Meta AI now has one billion monthly active users across its apps, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, as first reported by CNBC. The new milestone doubles the 500 million monthly active users Meta AI had back in September 2024. The “focus for this year is deepening the experience…
Category: Meta
CIA, Global Security News, Law & order, malware, Meta, Podcast, Romance baiting, Smashing Security, Star Wars, vulnerability, WhatsApp
Smashing Security podcast #419: Star Wars, the CIA, and a WhatsApp malware mirage
Why is a cute Star Wars fan website now redirecting to the CIA? How come Cambodia has become the world’s hotspot for scam call centres? And can a WhatsApp image really drain your bank account with a single download, or is it just a load of hacker hokum? All this and much more is discussed…
Global Security News, Meta, Social
Meta wants to open more retail stores
Meta wants to grow its retail footprint, Business Insider reported on Wednesday. As Meta continues to invest in wearables, these stores would ideally help Meta boost the sales of hardware like the Ray-Ban Meta glasses and the Meta Quest VR headsets. These products may be easier to sell if customers can try them out at…
AI, Global Security News, Meta
Meta reportedly splits its AI team to build products faster
Now, the company’s AI personnel will be assigned to an AI products team, or an AGI Foundations unit. No jobs appear to have been cut.
Apps, Global Security News, Meta, Social, WhatsApp
WhatsApp launches long-awaited iPad app
WhatsApp is officially available on iPad, Meta announced on Tuesday. The new iPad app allows you to make video and audio calls with up to 32 people, share your screen, and use both front and back cameras. Up until now, if you wanted to use WhatsApp on your iPad, you had to use the web…
Amazon, Climate, Enterprise, evergreens, Global Security News, Google, Kairos Power, Meta, Microsoft, nuclear fission, nuclear power, Oklo, Startups, X-Energy
Here are the nuclear fission startups backed by Big Tech
Big tech companies are turning to nuclear power as AI ramps up demand for electricity.
aes, AI, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Climate, data centers, Enterprise, Global Security News, Meta, renewable power, Solar Power
Meta adds another 650 MW of solar power to its AI push
The company already has more than 12 gigawatts of capacity in its renewable power portfolio.
AI, Global Security News, Llama, Meta, Startups
Meta launches program to encourage startups to use its Llama AI models
Meta is launching a new program to incentivize startups to adopt its Llama AI models. The program, Llama for Startups, provides companies “direct support” from Meta’s Llama team, as well as funding in certain cases. Any U.S.-based firm that is incorporated, has raised less than $10 million in funding, has at least one developer on…
Creators, Global Security News, Meta, Social, social media, Threads
Threads now lets creators add up to 5 links to profiles, track clicks
Instagram Threads is taking on Linktree and other “link-in-bio” solutions by introducing a way for creators to use their Threads profile to share links to their other interests and online presences. At launch, the feature will support adding up to five links to a bio, which can connect visitors to the creator’s blog, newsletter, website,…
AI, Anthropic, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Chamber of Progress, copyright, Copyright Office, Global Security News, Government, Meta, openai
Copyright office criticizes AI ‘fair use’ before director’s dismissal
President Donald Trump’s firing over the weekend of Shira Perlmutter, director of the U.S. Copyright Office, has drawn strong criticism from Democrats and tech experts who believe her dismissal is related to a report on generative AI and copyright law that the register of copyrights released a day earlier. That report, overseen by Perlmutter, questioned…
Global Security News, Meta, NSO, NSO Group, Security, Spyware, surveillance, WhatsApp, zero days
Seven things we learned from WhatsApp vs. NSO Group spyware lawsuit
The landmark trial between WhatsApp and NSO Group unearthed several new revelations. We recap some of them here.
Global Security News, Meta, NSO, NSO Group, Security, Spyware, surveillance, WhatsApp, zero days
Five things we learned from WhatsApp vs. NSO Group spyware lawsuit
The landmark trial between WhatsApp and NSO Group unearthed several new revelations. We recap some of them here.
AI, Global Security News, In Brief, Meta
Meta taps former Google DeepMind director to lead its AI research lab
Meta has chosen Robert Fergus to lead its Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) lab, according to Bloomberg. Fergus had been working at Google DeepMind as a research director for nearly five years, per his LinkedIn. Prior to Google, he worked as a researcher scientist at Meta. Meta’s FAIR, which has been around since 2013, has faced…
Ads, Apps, Global Security News, Meta, Social, Threads
Instagram Threads is getting video ads
Instagram Threads will begin testing video ads, Meta announced on Thursday. The test, which will make Threads look more like its competitor X, is an expansion of Threads’ advertising initiatives, which began last month with the opening up of ads to global advertisers. The news was announced at Meta’s presentation at the IAB NewFronts, where…
antitrust, Apps, Facebook, FTC, Global Security News, lawsuit, Meta, Social, TikTok
New court filing shows that Meta execs agreed that Facebook was losing to TikTok
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram head Adam Mosseri, and other Meta execs thought that TikTok was beating Meta at its own game. That’s according to a new filing in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant, published on Monday. The document, dated February 2022, includes conversations among a number of Meta…
Global Security News, Meta, NSO Group, privacy, Spyware, Technology, U.S. courts, WhatsApp
NSO Group owes $168M in damages to WhatsApp over spyware infections, jury says
A federal jury decided Tuesday that NSO Group must pay WhatsApp approximately $168 million in damages after a judge ruled that it violated anti-hacking laws when 1,400 of the messaging application’s users became infected with Pegasus spyware. It’s the latest in a series of wins in court for WhatsApp in its pioneering lawsuit that has produced…
AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Global Security News, Law & order, Meta, openai, Podcast, The AI Fix
The AI Fix #49: The typo from hell
In episode 49 of The AI Fix, OpenAI kills off a sycophantic bot, our hosts are introduced to a prophetic Bosnian rock band, Meta puts an electric fence around its llamas, Mark reveals he’s never tried covering a robot with olive oil, and Graham leaves a stern message for his great-great-grandchildren. Mark sits a “smarty-pants”…
AI, Apps, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social, WhatsApp
WhatsApp now has more than 3 billion users a month
WhatsApp now has more than 3 billion people using it every month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted during the company’s Q1 results conference call on Wednesday. Founded in 2009 and acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, WhatsApp remains free to use and doesn’t serve any ads. The app reached the 2 billion monthly…
AI, Global Security News, Meta
Meta forecasted it would make $1.4T in revenue from generative AI by 2035
Meta made a prediction last year its generative AI products would rake in $2 billion to $3 billion in revenue in 2025, and between $460 billion and $1.4 trillion by 2035, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday. The documents, submitted by attorneys for book authors suing Meta for what they claim is unauthorized training of…
Apps, Global Security News, Meta, Social, Threads
Threads tops 350M monthly users after adding 30M in the quarter
Instagram Threads, Meta’s X competitor, has now grown to over 350 million monthly active users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed during the company’s Q1 2025 earnings call on Wednesday. That’s an increase of 30 million users since the prior quarter, where Meta reported that Threads had 320 million users. The new figure represents increased growth, as…
AI, Global Security News, Meta, meta ray-bans
If you own Ray-Ban Meta glasses, you should double-check your privacy settings
Meta has updated the privacy policy for its AI glasses, Ray-Ban Meta, giving the tech giant more power over what data it can store and use to train its AI models. The company emailed Ray-Ban Meta owners on Tuesday with a notice that AI features will now be enabled on the glasses by default, according…
AI, Global Security News, Llama, llamacon, Meta
Meta’s LlamaCon was all about undercutting OpenAI
On Tuesday, Meta held its first-ever AI developer conference, LlamaCon, at its Menlo Park, California headquarters. The company announced the launch of a consumer-facing Meta AI chatbot app, which will compete with ChatGPT, as well as a developer-facing API for accessing Llama models in the cloud. Both releases aim to expand adoption of the company’s…
AI, Global Security News, llamacon, Meta
Meta says its Llama AI models have been downloaded 1.2B times
In mid-March, Meta said that its “open” AI model family, Llama, hit 1 billion downloads, up from 650 million downloads as of early December 2024. On Tuesday at its inaugural LlamaCon developer conference, Meta revealed that figure has reached 1.2 billion downloads. “We have thousands of developers contributing tens of thousands of derivative models being downloaded…
AI, Enterprise, Global Security News, Llama, Meta
Meta previews an API for its Llama AI models
At its inaugural LlamaCon AI developer conference on Tuesday, Meta announced an API for its Llama series of AI models: the Llama API. Available in limited preview, the Llama API lets developers explore and experiment with products powered by different Llama models, per Meta. Paired with Meta’s SDKs, it allows developers to build Llama-driven services,…
AI, Global Security News, llama con 2025, Meta, meta ai, Social
Meta launches a standalone AI app to compete with ChatGPT
After integrating Meta AI into WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, Meta is rolling out a standalone AI app. Unveiled at Meta’s LlamaCon event on Tuesday, this app allows users to access Meta AI in a standalone app, similar to the ChatGPT app and other AI assistant apps. To win over users, Meta is trying to…
AI, Global Security News, Llama, llamacon, Meta
Meta needs to win over AI developers at its first LlamaCon
On Tuesday, Meta is hosting its first-ever LlamaCon AI developer conference at its Menlo Park headquarters, where the company will try to pitch developers on building applications with its open Llama AI models. Just a year ago, that wasn’t a hard sell. However, in recent months, Meta has struggled to keep up with both “open”…
AI, Enterprise, Global Security News, Llama, llamacon, Meta
Here’s how to watch LlamaCon, Meta’s first AI developer event
On Tuesday, Meta is hosting LlamaCon, its first-ever AI developer event. It’ll center around the company’s Llama family of open AI models, and we’re expecting some big updates for developers. Also on the agenda: keynotes from Meta executives and fireside chats with Big Tech CEOs and Meta’s chief, Mark Zuckerberg. Meta is hosting a small…
AI, Global Security News, Meta, Social
Report finds Meta’s celebrity-voiced chatbots could discuss sex with minors
AI chatbots available on Meta’s platforms like Facebook and Instagram can engage in sexually explicit conversations with underage users, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ says that after learning about internal concerns about whether the company was doing enough to protect minors, it spent months conducting hundreds of conversations…
Global Security News, Government & Policy, kids online safety act, kosa, Meta, Social, social media
Parents who lost children to online harms protest outside of Meta’s NYC office
Meta may have managed to kill a bipartisan bill to protect children online, but parents of children who have suffered from online harm are still putting pressure on social media companies to step up. On Thursday, 45 families who lost children to online harms – from sextortion to cyberbullying – held a vigil outside of…
Apps, Global Security News, Meta, Social, social media, Threads
Threads officially moves to Threads.com and updates its web app
Instagram Threads, Meta’s newest social network and X competitor, is officially relocating from the website Threads.net to Threads.com. The transition will coincide with a handful of quality-of-life improvements for the Threads web app, including features to more easily access custom feeds, saved posts, and likes, as well as other tools for creating new columns, copying…
Apps, FTC, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta
Mark Zuckerberg really wants to make Facebook cool again
In an ongoing antitrust case, the Federal Trade Commission says that Meta has a monopoly on “personal social networking services” and should have to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp. Throughout the proceedings, there have been several internal messages and plans that have come to light. In one, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg considered wiping all Facebook…
Apps, Facebook, Global Security News, Meta, Social
Facebook cracks down on spammy content by cutting reach and monetization
Facebook will begin lowering the reach of accounts sharing spammy content and making them ineligible for monetization, Meta announced on Thursday. The company is also increasing efforts to remove Facebook accounts that coordinate fake engagement and impersonate others, it says. The move comes as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has promised a return to “OG Facebook.”…
ad tech, Ads, Apps, Global Security News, Instagram, Meta, Social, Threads
Meta’s Threads opens up ads to global advertisers
Months after first testing ads in select markets, including the U.S., Meta on Wednesday announced that its Instagram Threads app would now expand ads to all advertisers worldwide. The expansion will allow eligible advertisers to reach Threads’ over 320 million monthly active users, and it will include access to an inventory filter to control the sensitivity level…
Apps, Global Security News, Meta, Social, WhatsApp
WhatsApp’s latest feature makes your messages even more private
WhatsApp announced on Wednesday it’s launching a new feature that will allow users to add an extra layer of privacy to chats. The new “Advanced Chat Privacy” setting prevents you and the people you’re chatting with from exporting chats and auto-downloading media to their phone. The setting also prevents users from mentioning Meta AI in…
Apple, Apps, Digital Markets Act, Europe, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Meta
EU fines Apple, Meta millions for breaching tech competition rules
The European Union has fined Apple €500 million (about $568 million) and Meta €200 million (about $227 million) for allegedly breaching the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, according to The Wall Street Journal. The EU has accused Apple of failing to comply with an obligation to allow app developers to inform customers of alternative ways to…
Apps, content moderation, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Meta, oversight board, Social
Meta’s Oversight Board seeks details on the company’s new hate speech policies
Meta’s Oversight Board, the independent group created to help Meta with content moderation decisions, on Tuesday issued its response to the social media company’s new hate speech policies announced in January. The Board says that Meta’s new policies were “announced hastily, in a departure from regular procedure,” and called on the company to provide more…
FTC, Global Security News, Meta, Social
Mark Zuckerberg once suggested spinning out Instgram as a solution to its ‘cannibalization’ of Facebook
In an internal email surfaced as part of the Meta antitrust trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg fretted about the potential that the company’s Instagram acquisition may cannibalize Facebook. Were that to happen, it could lead to the “network collapse of the more engaging and profitable product,” a worried Zuckerberg told other Meta executives in a…
FTC, Global Security News, Meta, Social
Mark Zuckerberg once suggested spinning out Instagram as a solution to its ‘cannibalization’ of Facebook
In an internal email surfaced as part of the Meta antitrust trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg fretted about the potential that the company’s Instagram acquisition may cannibalize Facebook. Were that to happen, it could lead to the “network collapse of the more engaging and profitable product,” a worried Zuckerberg told other Meta executives in a…
Facebook, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social
Uncovered emails showed how Meta struggled to keep Facebook culturally relevant
With the first week of Meta’s antitrust trial behind us, documents shared by the U.S Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offered more insight into Meta’s internal struggles to keep Facebook relevant. In emails from 2022, Meta executives mulled different visions for Facebook’s future to boost its success, acknowledging that its cultural relevance was decreasing. Fast-forward to…
Global Security News, Google, Meta, Social, Week in Review
Week in Review: Google loses a major antitrust case
Welcome back to Week in Review! We’ve got tons of stuff for you this week: antitrust lawsuits against Google and Meta; Grok can now remember; Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow wants to make his mark; and much, much more. Have a great weekend! It’s over: Google violated antitrust laws in the ad tech market, a judge…
Facebook, Global Security News, Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social
Read what Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook execs said about Instagram before buying it
The first week of the Meta antitrust trial brought new revelations about how the company formerly known as Facebook approached the competitive threat posed by Instagram in the early 2010s. The U.S. government is accusing Meta of violating competition laws by acquiring companies like Instagram and WhatsApp that threatened the Facebook monopoly. If lawyers for…
AI, Global Security News, Meta, openai, Social, Social networks, Twitter, X
OpenAI is reportedly developing its own X-like social media platform
OpenAI is building its own X-like social media network, according to a new report from The Verge. The project is still in the early stages, but there’s an internal prototype focused on ChatGPT’s image generation that contains a social feed. The report states that it’s unknown if OpenAI plans to launch the social network as a…
antitrust, Facebook, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social
Mark Zuckerberg once considered deleting all your Facebook friends
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once considered deleting everyone’s Facebook friends in an effort to boost the social network’s cultural relevance. This “potentially crazy idea,” as the exec called it at the time, was revealed on Monday as a part of the evidence introduced during the first day of the U.S. government’s antitrust trial against Meta.…
AI, Apps, Global Security News, Meta, meta ai
Meta to start training its AI models on public content in the EU
Meta announced on Monday that it’s going to train its AI models on public content, such as posts and comments on Facebook and Instagram, in the EU after previously pausing its plans to do so in response to regulatory pressure due to to data privacy concerns. The company will start training its AI on users’…
AI, Global Security News, Llama, lm arena, Meta
Meta’s vanilla Maverick AI model ranks below rivals on a popular chat benchmark
Earlier this week, Meta landed in hot water for using an experimental, unreleased version of its Llama 4 Maverick model to achieve a high score on a crowdsourced benchmark, LM Arena. The incident prompted the maintainers of LM Arena to apologize, change their policies, and score the unmodified, vanilla Maverick. Turns out, it’s not very…
dina powell mccormick, Global Security News, Meta, patrick collison, Social
Meta adds Stripe CEO Patrick Collison and Dina Powell McCormick to its board
Banking executive and former presidential advisor Dina Powell McCormick and Stripe co-founder and CEO Patrick Collison are joining the board of Meta, according to a report from Axios. Powell McCormick spent 16 years in several leadership roles at Goldman Sachs. She also served as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Donald J. Trump during his…
AI, copyright, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Llama, Meta
Law professors side with authors battling Meta in AI copyright case
A group of professors specializing in copyright law has filed an amicus brief in support of authors suing Meta for allegedly training its Llama AI models on ebooks without permission. The brief, filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, calls Meta’s fair use defense “a…
Apps, Global Security News, Meta, Social, WhatsApp
WhatsApp introduces new features across chats, calls, and channels
WhatsApp has announced a slew of new updates across chats, calls, and channels designed to enhance the messaging and calling experience for users as it continues to compete with popular services like Telegram and Discord. Among the most notable additions is an “Online” indicator that appears at the top of a group chat to show…
Adtech, advertising, Apps, Congress, Facebook, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Instagram, Meta, Sarah Wynn-Williams, Social, Teens, whistleblower
Meta whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams says company targeted ads at teens based on their ‘emotional state’
Meta whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams, the former director of Global Public Policy for Facebook and author of the recently released tell-all book “Careless People,” told U.S. senators during her testimony on Wednesday that Meta actively targeted teens with advertisements based on their emotional state. This claim was first documented by Wynn-Williams in her book, which documents…
china, Congress, Facebook, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Meta, Sarah Wynn-Williams, Social, whistleblower
Whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams accuses Meta of colluding with China
Sarah Wynn-Williams, Facebook’s former head of Global Public Policy, testified before the U.S. Senate today about the company’s relationship with China. According to Wynn-Williams, the company now known as Meta worked directly with the Chinese Community Party (CCP) to “undermine U.S. national security and betray American values,” she said. She alleges that Facebook created custom-built…
Apps, gen z, Global Security News, Instagram, Meta, Social, social media, TikTok
Instagram is beefing up its search to compete with TikTok
Instagram head Adam Mosseri says the company is looking to improve the app’s search functionality, admitting this is an area where Instagram could do more to compete. The remarks, made on a recent episode of the “Build Your Tribe” podcast, come at a time when younger Gen Z users often turn to social apps like…
Apps, Facebook, Global Security News, Instagram, Messenger, Meta, Social
Meta introduces restricted Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger
Meta is introducing Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger. The feature, which automatically enrolls young users into an app experience with built-in protections, will be available on these platforms in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada before expanding to additional regions in the future. Teen Accounts first rolled out to Instagram last September after Instagram…
Apps, Facebook, Global Security News, Instagram, Messenger, Meta, Social
Meta introduces restricted Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger
Meta is introducing Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger. The feature, which automatically enrolls young users into an app experience with built-in protections, will be available on these platforms in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada before expanding to additional regions in the future. Teen Accounts first rolled out to Instagram last September after Instagram…
AI, Global Security News, llama 4, Meta
Meta exec denies the company artificially boosted Llama 4’s benchmark scores
A Meta exec on Monday denied a rumor that the company trained its new AI models to present well on specific benchmarks while concealing the models’ weaknesses. The executive, Ahmad Al-Dahle, VP of generative AI at Meta, said in a post on X that it’s “simply not true” that Meta trained its Llama 4 Maverick…
AI, Benchmark, Global Security News, Llama, llama 4, Meta
Meta’s benchmarks for its new AI models are a bit misleading
One of the new flagship AI models Meta released on Saturday, Maverick, ranks second on LM Arena, a test that has human raters compare the outputs of models and choose which they prefer. But it seems the version of Maverick that Meta deployed to LM Arena differs from the version that’s widely available to developers.…
AI, Global Security News, llama 4, Meta
Meta releases Llama 4, a new crop of flagship AI models
Meta has released a new collection of AI models, Llama 4, in its Llama family — on a Saturday, no less. There are four new models in total: Llama 4 Scout, Llama 4 Maverick, and Llama 4 Behemoth. All were trained on “large amounts of unlabeled text, image, and video data” to give them “broad…
Global Security News, Government & Policy, Instagram, Meta, North America, Social, White House
You might be following Second Lady Usha Vance on Instagram now
Starting Wednesday, Meta says it will begin combining the Instagram accounts of the Second Lady of the United States, Usha Vance, and the former Second Gentleman of the United States, Doug Emhoff. As a result, the 1.2 million people who were previously following the Instagram account of Kamala Harris’s husband, @secondgentleman46archive (recently archived by the…
AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, deepseek, deepseek-r1, Developer, developers, Global Security News, International, large language models, Llama, Meta, News, open source, openai, Security, Software
Developers Wanted: OpenAI Seeks Feedback About Open Model That Will Be Revealed ‘In the Coming Months’
Find out how to provide OpenAI with your input about its upcoming open language model, which Sam Altman stated will be a “reasoning” model like OpenAI o1.
AI, AI research, Global Security News, In Brief, Meta
Meta’s head of AI research plans to leave the company
Meta’s VP of AI research, Joelle Pineau, is planning to leave the company, she announced in a post on Facebook Tuesday. Pineau said she’s leaving in May after more than two years overseeing FAIR, Meta’s internal AI research lab led by Yann LeCun. Pineau’s exit comes as Meta ramps up its AI efforts, with the…
Amazon, Artificial Intelligence (AI), cisco, Climate, data centers, Enterprise, evergreens, Global Security News, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Solar Power
Data centers love solar: Here’s a comprehensive guide to deals over 100 megawatts
New and expanded data centers are expected to double the sector’s power demand by 2029 as tech companies rush to capitalize on AI.
Apps, Global Security News, messaging platform, Meta, Social, WhatsApp
WhatsApp users can now add songs to their Status updates
WhatsApp launched a new feature on Friday, where users can include brief music clips in their Status updates, reminiscent of the Myspace era. Status resembles Instagram Stories and allows users to share photos, videos, and text that disappear after 24 hours. When creating a new Status, users can tap on a music note icon to…
Facebook, Global Security News, Meta, Social
Facebook debuts a revamped Friends tab as part of its return to ‘OG’ Facebook
After teasing a return to “OG Facebook” earlier this year, the social network on Thursday announced an update that will give users a simple way to connect with friends. The company is introducing a new Facebook Friends tab that will only showcase updates from friends, without any other recommended content. Meta explains in a blog…
evergreens, Facebook, Global Security News, Instagram, Meta, Outlook, Security, signal, Twitter, WhatsApp
How to tell if your online accounts have been hacked
This is a guide on how to check whether someone compromised your online accounts.
AI, AI chips, FuriosaAI, Global Security News, Meta, semiconductor, South Korea, Startups
AI chip startup FuriosaAI reportedly turns down $800M acquisition offer from Meta
FuriosaAI, a South Korean startup that makes chips for AI applications, has rejected an $810 million acquisition offer from Meta.
GDPR, Global Security News, Meta, privacy, Social
Meta settles UK ‘right to object to ad-tracking’ lawsuit by agreeing not to track plaintiff
A human rights campaigner, Tanya O’Carroll, has succeeded in forcing social media giant Meta not to use her data for targeted advertising. The agreement is contained in a settlement to an individual challenge she lodged against Meta’s tracking and profiling back in 2022. O’Carroll had argued that a legal right to object to the use…
AI, Global Security News, Llama, Meta
Meta has revenue sharing agreements with Llama AI model hosts, filing reveals
In a blog post last July, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that “selling access” to Meta’s openly available Llama AI models “isn’t [Meta’s] business model.” Yet Meta does make at least some money from Llama through revenue-sharing agreements, according to a newly unredacted court filing. The filing, submitted by attorneys for the plaintiffs in the…
AI, Apps, Global Security News, Instagram, Meta, Social, social media
Meta spotted testing AI-generated comments on Instagram
In recent years, Meta has introduced many AI features and capabilities to its apps, even going so far as experimenting with AI-generated characters complete with unique profiles and personalities, before scraping them after they were deemed creepy and unnecessary. In yet another move that may not be received well among users, Meta wants to use…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, social network, Threads
Threads adds new features to highlight topics and limit replies
Meta’s social network Threads, an X competitor with more than 320 million monthly active users, is now rolling out new features related to topics, reply controls, and video playback in the app, among other things. It’s also making political content suggestions more personalized to the user, the company says. Combined, the features aim to make…
AI, Europe, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Meta, meta ai
Meta AI is finally coming to the EU, but with limitations
Amid an ongoing regulatory battle with European privacy authorities, Meta announced on Thursday that its AI-powered virtual assistant, Meta AI, is finally launching in the European Union. The chatbot-like tool will be rolled out across Meta’s portfolio of social platforms, albeit with a more limited feature set compared to what it offers in its domestic…
Apps, broadcast messages, Global IT News, Global Security News, Meta, WhatsApp, whatsapp business
WhatsApp will soon limit number of broadcast messages users and businesses can send
Chat platform WhatsApp said today that it will limit the number of broadcast messages individual users and businesses can send to curb spam on the app. In the coming weeks, the company will start testing limits on individual broadcast messages. Under these limits, WhatsApp will put a monthly limit on the number of broadcasts. While…
Careless People, Facebook, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Meta, Sarah Wynn-Williams, Social
Meta takes aim at ex-employee’s memoir ‘Careless People’
Meta won a legal victory this week against Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former employee who recently published a memoir of her time at the company titled “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism.” An arbitrator ruled that the company has made a valid argument that Wynn-Williams, who worked at Facebook (now Meta)…
Apps, Facebook, Global Security News, Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, North America, Social
Meta is launching Community Notes in the US next week
Next week, Meta will begin one of the company’s most significant overhauls ever for how it fact-checks information on its platforms. On March 18, Meta will start releasing its version of Community Notes for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads users in the United States. The program copies a crowdsourced fact-checking system that Twitter unveiled in 2021…
AI, AI chip, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Meta
Meta is reportedly testing in-house chips for AI training
Meta is reportedly testing an in-house chip for training AI systems, a part of a strategy to reduce its reliance on hardware makers like Nvidia. According to Reuters, Meta’s chip, which is designed to handle AI-specific workloads, was manufactured in partnership with Taiwan-based firm TSMC. The company is piloting a “small deployment” of the chip…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, kadrey vs meta, Llama, Meta, TC
Judge allows authors’ AI copyright lawsuit against Meta to move forward
A federal judge is allowing an AI-related copyright lawsuit against Meta to move forward, although he dismissed part of the suit. In Kadrey vs. Meta, authors including Richard Kadrey, Sarah Silverman, and Ta-Nehisi Coates have alleged that Meta has violated their intellectual property rights by using their books to train its Llama AI models, and…
Apps, evergreens, Global IT News, Global Security News, Instagram, Instagram Threads, Meta, Social, Threads
What is Instagram’s Threads app? All your questions answered
Twitter alternatives — new and old — have found audiences willing to try out a newer social networks since Elon Musk took over the company in 2022. Mastodon, Bluesky, Spill and T2 are some of the social media platforms people are among them. So is Meta’s Threads platform. What is Threads? How do you create…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Meta, Social, social media, Threads
Threads tests adding ‘interests’ on profiles to connect users with topical discussions
Meta’s Threads has begun testing a new feature that would allow people to add their interests to their profile on the social network. Instead of only advertising to profile visitors the sort of topics you might post about, the new interests feature will also direct users to active conversations about the topic. The company thinks…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, Llama, Meta
Meta’s next Llama models may have upgraded voice features
Meta’s next major “open” AI model may have a voice focus, per a report in Financial Times. According to the piece, Meta is planning to introduce improved voice features with Llama 4, the next flagship in its Llama model family, which is expected to arrive in “weeks.” Reportedly, Meta has been particularly focused on allowing…
ed zitron, Global IT News, Global Security News, Google, Internet, Meta, rot economy, Startups, Venture
Growth at all costs is destroying the internet. PR maven Ed Zitron says that’s an opportunity for startups
If you spend any amount of time online, you probably noticed that your user experience keeps getting worse. Websites are waterlogged with autoplay ads, pop-ups, and tracking scripts. Customer service chatbots are useless, despite the promises of generative AI. Social media algorithms boost rage-bait to keep you scrolling and engaged. Dating apps hide all the…
AI, facial recognition, Global IT News, Global Security News, Meta, Social
Meta brings its anti-fraud facial recognition test to the UK after getting a thumbs up from regulators
Last October, Meta dipped its toe into the world of facial recognition — an area where it has had a tricky record — with an international test of two new tools: one to stop scams based on likenesses of famous people, and a second facial recognition feature to help people get back into compromised Facebook…
AI, Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Meta, meta ai
Meta is reportedly planning a standalone AI chatbot app
Meta reportedly plans to release a standalone app for its AI assistant, Meta AI, in a bid to better compete with AI-powered chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. According to CNBC, Meta could launch a standalone Meta AI app as soon as the company’s next fiscal quarter (April-June). Meta AI is currently only available…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social
Meta fires around 20 employees for leaking confidential information
Meta has fired “roughly” 20 employees for leaking confidential information, The Verge reports. “We tell employees when they join the company, and we offer periodic reminders, that it is against our policies to leak internal information, no matter the intent,” Meta told the publication. “We recently conducted an investigation that resulted in roughly 20 employees…
AI, aria gen 2, Global IT News, Global Security News, Hardware, In Brief, Meta, project aria
Meta’s new AR glasses for research can measure heart rate
Meta has unveiled the next generation of its Project Aria augmented reality glasses for research: Aria Gen 2. Aria Gen 2, which arrives roughly five years after the first-generation Aria device, adds new capabilities to the platform, including an upgraded sensor suite and Meta’s custom silicon. Aria Gen 2 has a PPG sensor for measuring…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Instagram, Instagram Reels, Meta, Social
Meta fixes error that exposed Instagram users to graphic and violent content
Meta has fixed an error that caused some users to see a flood of graphic and violent videos in their Instagram Reels feed. The fix comes after some users saw horrific and violent content despite having Instagram’s “Sensitive Content Control” enabled. “We have fixed an error that caused some users to see content in their…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Instagram, Meta, reels, Social, TikTok
Instagram may spin off Reels into a separate app
Meta is mulling launching a standalone app for short-form videos, The Information reported, citing an anonymous source who heard Instagram head Adam Mosseri talking about the project to staff. The project is reportedly code-named Project Ray that aims to improve recommendations for new users and existing users in the U.S., and feature more three-minute videos,…
content moderation, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Meta, Social
Meta’s Oversight Board is reviewing the company’s new hate speech policies
Meta’s Oversight Board, the company’s independent group created to help with sensitive policy decisions, is preparing to weigh in on CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent changes to how Facebook, Instagram, and Threads handle hate speech, Engadget reported. Zuckerberg announced an overhaul of its content moderation policies in January, shortly before the inauguration of U.S. President Donald…
Facebook, fact checking, Global IT News, Global Security News, Meta, Social
As Meta gets rid of fact-checkers, misinformation is going viral
Meta is phasing out its third-party fact-checking programs in the U.S. while it reintroduces a bonus program for creators, which pays them for viral content. The timing of these changes at Meta could intensify the prevalence of misinformation, according to ProPublica. In the past, content creators could not monetize posts that fact-checkers deemed false; but…
AI, Facebook, Global IT News, Global Security News, Meta, meta ai, Social
Meta AI arrives in the Middle East and Africa with support for Arabic
Meta has formally expanded Meta AI to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), opening the AI-enabled chatbot to millions more people. Back in October, Meta announced it was launching Meta AI in six additional markets, including Brazil and the U.K. At the same time, the company teased gradual rollout plans for additional markets around…
AI, ai copyright, copyright, court filings, Global IT News, Global Security News, lawsuit, Meta
Court filings show Meta staffers discussed using copyrighted content for AI training
For years, Meta employees have internally discussed using copyrighted works obtained through legally questionable means to train the company’s AI models, according to court documents unsealed on Thursday. The documents were submitted by plaintiffs in the case Kadrey v. Meta, one of many AI copyright disputes slowly winding through the U.S. court system. The defendant,…
AI, Exclusive, Global IT News, Global Security News, India, Meta, Social
Despite recent layoffs, Meta is expanding in India
Meta is expanding in India, despite recent layoffs of what the tech giant controversially deemed “low performers.” © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Apps, community notes, Facebook, Global IT News, Global Security News, Instagram, Meta, Social, Threads
Meta starts accepting sign-ups for Community Notes on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads
Meta announced on Thursday that it’s now accepting sign-ups for its Community Notes program on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The announcement follows Meta news last month that it’s going to end its third-party fact-checking program and is instead moving to a Community Notes model similar to the one at X. In a blog post, Meta…
DEI, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta
Mark Zuckerberg’s charity U-turns, ends DEI efforts
Mark Zuckerberg’s charity has eliminated its DEI programs and efforts just weeks after assuring staff it would continue supporting DEI efforts, the Guardian reports. The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), co-founded by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, will end internal DEI programs and no longer provide “social advocacy funding,” which provided grants for racial equity and…
Cybersecurity, Deep Fake and Other Social Engineering Tactics, facts, Featured, Global Security News, lies, Meta, misinformation, News, Security Boulevard (Original), Social - Facebook, Social - LinkedIn, Social - X, Social Engineering, Spotlight, Truth
Facts, Schmacts – Meta Joins X in Ceasing Content Moderation
On January 6, 2025, Meta, formerly known as Facebook, formally announced that it would cease its “fact-checking” operations, and allow the internet itself, through comments posted, to be the final arbiter of what is true and false. The post Facts, Schmacts – Meta Joins X in Ceasing Content Moderation appeared first on Security Boulevard.
AI, books, copyright, Court, Global IT News, Global Security News, lawsuit, licensing, Meta, training data
Court filings show Meta paused efforts to license books for AI training
New court filings in an AI copyright case against Meta add credence to earlier reports that the company “paused” discussions with book publishers on licensing deals to supply some of its generative AI models with training data. The filings are related to the case Kadrey v. Meta Platforms — one of many such cases winding through…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, Hardware, In Brief, Meta, report, robotics, rumor
Meta’s next big bet may be humanoid robotics
Meta is forming a new team within its Reality Labs hardware division to build robots that can assist with physical tasks, Bloomberg reported. The team will be responsible for developing humanoid robotics hardware, potentially including hardware that can perform household chores. Meta’s new robotics group, which will be led by Marc Whitten, driverless car startup…
Global IT News, Global Security News, Meta, Security, undersea cable
Meta confirms ‘Project Waterworth,’ a global subsea cable project spanning 50,000km
Back in November, we broke the news that Meta — owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, with billions of users accounting for 10% of all fixed and 22% of all mobile traffic — was close to announcing work on a major new, $10 billion+ subsea cable project to connect up the globe. The aim was…
Andrew Bosworth, Global IT News, Global Security News, Meta, Social
Meta CTO says staff should quit if they don’t like Meta’s new policies
Meta’s CTO said staff unhappy with the tech giant’s latest policies should work somewhere else, an internal chat reveals. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
AI, ARM, Artificial Intelligence, chips, Enterprise, Global IT News, Global Security News, Hardware, In Brief, Meta, semiconductors, Softbank
Arm is launching its own chip this year with Meta as a customer
Public semiconductor company Arm will start making its own chips this year after landing a high-profile enterprise customer. Arm, which is majorly owned by SoftBank, will start making its own chips now that Meta has signed on as a customer, according to the Financial Times. The chip is expected to be a CPU for servers…
acquisition, AI, ai accelerator chip, AI chip, Funding, FuriosaAI, Global IT News, Global Security News, Hardware, In Brief, Meta, report, rumor
Report: Meta in talks to acquire AI chip firm FuriosaAI
Meta is reportedly in talks to acquire a South Korean chip firm as the social media giant looks to bolster its AI hardware infrastructure. Meta may announce its intent to purchase FuriosaAI, a chip startup founded by former Samsung and AMD employees, as soon as this month, per Forbes. FuriosaAI develops chips that speed up…
Apps, evergreens, Facebook, Global IT News, Global Security News, Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social, Threads
How to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads
In the wake of Meta’s decision to remove its third-party fact-checking system and loosen content moderation policies, Google searches on how to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads have been on the rise. People who are angry with the decision accuse Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg of cozying up to the Trump administration at the expense of…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, Google Pixel, Media & Entertainment, Meta, openai, super bowl
AI-driven ads take the field during the 2025 Super Bowl
We’ve officially experienced an AI Super Bowl, people. As everyone tuned in to watch the annual championship game, the biggest buzz wasn’t just about the Eagles’ blowout win and Kendrick Lamar performing his Grammy-winning diss track at the halftime show. It was also about AI being a consistent theme in several of the multi-million dollar ad…