Facebook, Tinder and Airbnb Apps are being used to lure women into sex trafficking in Colombia. In an investigation carried out by Bloomberg, several girls shared that they were victims of sexual exploitation. Platforms like Facebook, Tinder and Airbnb allowed predators to lure victims into sex work and plan dates and accommodations with tourists overseas. “With the growing availability of good internet service, the technology to enable this type of crime is on the rise,” Pablo César Villeda Ortiz, former regional president for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have raised their concerns over Meta ending its fact-checking system, arguing that the changes directly undermine free speech. What are Meghan and Harry’s Concerns? “Contrary to the company’s talking points, allowing more abuse and normalizing hate speech serves to silence speech and expression, not foster it,” they said. In a statement on their website, the pair accused the company of lacking integrity and believed the move was “responding to political winds; they once again abandon public safety in favor of profit, chaos, and control.”
Apple has opposed a shareholder proposal to remove its DEI programs, as first reported by TechCrunch. Meanwhile, Meta and Amazon have joined the list of companies that have scaled back their DEI programs in response to anti-DEI pressure. Apple opposes anti-DEI Proposal Apple’s board of directors has opposed a proposal by the National Center for Public Policy Research (a conservative think tank) to “consider abolishing its Inclusion & Diversity program, policies, department, and goals.” In a proxy filing, Apple stated that the proposal was “unnecessary” as the company “already has
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan have announced the company is ending its fact-checking system in favor of a community notes model, much like the system on X. However, critics say the shift is simply an attempt to appease the incoming Trump administration and cause real-world harm to already marginalized communities through increased hate speech and misinformation. Why is Meta scrapping the fact-based system? “In recent years, we’ve developed increasingly complex systems to manage content across our platforms, partly in response to societal and political
Meta has deleted its AI-powered Facebook and Instagram profiles following backlash over racist and offensive characters. The tech giant had quietly rolled out the AI-driven accounts that could interact with other users via direct messages in 2023 alongside its lauch of Celebrity AI characters. “Proud Black Queer Momma” These accounts lived under the radar until the Financial Times published a story on December 27 exploring Meta’s intentions to continue integrating user-generated AI profiles that users can create and edit to preferences into its social media platforms. Meta deleted its Celebrity AI
Kenya’s Court of Appeal ruled that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, can be sued in Kenya for labor disputes involving outsourced content moderators, according to The Kenyan Wall Street. The ruling marks a major step in a long-standing case where Meta sought to avoid legal responsibility for its operations in Kenya. The court dismissed Meta’s appeal, which argued that Kenya’s Employment and Labour Relations Court lacked jurisdiction to sue a foreign company like Meta. How Did We Get Here? The case centers around Daniel Motaung, a South African whistleblower,
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has launched an update enabling content creators in Nigeria and Ghana to monetize their content on its platforms. This new policy, which became effective June 27, 2024, marks an important change. Previously, Facebook excluded creators with Nigerian and Ghanaian addresses from monetization unless their page was managed from an eligible country. Expansion of Monetization Opportunities This policy shift follows an announcement by Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, in March 2024, confirming the rollout of monetization features in June. “Monetization won’t
Block Party, a startup initially centered on curbing online harassment via Twitter’s API, has undergone a significant pivot in the wake of API changes on the platform now known as X. Privacy Party Tracy Chou, a prominent software engineer and tech diversity advocate, introduced the venture’s new focus at this year’s SXSW conference in Austin. The reinvented platform Privacy Party emerges as a solution to the complex challenge of managing privacy settings across various social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, and X. Originally, Block Party leveraged Twitter’s API to
Kenyan President William Ruto has announced that Meta has agreed to monetize content in Kenya, benefitting the country’s creators. Following a year-long negotiation with the Kenyan government, Facebook and Instagram content creators will begin earning from these Meta platforms. Paying Kenyan Content Creators The President revealed that Meta had run a pilot program with eligible Kenyan content creators. “I have good news for our creatives and those who imagine and produce content through Facebook and Instagram,” Ruto said during the Jamhuri Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi. “Just yesterday, Meta committed
In a watershed moment for the global tech industry, more than 150 African content moderators—who have provided moderation services for AI tools used by Facebook, TikTok, and ChatGPT—have voted to unionize, TIME reports. At an event in Nairobi this week, content moderators employed by third-party outsourcing companies voted to establish the first African Content Moderators Union. A long time coming The union’s establishment is the culmination of a process that began in 2019 when former Facebook content moderator Daniel Motaung was fired after attempting to unionize workers at the outsourcing
