebook warns ad business weakened by coronavirus crisis March 24, 2020 Facebook has reported a “weakening” of its advertising business during the coronavirus crisis, despite a surge in people using its services. The social media giant said this evening that in countries taking “aggressive actions” to reduce the spread of the virus, its ads business has been “adversely affected”. However, in the countries hit hardest by [...]
Whatsapp launches coronavirus chatbot with World Health Organization March 23, 2020 Whatsapp has launched a messaging service with the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide users with the latest information about coronavirus. The new chatbot, which has the potential to reach 2bn people, will ensure users are given news and information from trusted sources. The service includes details on symptoms and how people can protect themselves [...]
Facebook and Instagram cut streaming quality amid broadband surge March 22, 2020 Facebook today said it will cut streaming quality for videos posted to its platform to help reduce the strain on broadband networks during the coronavirus outbreak. The measures will be rolled out across Europe, and also apply to Facebook-owned social media app Instagram. “We are committed to working with our partners to manage any bandwidth [...]
Tech giants urged to pre-screen content to stop child sexual abuse March 12, 2020 Tech giants should be forced to pre-screen all content uploaded to their platforms in a bid to stem the “explosion” of online child sexual abuse, an inquiry has found. In a damning report published today the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) said tech giants had failed to do everything they could to prevent [...]
Facebook sued by Australian data watchdog over Cambridge Analytica scandal March 9, 2020 The Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is suing Facebook over alleged privacy breaches related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In a case filed with the Federal Court today, the watchdog alleged that the personal data of more than 300,000 Australian Facebook users had been exposed to be sold and used for purposes including political profiling. The [...]
Let’s celebrate female business success March 5, 2020 I was lucky to grow up around strong women who ran their own businesses. My grandma ran a haberdashery business and my mum still runs a catering firm. Entrepreneurialism surrounded me, and I got to see how rewarding it can be — not just for the people who set up businesses, but for their families, [...]
City Pages: Behind the scenes at Facebook, the secret lives of extremists and a Silicon Valley memoir March 1, 2020 Facebook: The Inside Story by Steven Levy Review by Emily Nicolle In the past four years, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s world has been turned upside down. From a simple social media platform he created while studying at Harvard university first blossomed a networking supersite, that later became a regulatory and ethical data minefield which holds [...]
Facebook and Google ad revenue to surpass TV for first time February 27, 2020 Brands are set to splash out more advertising dollars on tech titans Facebook and Google than the entire global TV sector this year, according to figures released today. Advertising revenue for Facebook and Google parent company Alphabet is forecast to reach $231.9bn (£185bn) in 2020, according to industry body Warc. TV ad spend is set [...]