With politicians — most notably our current President — using social media to communicate directly to the world, the question is now being asked whether a lawmaker is violating the First Amendment when they actively block people from following them online. One federal court has chimed in, finding that a politician in Virginia crossed the line when she temporarily banned a constituent from commenting on her Facebook page. [More]
Today In Streaming TV: PlayStation Vue Comes To Cable, Facebook TV Coming Soon, DirecTV Now Grows
By 7.26.17
It hasn’t been that long since the idea of being able to get all of your TV through the internet was still some far-off future. But by now, we get streaming TV news from the oldest of old-school companies, AT&T, and the new giants, like Facebook, all at once. So here’s what’s shaking in the world of streaming TV this week. [More]
Facebook Patents Tech To Watch You Though Phone And Computer Cameras, Respond To Your Reactions
By 7.25.17
Just because a company patents a piece of technology, that doesn’t mean it will necessarily use it in the wild. Still, it’s kind of freaking people out that Facebook patented technology that would watch you through your phone or computer’s front-facing camera, and see how you react to content. [More]
Facebook Feels Left Out, Working On Its Own Smart Speaker For 2018
By 7.25.17
When all of the other internet mega-corporations have their own smart speakers and home hubs, it’s understandable that Facebook would feel left out. It just wants to be like the cool kids: Amazon and Google have their products on the market and even Apple and Alibaba have plans to launch their own. Facebook is reportedly catching up. [More]
Here’s Everything We’ve Heard About Facebook’s New Cheaper Oculus VR Device
By 7.13.17
Nine months after rumors first started flying that Facebook was working on a virtual reality product that’s cheaper than the Oculus Rift new reports say the company is preparing to unleash the standalone device next year. [More]
How Facebook Secretly Decides What Counts As Hate Speech
By 6.28.17
Facebook, like many social media platforms, wants to be a supporter of free expression without being seen as actively encouraging hate speech, threats, or harassment. Internally, Facebook has guidelines on what crosses that threshold, but a new investigation finds that these rules do not always make sense, nor do they tend to protect those who are most likely to be targeted. [More]
Facebook Crosses 2 Billion User Mark, Now Used By 27% Of Entire World
By 6.27.17
It’s not literally everyone, but it sure feels like it some days: Facebook has announced that as of today, it officially boasts more than 2 billion (yes, with a b) active users per month… a number that only keeps going up. [More]
Facebook Is Ready For Its Close-Up, Wants To Get Into Scripted TV Shows
By 6.26.17
Not content to let Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu corner the market on original streaming TV shows, Facebook is reportedly trying to carve out a spot for itself in the entertainment business with its own scripted programming. [More]
3 Things You Should Know About Crowdfunding Medical Bills
By 6.13.17
With the Affordable Care Act in limbo, and the details of the Republican repeal-and-replace plans still not fully known, a growing number of Americans are turning to crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe or YouCaring to raise money to cover their medical bills. [More]
Court Temporarily Halts School’s Expulsion Of Student Who ‘Liked’ Racist Instagram Images
By 5.30.17
Four California high school students who were suspended earlier this year for their alleged support or complicity with a racist Instagram account will not immediately have to face the immediate possibility of expulsion or further disciplinary action after a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order against the school district. [More]
How Facebook Decides What Needs To Be Deleted
By 5.22.17
Everything is on Facebook — but some things shouldn’t be. The job of determining what needs to go, and why, is a high-stakes one with a lot of confusion. And now, dozens of leaked documents from inside Facebook show just how hard those calls can be for the moderators who have to make them. [More]
Facebook Tweaks News Feed In Effort To Reduce “Low-Quality” Links
By 5.10.17 — Updated: 5.25.17
Over the past year, Facebook has made several changes to its News Feed algorithm to ensure the posts you see are legit. Now, the social network is at it again, this time tweaking the News Feed to reduce the visibility of links to misleading, ad-covered pages. [More]
Bar Owner Shames Dine-And-Dashers On Facebook, Gets Them To Pay Tab
By 5.8.17
Dining and dashing is never a good idea, but with advances in technology and the power of social media the consequences of such an action are even greater now. To that end: A Wisconsin bar owner was able to shame five diners into paying their tab after calling them out on Facebook. [More]
Facebook Shutting Down Oculus Film Studio
By 5.5.17
Instead of making its own virtual reality content, Facebook is closing the doors of its Oculus film studio and will instead spend more on content produced by outside sources. [More]
In Response To Livestreamed Deaths, Facebook Adds 3,000 Moderators
By 5.3.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Following a number of high-profile incidents involving Facebook users hurting themselves and others on livestreamed video, the company has decided to add thousands of new moderators to review and flag violent content. [More]
Facebook Reportedly Let Advertisers Target Teens Who Feel “Worthless”
By 5.1.17
Advertising in general often works by making you, the consumer, feel deficient in some way. Your laundry isn’t clean enough; buy our detergent instead. Your body isn’t thin enough; try our gym instead. Your dog isn’t organic enough; buy this food instead. But getting super granular and hitting teenagers — kids — specifically when they’re down is something else. [More]
Google, Facebook Employees Targeted In $100M Phishing Scam
By 4.27.17
When the Justice Department recently said that two major tech companies had paid out a total of $100 million to a scammer posing as a hardware manufacturer, it chose to not name the businesses that had been conned. But now, both Google and Facebook are confirming that they were the ones victimized by this phishing scheme. [More]
Court Says Eatery Was Wrong To Fire Server Who Called Boss A “Mother$%*!^r” On Facebook
By 4.24.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
If you go on Facebook today to call out your boss, using 12-letter profanities that imply your supervisor has carnal knowledge of their mother, and you also insult your boss’s spouse and kids, you probably won’t have a job to go to tomorrow. Yet a federal appeals court has ruled that a catering service at a well-known Manhattan landmark was in the wrong when it fired a server for this sort of Facebook rant, because that rant was ultimately about a bigger-picture labor dispute. [More]
