News

US government seeks Facebook help to wiretap Messenger-sources

Dan Levine and Joseph Menn, Reuters
Posted at Aug 18 11:40 AM

The US government is trying to force Facebook Inc to break the encryption in its popular Messenger app so law enforcement may listen to a suspect's voice conversations in a criminal probe, 3 people briefed on the case said, resurrecting the issue of whether companies can be compelled to alter their products to enable surveillance. Read more »

Facebook sorry after earthquake balloons blunder

Reuters
Posted at Aug 09 03:39 AM

LONDON - Facebook apologized on Wednesday after users posting about a deadly earthquake in Indonesia on the social media platform saw their messages decorated with images of balloons and confetti.   Read more »

Apple, Facebook, Spotify, YouTube delete content of U.S. conspiracy theorist

Reuters
Posted at Aug 07 03:58 AM

Apple Inc., YouTube, Facebook Inc. and Spotify all took down podcasts and channels from U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, saying on Monday that the Infowars author had broken community standards. Read more »

Facebook asks U.S. banks for financial info on clients: report

Reuters
Posted at Aug 06 11:55 PM

Facebook Inc. has asked large U.S. banks to share detailed financial information about their customers, as part of an effort to offer new services to users, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Read more »

Apple removes most of US conspiracy theorist's podcasts from iTunes

Rich McKay, Reuters
Posted at Aug 06 08:53 PM

Most of US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's podcasts from his right-wing media platform Infowars have been removed from Apple's iTunes and podcast apps, the media news website BuzzFeed quoted a company spokesman as saying on Sunday. Read more »

As Apple tops $1 trillion, is a new tech bubble ready to burst?

Juliette Michel, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Aug 06 08:42 AM

Tech companies account for about 20 percent of US GDP, and more than Germany's GDP. Read more »

Southeast Asia seek cybersecurity deal with Russia after series of hacks

John Geddie and Manuel Mogato, Reuters
Posted at Aug 02 01:20 PM

Southeast Asian nations hope to strike a joint agreement on cybersecurity in the coming days with Russia, accused by the United States of meddling in its elections, after a series of high-profile hacks in the region. Read more »

FACT-CHECK: Pension for elderly Pinoys has not increased 12-fold

AFP Philippines
Updated as of Aug 02 12:51 PM

Online reports claim the Philippine government has begun offering pensions to senior citizens of 6,000 pesos (about 110 USD) a month. Authorities have warned the public and told AFP this is false, and the pension remains at 500 pesos a month. Read more »

WhatsApp out to make money from business messages

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Aug 02 07:51 AM

Facebook on Wednesday set out to make money from WhatsApp with a scheme to connect businesses with customers via the smartphone messaging service. Read more »

Facebook, Instagram to introduce time-management tools

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Aug 01 11:03 PM

Do you worry that you, or your children, spend too much time on social media? Facebook and Instagram on Wednesday said they want to help you take control. Read more »

Facebook scraps accounts trying to influence November's U.S. elections

Reuters
Posted at Aug 01 03:05 AM

Facebook Inc. has identified a coordinated political influence campaign ahead of November's U.S. congressional elections and taken down dozens of fake accounts on its site, the company said on Tuesday. Read more »

OPINION: Surviving romantic hell in social media

Arlene Burgos
Updated as of Jul 31 03:19 PM

How to survive romantic hell in social media? Baka makatulong ito as a first step sa proverbial na pag-‘move on.’ Read more »

Blogger Cocoy Dayao indicted for libel, says Sotto

ABS-CBN News
Posted at Jul 29 08:14 PM

Blogger Eduardo 'Cocoy' Dayao has been indicted for libel, said Senate President Vicente 'Tito' Sotto III who filed the charges against the online personality last year. Read more »

World stocks fail to hold four-month peak as Facebook plunges

Trevor Hunnicutt, Reuters
Posted at Jul 27 08:30 AM

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's fortune took an almost $16 billion hit as the declines wiped more than $120 billion off the company's value. Executives warned that profits would plummet as the company improves privacy safeguards. Read more »

Perfect storm of bad news for Facebook sinks shares

Rob Lever, Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jul 27 08:08 AM

The social network star -- which has weathered storms over privacy and data protection -- is now looking at cooler growth following a years-long breakneck pace. Read more »

Retailers set sights on Facebook, Google ad revenue

Emma Thomasson and Richa Naidu, Reuters
Posted at Jul 26 04:25 PM

People with hay fever hate dust. That was the premise of a marketing drive launched by British vacuum cleaner maker Dyson with US retailer Target Corp. Read more »

Facebook hammered as user growth cools

Agence France-Presse
Updated as of Jul 26 07:58 AM

Facebook shares took a hit Wednesday after the world's biggest social network reported weaker-than-expected user growth in the first full quarter since being rocked by a series of scandals on data privacy. Read more »

Facebook sets up China subsidiary

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jul 24 10:38 PM

Facebook has opened a subsidiary in mainland China, records show, a long-awaited step for the social networking giant and its Mandarin-speaking founder Mark Zuckerberg. Read more »

Europeans press for digital tax at G20 meeting

Reuters
Posted at Jul 23 09:38 AM

European finance leaders called for progress on global rules to tax the digital economy at a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers in Argentina on Sunday, putting them at odds with US counterparts. Read more »

Facebook in fresh controversy over Holocaust denial

Agence France-Presse
Posted at Jul 20 01:49 AM

Facebook found itself embroiled anew in controversy Thursday after chief executive Mark Zuckerberg argued the leading social network should not filter out posts denying the Holocaust. Read more »