AI chatbots on Meta’s platforms like Facebook and Instagram can have sexually explicit conversations with users, including those who are underage. The findings were highlighted in a report by the Wall Street Journal. Meta is pushing to promote AI-powered digital companions, which Mark Zuckerberg believes will be the future of social media. However, staff workers across multiple departments have raised concerns about the ethical lines these bots have crossed. The WSJ reported that the employees also felt that the company was not doing enough to protect minors from inappropriate conversations.
Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has imposed a fine of $220 million on Meta and WhatsApp for breaching the country’s data protection and consumer rights laws. The fine was issued following a comprehensive investigation, which the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal upheld on Friday, 25 April 2025. It must be paid within 60 days, as stated by TechPoint. Why Meta must pay a $220 million fine? The FCCPC and the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) identified several violations, including the unauthorized sharing of Nigerian users’ data, inadequate
The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute is calling on social media companies to address the spread of violent speech and warmongering on their platforms to stop a looming war between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Researchers at the institute have spent three years analyzing social media platforms’ role in exacerbating the 2020-2022 Tigray war and believe similar failures are happening again. “We performed computational analyses to quantify the level of hate speech on these platforms, and interviewed content moderators to better understand the organizational practices that have resulted in the platforms’ failures
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is facing a $2.4 billion lawsuit over allegations that its platform contributed to ethnic violence in Ethiopia. A Kenyan high court has ruled that the case, brought by two Ethiopian nationals and a Kenyan NGO, can proceed. Hateful content contributing to real-word harm The lawsuit was filed by two Ethopians, Abrham Meareg and Fisseha Tekle, and The Katiba Institute, a Kenya-based NGO. They argue that Facebook’s algorithms amplified hate speech and inciteful content, fueling violence during the country’s civil war. They claim
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
Techish is back! This week, Abadesi and Michael kick off the episode with the backlash over Stormzy’s McDonald’s collaboration. They also break down Meta’s latest layoffs and how performance reviews play into the mix. Then, they take a look at the rising cost of concert tickets—why are prices for artists like Beyoncé skyrocketing? Finally, they discuss the future of DEI in corporate America and what these shifts mean for the people driving the work forward. Chapters 00:25 Stormzy’s McDonald’s Collaboration Sparks Backlash09:49 Meta Lays Off “Low Performers”16:03 Cowboy Carter Tour:
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), founded by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, announced it will end its commitment to DEI, according to The Guardian. Executives at CZI told staff workers on Tuesday evening that it would end its internal and external DEI efforts, as stated in an internal email and other messages. The announcement came despite Zuckerberg’s recent assurances that the for-profit charity organization’s longstanding support for DEI remained unchanged. “Given the shifting regulatory and legal landscape, we will no longer have a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility team at
Meta will start a round of layoffs in Africa, Europe, and Asia, affecting over 3000 employees, beginning Monday, 10 February 2024, according to Techpoint. Staff members in most countries (including Africa) will receive their notices from 5:00 am local time. Due to local labor laws, employees in Germany, France, Italy, or the Netherlands are excluded. But, staff members in Asia, Africa, and other parts of Europe could expect bad news between any time from February 11 and 18. This is not the first time Meta has scaled back its workforce
Rapper Kanye West, known as Ye, sold swastika shirts on a site hosted by Shopify Inc. during the Super Bowl, according to Bloomberg. During the NFL championship, West ran a commercial on Sunday night instructing viewers to “go to yeezy.com.” Days before this, the rapper had praised Hitler and posted antisemitic content on his now-deactivated X account. Hate speech on Shopify On Monday, West’s website featured one item for sale: a white shirt with a black Nazi swastika in its center, listed under the product name HH-01. The site’s source
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.”
