Mark Zuckerberg is building a new surveillance state
Mark Zuckerberg recently took to Instagram to boast that nearly a billion people now use Meta AI across the company’s platforms. To celebrate, he announced the launch of a new standalone app, encouraging users to “Check it out!” It sounded innocuous, almost charming, as if he were discussing a playful new feature. But make no mistake: this wasn’t just a product release. It was a warning shot from a man who now has his hands firmly on the wheel of reality.
Meta Is Recruiting Former Pentagon Officials As It Ramps Up Military Ambitions
Meta is courting national security and former Pentagon officials to help sell its virtual reality and AI services to the federal government, Forbes has learned. Multiple former government officials said they were aware of the recruiting efforts.
Fact-Checking Is Out, ‘Community Notes’ Are In
One Friday in April, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, announced that the process of removing fact-checking from Facebook, Threads, and Instagram was nearly complete. By the following Monday, there would be “no new fact checks and no fact checkers” working across these platforms, which are used by billions of people globally—no professionals marking disinformation about vaccines or stolen elections.
Meta’s ‘Digital Companions’ Will Talk Sex With Users—Even Children
Across Instagram, Facebook META 5.11%increase; green up pointing triangle and WhatsApp, Meta Platforms is racing to popularize a new class of AI-powered digital companions that Mark Zuckerberg believes will be the future of social media.
Meta oversight board wants company to address ‘human rights impact’ of hateful conduct policies
The independent oversight board for Meta is calling for the company to analyze the “human rights impact” of its January changes removing fact checking and promoting “free expression.”
The oversight team, an independent board of advisors that weighs in on how Meta’s community standards and guidelines are applied, published decisions this week over how Meta responded in 11 cases, including a “comment targeting people with Down syndrome,” “posts supporting [United Kingdom] riots,” and more.
Apple, Meta Fined by EU, Ordered to Comply With Tech Competition Rules
The European Union fined Apple AAPL 2.39%increase; green up pointing triangle and Meta META 4.74%increase; green up pointing triangle Platforms hundreds of millions of dollars and ordered the companies to comply with the bloc’s tech rules in a move that risks ratcheting up tensions with the Trump administration as officials pursue trade talks.
FTC Antitrust Lawsuit Against Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Kicks Off in Washington DC
The FTC’s high-stakes antitrust lawsuit against Meta kicked off today with opening arguments in Washington, DC. Mark Zuckerberg is expected to take the stand to defend his company against the federal government’s claims that the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp should never have been approved.
Meta antitrust trial is a litmus test for the MAGA coalition
MAGA leaders will be watching events in a courtroom in Washington DC today very closely. Meta is defending itself against a competition lawsuit filed by the US government, which may result in the tech company being broken up. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s case argues that the acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 by Facebook (as it was then known) gave the company an unfair advantage. It may seem like ancient history, but the deals provided Meta with ownership of three of the four most popular social networks today.
Whistleblower tells Senate committee that Meta undermined US national security to cozy up to China
A whistleblower on Wednesday told congressional lawmakers that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and other executives lied to Congress as Meta actively tried to help China develop artificial intelligence in an effort to win favor with Beijing.
Meta to Shutter Fact-Checking in the United States on Monday
Meta on Friday announced it will officially end its fact-checking program in favor of community notes on its Facebook, Instagram, and Threads platforms on Monday.