Social networking giant takes down ‘co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour’ connected to Russian military intelligence services
News Social laws
Facebook Oversight Board Ready For US Election
Facebook’s oversight board that will make final decision on objectional content will launch just before US election on 3 November
Aussie Regulator Refuses To Back Down After Facebook News Warning
Blunt warning from Facebook about blocking news sharing down under, receives equally blunt response from antitrust officials
EU Tells Facebook, Twitter, Google To Clamp Down On Fake News
Tech companies must do more to clamp down on fake news, amid a surge of disinformation during the global Coronavirus pandemic, says EU
Facebook Halts Oculus Sales In Germany Over Privacy Concerns
German regulator slams decision to require virtual reality headset users to have FB account, so Facebook halts sales in Germany
Facebook To Halt Last Minute Political Adverts In US
Facebook said it will not take on any new political ads in the seven days prior to the US election, amid Coronavirus and misinformation concerns
Amazon Withdraws Job Listing For Union ‘Analyst’ – Report
Did Amazon attempt to hire people to spy on union activity within workforce? E-commerce giant says wording for position was inaccurate
Facebook Dismantles Russian Influence Operation After FBI Tip
Russian meddling in the United States has been detected again and dismantled, after Facebook receives tip off from the FBI
Facebook Bans Blackface, Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories
After anti-Semitic tweets by grime musician Wiley, Facebook has updated its content policies to clamp down on racist content
Twitter, Facebook Delete Trump Posts About Children And Coronavirus
Social networking giants temporarily restrict the Facebook and Twitter accounts of President Trump over harmful virus claims
Twitter Hits Wiley With Permanent Ban For Anti-Semitic Remarks
Tweets by Grime musician prompted Twitter boycott, but Wiley also had Facebook and Instagram accounts deleted for ‘repeated violations’ of rules
Twitter Faces Celebrity Boycott Over Anti-Semitism
Following slow response to anti-Semitic tweets from grime musician Wiley, dozens of celebrities stage 48-hour boycott of platform
Facebook Begins Labelling Trump Posts, But Doesn’t Fact-Check Them
Social networking giant begins placing labels on political posts by US President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden
Twitter Suspends Accounts Tweeting QAnon Conspiracy Content
Content and accounts associated with far right conspiracy group QAnon are being permanently suspended by Twitter this week
Top EU Court Strikes Down EU-US Privacy Shield Data Deal
Data sharing deal between the United States and Europe has been struck down by the European Court of Justice, with no chance of appeal
Republicans Accuse Twitter Of Anti-Conservative Bias
Two Republican Congressmen in the US write letter to CEO Jack Dorsey over ‘Twitter’s discrimination against conservative voices’
Facebook Criticised By Own Audit For ‘Setback’ Of Civil Rights
Two-year-long audit commissioned by the social network, slates Mark Zuckerberg’s firm for ‘serious setbacks for civil rights’
Facebook Boycott Organisers Disappointed With Zuckerberg Meeting
No concessions. Organisers of the advertising boycott of Facebook left disappointed after meeting CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives
Tech Firms Withhold Data Sharing With Hong Kong
Tech giants pledge pause data sharing with authorities in Hong Kong, after China imposed draconian security law for the territory
Twitter Removes Trump Tweet After Copyright Complaint
Twitter continues to challenge tweets from US President Donald Trump, with takedown of tweet due to image copyright complaint
Twitter Places Warning On Another Trump Tweet
Platform continues clampdown on certain tweets from US President Donald Trump, with new warning on his Tuesday tweet about protesters in Washington DC
Facebook Removes Trump Ad, Cites ‘Organised Hate’ Policy
Symbol used by the Nazis to identify political prisoners used in adverts for the re-election campaign of US President Donald Trump
US Justice Department To Propose Ending Tech Firm Protection
Trump’s revenge. Officials at the US DoJ ready legislation to remove Section 230 protections from big name tech firms including Twitter, Google and Facebook
Facebook Tightens Political Advertising Rules Ahead Of US Election
Rule change for political ads to make clear who paid for it, as social networking giant seeks to tighten rules ahead of US presidential election
Twitter Clamps Down On 170,000 Pro-China Accounts
Tens of thousands of Twitter accounts operated on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party have been removed for spreading misinformation
Zoom Briefly Suspends Accounts Of Chinese Activists
Zoom meeting of US-based Chinese activist group to commemorate Tiananmen Square massacre results in brief account suspension
Tech Firms Pledge Child Abuse Disclosures To Blunt Anti-Encryption Drive
Strategic move? Google, Facebook, Microsoft pledge to improve and standardise annual disclosures around online child exploitation
Twitter Tests ‘Read Before You Retweet’ To Halt Misinformation
‘We really want to read the information, before you retweet it’ says Twitter, as it seeks to drive ‘informed discussions’
Pressure On Zuckerberg Grows, As Facebook Old Guard Join Protest
Employees from the early days of Facebook denounce Mark Zuckerberg over his decision not to act against posts by US President Donald Trump
Trump Targets Twitter With Executive Order
Escalating row between Twitter and the White House sees tech firm call out US President over a new tweet for glorifying violence