Our data may be currency to Facebook, but being able to let your loved ones know you’re safe is priceless
News in brief: tech firms under fire again; facial recognition prize offered; hack leads to Gulf crisis
Your daily round-up of some of the other stories in the news
News in brief: NASA sends probe to the Sun; subway gets phone coverage; Facebook pushes back
Your daily round-up of some of the other stories in the news
Facebook Bans Sale of Piracy-Enabling Set-Top Boxes
Lirodon quotes a report from Variety: Facebook has joined the fight against illegal video-streaming devices. The social behemoth recently added a new category to products it prohibits users to sell under its commerce policy: Products or items that “facilitate or encourage unauthorized access to digital media.” The change in Facebook’s policy, previously reported by The Drum, appears primarily aimed at blocking the sale of Kodi-based devices loaded with software that allows unauthorized, free access to piracy-streaming services. Kodi is free, open-source media player software. The app has grown popular among pirates, who modify the code with third-party add-ons for illegal streaming. Even with the ban officially in place, numerous “jail-broken” Kodi-enabled devices remain listed in Facebook’s Marketplace section, indicating that the company has yet to fully enforce the new ban. A Facebook rep confirmed the policy went into effect earlier this month. In addition, the company updated its advertising policy to explicitly ban ads for illegal streaming services and devices.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&id=10665371&smallembed=1
Keybase Extension Brings End-to-End Encrypted Chat To Twitter, Reddit, GitHub
A recently released extension for Chrome, developed by the public key crypto database Keybase, brought end-to-end encrypted messaging to several apps this week.
YouTube, Twitter and Facebook face curbs on hate speech videos
Europe moves a step closer to limiting the spread of extremism and toxic content via social platforms
Facebook Signs BuzzFeed, Vox, Others For Original Video Shows
Facebook has signed deals with Vox Media, BuzzFeed, ATTN, Group Nine Media and others to make shows for its upcoming video service, which will feature long and short-form content with ad breaks. The social media company is reportedly set to pay up to $250,000 for the longer, scripted shows. Reuters reports: Facebook is planning two tiers of video entertainment: scripted shows with episodes lasting 20 to 30 minutes, which it will own; and shorter scripted and unscripted shows with episodes lasting about 5 to 10 minutes, which Facebook will not own, according to the sources. For the second tier of shorter shows, Facebook will pay $10,000 to $35,000 for each show and give creators 55 percent of revenue from ads, the sources said. Ads will run during both the long-form and short-form shows.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&id=10655157&smallembed=1
Man jailed for stealing images and details from more than 50 women
When someone like this is caught and jailed it’s a sobering reminder to check our own digital footprint – here are some tips to help you secure your information
Facebook is losing the fight against the spread of fake news
How can you work out what’s true and what’s not in the torrent of stories on Facebook when the platform itself can’t reliably flag up a fake story?
News in brief: Depp film stolen by hackers; Facebook fined again; social media blocked in Ukraine
Your daily round-up of some of the other stories in the news