When it comes to manipulating user behavior, Facebook and other tech giants have a scary array of tools at their disposal. However, perhaps none are as insidious as the use of shady design tactics — or “dark patterning” — to squeeze more information out of users. Facebook uses this practice by designing its interface and…

Late last week, a coalition of more than 120 advocacy groups and NGOs sent a letter to Facebook calling on the social media giant to implement a comprehensive hate speech policy against anti-Semitism. The coalition’s central demand is for Facebook to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of anti-Semitism. This definition, used by…

In the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, Facebook vowed to do a better job detecting and removing misinformation. It announced the results of one such effort this week, taking down a Romania-based troll farm that ran accounts posing as African Americans in support of Donald Trump. According to Facebook, this operation didn’t have clear…

Last month, a Facebook advertiser boycott was organized to protest the company’s handling of hate speech and misinformation. And while the Stop Hate for Profit campaign achieved its goal of getting Facebook’s attention, the future of the initiative is unclear. Many of the participating brands only signed on for one month, and while some major…

It’s no secret that Facebook makes most of its revenue from targeted advertising — and that system only works because of the amount of user data it controls. So when the company’s rival Apple announced that it would be making it harder for developers to mine data on iOS 14, Facebook sounded the alarm with…

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other tech leaders are appearing in front of Congress this week to answer questions about the size and scope of their market power. And so far, it has not been going well for the social media giant, with lawmakers accusing Facebook of neutralizing competitors, violating antitrust laws and hoarding user…

When civil rights groups and activists organized a boycott of Facebook advertisers, it seemed like the social media giant might finally have to sit up and pay attention to its hate speech and misinformation problems. However, according to a report this week in Digital Trends, the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign may be quietly running…

On Facebook, bad actors often seek to take advantage of stories in the news to scam unsuspecting users — and the coronavirus pandemic is no exception. The social media giant has been forced to contend with a surge of misinformation surrounding the virus, including a recent video from conservative outlet Breitbart that made false claims…

Last week, Facebook proudly rolled out a new security feature for its Messenger platform that allows users to unlock their messages with a face scan. However, according to experts, this extra layer of privacy is still woefully inadequate. Comparing the new feature to “adding extra locks to the front door of a bank while leaving…

Facebook improved its offer this week to end a long-running class-action suit against the company alleging that its facial recognition technology violated Illinois privacy law. Instead of its initial $550 million offer, the social media giant is now offering $650 million to users. The richer offer comes after a federal judge was unimpressed with the…