Latest news with #AndyStone
UPI
25-06-2025
- UPI
Meta confirms technical error suspended thousands of Facebook Groups
June 24 (UPI) -- Meta is blaming a technical error for suspending thousands of Facebook Groups, in the United States and internationally, angering millions of users. The company confirmed the problem Tuesday and said it is working to fix it. "We're aware of a technical error that impacted some Facebook Groups. We're fixing things now," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement. The Facebook Groups reported receiving warnings, which cited violations for nudity or "terrorism-related" content. All of the groups deny the violations. Among the many groups suspended were some focused on bird-watching, parenting support, as well as dog owners or gaming groups. An interior design group was flagged for referencing "dangerous organizations." Facebook and Instagram are not the first social networks to experience mass suspensions. Pinterest and Tumblr groups have also reported suspensions in the past few weeks. While Meta has not shared what is causing the issue, some users suspect AI-automated moderation could be to blame, as others threaten to file a class action lawsuit.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's twitter-fingers reportedly could have put his bombing of Iran at risk
Happy Tuesday. Here's your Tuesday Tech Drop, bringing you the past week's top stories from the intersection of politics and technology. It sure seems like the president's social media habits created additional obstacles for the U.S. armed forces as they carried out his order to bomb Iran. A New York Times article on the internal discussions surrounding Trump's order reports that, according to 'one military official, [the president] was the 'biggest threat to opsec,' or operational security, that the planning faced' with his multiple social media posts about Iran ahead of the bombings — and that military planners took steps to confuse Iran in light of what Trump was posting. It seems more than a little disadvantageous that our military has to do twice the planning because the president is extremely online. Read more at The New York Times. The chief administrative officer of the House of Representatives has banned the use of Meta's messaging app, WhatsApp, on government devices, allegedly 'due to the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use.' Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a social media post, 'We disagree with the House Chief Administrative Officer's characterization in the strongest possible terms,' adding, 'We know members and their staffs regularly use WhatsApp and we look forward to ensuring members of the House can join their Senate counterparts in doing so officially.' Read more at CNBC. Donald Trump and Fox News host Sean Hannity, arguably the president's top ally in conservative media, set off a deluge of disinformation this weekend in an effort to justify the president's bombing of Iran. A new report in Wired magazine highlights how the two launched a fact-averse propaganda campaign to gin up public support for the president's warmongering. Read more in Wired. Trump's policy adviser Stephen Miller appears to have a significant financial stake in Palantir, the controversial tech company that's playing a large role in Trump's anti-immigrant crackdown. (The company has also reportedly been tapped to aid the Trump administration in building a central database for information about Americans from sources across the federal government.) The Project on Government Oversight, a government watchdog, published financial disclosure forms showing 'Miller disclosed from $100,001 up to a quarter million dollars of stock in Palantir.' Read more from the Project on Government Oversight's findings. A federal judge last week declined an effort from government watchdog American Oversight to require the feds to retrieve deleted messages that were part of a Signal text thread in which top Trump administration officials discussed secret military plans. But the judge did take steps to have the administration preserve any other Signal chats that may be at risk of deletion in the future. Read more on NPR. The U.S. Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is plunging into the controversial world of predictive policing, which has been criticized for using technology that's ripe for civil rights abuses. ICE recently posted a request for information from potential vendors for technology that can help the agency monitor 'a million individuals or entities of interest' for the purpose of 'identifying potentially criminal and fraudulent behavior before crime and fraud can materialize.' Read more at FedScoop. A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that artificial intelligence company Anthropic can legally use books without authors' permission to train its models in a ruling that could have serious implications for artists' ability to protect their works from being used to power generative AI tools. U.S. District Judge William Alsup said his ruling still prevents generative AI tools from creating work that violates the copyright of original source material, but his ruling delivers a blow to those who've sought to completely prevent AI companies from cribbing their work. Read more at The Verge. Media Matters, the left-leaning media watchdog, is suing the Federal Trade Commission, alleging the agency, at the behest of Elon Musk, is subjecting it to a politicized probe of its editorial practices. (The FTC did not respond to Ars Technica's request for comment.) The lawsuit comes as the FTC is also probing advertisers over Musk's claims that companies boycotted his social media platform, X, after he bought the site and weakened moderation, opening the door to more hate speech and extremist content. Read more at Ars Technica. This article was originally published on
Daily Mirror
24-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
Facebook groups hit with 'mass suspensions' after Meta technical error
Meta is warning users that it has suspended thousands of Facebook Groups due to a technical error. The company says its working to fix the issue but has not shared what's causing the widespread suspensions Meta is facing global outrage after a spate of mass bans has swept through Instagram and Facebook, now hitting Facebook Groups hard with scores of users barred from one of the social media platform's key features. TechCrunch reports that thousands of groups around the world have been suspended, sparking outrage and coordinated efforts on other platforms like Reddit to exchange information. Meta's spokesperson, Andy Stone, acknowledged the problem, confirming that the tech giant was on the case. "We're aware of a technical error that impacted some Facebook Groups. We're fixing things now," he stated in an email. The cause behind the widespread bans remains a mystery, but speculation points towards a glitch in AI moderation systems. Affected users have shared that many of the banned groups were unlikely targets for moderation, focusing on harmless topics such as money-saving tips, parenting advice, pet ownership, gaming, Pokémon, and mechanical keyboard aficionados. Admins of the Facebook Groups have been left baffled by ambiguous warnings citing violations for "terrorism-related" content or nudity, which they vehemently deny ever posting, reports the Express. The scale of the issue is significant, with both small and large groups affected, some boasting memberships ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands, and even reaching into the millions. Users caught up in a recent Facebook group ban wave are being advised by their peers to hold off on appealing the suspension, hoping it will be lifted automatically once a bug is fixed. Reddit's Facebook community (r/facebook) is currently awash with posts from frustrated group admins and members upset over the sudden removal of their groups. Reports are flooding in about entire groups being taken down in one fell swoop, with some users expressing disbelief at the reasons given for the bans, such as a bird photography group with nearly a million followers being flagged for nudity. Some users insist their groups were diligently moderated against spam, citing examples like a family-friendly Pokémon group with close to 200,000 members that was accused of referencing "dangerous organisations," or an interior design group with millions of members receiving the same charge. A few Facebook Group admins who have invested in Meta's Verified subscription, which promises priority customer support, have managed to receive assistance. However, others have shared that their groups faced suspension or complete deletion without resolution. The connection between this issue and the broader pattern of bans affecting individual Meta users remains uncertain, but it appears to be part of a larger problem plaguing social networks. Alongside Facebook and Instagram, social networks such as Pinterest and Tumblr have also been hit with complaints about mass suspensions in recent weeks. This has led users to suspect that AI-automated moderation efforts are the culprits. Pinterest at least owned up to its blunder, stating that the mass bans were due to an internal error, but it denied that AI was the problem. Tumblr stated its issues were linked to tests of a new content-filtering system but did not specify whether that system involved AI. When questioned last week about the Instagram bans, Meta declined to comment. Users are now rallying behind a petition that has already collected more than 12,380 signatures, urging Meta to tackle the issue. Others, including those whose businesses were impacted, are seeking legal recourse. Meta has yet to reveal what's causing the issue with either individual accounts or groups.
TechCrunch
24-06-2025
- TechCrunch
Facebook Group admins complain of mass bans; Meta says it's fixing the problem
After a wave of mass bans impacting Instagram and Facebook users alike, Meta users are now complaining that Facebook Groups are also being impacted by mass suspensions. According to individual complaints and organized efforts on sites like Reddit to share information, the bans have impacted thousands of groups both in the U.S. and abroad, and have spanned various categories. Reached for comment, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed the company was aware of the issue and working to correct it. 'We're aware of a technical error that impacted some Facebook Groups. We're fixing things now,' he told TechCrunch in an emailed statement. The reason for the mass bans is not yet known, though many suspect that faulty AI-based moderation could be to blame. Based on the information shared by impacted users, many of the suspended Facebook groups aren't the type that would regularly face moderation concerns, as they focus on fairly innocuous content — like savings tips or deals, parenting support, groups for dog or cat owners, gaming groups, Pokémon groups, groups for mechanical keyboard enthusiasts, and more. Facebook Group admins report receiving vague violation notices related to things like 'terrorism-related' content or nudity, which they claim their group hasn't posted. While some of the impacted groups are smaller in size, many are large, with tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of users. Those who have organized to share tips about the problem are advising others not to appeal their group's ban, but rather wait a few days to see if the suspension is automatically reversed when the bug is fixed. Currently, Reddit's Facebook community (r/facebook) is filled with posts from group admins and users who are angry about the recent purge. Some report that all the groups they run have been removed at once. Some are incredulous about the supposed violations — like a group for bird photos with just under a million users getting flagged for nudity. Others claim that their groups were already well-moderated against spam– like a family-friendly Pokémon group with nearly 200,000 members, which received a violation notice that their title referenced 'dangerous organizations,' or an interior design group that served millions, which received the same violation. At least some Facebook Group admins who pay for Meta's Verified subscription, which includes priority customer support, have been able to get help. Others, however, report that their groups have been suspended or fully deleted. It's unclear if the problem is related to the recent wave of bans impacting Meta users as individuals, but this seems to be a growing problem across social networks. In addition to Facebook and Instagram, social networks like Pinterest and Tumblr have also faced complaints about mass suspensions in recent weeks, leading users to suspect that AI-automated moderation efforts are to blame. Pinterest at least admitted to its mistake, saying the mass bans were due to an internal error, but it denied that AI was the issue. Tumblr said its issues were tied to tests of a new content filtering system, but did not clarify if that system involved AI. When asked about the recent Instagram bans, Meta had declined to comment. Users are now circulating a petition that has topped 12,380 signatures so far, asking Meta to address the problem. Others, including those whose businesses were impacted, are pursuing legal action. Meta has still not shared what's causing the issue with either individual accounts or groups.
Entrepreneur
24-06-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Here's Why WhatsApp Was Banned on US House Devices
Staff members must also remove WhatsApp from their devices if it was previously downloaded. Meta's popular messaging app, WhatsApp, has been banned from the U.S. House of Representatives, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Catherine Szpindor told staff there on Monday. "The Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high-risk to users due to the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use," the email said, seen by Axios. Related: Microsoft Employees Are Banned From Using This Popular AI App The note said the app is banned from all government devices, including phones and computers. "House staff are NOT allowed to download or keep the WhatsApp application on any House device, including any mobile, desktop, or web browser versions of its products," the email added. "If you have a WhatsApp application on your House-managed device, you will be contacted to remove it." Meanwhile, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone responded on X that the tech giant disagrees "in the strongest possible terms." "We know members and their staffs regularly use WhatsApp and we look forward to ensuring members of the House can join their Senate counterparts in doing so officially," Stone wrote. Messages on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default, meaning only the recipients and not even WhatsApp can see them. This is a higher level of security than most of the apps on the CAO's approved list that do not offer that protection. — Andy Stone (@andymstone) June 23, 2025 "Messages on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default, meaning only the recipients and not even WhatsApp can see them," Stone added. "This is a higher level of security than most of the apps on the CAO's approved list that do not offer that protection." Szpindor told CNBC in a written statement that "protecting the People's House is our topmost priority," and this was enacted after "monitoring and analyzing for potential cybersecurity risks that could endanger the data of House Members and staff." It's not the first tech ban that the CAO has enacted, either. ChatGPT is restricted, and there have been full and partial bans on several tools and apps, including DeepSeek, TikTok, and Microsoft Copilot. Related: 'President Trump Does Not Want TikTok to Go Dark': The TikTok Ban Deadline Was Extended Again. Here Are the Top Bidders.
