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Facebook drafts charter for content oversight board, but questions remain
Mark Zuckerberg talked about creating an independent body that would oversee Facebook's content decisions, and now that plan is taking shape. The social site has published a draft charter for an oversight board that would handle appeals for content decisions. There are still many unknowns, but it gives you an idea of the focus and scale for the new organization when it's ready.
Facebook will shut down Moments photo app on February 25th
Did you use Facebook's Moments app to handle and share your social network photos? No? You're not the only one. Facebook has informed CNET that it's shutting down the Moments app on February 25th, partly because there weren't enough people using it. If you have a collection you'd like to keep, you can visit a special website before May 2019 to export your photos and videos either as a private Facebook album or as a download.
Twitter is testing an 'original tweeter' label for threads
Twitter is testing a way to make it easier to spot the person who started a thread. A small percentage of iOS and Android users are seeing an "original tweeter" label. The company said earlier this month that it would publicly test some context and organization features.
Twitter starts rolling out simplified web interface to some users
Don't be surprised if Twitter looks very different on the web in the near future. The social network has started rolling out a previously teased web redesign that, for starters, boasts a much simpler look -- the three-column view is gone in favor of a simpler (not to mention more vivid) two-column layout. It's thankfully about more than cosmetics, even if it doesn't have everything users might like.
Russia says Facebook and Twitter are violating data laws
Russia has long wanted heavyweight social networks to store data inside the country, but now that's becoming more than a vague threat. Communications overseer Roskomnadzor has started "administrative proceedings" against Facebook and Twitter after they allegedly failed to submit specific plans for storing Russian users' data within the country's borders. It claimed to have sent both companies letters on December 17th telling them they had 30 days to provide a "legally valid" answer, but didn't get a useful response back.
Facebook introduces political petitions to your News Feed
Facebook's efforts to improve civic engagement are expanding beyond easy access to politicians and voter registration campaigns. As of January 21st, it's launching a Community Actions feature in the US that brings political petitions to the News Feed. Creators just have to write a description, tag the relevant political figures and watch the support roll in. A discussion section lets people both comment on petitions and run their own support campaigns, such as events or call-your-representative drives. You can see the number of people who've backed a petition, but you'll only see names for friends or public figures.
Twitter adds chronological timeline button to its Android app
You no longer need an iOS device to easily see your Twitter feed the right way. Twitter is rolling out its chronological timeline button on Android, giving you a quick way to switch between the latest tweets and the social network's algorithm-sorted top tweets. This isn't a once-and-you're-done switch, but it will make sure you can follow along with an awards show or sports extravaganza rather than wading through hours-old posts.
Facebook Stories test helps you invite friends to events
It's hard to make events exciting in Facebook. You can plan things down to the smallest detail, but that won't matter if people don't notice your event amid all the puppy videos and heated debates. Facebook may have a simple solution: put events where people are more likely to notice them. It's launching a test that lets you slip events into Stories, turning them into sales pitches of sorts. Share an event as a Story and you can create a flashier presentation with a sticker friends can use to show their interest.
China cracks down on Twitter users critical of its government
It won't surprise you to hear that China keeps a tight lid on homegrown social networks, but it's now doing more to stifle free expression on outside networks, too. The New York Times reported that Chinese law enforcement recently began a crackdown on residents who post criticism of the government on Twitter, even though the service is officially blocked inside the country. Police have threatened action, interrogated activists for hours and detained at least one person for 15 days.
Hackers seize dormant Twitter accounts to push terrorist propaganda
As much progress as Twitter has made kicking terrorists off its platform, it still has a long way to go. TechCrunch has learned that ISIS supporters are hijacking long-dormant Twitter accounts to promote their ideology. Security researcher WauchulaGhost found that the extremists were using a years-old trick to get in. Many of these idle accounts used email addresses that either expired or never existed, often with names identical to their Twitter handles -- the social site didn't confirm email addresses for roughly a decade, making it possible to use the service without a valid inbox. As Twitter only partly masks those addresses, it's easy to create those missing addresses and reset those passwords.
China's WeChat is mimicking Snapchat Stories, too
Snap just can't catch a break from companies imitating its signature Stories feature in their apps. WeChat, the Chinese social app giant, has introduced a Time Capsule feature whose disappearing videos will seem uncannily familiar if you've used Snapchat... or Instagram, for that matter. You can't find them in a dedicated section, but the basic concept remains: you can record a short (15-second) clip that your friends and group chat participants can watch within 24 hours.
Facebook axed political discussion feature over fear of bias allegations
Facebook's wariness of appearing biased against conservatives may have ironically cost it an attempt to remove that bias. Wall Street Journal sources say the social network dropped "Common Ground," an initiative that encouraged more peaceful interaction between people from across the political spectrum, over fears conservatives would accuse the company of bias. Facebook had conducted over a year's worth of discussion and study but cancelled development in late summer after global policy chief Joel Kaplan (shown at left) raised objections.
Facebook suspends accounts for pushing false info in Alabama election
Facebook's attempt to thwart disinformation campaigns has typically focused on Russia and other hostile countries, but it's now grappling with that problem on its home soil. The site has confirmed to the Washington Post that it suspended five accounts for "coordinated inauthentic behavior" during the 2017 Alabama special election for the Senate, including the CEO of social media research company New Knowledge.
Instagram can turn question stickers into live Q&As
Instagram's question stickers have at least one main problem: you have to be patient while awaiting the answer. Now, however, you might just get some instant gratification. The social network is introducing an option to respond to a question in a Story by going live. This could be most helpful for creatives who want to start an impromptu Q&A (say, a beauty blogger offering makeup tips), but it should also be handy for answering deep questions or anything else where a Story would be too short. Broadcasters can share photos and videos from their camera roll, too.
Facebook's 'Clear History' tool won't arrive until spring 2019
When Facebook introduced its Clear History feature in May, it expected to offer the privacy-oriented controls in the space of a few months. Well... it's going to take decidedly longer than that. The company's David Baser told Recode in an interview that Clear History will be available for testing "by spring of 2019." It's "taking longer" to implement the de-identification technology than Facebook first thought, Baser said. He pinned it on major technical hurdles that cropped up in development.
Facebook Messenger's camera fakes portrait mode photos
Facebook Messenger's camera just caught up to Instagram's in a few key areas, and then some. To start, you can snap software-based portrait mode photos -- if you don't have a dual-camera phone (or one with clever AI photography), you can still get that blurred background for your headshots. You can also shoot animated Boomerang loops if you want to capture a brief bit of movement without recording a whole video.
Senate report details Russia's online meddling in 2016 election
The US Senate is about to receive a report detailing Russia's online manipulation attempts during and after the 2016 Presidential election, and it promises to shed new light on the subject... including a lack of evidence from the internet giants themselves. The research, conducted by both Oxford University and network analysis company Graphika, outlines some familiar strategies. The Russians "clearly sought to benefit" the Republicans, rallying support for Trump on social networks while trying to "confuse, distract and ultimately discourage" Trump's opponents. It also notes that Russia's digital influence plans started with Twitter, but quickly expanded to Instagram and YouTube -- Facebook actually came last. They also tried smaller social networks like Google+, Pinterest and Tumblr (owned by Engadget parent company Verizon) as well as email.
HQ Trivia and Vine co-founder Colin Kroll dies of apparent overdose
One of the mobile app world's more influential and controversial executives has passed away. TMZ has learned that Colin Kroll, the co-founder of both HQ Trivia and Vine, has died of an apparent drug overdose in Manhattan at the age of 34. Kroll had been the CEO of the company for just three months following a change in role for fellow founder Rus Yusupov, and it's not clear what will happen next for the startup. HQ Trivia isn't commenting at this stage.
Twitter's Jack Dorsey promotes Myanmar despite genocide reports
Unfortunately, social network leaders still appear to be tone deaf regarding Myanmar's reported atrocities. Twitter chief Jack Dorsey posted a series of tweets encouraging followers to visit Myanmar after he'd been there for a birthday meditation retreat, seemingly ignoring widespread evidence of the country's government committing genocide against the Rohingya people and forcing hundreds of thousands of them to flee. He focused solely on his trip, noting that the "people are full of joy" and celebrating the experience of listening to a Kendrick Lamar album after breaking silence.
Facebook’s internal documents show its ruthlessness
As expected, the UK Parliament has released a set of internal Facebook emails that were seized as part of its investigation into the company's data-privacy practices. The 250-page document, which includes conversations between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other high-level executives, is a window into the social media giant's ruthless thinking from 2012 to 2015 -- a period of time when it was growing (and collecting user data) at an unstoppable rate. While Facebook was white-listing companies like Airbnb, Lyft and Netflix to get special access to people's information in 2013, it went out of its way to block competitors such as Vine from using its tools.
