Meta partners Entrepreneurial Nation initiative to upskill startups and SMBs
The Russian court ruling will come into effect immediately but will not affect WhatsApp….reports Asian Lite News
A Moscow court has ruled to ban Facebook and Instagram in Russia, labelling the parent company of the two social networks Meta Platforms Inc. as “extremist”.
In its ruling on Monday, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia said that the lawsuit was aimed at protecting Russians from “a violation of their rights”, reports Xinhua news agency.
“Meta has violated its own rules by allowing posts with violent speeches towards the Russian military and has ignored more than 4,500 requests to remove fake information on Russia’s special military operation and calls for unauthorised rallies,” the prosecutors said.
The court ruling will come into effect immediately but will not affect WhatsApp.
Under the ruling, Russian media must now declare Meta an “extremist” organisation whenever it is mentioned, said a BBC report.
The designation must now be specified every time Meta is mentioned in the media, according to Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media.
Meta is also banned from doing business in Russia as the Prosecutor General’s Office and Russia’s Federal Security Service accused the social media giant of acting against Moscow and its armed forces.
Facebook has been blocked in Russia since March 4.
Meta partners Entrepreneurial Nation initiative to upskill startups and SMBs
The Entrepreneurial Nation, a project by the Ministry of Economy, aims to offer support through a series of public-private partnerships…reports Asian Lite News
Meta, in partnership with The Entrepreneurial Nation, announced the launch of ‘Boost with Facebook’ programme for the first time in the UAE, to support the achievement of the initiative’s goal to attract and support startups and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the country.
The Entrepreneurial Nation, a project by the Ministry of Economy, aims to offer support through a series of public-private partnerships that help entrepreneurs set up their ventures in the UAE and expand them, export their products and tap into digital marketing and sales. Through the initiative, the UAE aims to become home to 20 Unicorns, or startups valued at more than $1 billion, by 2031. The programme encompasses three stages or tracks – the Skill-Up Academy, the Scale-Up programme and the Start-Up track.
Dr. Hassan Alsayegh, Director of SMEs Development at the Ministry of Economy, said, “The partnership with META is in line with our vision to create a support mechanism for the UAE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. META is a key enabler of SMEs in the UAE, and we look forward to continuing this strong partnership to empower the sector.”
By joining the initiative, Meta is helping with the digitisation of the UAE’s business community and supporting the government in transforming the country as the Entrepreneurial Nation of the world.
The ‘Boost with Facebook’ initiative kicked off with a virtual workshop recently. The session offered training to SMBs on how they can activate their social commerce activities on Meta platforms, for instance, how to create a virtual Storefront with Shops; how to reach the right audience with Personalised Ads; and creative tips to boost profiles on Instagram, among others.
Those who attended the workshop got the chance to learn about The Entrepreneurial Nation initiative and draw inspiration from the success of other UAE small businesses namely Mamalu Kitchen and Project Chaiwala, who have effectively capitalised on the potential of Meta platforms to improve business performance. At the end of the session, SMBs were given an opportunity to connect with Meta experts as part of a live Q&A and seek advice on how to navigate today’s digital-first world.
Azzam Alameddin, Public Policy Director for Middle East, North Africa & Turkey at Meta, commented, “We are excited to be part of The Entrepreneurial Nation initiative through our ‘Boost with Facebook’ programme and upcoming opportunities this year. We have an important role to play, providing the necessary digital skills for startups and small businesses to recover and achieve results online. We are continuing those training efforts in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Economy, helping further boost a burgeoning start-up ecosystem to positively impact socio-economic growth in the UAE.”
SMBs are the backbone of the UAE economy. There are around 350,000 SMBs in the country, accounting for 86 percent of the labour force in the private sector and making up over 60 percent of GDP, according to TDRA. The government has introduced economic support packages to help business owners weather the COVID-19 pandemic. The UAE has also adopted a wide array of measures to create a more attractive environment for foreign investment including revamped visa and residency system,and 100 percent foreign ownership in addition to updating numerous laws and launching initiatives such as the Entrepreneurial Nation.
Research shows that challenging violent, extremist views with positive counter-speech is one of the most effective ways to combat hate and extremism….reports Asian Lite News
Meta (formerly Facebook) on Wednesday announced to expand its flagship counter-speech initiative to Pakistan and the UK to tackle violent extremism, terrorism and organised hate speech on its platforms.
Meta’s Redirect Initiative, already available in Australia, the US, Germany and Indonesia, is now entering Pakistan and the UK to “disrupt the connection between followers and the violent, extreme content they seek”.
Now, when someone in Pakistan or the UK searches on Facebook using words associated with organised hate or violent extremism, the top search result will be a link to resources and support for how to leave violence and extremism behind.
“We’re partnering with Shaoor Foundation in Pakistan and Exit UK in the UK,” said Meta.
Research shows that challenging violent, extremist views with positive counter-speech is one of the most effective ways to combat hate and extremism.
“Counter-speech is only effective if it comes from credible voices, so we’ve partnered with various NGOs and community groups on multiple counter-speech initiatives around the world including community programs, toolkits and research,” said Dr Nawab Osman, Asia Pacific Head of Counter-Terrorism and Dangerous Organizations at Meta.
Counter-speech involves responding to hateful, extremist narratives with empathy and alternative perspectives, rather than shutting these conversations down.
Shaoor Foundation has been working for many years, designing and implementing peace development programmes in Pakistan.
“Building a society that is inclusive, respectful and peaceful and involves engaging the entire community, enabling people to speak up and providing a safe, accessible space to get support. We are pleased to partner with Meta on the Redirect Initiative to help us scale our efforts and reach more people in need in Pakistan,” said Syed Ali Hameed, Executive Director at Shaoor Foundation
Meta said that it has a team of more than 350 dedicated specialists and sophisticated proactive detection technology to help it find and remove such hateful content quickly.
“Working in partnership with technology companies like Meta will help ensure the safety and well-being of the public and those that might be vulnerable online,” said Nigel Bromage, Founder of Exit UK.
A source in the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said that the planned regime was ‘pro-competition’ and ‘supports the sustainability of the press’…reports Asian Lite News
Tech giants such as Google and Facebook will be required to pay newspapers and other media outlets for using their stories, under new laws being drawn up by the UK Government, Daily Mail reported.
Under the plans, which are modelled on a system that has been introduced in Australia, the platforms will be encouraged to negotiate payment deals with news organisations. If the negotiations fail, an independent arbitrator would set a fair price, the report said.
The move, being driven by UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, comes amid growing concerns that the tech companies are dominating online advertising, to the detriment of consumers and businesses. The new regime will be regulated by the Digital Markets Unit (DMU), the digital watchdog that was set up within the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to rein in the power of the tech platforms, the report said.
The unit will also investigate the algorithms used by search engines such as Google, which many news organisations believe are manipulated to disproportionately direct search enquiries towards Left-leaning news organisations, and filter how people read and access news, to the detriment of quality, paid-for journalism, Daily Mail reported.
A source in the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said that the planned regime was ‘pro-competition’ and ‘supports the sustainability of the press’.
The source said: ‘The new regime will be an important vehicle to tackle the imbalance of power between the largest platforms and publishers. The measures would give publishers greater transparency over the algorithms that drive traffic and revenue, more control over the presentation and branding of their content, as well as greater access to data on how users interact with their content.
Israel Security Agency: Uncovers alleged Iranian espionage network
The Israeli Security Agency (ISA) has said that it has uncovered a suspected Iranian espionage network in the country and five suspects have been charged…reports Asian Lite News
According to a statement from the ISA on Wednesday, some Israeli women kept in touch through Facebook with a man claiming to be a Jewish resident of Iran, who asked these women to carry out tasks for him.
The Iranian man paid the women for the tasks, said the statement.
The suspects were arrested after “extensive surveillance” and have been indicted on charges that were not specified, Xinhua news agency reported.
“This is a serious affair in which an Iranian espionage ring operating inside Israel was exposed and taken down,” a senior ISA official was quoted in the statement.
“The ISA will continue to foil Iran’s intelligence attempts, including by monitoring its online activities,” the unnamed official added.
Saluting the entrepreneurial spirit of India, the Meta CEO said that this is already fuelling a lot of the internet economy in India…reports Asian Lite News.
Placing a strong bet on India’s creator and developer community, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that as the social network begins initial steps to create augmented reality (AR)- driven Metaverse experiences for billions, the country and its vast pool of talent is going to be a huge part of that journey.
Speaking at the company’s ‘Fuel for India’ event, Zuckerberg said that he is really excited about the role that India will play in building the future of Metaverse, which is going to be the successor to the mobile internet.
“That is because India’s talent pool — the engineers, developers and creators and the whole vibrant startup ecosystem — is playing a huge role in shaping the future. India is on track to have the largest app developer base in the world by 2024. It already has one of the largest ‘Spark AR’ developer communities,” Zuckerberg told Vishal Shah, VP, Metaverse during a conversation.
He said that the online gaming sector in India has seen a lot of growth over the past few years and “our investment in gaming in the country keeps growing as we look to how it’s going to take shape in the Metaverse”.
“We’re investing in other growing areas like education and social commerce like in Unacademy and Meesho, which are important use cases as we think about the future that we’re building,” Zuckerberg said.
Saluting the entrepreneurial spirit of India, the Meta CEO said that this is already fuelling a lot of the internet economy in India.
“When we’re thinking about what the next generation is going to look like in terms of, you know, where all these creators and developers are going to come from, who are going to really build the foundation of the Metaverse, I think it’s just obvious that India is going to be a huge part of that,” he stressed.
Zuckerberg said that India is the biggest country in the world that uses Facebook and WhatsApp today.
“Instagram is also growing incredibly quickly in the country,” he added.
Facebook was warned from around 2013 onwards by NGOs and media about extensive anti-Rohingya posts, groups and accounts on its platform, but they said the company failed to take appropriate and timely action…reports Asian Lite News.
Lawyers in the UK and the US on Monday initiated coordinated legal campaigns against Facebook, now known as Meta, on behalf of Rohingya Muslims for its alleged role in facilitating the genocide perpetrated by the Myanmar regime and extremist civilians against the Rohingya people.
According to the lawyers, Facebook contributed to the 2017 genocide of Rohingya Muslims by allowing hate speech against the persecuted minority to be propagated in Myanmar. The United Nations had described the violence as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
The legal claims, which are a culmination of substantial legal research and investigation, seek to go further and hold Facebook accountable before a court of law. The total value of the claims exceeds nearly $200 billion, according to a statement by the lawyers.
Facebook has admitted that it did not do enough to stop its platform from being used to create division and incite real world violence. But, in its 2018 report, the UN described the social networking giant as a group having “an extraordinary and outsized role” in the country.
“We are seeking justice for the Rohingya people. This powerful global company must be held to account for its role in permitting the spread of hateful anti-Rohingya propaganda which directly led to unspeakable violence. Facebook turned away while a genocide was being perpetrated – putting profit before the human rights of the Rohingya people,” Tun Khin, President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, in the statement.
“Big Tech needs to be held accountable for amplifying inflammatory, hateful content that can lead to real world harm. Our own research found that Facebook’s recommendation algorithm directed users in Myanmar towards content that incited violence and pushed misinformation during the early and brutal days of the military coup. Court cases like these are critically important, as is legislation to help prevent this from happening again,” added Naomi Hirst, campaign leader at Global Witness.
Mark Zuckerberg
In his Senate testimony, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that “we need to do more”, while Adam Mosseri, a vice president of product management at Facebook stated that “we lose some sleep over this”, and a former member of Facebook’s Integrity team recently acknowledged that “I, working for Facebook, had been a party to genocide”.
However, the allegations levelled against Facebook include that the social media platform used algorithms that amplified hate speech against the Rohingya people on its platform. It failed in its policy and in practice to invest sufficiently in content moderators who spoke Burmese or Rohingya or local fact checkers with an understanding of the political situation in Myanmar.
It also failed to take down specific posts inciting violence against or containing hate speech directed towards the Rohingya people, delete specific accounts or specific groups or pages, which were being used to propagate hate speech and/or incite violence.
Facebook was warned from around 2013 onwards by NGOs and media about extensive anti-Rohingya posts, groups and accounts on its platform, but they said the company failed to take appropriate and timely action.
Even now Facebook’s recommendation algorithm continues to invite users to “like” pages that share pro-military propaganda that violate the platform’s rules and associates and proxies of the Myanmar military regime are still using the Facebook platform.
In the UK, the lawyers have given Facebook formal notice of their intention to initiate proceedings on behalf of non-US resident Rohingya survivors around the world. The social media platform has been required to preserve all relevant corporate records and documentation.
A separate claim has been filed in the US on behalf of the Rohingya community who are resident in the US. The claimants in both cases will seek to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.
Facebook was yet to comment on the legal claims.
The Rohingya people live in the far west of Myanmar and are regarded with racist contempt by many among the majority Buddhist population. In 2017 alone, more than 10,000 people were killed and over 150,000 were subject to physical violence. They continue to suffer serious psychological trauma and displacement, as the vast majority of the population were forced to flee Myanmar.
Approximately one million survivors now reside in temporary refugee camps in Bangladesh.
The accounts had promoted the claims of a fake Swiss biologist called “Wilson Edwards”, who alleged the US was meddling in efforts to find the origins of Covid-19….reports Asian Lite News
Facebook owner Meta Platforms has removed more than 500 accounts linked to an online disinformation network, primarily based in China, BBC reported.
The accounts had promoted the claims of a fake Swiss biologist called “Wilson Edwards”, who alleged the US was meddling in efforts to find the origins of Covid-19.
Edwards’ comments had been widely carried by Chinese state media outlets.
However, the Swiss embassy said that it was unlikely this person existed, the report said.
Meta said in its report the social media campaign was “largely unsuccessful,” and targeted English-speaking audiences in the US and the UK and Chinese-speaking audiences in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet.
Earlier in July, an account posing as a Swiss biologist called Wilson Edwards had made statements on Facebook and Twitter that the US was applying pressure on the World Health Organisation scientists who were studying the origins of Covid-19 in an attempt to blame the virus on China, the report said.
State media outlets, including CGTN, Shanghai Daily and Global Times, had cited the so-called biologist based on his Facebook profile.
Meta Platforms said that its investigation into the matter found “links to individuals in mainland China, including employees of Sichuan Silence Information Technology Co Ltd… and individuals associated with Chinese state infrastructure companies based around the world”.
Sichuan Silence Information’s website describes the company as a network and information security company that provides technical support to China’s Ministry of Public Security and CNCERT, the key team that coordinates China’s cybersecurity emergency response.
Facebook said it had removed a total of 524 Facebook accounts, 20 pages, four groups and 86 Instagram accounts after reviewing public reports that centred around the fake Swiss biologist, the report said.
“By requiring Facebook to sell Giphy, we are protecting millions of social media users and promoting competition and innovation in digital advertising,” he said in a statement…reports Asian Lite News.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Tuesday ordered Facebook’s parent company Meta to sell online database and search engine Giphy, as the $315 million acquisition could harm social media users and UK advertisers.
Facebook had moved to buy the online GIF platform in May 2020.
The UK anti-competition watchdog ruled that Facebook’s acquisition of Giphy would reduce competition between social media platforms and that the deal has already removed Giphy as a potential challenger in the display advertising market.
“The tie-up between Facebook and Giphy has already removed a potential challenger in the display advertising market. Without action, it will also allow Facebook to increase its significant market power in social media even further, through controlling competitors’ access to Giphy GIFs,” said Stuart McIntosh, Chair of the independent inquiry group.
“By requiring Facebook to sell Giphy, we are protecting millions of social media users and promoting competition and innovation in digital advertising,” he said in a statement.
The independent panel reviewing the merger concluded that Facebook would be able to increase its already significant market power in relation to other social media platforms by denying or limiting other platforms’ access to Giphy GIFs, driving more traffic to Facebook-owned sites – Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram – which already account for 73per cent of user time spent on social media in the UK.
The social network will also change the terms of access by, for example, requiring TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat to provide more user data in order to access Giphy GIFs.
Before the merger, Giphy had launched innovative advertising services which it was considering expanding to countries outside the US, including the UK.
Giphy’s services allowed companies – such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Pepsi – to promote their brands through visual images and GIFs.
The CMA found that Giphy’s advertising services had the potential to compete with Facebook’s own display advertising services.
In October, the UK watchdog fined Meta around $69.6 million for failing to provide full updates showing its compliance with an order to continue to compete with the GIF company and avoid further integration while the acquisition was under investigation.
Among other things, the reports have claimed that Facebook allegedly sat on research that showed Instagram harmed teenage mental health, and struggled to remove hate speech from its platforms outside the US…reports Asad Mirza
The details published by The Washington Post of a misinformation campaign pursued by Facebook against the Covid-19 vaccine, also outlines other irregularities committed by the tech giant. A consortium of media organisations, including The Washington Post, reviewed the information, which was disclosed by the lawyers of Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee, to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Congress.
These documents included company’s internal communications on various aspects of running the app and monitoring the content. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on some of the pandemic-related revelations in the papers, including how Facebook struggled to police anti-vaccine comments.
Frances Haugen (Wikipedia)
The controversy According to the information available, Facebook researchers allegedly had deep knowledge of how coronavirus and vaccine misinformation moved through the company’s apps. It allegedly itself conducted multiple studies and produced large internal reports on what kinds of users were most likely to share falsehoods about the deadly virus.
However, allegedly this information was not shared timely and properly with the academics and lawmakers though the White House urged Facebook for months to be more transparent about the misinformation and its effects on the behaviour of its users, the company refused to share much of this information publicly, resulting in a showdown with President Joe Biden’s administration.
Taken together, the documents underline just how extensively Facebook was allegedly studying coronavirus and vaccine misinformation on its platform as the virus tore across the world, unearthing findings that concerned its own employees.
Yet, in public blog posts and in congressional testimony, executives focused on more positive aspects of the social network’s pandemic response, such as how many pieces of misinformation it had taken down and its work to help its users find vaccine clinics near them.
The disconnect between what was known and shared bolsters demands from lawmakers, who are increasingly amenable to proposals to force greater transparency from tech giants, with some directly supporting Haugen’s assertion that a separate regulatory body is needed to study algorithms and internal research and keep an eye on the social media platforms.
Facebook’s influence How Facebook, which is particularly popular with older Americans, has affected perceptions around vaccines has been a key part of discussion about the pandemic. In July, as the disease’s delta variant triggered a massive new surge and the rate of new vaccinations levelled off, the White House began placing some of the blame on the social media channels. President Biden told reporters that Facebook was “killing people”, though he later backed off the comment.
Haugen left Facebook in May, before the public fight between the company and the White House, so it’s unclear what kind of information the company had during that time. But employees were looking into the issue well before the public spat.
Employees noted that algorithmic dynamics created “self-reinforcing” feedback loops, where vaccine-sceptical posts were overwhelmingly supported in the comments and reactions. Anti-vaccine comments got boosted with many “like” and “love” reactions, while people who posted pro-vaccine content were met with derision in the form of “angry”, “sad” or “haha” reactions, the researchers wrote.
Among other things, the reports have claimed that Facebook allegedly sat on research that showed Instagram harmed teenage mental health, and struggled to remove hate speech from its platforms outside the US.
In addition, Frances Haugen who is currently in the UK has told British MPs that Facebook is “unquestionably making hate worse”, as the MPs consider what new rules to impose on big social networks.
While talking to the Online Safety Bill Committee in London, Haugen said Facebook safety teams were under-resourced, and also warned that Instagram was “more dangerous than other forms of social media”.
She said while other social networks were about performance, play, or an exchange of ideas, “Instagram is about social comparison and about bodies… about people’s lifestyles, and that’s what ends up being worse for kids. She said Facebook’s own research allegedly described one problem as “an addict’s narrative” – where children are unhappy, can’t control their use of the app, but feel like they cannot stop using it.
The Online Safety Bill Committee is fine-tuning a proposed law that will place new duties on large social networks and subject them to checks by the media regulator Ofcom in the UK.
Ms Haugen also urged the committee to include paid-for advertising in its new rules, saying the current system was “literally subsidising hate on these platforms” because of their algorithmic ranking. And she also urged MPs to require a breakdown of who is harmed by content, rather than an average figure – suggesting Facebook is “very good at dancing with data”, but pushes people towards “extreme content”.
Haugen also warned that Facebook was unable to police content in multiple languages around the world – something which should worry UK officials. She further said that dangerous misinformation in other languages affects people in Britain and US also.
“Those people are also living in the UK, and being fed misinformation that is dangerous, that radicalises people. When I worked on counter-espionage, I saw things where I was concerned about national security, and I had no idea how to escalate those because I didn’t had faith in my chain of command at that point,” she told the committee.
Similar problems plague Facebook’s Oversight Board, which can overturn the company’s decisions on content, she said. She repeated her claim that Facebook has repeatedly lied to its own watchdog, and said this is a “defining moment” for the Oversight Board to “step up”.
This is not the first time that Facebook has come under criticism and allegations of interfering other country’s internal politics. In the past it has been charged with interfering in two US presidential elections, parliamentary elections in the UK and India and the role played by it during the last year’s Delhi riots.
Facebook’s future Meanwhile amid reports that in the current year Facebook has earned $9 billion despite whistle blower scandal, came news that Facebook is going to change its name to Meta. Zuckerberg says he’s chosen Meta, because of its meaning in Greek – “beyond”. It also alludes to the “Metaverse”, an online virtual oasis that he wants to build.
Critics believe Facebook has done this because the brand has become toxic. Further, Zuckerberg seems to be more interested in creating virtual worlds, which he thinks will transform the human experience. However, we’ll have to wait and see whether people will go along with it.
But meanwhile questions why Facebook alone amongst all tech and social media giants was targeted have also started being aired. Various anti and pro lobby’s are being identified for this but just like whether the Corona pandemic is really a pandemic and not a plandemic, these questions might be answered in the future, by which time we might have experienced the Metaverse.
