Latest news with #MarkZuckerberg-owned
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Over 6 lakh Facebook, Instagram accounts gone overnight in Meta's massive purge. The reason will shock you
In a significant crackdown, Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook has taken down around 600,000 accounts over predatory and exploitative behaviour targeting minors. Meta is stepping up its efforts to protect young users on Instagram and Facebook and it has also announced a slew of new safety features for teen accounts. It is one of the biggest clean-up operations the platform has done in recent times. According to a report in Business Today, Meta's action includes at least 135,000 accounts flagged for posting sexualised comments or soliciting explicit images, often aimed at children or child-run accounts. Moreover, an additional 500,000 accounts were also taken down for inappropriate interactions, due to inappropriate behaviour with minors. The company said it will share this data with other tech platforms through the Tech Coalition's Lantern programme to help prevent cross-platform abuse. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category others Artificial Intelligence Data Science Degree Operations Management Project Management Technology Others Public Policy Digital Marketing Finance Healthcare CXO healthcare Product Management MBA MCA Data Analytics Data Science Cybersecurity Management Leadership PGDM Design Thinking Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT - ISB Cybersecurity for Leaders Program India Starts on undefined Get Details ALSO READ: Social Security announces major shakeup affecting 70 million Americans: Will your benefits go up or down? by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Even Beautiful Women Have Their 'Oops' Moments Read More Undo Instagram removes 135,000 accounts Instagram has taken down around 1.35 lakh accounts saying that they were either posting inappropriate comments or asking for sexual images from accounts. These accounts were run by adults on behalf of minors and they were targeting kids. ALSO READ: $1,390 Stimulus check in 2025: Do Americans need to pay tax on the amount and who needs to apply? The move by Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta comes amid growing scrutiny of how social media platforms protect young users. Meta faces mounting legal pressure over the mental health impact of its services on children and teens and there has been growing pressure on social media platforms to take action to protect teens. Live Events For instance, lawmakers in the US have been openly calling out apps like Instagram for not doing enough. They argue that these platforms are not just addictive, but potentially damaging — particularly for young users who are vulnerable to cyberbullying, online grooming, and distorted beauty ideals. Meta introduces new safety measures Meta has rolled out a series of safety updates focused on shielding teenagers from unwanted contact. These include clearer context about who is messaging them, and new one-tap options to block and report suspicious users. The company's latest safety update is focused on preventing 'unsafe or unwanted contact,' especially in direct messages. Teen users will now see more context about who they're chatting with, like when an account was created, plus easy-access options to block and report someone in a single tap, according to Quartz. Teenagers can now block and report accounts in a single action, streamlining the response to unwanted contact. ALSO READ: Why young American workers could lose $110,000 in lifetime earnings A new feature "Location Notice" has also been rolled out by Meta that allows users know if someone they are chatting with might be in another country — something scammers often try to hide. Meta's nudity protection tool, which automatically blurs suspected explicit images, is now on by default for teen accounts. Meta is expanding its safety measures to include adult-run accounts that primarily showcase children—such as those managed by parents or talent representatives. These accounts will now default to stricter settings that block messages from strangers and automatically filter offensive comments. Additionally, adults who have been flagged for inappropriate behavior will face greater restrictions in finding or interacting with these profiles. Meta has also been battling spam and impersonation this year, taking down around 10 million fake accounts that were pretending to be major content creators.
Engadget
03-07-2025
- Business
- Engadget
Meta is reportedly training its AI chatbots to send unprompted messages
Everyone's been hit with a bitingly pass-agg "?" text after waiting just a bit too long to reply. And you might soon get similar (though likely more upbeat) treatment from AI chatbots you've previously engaged with on Meta platforms like Instagram or WhatApp. A new report from Business Insider claims that the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company is trialling a proactive feature in customizable chatbots created using its no-code AI Studio software, that will enable them to send unprompted follow-up messages based on previous conversations. Known internally to data labeling firm Alignerr as "Project Omni", the training project will "provide value for users and ultimately help to improve re-engagement and user retention," according to guidelines in the documents BI claims to have seen. Meta advertises AI studio as a platform where "anyone can create an AI character based on their interests" and encourages creators to view the bots as an AI extension of themselves. You can customize a chatbot's appearance, choose the content it's trained on and decide which Meta-owned application you want it to appear in, all without "any technical expertise." According to the BI report, Alignerr's Project Omni guidelines use the example of a film-focused AI bot it calls "The Maestro of Movie Magic" that might send a user message such as: "I hope you're having a harmonious day! I wanted to check in and see if you've discovered any new favorite soundtracks or composers recently. Or perhaps you'd like some recommendations for your next movie night? Let me know, and I'll be happy to help!" As BI notes, there is a business incentive for Meta to keep people engaged with its chatbots. Prolonged engagement is vital for increasing revenue, and this year Meta expects to bring in $2 billion to $3 billion from its generative AI products alone. By 2035, the company estimates that figure could be as high as $1.4 trillion. Those kinds of forecasts will only be possible if its AI tools are being used consistently, so a friendly reminder from a chatbot every now and then feels like an obvious move. The proactive messages are currently still just a test feature. And while it definitely feels like remembering conversations and initiating new ones without invitation is approaching a user consent gray area, a Meta spokesperson told BI that the AI will only send a follow-up message if a user has first initiated the conversation, and it won't send another message if the first one is ignored. Responses must also be consistent with the AI's personality and the nature of the previous conversation, maintaining a positive tone while staying away from controversial or sensitive topics unless the user themself has mentioned them. Last month, Meta started warning its users not to share intimate details in Meta AI's public feed after it emerged that a large number of users appeared to be doing so unwittingly.
Deccan Herald
30-06-2025
- Business
- Deccan Herald
WhatsApp testing new multi-account feature in a single phone
In 2022, WhatsApp rolled out the multi-device feature that allows people to link a single WhatsApp account with up to four greatly enhances the user experience, as users will be able to reply to a message from a computer or another handset without needing their primary phone. And, most importantly, all messages in the inbox are synced in real-time, allowing users to view old messages on any linked Mark Zuckerberg-owned entity is testing another value-added feature that allows users to set up a secondary account on a single phone, reported WABeta Info, citing the latest WhatsApp beta of iOS version announces Gemini AI model that can run on robots user will get two options to add a second account to the phone: 1) By registering a new phone number, and 2) By linking an existing account through a QR whenever the user switches the account, the chat inbox will get synced with the device and allow him/her to view all the latest and old will come in handy for those who have enterprises or even corporate employees to have two different accounts for one personal and another for a related development, WhatsApp recently launched a new message summaries feature in the Messenger private message summaries, WhatsApp will offer the option to use a generative Artificial Intelligence-based Meta AI bot to summarise long unread messages in a brief for the new feature, Message Summaries, utilises Private Processing technology, which enables Meta AI to generate a response directly on the the user uses Meta AI in group chat, other members will not know he/she summarised the unread now, this new feature is available only in the US. It will be expanded to other countries in the coming brings Meta AI-powered private message the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cybersecurity, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech.
Indian Express
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Meta AI and Edits app now lets you edit videos using generative AI
Meta, the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company, has launched a new generative AI video editing feature that enables users to edit videos 'using a variety of preset AI prompts.' The feature is currently available in the Meta AI app, website and the Edits app. In a blog post, Meta says that users will be able to easily edit 'short-form videos using a variety of preset AI prompts' to edit and change things like their outfit, style, location and more. Currently available in the United States along with 12 more countries around the world, the new feature is inspired by Meta's Movie Gen models. The company also said that starting later this year, you will be able to edit videos with Meta AI using their 'own text prompts to make your video edits exactly as you imagine them.' Meta AI's new video editing feature is handy as users won't need any expertise to edit their recorded videos. To do so, all you need to do is upload a video to the Meta AI app, website or the Edits app and choose from more than 50 available editing prompts to transform 10 seconds of your clip. Once you are done choosing from a preset prompt, Meta AI will automatically edit your video to match the one you chose. For example, users will be able to turn their videos into a graphic novel or reimagine themselves as a vintage comic book illustration, and turn it into a video game with things like battle clothing. Moreover, you can also change the lighting in a video to 'create a dreamy mood with shimmery sparkles, pearlescent blur and soft focus.' If you use the Meta AI or Edits app to transform your video, it also has the option to quickly share the edited video directly to social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Also, Meta AI app and Meta. AI web users can choose to share these AI-edited videos directly to the Discover feed. Meta has been working on AI video generation for years now. In 2022, the company introduced its Make-A-Scene models, which could generate images, audio, video and 3D animation. A year later, it launched Llama Image foundation models, which could generate higher-quality images and videos. Finally, in 2024, Meta combined all of these technologies to create Movie Gen, a new AI model that is capable of producing custom videos and sounds and even edit recorded videos using text prompts.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Facebook Is Desperately Trying to Keep You From Learning What's in This Book
Facebook's parent company Meta is desperately fighting to stop you from reading some bombshell allegations made against it in a new memoir — and right now, it's winning. On Wednesday, the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company prevailed in an arbitration case, the outcome of which temporarily prohibits the memoir's author, former employee Sarah Wynn-Williams, from promoting or distributing her book, the New York Times reports. The memoir, "Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism," released this week, rips into Meta's toxic work culture and provides a behind-the-scenes look at how the company handled some of its worst scandals. Among her cavalcade of damning allegations, Wynn-Williams also reveals the repeated sexual harassment she faced from senior Meta executives. But the tell-all now faces serious obstacles to finding an audience. During a Wednesday hearing, an arbitrator concluded that Meta had shown enough evidence that Wynn-Williams violated a nondisparagement contract she signed as an employee. Wynn-Williams is prohibited from promoting her work and must retract her comments that were deemed "disparaging," according to the report. The case will now enter private arbitration. In the meantime, Wynn-Williams' publisher, Flatiron Books — an imprint of Macmillan Books — says it will continue to promote the memoir, as the ruling does not prevent it from continuing publication. "We are appalled by Meta's tactics to silence our author through the use of a nondisparagement clause in a severance agreement," a Flatiron spokesperson told the NYT. "The book went through a thorough editing and vetting process, and we remain committed to publishing important books such as this." The NYT described the recent move as "one of Meta's most forceful public repudiations of a former employee's tell-all memoir." The company has a history of whistleblowers, most notably Frances Haugen, who released a trove of internal documents detailing how Facebook pursued "profits over safety." At the time, Facebook executives seemed to threaten Haugen with retaliatory action, but no lawsuit was ever filed. Wynn-Williams was an employee at Meta for seven years, working her way up to an executive position. She left in 2017 — fired, she alleges — shortly after she reported sexual harassment. In addition to spotlighting some truly despicable behavior, "Careless People" — the name being an allusion to "The Great Gatsby" — also paints a portrait of the enormous-but-fragile egos of the men running it, including Zuckerberg. Employees, walking on eggshells, allegedly lost games of Settlers of Catan on purpose to let their head honcho win. In a statement per the NYT, a Meta spokesperson called the book a "mix of out-of-date and previously reported claims about the company and false accusations about our executives," maintaining that Wynn-Williams was fired for poor performance. More on Meta: Instagram Apologizes for Showing Stream of Horrific Real-Life Murders in Users' Feeds
