Category: Social Media

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‘WhatsApp now has 100 mn monthly active users in US’

Globally, the popular mobile messaging service has over 2 billion users….reports Asian Lite News

Meta-owned WhatsApp has reached 100 million users in the US, said its CEO Mark Zuckerberg. This is the first time the social media company has revealed its US figures for the WhatsApp service.

Meta also said that over 50 per cent of WhatsApp’s users own iPhones. Compared to the US, WhatsApp has with more than 500 million monthly active users in India.

Globally, the popular mobile messaging service has over 2 billion users. Earlier this month, WhatsApp rolled out a new feature that will help users stay safe in group messaging.

According to the company, this has already started rolling out to users and will be available to all users in the coming weeks. This includes who added you, how recent the group was created, and who created it. From there, you can decide whether to stay or leave the group and review some of the safety tools available to stay safe and secure on WhatsApp.

The platform is also reportedly working on a new feature to bring a ‘communities tab’ to iPad. It is also working on a new in-app dialler feature that will allow users to make calls directly from the app.

Elon Musk.(photo:IANS/Twitter)

Musk cries foul

Meanwhile, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk slammed Meta-owned WhatsApp for allegedly exporting users’ data every night. An X user posted that WhatsApp exports user data nightly, which is “analysed and used for targeted advertising, making users the product, not the customer”.

Musk replied that “WhatsApp exports your user data every night”. “Some people still think it is secure,” said the tech billionaire. Meta or WhatsApp were yet to comment on Musk’s allegation.

Computer programmer and video game developer, John Carmack, responded to Musk, saying is there any evidence that the content of messages is ever scanned or transmitted? “I assume usage patterns and routing metadata is collected, and if you invoke a bot in a conversation you are obviously opening it up, but I am still under the impression that the message contents are secure by default,” Carmack posted on X.

ALSO READ: Harris ‘ready’ to debate Trump

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-Top News EU News Social Media

EU court says TikTok owner can’t avoid bloc’s law 

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission building in Brussels, Belgium, on June 9, 2021. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong/IANS)

TikTok had argued that it wasn’t a gatekeeper but was playing the role of a new competitor in social media taking on entrenched players like Facebook and Instagram owner Meta…reports Asian Lite News

TikTok owner ByteDance can’t avoid the bloc’s crackdown on digital giants, a European Union court said Wednesday in a decision that found the video sharing platform falls under a new law that also covers Apple, Google and Microsoft.

The EU’s General Court rejected ByteDance’s legal challenge against being classed as an online “gatekeeper that has to comply with extra obligations under the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Markets Act.

The rulebook, also known as the DMA, took effect this year and seeks to counter the dominance of Big Tech companies and make online competition fairer by giving consumers more choice.

TikTok had argued that it wasn’t a gatekeeper but was playing the role of a new competitor in social media taking on entrenched players like Facebook and Instagram owner Meta.

The judges, however, decided that since 2018 TikTok had succeeded in increasing its number of users very rapidly and exponentially and that it had rapidly consolidated its position, and even strengthened that position over the following years.

We are disappointed with this decision,” the company said in a prepared statement. TikTok is a challenger platform that provides important competition to incumbent players. TikTok said it will evaluate its next steps and noted that it has already taken measures to comply with the DMA.

The Digital Markets Act took effect in March, with a list of dos and don’ts for big tech gatekeeper companies aimed at giving users more choices and threatening big penalties if they don’t comply.

The ruling can be appealed to the EU’s Court of Justice, the bloc’s highest court, but only on points of law.

ALSO READ-UK to host 45 European leaders for EPC meet

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-Top News India News Social Media

PM Modi’s X followers cross a whopping 100 million

Interestingly, in the last three years, PM Modi’s X handle has seen an impressive growth of approximately 30 million users…reports Asian Lite News

Setting another benchmark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the world’s most followed leader in office, on the social media platform ‘X’ with over 100 million followers.

While comparing the followers of various Indian politicians on X, PM Modi stands out significantly in terms of numbers.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi has 26.4 million followers, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has 27.5 million, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav has 19.9 million, and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has 7.4 million.

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has 6.3 million, his son Tejashwi Yadav has 5.2 million followers, while NCP Chief Sharad Pawar has 2.9 million.

PM Modi is far ahead of other world leaders including US President Joe Biden, who currently has 38.1 million followers, HH Sheikh Mohammed, the present ruler of Dubai (11.2 million) and Pope Francis (18.5 million).

PM Modi even has more followers when compared to some active global athletes including Virat Kohli (64.1 million), Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr (63.6 million) and American basketball player LeBron James (52.9 million) followers. He is ahead of celebrities like Taylor Swift (95.3 million), Lady Gaga (83.1 million), and Kim Kardashian (75.2 million).

Interestingly, in the last three years, PM Modi’s X handle has seen an impressive growth of approximately 30 million users.

His influence extends to YouTube and Instagram as well, where he has nearly 25 million subscribers and over 91 million followers respectively.

Since joining the platform in 2009, PM Modi has consistently used it for constructive engagement. He maintains an active and engaging persona, follows numerous common citizens, interacts with them, replies to their messages, and has never blocked anyone. PM Modi has always used this platform organically, without ever resorting to paid promotions or bots.

With a blend of insightful and engaging posts on X, the PM has captivated millions around the globe. (ANI)

ALSO READ-PM Modi Condemns Attack on Trump

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-Top News EU News Social Media

Musk’s X ‘deceives’ users with blue checks, EU charges

Musk’s plans for X have put him at odds with Brussels since the EU wants big tech to do more to protect users online and increase competition in the digital sphere…reports Asian Lite News

Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform is misleading users with its blue checkmarks for certified accounts, and is also violating EU content rules, Brussels said Friday, in a finding that could lead to hefty fines.

EU regulators are unhappy with the blue badge system under Musk’s ownership since anyone can now obtain it with a premium subscription, whereas before it was reserved for verified accounts including leaders, companies and journalists, after approval.

The formal warning against X is the first under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping law that forces digital companies do more to police content online. It follows a probe launched in December 2023.

X becomes the third company in as many weeks to face the European Union’s wrath for violating landmark new rules, after Brussels warned Apple and Meta to change their ways or risk massive fines — for breaches of a second law known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Musk has overhauled the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, including changing its name, since purchasing it in October 2022.

But his plans for X have put him at odds with Brussels since the EU wants big tech to do more to protect users online and increase competition in the digital sphere.

Now the European Commission has told X of its preliminary view that it is “in breach of” the DSA, arguing that the social network “deceives” users with its new blue badge rules.

“Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a ‘verified’ status, it negatively affects users’ ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with,” the commission said in a statement.

“There is evidence of motivated malicious actors abusing the ‘verified account’ to deceive users,” it added.

The commission also accused X of failing to comply with rules on advertising transparency — since it does “not provide a searchable and reliable” ad database — and failing to give researchers access to public data.

“X has now the right of defense — but if our view is confirmed we will impose fines and require significant changes,” the EU’s top digital official, Thierry Breton, said.

Fines under the DSA can go as high as six percent of a company’s total worldwide annual turnover and force it to make changes to address violations.

X will be able to examine the EU’s file and defend itself against Friday’s finding.

There is no time limit on how long an investigation may last.

EU regulators’ wide-ranging probe into X also continues to look into the spread of illegal content and the effectiveness of the platform’s efforts to combat disinformation, the commission said.

Under the DSA, X is one of 25 “very large” online platforms, including Facebook and TikTok, with more than 45 million monthly active users in the 27-country EU.

X is also in the EU’s crosshairs for a cut to content moderation resources. In May, the EU told X to hand over “detailed information and internal documents” and demanded more information about steps taken to mitigate risks from generative AI on elections.

There are currently other investigations under the DSA into Meta’s Facebook and Instagram as well as TikTok and AliExpress.

The DSA and the DMA are both part of the EU’s bolstered legal armory targeting big tech and EU regulators have stepped up enforcement of the laws since they came into force.

ALSO READ-Musk drops lawsuit against OpenAI

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Lite Blogs Social Media

Social Media Doesn’t Raise Depression Risk in All Teens

They stressed individualised approaches to determine the benefits and harms of social media on young people’s mental health…reports Asian Lite News

Social media use does not raise the risk of depression in all adolescents, revealed a study on Wednesday which found parental hostility and peer bullying as major risk factors driving teenagers to mental health conditions.

Early social media use has previously been linked with an increased risk of depression among teenagers and young adults.

The findings, published in the Journal of Adolescence, suggest that social media use does not impact all adolescents in the same way.

Researchers from Brigham Young University in the US found certain factors may make social media more risky or protective regarding depression.

These include greater parental hostility, peer bullying, anxiety, reactivity to stressors, and lower parental media monitoring.

“If the teenager is already in a vulnerable position (being bullied or having hostile parents or parents who don’t monitor their teenager’s media), then social media is much more likely to be harmful,” said corresponding author W. Justin Dyer, from the varsity.

Dyer said, “This is especially true if there is more than 3 hours of use a day.”

On the contrary, warm and supportive friends and parents and “moderate amounts of social media use (less than 3 hours a day) may be a good thing.”

They stressed individualised approaches to determine the benefits and harms of social media on young people’s mental health.

Dyer noted that adolescents can greatly benefit if parents guide them “as they navigate social media. That guidance may make all the difference.”

The study is based on 488 adolescents living in the US who were surveyed once a year for 8 years (beginning in 2010 when the average age for participants was 13 years old).

ALSO READ-Economic cost of mental illness

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-Top News Social Media USA

New York bill blocks algorithmic social media posts for kids

This legislation is the initial step in what is expected to be a lengthy rule-making process and a probable legal challenge from social media companies….reports Asian Lite News

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill on Thursday allowing parents to block their children from seeing social media posts suggested by algorithms, aiming to limit feeds critics say are addictive, media reported.

Under the new legislation, apps like TikTok and Instagram would restrict feeds for users under 18 to posts from accounts they follow, rather than algorithm-suggested content, according to Associated Press report.

The bill also prevents platforms from sending notifications about suggested posts to minors between midnight and 6 a.m. Both restrictions can be lifted with what the bill calls “verifiable parental consent.”

The law will not take effect immediately. State Attorney General Letitia James will develop rules for verifying users’ ages and parental consent. Once the rules are finalized, social media companies will have 180 days to comply.

“We can protect our kids. We can tell the companies that you are not allowed to do this… parents should have a say over their children’s lives and their health, not you,” Hochul was quoted as saying at the signing ceremony in Manhattan.

This legislation is the initial step in what is expected to be a lengthy rule-making process and a probable legal challenge from social media companies.

NetChoice, a tech industry trade group including X and Meta, criticized the bill as unconstitutional. “This is an assault on free speech and the open internet by the State of New York,” said Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel of NetChoice. He argued that the law would force websites to censor content unless visitors provide ID to verify their age, enabling the government to track online activity.

Most major social media platforms use algorithms to send users a continuous stream of suggested content, curated based on previous interactions and the interests of similar users. The bill is New York’s latest attempt to regulate social media amid concerns about children’s interactions with these platforms.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom also announced plans to collaborate with the Legislature on a bill restricting smartphone usage for students during school hours, although details of the proposal are yet to be provided, it was reported..

In 2019, Newsom signed a bill permitting school districts to limit or ban smartphones in schools.

ALSO READ: TikTok’s legal fight intensifies with U.S. govt

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-Top News Social Media USA

Trump considering Musk for White House advisory role  

Musk met with former president at Mar-a-Lago following Trump’s triumphs on Super Tuesday, which solidified his status as the presumed Republican nominee, as reported by the Wall Street Journal…reports Asian Lite News

Donald Trump is considering appointing Tesla CEO Elon Musk for the role of an advisor to him in the White House, as the 2024 Presidential elections draw close, New York Post reported on Thursday, citing The Wall Street Journal.

Although Trump has not finalised the specifics, the two have been in discussions over how Musk may provide “formal input” on matters like the border, the economy, and stopping voting fraud.

The third-richest man in the world, Musk, and Trump have just begun to warm up to one another. Citing the WSJ report, the New York Post reported that the two speak on the phone “several times a month.”

Musk and billionaire investor Nelson Peltz have also discussed with Trump the campaign Musk started in November to persuade corporate executives not to back President Biden, the report stated.

The creator of Space X and the owner of the social media platform X, has publicly opposed Biden and previously stated he would not provide money to any candidate.

However, the millionaire, who was born in South Africa, has presented himself as mainly autonomous. In 2002, Musk obtained US citizenship.

Musk met with former president at Mar-a-Lago following Trump’s triumphs on Super Tuesday, which solidified his status as the presumed Republican nominee, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

In a cryptic post in March on the US Presidential elections, Musk had said that he has no plans to donate money to either candidate for US President.

In a post on X, the multibillionaire wrote, “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President.”

In the past, Musk has contributed to both Republicans and Democrats, much like many other business titans.

He has not heavily invested in a presidential campaign, in contrast to other American billionaires, and over the years, he has divided his contributions roughly equally between Republicans and Democrats, according to the New York Times.

Trump and Biden will be facing off in the presidential elections scheduled for November this year.

While Biden is facing the challenge some of domestic issues and his foreign policy — particularly the conflict in Ukraine and Gaza; Trump is under the hassle of multiple criminal cases.

ALSO READ-Trump’s Texas tour nets millions in donations

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-Top News Social Media USA

US presses TikTok, Meta and X to crack down on antisemitic posts

Elon Musk.(photo:IANS/Twitter)

Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and X did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment…reports Asian Lite News

The Biden administration is urging big technology companies to ramp up efforts to curb antisemitic content on their platforms, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.

Representatives from companies including Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok and X met on Thursday with US special envoy Deborah Lipstadt to monitor and combat antisemitism.

Lipstadt requested that each company designate a policy team member to address the issue and conduct training for key personal to identify antisemitism and publicly report trends in anti-Jewish content.

“We welcomed this convening and were pleased to come together to share facts about the ongoing steps TikTok takes on this important issue and to continue to learn from experts in the room,” a TikTok spokesperson said.

Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and X did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Countries around the world have seen a rise in antisemitism following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel and subsequent bombardment of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military.

The companies have not yet agreed to voluntary moves, but the administration is hopeful they will act soon, Lipstadt told Bloomberg News.

The administration is also requesting staff training in order to help identify more implicit antisemitic messages on online platforms and to differentiate between criticism of the Israeli government and hatred directed at Jews, Lipstadt added.

Meanwhile, Meta Oversight Board announced on Tuesday that it is reviewing three cases, including one involving a user accusing Israel of committing “genocide” and another concerning a Facebook comment in Arabic.

Meta, which submitted the cases as part of its review system aimed at creating a policy on criminal allegations based on nationality, said it removed the posts for breaching its Hate Speech Community Standards.

The first case involves a user’s reply on Threads, featuring a video that includes accusations of “genocide” and claims that “Israelis are criminals.”

The other two cases involve a December speech in which a user called all Russians and Americans “criminals” and a recent post in which a user stated that “all Indians are rapists.”

An Oversight Board spokesperson told Arab News: “Tensions in the region, and increasingly around the world, are dominating the discussion online.

“It’s vitally important that when looking at these issues, Meta gets the balance right and works to protect safety, without unduly limiting the ability of people to speak out about the abuses they see or the frustration they experience.”

The spokesperson added that while the board cannot review every appeal, it selects those of critical importance to public discourse “to help Meta better navigate these critical questions at a crucial time.”

Meta said the three posts were removed after human review for “targeting people with criminal allegations based on nationality.”

Despite its decision, Meta referred the cases to the Oversight Board to address the challenge of handling criminal allegations directed at people based on their nationality, as they might be interpreted as attacks on a nation’s policies.

ALSO READ-Musk launches Starlink service in Indonesia

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-Top News Social Media USA

Fake US election-related accounts proliferating on X, study says

Analysts from Israeli tech company Cyabra found that 15 percent of X accounts praising former President Donald Trump and criticizing President Joe Biden are fake.

Fake accounts posting about the US presidential election are proliferating on the social media platform X, according to a social media analysis company’s report shared with Reuters exclusively ahead of its release on Friday.

Analysts from Israeli tech company Cyabra, which uses a subset of artificial intelligence called machine learning to identify fake accounts, found that 15 percent of X accounts praising former President Donald Trump and criticizing President Joe Biden are fake. The report also found that 7 percent of accounts praising Biden, a Democrat, and criticizing Trump, a Republican, are fake.

Cyabra’s study is based on a review of posts on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, over two months beginning March 1. The review included analyzing popular hashtags and determining sentiment in terms of whether posts are positive, negative or neutral.

The analysis shows that newly detected fake accounts had increased up to tenfold during March and April.

The report cites 12,391 inauthentic pro-Trump profiles out of 94,363 total and 803 inauthentic pro-Biden profiles out of 10,065 total.

A spokesperson for X did not respond to a request for comment about the fake accounts, nor did representatives from the White House and Trump campaign.

X and other social media platforms have been under greater scrutiny since 2016, when Russia interfered in the US presidential election in an attempt to boost Trump’s candidacy and harm his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. Election officials and online misinformation experts are again watching for misleading narratives ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

The fake accounts praising Trump this cycle are part of a coordinated campaign to sway public opinion and influence online discussions, Cyabra said. The report did not identify the individuals or groups behind the campaign.

Cyabra said it made that determination based on evidence including the use of identical hashtags and the fact that fake accounts published posts and comments at the same time. The report found that the fake pro-Trump accounts pushed two main messages: “Vote for Trump” and “Biden is the worst president the US has ever had.”

“The level of coordination suggests that there is a nefarious objective and that there is a whole operation in order to change people’s opinion,” said Cyabra’s vice president, Rafi Mendelsohn.

The fake accounts backing Biden are not part of a coordinated campaign, the report said, as the hallmarks of a coordinated campaign — such as fake accounts posting at the same time — were not identified.

X, which was publicly held until its 2022 takeover by billionaire Elon Musk, has long downplayed the use of fake accounts on its platform. Twitter said in May 2022 that fewer than 5 percent of its daily active users were “false or spam” based on an internal review of accounts. At the time, Cyabra had estimated that 13.7 percent of Twitter profiles were inauthentic.

In an X post on April 4, Musk wrote that a “system purge of bots and trolls” was under way and that the company “will be tracing the people responsible and bringing the full force of the law to bear upon them.” In October the company tested its “Not a Bot” program in New Zealand and the Philippines to combat bots and spammers.

ALSO READ: Trump’s Texas tour nets millions in donations

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Social Media Technology USA

X to Pause Ad Sharing For Creators Using Bots to Earn More

Elon Musk.(photo:IANS/Twitter)

Elon Musk also reiterated that people are spamming the X platform to earn more ad money, as the social media platform cracks down on bots.

Elon Musk on Saturday threatened that advertisement revenue sharing will be paused for some creators “pending investigation into use of bots to spam likes, replies and direct messages (DMs).”

He also reiterated that people are spamming the X platform to earn more ad money, as the social media platform cracks down on bots.

In a post, the tech billionaire said that the point of creator payouts is to incentivise high-quality content on X.

“In some cases, we are seeing the opposite, where people are spamming the system to generate ad money. That is obviously not ok,” the X owner commented.

Musk said ad revenue sharing will be paused for such creators.

A follower reacted, saying “The goal could be to maximise legitimate, quality, accurate, informative and entertaining content.”

X pays creators on a regular basis as it struggles to tackle a surge of spam and porn bots on its platform.

According to Musk, people running huge bot operations are reducing the content quality to a great extent.

The ban on fake engagement refers to those who use bots to artificially inflate their engagement.

The social media platform started the exercise to remove bots earlier this month.

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