Latest news with #Snap
The Guardian
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
US states sue Trump administration over demand to collect Snap recipients' private data
A coalition of 20 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the Trump administration's demand that their states turn over personal data of people enrolled in a federally funded food assistance program, fearing the information will be used to aid mass deportations. The data demand comes as the Trump administration has sought to collect private information on mostly lower-income people who may be in the country illegally. It has already ordered the Internal Revenue Service and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to share private information with the Department of Homeland Security to aid in deportation efforts. The US Department of Agriculture told states last week that it had until Wednesday to hand over the data for those enrolled in its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or Snap, which serves more than 42 million people nationwide. The USDA said the data will help it combat waste, fraud and abuse. The states' lawsuit seeks an injunction to block the data transfer. In the meantime, state attorneys general in the SNAP lawsuit said they will not disclose what they consider to be private information of recipients – including their immigration status, birthdates and home addresses – because they believe it would be a violation of privacy laws. 'It's a bait-and-switch of the worst kind,' said Rob Bonta, California's attorney general, in a Monday afternoon news conference announcing the lawsuit. 'Snap recipients provided this information to get help feeding their families, not to be entered into a government surveillance database or be used as targets in the president's inhumane immigration agenda.' In May, the department announced it was seeking the data as part of Donald Trump's executive order to obtain data from state programs to help root out fraud and waste. 'For years, this program has been on autopilot, with no USDA insight into real-time data,' said Brooke L Rollins, the USDA secretary, in a statement at the time. 'The Department is focused on appropriate and lawful participation in Snap, and today's request is one of many steps to ensure Snap is preserved for only those eligible.' USDA officials declined a request for comment on the suit. The USDA did not mention immigration enforcement in the announcement or later notices. It is not clear why USDA officials believe the data will help it weed out fraud and abuse. The agency claims the program is already 'one of the most rigorous quality control systems in the federal government'. Immigration advocates noted that the Trump administration has used the same argument to obtain other sensitive data, only to later admit it would be using the information to enhance its deportation operations. Trump administration officials, for example, initially claimed they were seeking state Medicaid data to fight fraud. Last week, a top immigration official conceded they would be utilizing that same information to locate immigrants. Agency officials have threatened to withhold Snap funding if states fail to comply with their demand for data. While immigrants without legal status are ineligible to receive SNAP benefits, they can apply on behalf of their children who are US citizens or those who are part of a mixed-status household. Under the program, formerly known as food stamps, the federal government pays for 100% of the food benefits, but the states help cover the administrative costs. States are also responsible for determining whether individuals are eligible for benefits and for issuing those benefits to enrollees. Immigration and data privacy advocates expressed alarm at the Trump administration's efforts to obtain sensitive Snap data maintained by states. 'The administration has all but told us that their intention is to comb this data and use it for unlawful purposes that include immigration enforcement,' said Madeline Wiseman, an attorney with the National Student Legal Defense Network, which filed a lawsuit in May with privacy and hunger relief groups that are also challenging USDA's efforts for Snap data.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Premier League star reveals club has banned him from behind the scenes filming
Players are set to be banned from using Snapchat in the dressing room at Fulham according to Alex Iwobi, who says he is at risk of being fined for posting behind the scenes clips Fulham star Alex Iwobi has said that he is no longer allowed to post behind the scenes content on his social media channels following a warning from club officials that he will be fined. The former Arsenal forward has garnered a big following on Snapchat thanks to regular glimpses of what life is like for a footballer. It is unclear what specific content has prompted the Cottagers to inform him that he is no longer allowed to share footage of what happens off the pitch and in the dressing room. But there had been unconfirmed speculation from some fans that he had accidentally leaked that captain Tom Cairney had signed a new one-year contract before the club had officially confirmed it. But Iwobi, in a video clip recorded from his car, set his story straight while apologising to his fans. In the post, captioned 'No more Fulham dressing room snaps, sorry my peoples', the Nigeria international said: "For those that have been wondering why I haven't been snapping BTS in the changing room, there's one person in the media team that has been saying I haven't been capturing the right stuff. "So there's no more BTS. They also said I might get fined if I continue to do so. They are trying to ban Snap in our changing room, so yeah that's why I haven't been snapping BTS. "It's a shame man, I know you guys enjoy seeing what my team mates are like behind the scenes but I have to respect the rules." Marco Silva's side are set to face Nottingham Forest in a pre-season friendly behind closed doors in Faro, Portugal, on Saturday before fixtures against Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ittihad and Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt. They kick off their Premier League campaign with a visit to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday August 16 at 3pm. Fulham finished 11th last season with Iwobi scoring nine goals and providing six assists.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Snapchat Adds ‘Home Safe' Alerts for Extra Safety and Assurance
This story was originally published on Social Media Today. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Social Media Today newsletter. Snapchat's added a new safety feature, with 'Home Safe' alerts, which will let your friends in the app know that you've arrived home safely whenever activated. As you can see in this example, Snap users will be able to activate 'Home Safe' within their location settings, so you can switch it on whenever you feel the need to add an extra level of transparency. So if you're walking home at night, for example, and your friends are concerned, or maybe you're worried that you're potentially being followed. Now you'll have another option to ensure that your Snap friends, at the least, know that you got home safe. Or you didn't. As explained by Snap: 'Starting today, a new feature called 'Home Safe' will give Snapchatters a simple way to let a friend know when they've returned after being out and about – without having to remember to send a message.' Users will be able to set their home location by tapping their Bitmoji on the Snap Map, then selecting 'My Home.' 'Once you set this up, it's only ever visible to you and the friends you've chosen to share your location with on Snap Map.' Indeed, Snap says that it's developed Home Alerts with privacy in mind, with alerts only able to be sent to friends that you already share your location with. Your arrival notification will be sent out one time, then it'll be deactivated automatically, so you won't have to worry about sending out alerts to all of your Snap friends every single time you arrive home safely. It'll only happen when you've manually chosen to activate the notification. It's another security measure which could help to provide peace of mind to your Snap friends, while also giving you some additional assurance that people know where you're at, in case something happens. And while friends can already track you on the Snap Map, having a message that reassures them of your safe arrival could be another simple benefit, for friends and likely parents as well.
The Verge
5 days ago
- The Verge
Snapchat will notify your friends when you've made it home safe
Snapchat is launching a new Home Safe feature that makes it easier to inform your loved ones when you have arrived safely after making your way home. Building on the app's existing location capabilities, Snapchat's Home Safe allows you to send an automatic alert to chat conversations with friends to let them know you're back at home without having to remember to send direct messages. While many communications apps like Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger enable you to share live location information that others can track, the Home Safe alerts mean that your friends don't need to keep checking on your progress. Snap says that the notification only goes out once and then shuts off automatically. The alerts can only be sent to friends that Snapchat users are already sharing their location with, which allows users to proactively select exactly who they want to send the Home Safe alerts to. To access the feature, users need to set their home location on Snap Map by tapping on their Bitmoji and then selecting 'My Home.' Once the location is set, users can then tap on the Map icon in their conversations and select the 'Home Safe' button when starting to make the journey back home. Alerts will then be sent out when the app registers that the user has arrived at their home destination. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Jess Weatherbed Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Snapchat Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
2 Stocks Down 81% and 88% to Buy Right Now and Hold for the Next Decade
Key Points Roku is monetizing its hardware dominance with its high-margin platform business. Snap is leveraging AI-powered augmented reality experiences to build a sticky user base. Both stocks are trading at bargain valuations despite several powerful tailwinds. 10 stocks we like better than Roku › It's easy to ignore beaten-down stocks when the overall stock market is reaching new highs. The benchmark S&P 500 index is trading at 29 times trailing earnings as of mid-July, far higher than its historical median of 17.9 times. However, there are still many undervalued yet high-quality stocks in the market. Two fundamentally strong companies are now trading at staggering 81% and 88% discounts from their all-time highs, and are operating in fast-growing industries with durable competitive advantages. For investors willing to ignore short-term volatility, these stocks can prove to be exceptional long-term picks. Roku Shares of video-streaming company Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) have declined by almost 80% from their 2021 highs. The company has been facing multiple challenges, including profitability struggles, intensifying competition, stagnant average revenue per user, and overall weakness in the advertising market. However, several powerful secular tailwinds are supporting the company's growth. Connected TV (CTV), the fastest-growing segment of the streaming TV industry, is expected to experience a 13% year-over-year growth in global ad spending, reaching $26.6 billion. This bodes exceptionally well for Roku, which accounts for 38% of the U.S. CTV device market share. Furthermore, almost half of all U.S. broadband homes have at least one Roku-powered device. While hardware is a loss-making business, it plays a significant role in active-user acquisition. More than 90 million streaming households (as of January 2025) use the company's TV operating system in the U.S. The broad customer base has created a strong competitive moat for its high-margin and recurring platform business. The platform business comprises the ad-supported Roku Channel, home-screen advertising, and subscription revenues. The Roku Channel is a significant growth catalyst, with 145 million people in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2024. The channel also saw an 84% year-over-year jump in engagement (streaming hours) in 2025's first quarter. Hence, Roku has demonstrated the ability to drive viewership without costly content acquisition. Roku's platform business generated $881 million in revenue, up 17% year over year, and a gross margin of 52.7% in Q1, demonstrating sustained momentum following the historic $1 billion platform-revenue milestone in the previous quarter. The stock is currently trading at 3.2 times sales -- more like a hardware company than an exceptionally robust platform player. Considering this disconnect, the stock now appears to be an attractive pick. Snap Shares of leading augmented reality (AR) player Snap (NYSE: SNAP) are also currently down a staggering 88% from the all-time high in 2021. Investors have been concerned about the company not providing Q2 guidance amid a challenging ad spending environment due to changing regulatory and trade policies, a decline in the number of North American daily active users, increasing competition, and the impact of Apple's privacy changes. Yet, the scale of the drawdown is unjustified, especially at a time when investors are aggressively picking stakes in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered companies. Snap has already successfully integrated generative AI into AR. Snap's daily active users reached 460 million in 2025's first quarter -- an increase of 38 million year over year. The company also crossed the 900 million monthly active users (MAUs) milestone, very close to its goal of 1 billion MAUs. With users opening the Snap application over 30 times per day and spending at least 30 minutes daily, the company has managed to build a sticky customer base that may not easily switch to the competition. Snap's premium subscription service, Snapchat+, also boasts nearly 15 million subscribers, representing a 59% year-over-year increase. The service also generated nearly $152 million in Q1, representing a 75% year-over-year increase. It has also reached an annualized run rate of almost $600 million. The predictable revenue and high-margin subscription business, especially, stands out in a time when regulators have been tightening privacy regulations, making ad targeting even more difficult. While technology giants are developing advanced AI hardware to make rapid inroads in AR, Snap has concentrated on building Lens Studio. This highly sophisticated and comprehensive software platform enables artists and developers to build AR experiences. Lens Studio downloads more than doubled year over year, while the AI-powered Easy Lens tool was used to create over 10,000 Lenses (AR experiences) generating 2 billion impressions since mid-December 2024. Snap is also experiencing dramatic improvements in profitability and cash-generation potential. The company's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) surged 137% year over year to $108 million, while free cash flow surged 200% to $114 million in Q1. Snap trades like a declining legacy platform at just 3 times sales rather than like a growth company with impressive and well-monetized technology. Considering the disconnect between price and fundamentals, the company appears to be a smart buy now. Do the experts think Roku is a buy right now? The Motley Fool's expert analyst team, drawing on years of investing experience and deep analysis of thousands of stocks, leverages our proprietary Moneyball AI investing database to uncover top opportunities. They've just revealed their to buy now — did Roku make the list? When our Stock Advisor analyst team has a stock recommendation, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor's total average return is up 1,034% vs. just 180% for the S&P — that is beating the market by 853.75%!* Imagine if you were a Stock Advisor member when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $641,800!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,023,813!* The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Manali Pradhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and Roku. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2 Stocks Down 81% and 88% to Buy Right Now and Hold for the Next Decade was originally published by The Motley Fool
