Facebook is removing Trending Topics next week, saying that the feature has become “less useful” over time and that pulling the plug on it will “make way for future news experiences.” The feature accounted for an average of less than 1.5 percent of clicks to publishers from Facebook. Conservatives also decried the feature saying it proved Facebook’s liberal bias, an accusation the company is still trying to get out from under. Facebook now plans to pay some news outlets to produce daily and weekly news show for Watch. Continue reading Facebook Drops Trending Topics, Tests Other News Features

A Pew Research Center survey revealed that Facebook no longer rules the social media landscape among U.S. teens aged 13 to 17. Although 51 percent of teens do use Facebook, that number is lower than those who use YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. The Pew Research Center’s last survey on teens and technology was in 2014-2015. Since that earlier survey, now 95 percent of teens own smartphones, or have access to one and 45 percent report being online nearly constantly. The survey was conducted March 7 – April 10 this year. Continue reading Pew Research Reports on Teens and Social Media Platforms

JX Press Corp., a news technology startup founded in 2008 by Katsuhiro Yoneshige, broke the news in Japan of Kim Jong-nam’s death. What’s remarkable is that the company doesn’t employ any journalists or have any international bureaus. Instead, it got the scoop — 30 minutes before big media outlets including TV stations — with a combination of artificial intelligence and social media. Yoneshige and his team used machine learning to build a tool that finds breaking news in social media posts and writes it up as news reports. Continue reading Japanese Startup Breaks News Stories With AI, Social Media

Facebook has used Intel CPUs for many of its artificial intelligence services, but the company is changing course to adapt to the pressing need to better filter live video content. At the Viva Technology industry conference in Paris, Facebook chief AI scientist Yann LeCun stated that the company plans to make its own chips for filtering video content, because more conventional methods suck up too much energy and compute power. Last month, Bloomberg reported that the company is building its own semiconductors. Continue reading Facebook to Develop Live Video Filtering Chips for Faster AI

Social media platforms Facebook and Twitter yesterday announced their plans “to increase transparency of political campaign ads, changes aimed at preventing foreign manipulation of the coming midterm elections,” reports The New York Times. Facebook will introduce a ‘paid for’ label that takes users “to a page where they can view the cost of the ad and the demographic breakdown of the audience that viewed the ad.” Twitter will restrict political spots, “requiring those running political ads for federal elections to identity themselves and certify that they are in the United States.” Continue reading Facebook, Twitter Reveal New Rules for Running Political Ads

Facebook issued a request for proposals from academics to study fake news on the social platform’s News Feed, with the aim of getting more information regarding the volume of false news and its impact. Those academics whose proposals are accepted will be funded and have access to data on the site. Facebook also plans to introduce a public education campaign about what fake news is and how users can stop spreading it; the campaign will be placed on the top of Facebook’s homepage. The company will also debut a 12-minute video about fake news. Continue reading Facebook to Debut Three-Pronged Plan to Combat Fake News

When the European Parliament grilled Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg about his company’s many missteps, one of their concerns was that it has become a monopoly. The reference was to Facebook owning the world’s two largest chat applications, Messenger and WhatsApp, and their suggestion was that Facebook spin off those and the photo app Instagram. Facebook has countered with the argument that, by controlling so much of the world’s communications, it helps keep consumers safe across all these services. Continue reading Facebook Portrays Its Many Platforms as Safe for Consumers

In his appearance before the European Parliament, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was peppered non-stop for 75 minutes with questions about his company’s misuse of user data, its role in elections and its outsized global dominance, which led some to call for its breakup. The meeting ended with Parliament members griping that Zuckerberg had evaded questions and repeated statements he had already made, although the format only allowed Zuckerberg a few minutes at the end to reply to the many questions. Continue reading Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Grilled by European Parliament

Snap Inc. is launching an accelerator named “Yellow” with hopes of finding the next big media business. This fall, the accelerator will invest $150,000 in 10 startups or creators looking to develop media projects for mobile devices. Snap plans to take a small equity stake in those selected to receive the funding. The startups will also get mentorship from Snap execs, access to professional networking events, the opportunity to distribute content on Snapchat, and office space in Venice, California where Snap is based. CEO Evan Spiegel is expected to be involved in mentorship and the selection process. Continue reading Snap Launches an Accelerator Program With Focus on Mobile

The Senate voted 52-47 yesterday to block the Trump administration’s repeal of net neutrality rules. Three Republicans and all members of the Democratic caucus voted in favor of the resolution; however, a tougher battle is expected in the House, where Republicans have a 236-193 majority. The effort to repeal Obama-era rules last year was led by FCC chair Ajit Pai. The net neutrality rules are designed to guarantee unobstructed access to the Internet by preventing broadband providers from blocking access or throttling speeds based on fees. Opponents claim the rules stifle competition and innovation.  Continue reading Senate Votes to Block the Repeal of FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules

Facebook is scrutinizing another quiz app, myPersonality, created by University of Cambridge academics following the Cambridge Analytica debacle. According to New Scientist, the myPersonality app collected data from six million people, about 40 percent of whom agreed to share their Facebook information. The app creator countered that Facebook had known about myPersonality for years. But the app is also being investigated by Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office for whether the data was properly anonymized. Continue reading Facebook Suspends Quiz App Linked to Cambridge University

Twitter has been investing in monitoring, removing offensive and inappropriate content and debuting tweaks, a job started by former chief financial officer Anthony Noto. The company is also rolling out an automated tool that will be on the lookout for “troll-like” behavior. This attention to the concerns of marketers has paid off, as Twitter just posted its second profitable quarter as a public company. But chief financial officer Ned Segal believes there is more to do to make the platform more stable and successful. Continue reading Twitter Grows its Daily Users, Debuts Automated Anti-Troll Tool

Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook has suspended about 200 apps based on the possible misuse of user data. The social giant will conduct a thorough investigation of each app, and promises that any guilty of misuse of Facebook user data will be permanently banned from the platform. So far, Facebook has reviewed thousands of apps from outside developers that have access to Facebook user data, but some question whether such an ongoing audit is worthwhile. While bad actors can be banned, there isn’t much that can be done once the data leaves Facebook’s servers. Continue reading Facebook Suspends 200 Apps Due to Possible Misuse of Data

At the Google I/O developers conference, Google announced compelling updates including: Google Duplex brings new AI tech to Google Assistant; six new voices are coming to Google Assistant (including a version from John Legend); mobile operating system Android P gets an interface refresh, gesture controls, and expanded dashboard features; the new Android TV dongle supports 4K streaming and touts 8GB of storage; AI-powered Smart Compose comes to Gmail; Google Maps adds a new social layer and AR directions functionality by teaming AI with Street View; Google News curates online content via AI; and Google Lens is closer to delivering its text copy and style match features. Continue reading Google I/O Reveals Long List of Product Upgrades and News

Facebook is undergoing the biggest reorganization in the company’s history. Messenger, WhatsApp, and Facebook’s core app will get new leaders, while the company’s product and engineering organizations will be reorganized into three main divisions: the “Family of Apps” group, run by chief product officer Chris Cox, will include social apps Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp; the “New Platforms and Infrastructure” group, managed by CTO Mike Schroepfer, will cover AI, AR, VR, and blockchain tech; and the “Central Product Services” group, headed by VP of growth Javier Olivan, will handle shared features across products and apps, including advertising, analytics, and security. Continue reading Facebook Restructures With Executive Shuffle, New Divisions