Tracks non-users
A report by the Belgian Privacy Commission says that Facebook is tracking non-users by placing cookies — a common way to track people’s browsing habits on the Web — on “some” people’s browsers, even if they had never visited Facebook.com. The researchers hold that Facebook is collecting data from users who have logged out of their accounts or opted out of tracking altogether, monitoring them through the social buttons (social plug-ins) used to share third-party content, and placing cookies on users and non-users who visit websites that are owned by the facebook.com domain.
It is important to note that tracking of non-users initiates even if one does not visit the Facebook homepage. In principle, any page belonging to the facebook.com domain will result in the placement of a long-term, identifying cookie (e.g., an event page, a shop page, fan page …)
Facebook responds:
Virtually all websites, including Facebook, legally use cookies to offer their services. Cookies have been an industry standard for more than 15 years. If people want to opt out of seeing advertising based on the websites they visit and apps they use, they opt out through the EDAA, whose principles and opt out we and more than 100 other companies comply with. Facebook takes this commitment one step further: when you use the EDAA opt out, we opt you out on all devices you use and you won’t see ads based on the websites and apps you use…We’re disappointed that the authors of this opinion and the Belgian DPA, who we understand commissioned it, have declined to meet with us or clarify the inaccurate information about this and other topics. We remain willing to engage with them and hope they will be prepared to correct their work in due course.
Claims bug made it track nonusers
Facebook releases a blog post about its investigation into claims that it tracked users without their consent, acknowledging the collection of nonusers’ data.
The report gets it wrong multiple times in asserting how Facebook uses information to provide our service to more than a billion people around the world…We don’t [track non-users], and this is not our practice. However, the researchers did find a bug that may have sent cookies to some people when they weren’t on Facebook. This was not our intention—a fix for this is already under way…Our practice is not to place cookies on the browsers of people who have visited sites with Social Plugins but who have never visited Facebook.com to sign up for an account. The authors identified a few instances when cookies may have been placed, and we began to address those inadvertent cases as soon as they were brought to our attention.
Facebook AMA
Zuckerberg holds an “Ask Me Anything” session where he answers questions from celebrities such as Shakira and Richard Branson, as well as ordinary Facebook users. Questions include: how Facebook will connect the world better; how he sees technology helping the disadvantaged; how many hours he works a week, and requests to see pictures of his dog, Beast.
Friendlier News Feed
Facebook announce three changes to the content that is displayed in users news feed. The changes will increase the amount of content from close friends in users feed.
The first is improving the experience for people who don’t have a lot of content available to see. Previously, we had rules in place to prevent you from seeing multiple posts from the same source in a row. With this update, we are relaxing this rule…The second update tries to ensure that content posted directly by the friends you care about, such as photos, videos, status updates or links, will be higher up in News Feed so you are less likely to miss it. If you like to read news or interact with posts from pages you care about, you will still see that content in News Feed…Lastly, many people have told us they don’t enjoy seeing stories about their friends liking or commenting on a post. This update will make these stories appear lower down in News Feed or not at all, so you are more likely to see the stuff you care about directly from friends and the pages you have liked.
Introduces Instant Articles
Facebook introduces the inclusion of articles by selected publishers inside the Facebook iOS app. Publishers include The Atlantic, BBC, BuzzFeed, Bild, The Guardian, National Geographic, NBC, Spiegel, and The New York Times. Not all pieces from these publishers will be distributed as an Instant Article at first. Pubnlishers will receive 100$% of ad revenues on their own ads, or 70% of ad revbenue when Facebook sells ads on their behalf. The app allows sharing of articles to Pinterest and Twitter. Product Manager:
Along with a faster experience, Instant Articles introduces a suite of interactive features that allow publishers to bring their stories to life in new ways. Zoom in and explore high-resolution photos by tilting your phone. Watch auto-play videos come alive as you scroll through stories. Explore interactive maps, listen to audio captions, and even like and comment on individual parts of an article in-line.
‘Amber Alert’ system introduced
Facebook Canada release a system to send out notices and photos to assist in child abduction cases. A similar system has been working for the past four months in the United States.
[We hope that] the new system would help turn the social network community in Canada into one big neighbourhood watch.
Privacy investigation
The European Union is investigating the transfer of data from European Facebook users to advertisers in the United States. If found against, Facebook could face fines and be forced to change their privacy settings. French data protection regulator:
Obviously, there are privacy issues, this investigation is only to determine the extent.
Only seven black people hired in 2013
The social network company reveals that more than half of its US staff are white, with the proportion dropping slightly from 57% to 55%. The proportion of Asian employees increased by 2% to 36%, but the shares of hispanic and black people or those of “two or more races” remain flat at 4%, 2% and 3% respectively. Facebook’s senior leadership has 73% filled by white people. Facebook also made little progress increasing the proportion of female employees, 68% of its global employees are male – a decrease of 1%. Among its employees working on its core technology 84% are male, down from 85% last year. Facebook hired an additional seven black people out of an overall headcount increase of 1,231 in 2013. At that time Facebook employed just 45 black staff out of a total US workforce of 4,263. There are no black people in senior management.
Teen flies to Morocco to meet FB boyfriend
Rebecca Arthur, 17, from Connecticut is reported missing after flying to Morocco to meet, Simo El Adala, her Facebook boyfriend. Police have taken a missing person report and have appealed to the public to come up with any information they know.
Valued at $250 billion
Facebook is valued at over $250 billion just three years after its IPO, the fastest company to reach that benchmark in Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. It is now the ninth largest company in the S&P 500.
Tests online stores
Facebook is testing a feature that allows some small and medium businesses to sell products through their pages. Users can browse products on the company Facebook profile pages and either buy directly from their facebook page or be redirected to the company’s website. The feature is being tried in both mobile and desktop sites.
Must hand over NY user info
A state appeals court says Facebook cannot challenge search warrants used by New York prosecutors in 2013 to get information from the site on hundreds of users suspected of Social Security fraud, including police officers and firefighters who allegedly feigned illness in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The court rules the warrants can only be challenged by the individual defendants. Prosecutors said Facebook pages showed public employees who claimed to be disabled riding jet skis, playing golf and participating in martial arts events. Prosecutors have secured nearly $25 million from people who were targets in the probe. DA spokesperson:
In many cases, evidence on their Facebook accounts directly contradicted the lies the defendants told to the Social Security Administration.
Facebook is considering an appeal.
Expands Internet.org
Facebook expands the free basic mobile internet service, saying it will help billions of people without internet, mostly from Latin America, Asia, and Africa. It now allows any mobile operator to develop under the platform. The service has brought over 9 million people online over the past year with more than half of the users end up paying to access the wider web within 30 days. Source:
This is really a customer acquisition tool for mobile operators where the benefit to them of offering a very light amount of free data is to bring on more paying subscribers to their networks.
Developing dislike button
Zuckerberg says Facebook will roll out a button that lets users dislike comments and posts.
I think people have asked about the dislike button for many years. Today is a special day because today is the day I can say we’re working on it and shipping it.
Zuckerberg said the initial interface for Facebook didn’t allow for a dislike button because he didn’t want it to become a Reddit-like forum where posts and comments get upvoted and downvoted.
That isn’t what we’re here to build in the world. What they really want is the ability to express empathy. Not every moment is a good moment.
Photo doodling
Facebook launches a feature for its photo-editing suite of tools that gives you the ability to scribble right on a photo before publishing it to the social network.
Reactions
Facebook starts testing “reactions,” which extend the site’s “like button” functions with new options : Love, Haha, Yay, Wow, Sad and Angry. Keeping with Zuckerberg’s wishes, there is no “Dislike” button. The test is currently limited to users in Ireland and Spain. Zuckerberg:
For many years though, people have asked us to add a “dislike” button. Not every moment is a good moment, and sometimes you just want a way to express empathy. These are important moments where you need the power to share more than ever, and a Like might not be the best way to express yourself. Reactions gives you new ways to express love, awe, humor and sadness. It’s not a dislike button, but it does give you the power to easily express sorrow and empathy — in addition to delight and warmth.
Warns users of nation-state intrusions
Facebook starts notifying users if it believes their accounts have been targeted or compromised by an attacker suspected of working on behalf of a nation-state. Whenever a user’s account is accessed by a new device or browser, the company will send a security code to the account owner’s phone to verify that only the account user is trying to access the account.
The security of people’s accounts is paramount at Facebook, which is why we constantly monitor for potentially malicious activity and offer many options to proactively secure your account. Starting today, we will notify you if we believe your account has been targeted or compromised by an attacker suspected of working on behalf of a nation-state.
Improves ‘real names’ policy
In a letter sent to organizations, Facebook says it is testing ways to improve its ‘real names’ policy, with changes coming in December.
Facebook users do not have to use their real names, but must use the name that they use in real-life. Some organizations fear that some users, including domestic abuse victims and those in the LGBT community, may face harassment if forced to use their legal name. Those looking to confirm their identity, without government-issued IDs, for instance, will have space to explain their situation to Facebook and, those looking to report users they think are using an improper identity, are being asked for evidence.
We want to reduce the number of people and to make it easier for people to confirm their name if necessary… It’s a balance to get this right — we want to find a line that minimizes bullying but maximises the potential for people to be their authentic selves on Facebook.
Launches Lifestage
Facebook releases an iPhone app, called Lifestage, that allows teens to watch clips about the lives of their classmates. Anyone can download the app, although seeing profiles of other users is reserved for those 21 years of age or younger. The social network allows users to make video clips to describe likes, peeves, dance styles, and other aspects of their character. The app is designed by Facebook product manager Michael Sayman, who is 19 years old.
Back in 2004, Facebook was all about ‘who I am’. I could post my relationship status. I could share what my favourite music was. And it was all about expressing myself. Today as Facebook has grown into so much more, we see the opportunity to explore that concept of ‘who I am’ once again, but for Generation Z in 2016.
WhatsApp, Facebook to share data
Facebook announces that WhatsApp will start sharing users phone numbers with Facebook. The company says the change will allow for more relevant advertisements and friend recommendations. It is WhatsApp’s first update to its privacy policy since it was acquired by Facebook. WhatsApp will also explore ways for businesses to send messages using its platform over the next several months.