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Facebook and Instagram will block DMs to teens unless they're from a friend
Facebook and Instagram users under 16 — or 18, in some places — can no longer receive DMs from anybody they don't follow by default, even if they're sent by fellow teens.
Facebook and Instagram's algorithms facilitated child sexual harassment, state lawsuit claims
An unredacted Meta internal presentation has revealed that the company's own employees recommended that 100,000 child users were harassed daily.
Facebook was inundated with deepfaked ads impersonating UK's Prime Minister
A communications firm found 143 different ads impersonating the UK's Prime Minister on the social network last month.
Meta will hide topics like self-harm and eating disorders from teens
As part of a new privacy update, Meta will hide content related to self-harm, eating disorders and other topics from teens on Instagram and Facebook.
Opting into 'link history' on Facebook and Instagram means agreeing to (more) ad targeting
Link history allows users to keep track of all of the links they visit via Facebook and Instagram’s in-app browsers. It also aids Meta's targeted advertising.
Instagram is making it easier to remove spammy followers
Meta is rolling out a suite of new tools on Instagram that give users more control over how much spam content and bots they will see on their feeds.
Facebook Messenger update sets default end-to-end encryption for chats and calls
Facebook Messenger is getting default end-to-end encryption through the latest update, along with a few other handy new features.
Meta's AI image generator is available as a standalone website
Meta has launched a standalone version of its image generator as it tests dozens of new generative AI features across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The image generator, called Imagine, was first previewed at the company’s Connect event in November and has been available as part of Meta’s AI chatbot.
Meta faces another lawsuit over child safety
The New Mexico attorney general's office says it set up dummy kids accounts on Instagram and Facebook According to a lawsuit, these accounts were barraged by inappropriate sexual content and requests.
Meta is disconnecting Messenger and Instagram chat later this month
Meta will soon remove a feature that lets you chat with Facebook friends on Instagram and vice versa. Starting mid-December, the company will disconnect the cross-platform integration, which it added in 2020.
Meta's apps are still promoting child predation content, report finds
Meta is failing to stop vast networks of people using its platform to promote child abuse content, a new report in The Wall Street Journal says.
The US government is no longer briefing Meta about foreign influence campaigns
As Meta gears up for the 2024 election, the company is grappling with a new challenge that could slow its efforts to combat foreign attempts at election interference.
Meta's controversial ad-free subscription is facing scrutiny from EU privacy campaigners
A privacy group is fighting Meta's tactic of only allowing users to opt out of privacy tracking if they sign up for a subscription.
Unsealed complaint says Meta 'coveted' under-13s and deceives the public about age enforcement
Nearly a month after attorneys general from 33 states filed a lawsuit against Meta, the complaint has been unsealed to show more of the evidence and arguments they've laid out. The lawsuit alleges the presence of users under the age of 13 is an "open secret" at Meta.
Meta’s Content Library provides researchers with digital ‘clean room’ for data access
The Meta Content Library and Content Library API tools will share real-time information about user-generated content.
Three in ten US adults still get their news from Facebook
Even though Facebook has been moving away from providing its users with easy access to news over the past year, it apparently still remains a go-to source for current affairs in the US.
Google, Meta and other social media companies will be forced to defend teen addiction lawsuits
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has ruled that the companies that own and run the most popular social networks today will have the face lawsuits blaming them for teenagers' social media addiction.
Threads users can now opt out of automatically sharing posts to Facebook and Instagram
Meta now lets Threads users opt out of automatically sharing posts to other apps. The feature, which requires user action to choose the most private option, will prevent Meta’s Twitter clone from sharing posts to Instagram and Facebook on its own.
Meta whistleblower tells Senate the company 'cannot be trusted with our children'
Another Meta whistleblower has testified before Congress regarding teen safety issues on the likes of Instagram. He told a Senate subcommitee that "we cannot trust them with our children."
Another former Facebook employee will testify at Congress about safety issues at Instagram
Arturo Bejar, a former Facebook employee and consultant for Instagram, is scheduled to testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, November, 7.