A major development showcasing the potential for the open social web was unveiled Thursday at the online conference known as FediForum. From the makers of Bridgy Fed, a tool that connects decentralized open social networks, like Mastodon and Bluesky, there now comes a new project known as Bounce that will allow users to migrate their…
Category: Social
AI, Anthropic, Global Security News, Reddit, Social
Reddit sues Anthropic for allegedly not paying for training data
Reddit is suing Anthropic for allegedly using the site’s data to train AI models without a proper licensing agreement, according to a complaint filed in a Northern California court on Wednesday. Reddit claims in the complaint that Anthropic’s unauthorized use of the site’s data for commercial purposes was unlawful, and alleges the AI startup violated…
AI, Anthropic, Global Security News, Reddit, Social
Reddit sues Anthropic for allegedly not paying for training data
Reddit is suing Anthropic for allegedly using the site’s data to train AI models without a proper licensing agreement, according to a complaint filed in a Northern California court on Wednesday. Reddit claims in the complaint that Anthropic’s unauthorized use of the site’s data for commercial purposes was unlawful, and alleges the AI startup violated…
AI, Anthropic, Global Security News, Reddit, Social
Reddit sues Anthropic for allegedly not paying for training data
Reddit is suing Anthropic for allegedly using the site’s data to train AI models without a proper licensing agreement, according to a complaint filed in a Northern California court on Wednesday. Reddit claims in the complaint that Anthropic’s unauthorized use of the site’s data for commercial purposes was unlawful, and alleges the AI startup violated…
Anthropic, Global Security News, Google, Klarna, openai, Social
Week in Review: Notorious hacking group tied to the Spanish government
Welcome back to Week in Review! Tons of news from this week for you, including a hacking group that’s linked to the Spanish government; CEOs using AI avatars to deliver company earnings; Pocket shutting down — or is it?; and much more. Let’s get to it! More than 10 years in the making: Kaspersky first…
discord, Global Security News, Social
Discord seeks to solve a problem that it created
Discord is entering its second decade as a company and seeking to go public. Along the way, it’s changed the way that online communities interact, turning groups that may have previously existed as forums or message boards into multi-channel instant message servers. Now, everything finds a home on Discord, whether it’s an AI platform like…
Apps, Global Security News, mozilla, pocket, Social
Digg founder Kevin Rose offers to buy Pocket from Mozilla
The deal could be interesting if it went through, as Digg could leverage Pocket’s existing user base to fuel interest in its relaunch.
Global Security News, Social, social media, X
X continues to suffer bugs following Thursday outage
For over 24 hours, many X users, including this reporter, have been experiencing issues with the site’s basic functionality. Some messages won’t load, timelines won’t update, and certain posts can’t be seen without a webpage refresh (or several). The trouble started Thursday afternoon, according to Downdetector, a crowdsourced platform for flagging web outages. Beginning at…
Apps, Bluesky, Global Security News, Social, social media
Bluesky will begin verifying ‘notable’ users
Bluesky on Thursday quietly opened the doors to those who want to become verified on its social networking service. In a post published by the Bluesky Safety account, the company announced that “notable and authentic” accounts can now apply for verification through a new online form. Plus, organizations can request to become a Trusted Verifier…
Global Security News, Match, Social, Tinder
Tinder CEO to step down in July
Faye Iosotaluno, the CEO of Tinder, will step down from her role in July, according to a post she published on LinkedIn. Isootaluno served less than a year in the role, and spent nearly eight years overall at the company, which is owned by Match Group. In her post, she said she was “especially proud…
Apps, Bluesky, flipboard, Global Security News, Social, social feeds, social media, surf
Open social web browser Surf makes it easier for anyone to build custom feeds
With Starter Sets, Surf is simplifying the process of building those custom feeds, personalizing them, and even publishing them off-platform, if you choose.
Apps, Global Security News, Social
Apollo for Reddit dev Christian Selig to join Digg as an advisor
Christian Selig, the iOS developer who ran the beloved third-party Reddit client Apollo, is joining the new iteration of Digg as an advisor. Earlier this year, Digg’s original founder Kevin Rose and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian acquired what was left of Digg in an attempt to revitalize what was formerly known as “the internet’s homepage.”…
Apps, Bluesky, Global Security News, NBA, Social, social media, Sports
Bluesky takes on ‘Sports Twitter’ with NBA playoff feature
As the playoffs rage on, Bluesky announced that it is beta testing a new feature during the NBA playoffs. While an NBA game is in progress, a red border with a “live” designation will appear around posts from the NBA’s account. When users click on the NBA’s profile picture, they will be redirected to the…
AI, Elon Musk, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Social, X, xAI
Grok says it’s ‘skeptical’ about Holocaust death toll, then blames ‘programming error’
Grok, the AI-powered chatbot created by xAI and widely deployed across its new corporate sibling X, wasn’t just obsessed with white genocide this week. As first noted in Rolling Stone, Grok also answered a question on Thursday about the number of Jews killed by the Nazis in World War II by saying that “historical records,…
Coinbase, Global Security News, Layoffs, Microsoft, Social, Uber, Week in Review
TechCrunch Week in Review: Coinbase gets hacked
Welcome back to Week in Review! We’ve got tons of news for you this week, including a hack at Coinbase; YC thinks Google is a ‘monopolist’; layoffs at Microsoft; and much more. Have a great weekend! Uh-oh: Coinbase says that customers’ personal information, including government-issued IDs, was stolen in a data breach. The hackers demanded…
Global Security News, internet culture, internet roadtrip, neal agrawal, Social
Thousands of people have embarked on a virtual road trip via Google Street View
It’s Friday afternoon and I’m listening to Bowdoin College’s radio station, interspersed with ambient car honking noises. I am not in Maine. I am not in a car. I am at my desk. This is Internet Roadtrip. Internet Roadtrip is what I will call a MMORTG (massive multiplayer online road trip game). Neal Agarwal, the…
AI, Global Security News, Grok, Social, xAI
xAI blames Grok’s obsession with white genocide on an ‘unauthorized modification’
xAI blamed an “unauthorized modification” for a bug in its AI-powered Grok chatbot that caused Grok to repeatedly refer to “white genocide in South Africa” when invoked in certain contexts on X. On Wednesday, Grok began replying to dozens of posts on X with information about white genocide in South Africa, even in response to…
Apps, Global Security News, Social, TikTok
TikTok rolls out a new meditation feature to help you get off the app and sleep
TikTok is launching in-app guided meditation exercises, the social network announced on Thursday. The company began testing the meditation exercises with select teens earlier this year and is now making the feature available to all users on its app. The idea behind the feature is to help users improve their sleep quality and encourage them…
Creators, Global Security News, Meta, Social, social media, Threads
Threads now lets creators add up to 5 links to profiles, track clicks
Instagram Threads is taking on Linktree and other “link-in-bio” solutions by introducing a way for creators to use their Threads profile to share links to their other interests and online presences. At launch, the feature will support adding up to five links to a bio, which can connect visitors to the creator’s blog, newsletter, website,…
Global Security News, moderation, Pinterest, Social, social media
Pinterest finally admits mass bans were a mistake caused by an ‘internal error’
Pinterest has now publicly apologized for the wave of moderation issues that have swept across the social network over the past few weeks, leading to account bans and Pin removals that users said were unwarranted. In posts published to social media Tuesday, the company took responsibility for the issue, saying that an “internal error” led…
Apps, Global Security News, Social, TikTok
TikTok rolls out new accessibility tools, including AI-generated ALT text
TikTok announced on Wednesday that it’s expanding its suite of accessibility tools by rolling out AI-generated ALT text for photos, a high contrast mode, and support for device-level bold text preferences. TikTok introduced support for ALT text for photos a few weeks ago, allowing creators to provide descriptive text for photos to help users with…
Crypto, Global Security News, Social
NFT phenom CryptoPunks was just sold to a nonprofit
Yuga Labs, known as the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club and other notable NFTs, sold its iconic CryptoPunks to the nonprofit NODE Foundation, which focuses on preserving digital art. The deal details are undisclosed, and a representative declined to comment. Back in April, NODE announced it received a $25 million grant to “build the…
AI, Apps, Global Security News, Social
TikTok launches TikTok AI Alive, a new image-to-video tool
TikTok is launching its first image-to-video AI feature, the company announced on Tuesday. The new feature is called “TikTok AI Alive” and allows users to turn static photos into videos within TikTok Stories. The feature is only accessible via TikTok’s Story Camera and uses AI to create short-form videos with “movement, atmospheric and creative effects,”…
Global Security News, Layoffs, Microsoft, Social
Microsoft is reportedly about to layoff 3% of its workforce
Microsoft is about to trim its worldwide workforce by 3%, CNBC reports. The company had around 228,000 employees worldwide as of June, it says, meaning more than 6,500 could be affected by the cuts. It would be one of the company’s largest staff reductions since it cut 10,000 people in 2023. Microsoft did not immediately…
Global Security News, Government & Policy, Social
Left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker says he was detained and questioned at airport
Hasan Piker, one of the most popular left-wing political creators in the U.S., says he was detained and questioned at the Chicago O’Hare Airport upon returning to the U.S. after a trip to France. In a stream in which he addressed the experience, Piker claims that he was questioned about his views on Trump, Hamas,…
Global Security News, Instacart, openai, Social, Week in Review
Week in Review: Instacart CEO heads to OpenAI
Welcome back to Week in Review! We’ve got lots of news for you this week: There were CEO shake-ups at Instacart and 11x; the web series is back — kind of; Threads is getting video ads; and much more. Let’s get to it! Big move: Instacart CEO Fidji Simo will become OpenAI’s CEO for Applications,…
Apps, Global Security News, Social, X
X timelines aren’t updating for many users
Sometime Thursday night, timelines stopped updating for a number of users on X, the social network owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Many users report that their notifications stopped working yesterday, meaning they aren’t being alerted to new posts by the people they follow on X. This reporter is experiencing the issue, as well. My X…
Apps, Global Security News, Meta, Social, Threads
Instagram Threads is getting video ads
Instagram Threads will begin testing video ads, Meta announced on Thursday. The test, which will make Threads look more like its competitor X, is an expansion of Threads’ advertising initiatives, which began last month with the opening up of ads to global advertisers. The news was announced at Meta’s presentation at the IAB NewFronts, where…
Global Security News, Reddit, Social
Reddit intros new profile tools for business customers
Reddit on Thursday announced profile enhancements for businesses that’ve joined Reddit Pro, the company’s suite of tools designed to help brands discover, join, and contribute to the social network’s communities and conversations. Now, Reddit will now generate suggested profile bios for businesses during Reddit Pro sign-up. Once businesses provide their website, they can choose from…
antitrust, Apps, Facebook, FTC, Global Security News, lawsuit, Meta, Social, TikTok
New court filing shows that Meta execs agreed that Facebook was losing to TikTok
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram head Adam Mosseri, and other Meta execs thought that TikTok was beating Meta at its own game. That’s according to a new filing in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant, published on Monday. The document, dated February 2022, includes conversations among a number of Meta…
AI, Apps, Global Security News, Reddit, Social, social media
Reddit will tighten verification to keep out human-like AI bots
Redditors around the world were scandalized last week after learning that a team of researchers released a swarm of AI-powered, human-impersonating bots on the “Change My View” subreddit. The large-scale experiment was designed to explore just how persuasive AI can be. The bots posted over 1,700 comments, adopting personas like abuse survivors or controversial identities…
AI, Apps, Commerce, Global Security News, Pinterest, Search, Social, visual search
Pinterest updates visual search with more AI-powered features
Pinterest is upgrading its visual search feature with a handful of new capabilities. On Monday, the company announced it’s rolling out new functionality to improve its feature that allows users to search using an image instead of text. This includes new tools to more precisely narrow and refine searches, as well as those that make…
Apps, Donald Trump, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Social, TikTok
Trump says he’s willing to delay TikTok ban again
President Donald Trump has already delayed a TikTok ban twice, and he said Sunday that he’s willing to do it again. Axios reports that during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump said that if a deal isn’t made to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations to American owners before the current June 19 deadline, he…
Amazon, Apple, Global Security News, Social, Week in Review
Week in Review: Apple won’t raise prices — yet
Welcome back to Week in Review! We’ve got lots of news for you today: Amazon earnings, Apple earnings, ChatGPT sycophancy, Alibaba’s AI models, and much more. Let’s get to it! Well? During Apple’s earnings call yesterday, Tim Cook revealed that the company paid $900 million in tariffs last quarter. But despite this, the CEO didn’t…
AI, Apps, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social, WhatsApp
WhatsApp now has more than 3 billion users a month
WhatsApp now has more than 3 billion people using it every month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted during the company’s Q1 results conference call on Wednesday. Founded in 2009 and acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, WhatsApp remains free to use and doesn’t serve any ads. The app reached the 2 billion monthly…
Apps, Global Security News, Meta, Social, Threads
Threads tops 350M monthly users after adding 30M in the quarter
Instagram Threads, Meta’s X competitor, has now grown to over 350 million monthly active users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed during the company’s Q1 2025 earnings call on Wednesday. That’s an increase of 30 million users since the prior quarter, where Meta reported that Threads had 320 million users. The new figure represents increased growth, as…
AI, Global Security News, Pinterest, Social
Pinterest launches new tools to fight AI slop
Pinterest says it’s finally going to do something about the AI slop that’s taken over its platform. After an increasing volume of complaints, the social networking and image pinboarding site announced Wednesday a plan to begin labeling AI-generated and AI-modified images. It will also introduce a new option that allows users to reduce the number…
Global Security News, Social, Twitter, x.com
X is rolling out support for 4K video uploads
X is now allowing select creators to upload videos in 4K resolution, and will roll out the feature to all premium subscribers soon.
Apps, Global Security News, Snap, Snapchat, Social
Snapchat abandons plans for a simplified version of its app
As part of its Q1 2025 earnings release, Snap said it’s scrapping plans for a simplified version of its app. The news comes seven months after Snapchat began testing a redesigned version of the app without the Snap Map or Stories tabs. The new version consolidated the app’s navigation bar around three icons: chat, camera,…
AI, Global Security News, llama con 2025, Meta, meta ai, Social
Meta launches a standalone AI app to compete with ChatGPT
After integrating Meta AI into WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, Meta is rolling out a standalone AI app. Unveiled at Meta’s LlamaCon event on Tuesday, this app allows users to access Meta AI in a standalone app, similar to the ChatGPT app and other AI assistant apps. To win over users, Meta is trying to…
Global Security News, Hindi, Reddit, Social, Translation
Reddit now supports translation of posts and comments into Hindi
In a bid to broaden its user base in India, Reddit has updated its machine translation feature to support the automatic translation of posts and comments into Hindi. “With this expansion, authentic, more people-powered content is now accessible in one of India’s most spoken languages,” the company wrote in an update to a blog post.…
Global IT News, Global Security News, Security, Social
4chan is back online, says it’s been ‘starved of money’
4chan is partly back online after a hack took the infamous image-sharing site down for nearly two weeks. The site first went down on April 14, with the person responsible for the hack apparently leaking data including a list of moderators and “janitors” (one janitor told TechCrunch they were “confident” that the leaked data was…
AI, Global Security News, Meta, Social
Report finds Meta’s celebrity-voiced chatbots could discuss sex with minors
AI chatbots available on Meta’s platforms like Facebook and Instagram can engage in sexually explicit conversations with underage users, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ says that after learning about internal concerns about whether the company was doing enough to protect minors, it spent months conducting hundreds of conversations…
Bluesky, Elon Musk, Global Security News, Social, Week in Review
Week in Review: Cluely helps you cheat on everything
Welcome back to Week in Review! We’ve got tons of news for you this week: Slate EVs spotted in the wild; Airbnb pricing updates; a hack at Blue Shield; and much more. Let’s go! Get a clue: Cluely is an AI-based tool that helps people cheat on exams, sales calls, and even job interviews. Though…
Apps, Creators, edits, Global Security News, Instagram, Social, videos
Instagram Edits topped 7M downloads in first week, a bigger launch than CapCut’s
Instagram Edits, Meta’s newly released video creation app, had a bigger debut than its direct competitor, ByteDance’s CapCut, once did. The new app, which today helps users craft videos for Instagram reels, stories, and other social posts, was downloaded an estimated 702,900 times on iOS devices during its first two days on the market. That’s…
AI, Exclusive, Global Security News, prince harry, Social
Prince Harry meets, funds youth groups advocating for social media and AI safety
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, walked into the sunlight-lit hotel conference room in Brooklyn on Thursday to meet with a dozen youth leaders working in tech safety, policy, and innovation. The young adults chatted away at black circular tables, many unaware of his presence until he plopped down at a table and started talking with…
Apps, Bluesky, Global Security News, Social, social media
Wait, how did a decentralized service like Bluesky go down?
Apparently, decentralized social networks can go down, too. On Thursday evening, the decentralized social network Bluesky experienced a significant outage, leaving users unable to load the app on both the web and mobile devices for roughly an hour. According to a message on Bluesky’s status page, the company was aware of the outage, which it…
AI, Global Security News, openai, sam altman, Social
OpenAI may be developing its own social platform but who’s it for?
OpenAI is reportedly building its own X-like social network. The project is still in the early stages, but there’s an internal prototype focused on ChatGPT’s image generation that contains a social feed, The Verge reports. A social app would give OpenAI its own unique, real-time data that X and Meta already use to help train…
Global Security News, Layoffs, reality labs, Social, supernatural
Meta conducts layoffs in Oculus Studios, impacting VR exercise app Supernatural
Meta laid off employees on Thursday in its Reality Labs division, which encompasses various virtual and augmented reality projects. The cuts impact employees within Oculus Studios, which develops apps and games for Meta’s Quest headsets. Meta did not specify how many people were impacted by the layoffs, but said that the cuts impacted people working…
Global Security News, Government & Policy, kids online safety act, kosa, Meta, Social, social media
Parents who lost children to online harms protest outside of Meta’s NYC office
Meta may have managed to kill a bipartisan bill to protect children online, but parents of children who have suffered from online harm are still putting pressure on social media companies to step up. On Thursday, 45 families who lost children to online harms – from sextortion to cyberbullying – held a vigil outside of…
Apps, Global Security News, Meta, Social, social media, Threads
Threads officially moves to Threads.com and updates its web app
Instagram Threads, Meta’s newest social network and X competitor, is officially relocating from the website Threads.net to Threads.com. The transition will coincide with a handful of quality-of-life improvements for the Threads web app, including features to more easily access custom feeds, saved posts, and likes, as well as other tools for creating new columns, copying…
Global Security News, Pope Francis, Social, YouTube
Pope Francis’ funeral to stream on YouTube
The funeral of Pope Francis will be livestreamed on YouTube on Saturday. Pope Francis passed away earlier this week at age 88 due to a stroke and cardiac arrest. Vatican News’ YouTube channel will begin coverage of the funeral at 10 AM CET/4 AM ET, with availability in English, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German.…
Apps, COVID-19, Exclusive, Gaming, Global Security News, Social
Chess.com reaches 200 million members
Chess.com reaches a new membership milestone as it nears its 20th birthday. Chess.com, the online chess platform that was founded in 2005 and launched in 2007, has surpassed 200 million members. Of those 200 million members, 1.5 million are paying users. More than 6 million games of chess are played every day on the platform.…
Apps, Facebook, Global Security News, Meta, Social
Facebook cracks down on spammy content by cutting reach and monetization
Facebook will begin lowering the reach of accounts sharing spammy content and making them ineligible for monetization, Meta announced on Thursday. The company is also increasing efforts to remove Facebook accounts that coordinate fake engagement and impersonate others, it says. The move comes as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has promised a return to “OG Facebook.”…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, Social, TikTok
TikTok adds support for ALT text for photos
TikTok is rolling out support for ALT text for photo posts to make content more accessible for users with visual and cognitive impairments. The company says creators can now provide descriptive text for photos to help users with screen readers understand the visual content through spoken descriptions. TikTok told TechCrunch in an email that creators…
Apps, Bluesky, Global Security News, Social
Government censorship comes to Bluesky, but not its third-party apps … yet
Government censorship has found its way to Bluesky, but there’s currently a loophole thanks to how the social network is structured. Earlier this month, Bluesky restricted access to 72 accounts in Turkey at the request of Turkish governmental authorities, according to a recent report by the Freedom of Expression Association. As a result, people in Turkey can…
discord, Gaming, Global Security News, jason citron, Social
Discord appoints former Activision Blizzard exec Humam Sakhnini as CEO
Amid rumors that the company is eyeing an IPO, Discord appointed former Activision Blizzard Vice Chairman Humam Sakhnini as CEO. Discord co-founder Jason Citron will leave his CEO role after thirteen years at the company. Discord straddles the gaming and social media spaces — despite its initial emergence as a platform for online multiplayer gamers…
Apps, Global Security News, Instagram, Meta, Social, Threads
Meta’s Threads opens up ads to global advertisers
Months after first testing ads in select markets, including the U.S., Meta on Wednesday announced that its Instagram Threads app would now expand ads to all advertisers worldwide. The expansion will allow eligible advertisers to reach Threads’ over 320 million monthly active users, and it will include access to an inventory filter to control the sensitivity level…
Apps, Global Security News, Meta, Social, WhatsApp
WhatsApp’s latest feature makes your messages even more private
WhatsApp announced on Wednesday it’s launching a new feature that will allow users to add an extra layer of privacy to chats. The new “Advanced Chat Privacy” setting prevents you and the people you’re chatting with from exporting chats and auto-downloading media to their phone. The setting also prevents users from mentioning Meta AI in…
Apps, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Meta, oversight board, Social
Meta’s Oversight Board seeks details on the company’s new hate speech policies
Meta’s Oversight Board, the independent group created to help Meta with content moderation decisions, on Tuesday issued its response to the social media company’s new hate speech policies announced in January. The Board says that Meta’s new policies were “announced hastily, in a departure from regular procedure,” and called on the company to provide more…
Global IT News, Global Security News, Social, TC
Burning questions (and some answers) about Bluesky’s new verification system
Bluesky’s launch of a verification system has raised a slew of questions among its user base from who will be picked — and why — to what outside organizations might be involved and whether the self-verification process will end? TechCrunch has some answers. After a leak last week, Bluesky officially announced Monday the arrival of…
Apps, Global Security News, Social
Meta releases its CapCut rival Edits globally
Meta announced on Tuesday that it’s officially launching Edits, its CapCut-like video creation app. Releasing globally, Edits will allow creators to do things like keep track of video ideas, get inspiration for new content, and create videos with effects and AI tools. The app is available on iOS and Android. All of the app’s features…
Global Security News, mental health, Pew Research Center, Social, social media
Social media is not wholly terrible for teen mental health, study says
We know that social media can be harmful to teens. Meta has found in its own research that Instagram makes body image worse for one in three teen girls, and Snapchat has been sued several times for not doing enough to mitigate cyberbullying. Even the former U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory on the risk…
AI, Apps, chatbot, Global Security News, ManyChat, Marketing, Messaging, Social, summit partners
Manychat taps $140M to boost its business messaging platform with AI
Chatbots and other kinds of AI agents may feel like a dime a dozen these days. But the truth is that, for both businesses and consumers, some may be infinitely more useful (and perhaps less dystopian) than others. Today, a startup that’s built a successful business around that concept is announcing a major growth round…
FTC, Global Security News, Meta, Social
Mark Zuckerberg once suggested spinning out Instgram as a solution to its ‘cannibalization’ of Facebook
In an internal email surfaced as part of the Meta antitrust trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg fretted about the potential that the company’s Instagram acquisition may cannibalize Facebook. Were that to happen, it could lead to the “network collapse of the more engaging and profitable product,” a worried Zuckerberg told other Meta executives in a…
FTC, Global Security News, Meta, Social
Mark Zuckerberg once suggested spinning out Instagram as a solution to its ‘cannibalization’ of Facebook
In an internal email surfaced as part of the Meta antitrust trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg fretted about the potential that the company’s Instagram acquisition may cannibalize Facebook. Were that to happen, it could lead to the “network collapse of the more engaging and profitable product,” a worried Zuckerberg told other Meta executives in a…
Apps, Bluesky, Global Security News, Social, verification
Bluesky launches blue check verification
Bluesky announced on Monday that it is rolling out blue check verification, confirming previous rumors that this feature was on its way to the platform. Like Twitter’s original blue check (RIP), Bluesky’s blue check will verify that notable accounts are legitimate, making it easy for users to trust that an account’s posts are real. In…
Apps, Global Security News, Reddit, Social
Reddit briefly down for users worldwide
Popular social network and forum site Reddit reported significant outages on Monday morning. The connection errors started at around 11:20 a.m. ET, according to the website Downdetector, which collects anecdotal reports from impacted users globally. At its peak, more than 90,000 users logged an outage report with the downtime tracking website. At 11:52 a.m. ET,…
AI, Apps, Global Security News, Instagram, parents, Social, Teens
Instagram is using AI to find teens lying about their age and restricting their accounts
Meta is using AI technology to search for kids who are lying about their age on Instagram in order to bypass safeguards, the company announced on Monday. When Meta finds an account that it suspects belongs to a teen, the platform will enroll them into a restricted Teen Account, even if the account lists an…
Facebook, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social
Uncovered emails showed how Meta struggled to keep Facebook culturally relevant
With the first week of Meta’s antitrust trial behind us, documents shared by the U.S Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offered more insight into Meta’s internal struggles to keep Facebook relevant. In emails from 2022, Meta executives mulled different visions for Facebook’s future to boost its success, acknowledging that its cultural relevance was decreasing. Fast-forward to…
Global Security News, Google, Meta, Social, Week in Review
Week in Review: Google loses a major antitrust case
Welcome back to Week in Review! We’ve got tons of stuff for you this week: antitrust lawsuits against Google and Meta; Grok can now remember; Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow wants to make his mark; and much, much more. Have a great weekend! It’s over: Google violated antitrust laws in the ad tech market, a judge…
Facebook, Global Security News, Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social
Read what Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook execs said about Instagram before buying it
The first week of the Meta antitrust trial brought new revelations about how the company formerly known as Facebook approached the competitive threat posed by Instagram in the early 2010s. The U.S. government is accusing Meta of violating competition laws by acquiring companies like Instagram and WhatsApp that threatened the Facebook monopoly. If lawyers for…
Apps, Bluesky, Global Security News, Social, verification
Bluesky may soon add blue check verification
Bluesky may soon get a new blue checkmark verification system, according to changes to the app’s public GitHub repository spotted Friday by reverse engineer alice.mosphere.at. The blue checks may have a similar look to the system pioneered by Twitter, now X, but Bluesky’s version seems like it will work quite differently. Bluesky’s blue check system…
fortnite, Gaming, Global Security News, Roblox, Social, TikTok
TikToker sues Roblox over her Charli XCX ‘Apple’ dance
TikTok content creator Kelley Heyer sued the video game Roblox for using her dance to Charli XCX’s “Apple” without permission. Heyer posted the viral dance in June 2024, which fed off of the hype of Charli XCX’s hit summer album Brat. The dance became so popular that Charli XCX incorporated it into her live show…
Apps, Global Security News, Instagram, Instagram Reels, Social, TikTok
Instagram’s new Blend feature creates a custom reels feed for you and your friends
Instagram on Thursday announced that it’s rolling out Blend, a new feature that lets you create a custom, personalized reels feed for you and your friends. Blends are invite-only and can be created with a singular friend or with a group chat. The custom feeds are refreshed with new content each day. The launch doesn’t…
AI, ChatGPT, Global Security News, privacy, reverse location search, Social, social media, viral
The latest viral ChatGPT trend is doing ‘reverse location search’ from photos
There’s a somewhat concerning new trend going viral: people are using ChatGPT to figure out the location shown in pictures. This week, OpenAI released its newest AI models, o3 and o4-mini, both of which can uniquely “reason” through uploaded images. In practice, the models can crop, rotate and zoom in on photos — even blurry…
Apps, Facebook, FTC, Global Security News, Instagram, Social, TikTok
Mark Zuckerberg says TikTok slowed Meta’s growth
In Meta’s antitrust trial on Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified that TikTok’s success was a risk to Meta’s business, saying the short-form video app was a “top priority” and a “highly urgent” competitive threat when it arrived in 2018, according to Bloomberg and other outlets. The reports come from a packed first week of…
Apps, Global Security News, Social
Zuckerberg: Snapchat would have grown faster if it accepted $6B buyout offer
During Meta’s antitrust trial this week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Snapchat would have grown faster if it accepted his company’s offer to buy the social network back in 2013, Business Insider reports. Court documents revealed that Meta, then called Facebook, offered to buy Snapchat for $6 billion (reports at the time said that…
Bluesky, Global Security News, Social
Bluesky feed builder Graze raises $1M, rolls out ads
Graze, a startup that lets people build and monetize custom feeds for Bluesky’s social network, has attracted new capital. Pre-seed investors, led by Betaworks and Salesforce Ventures, have invested $1 million in the company’s small team, which is working to give users control over their algorithms and social media experiences. Graze’s software, available via the…
Apps, Global Security News, North America, Social, TikTok
TikTok begins testing Footnotes, a new Community Notes-like feature
TikTok is testing a new “Footnotes” feature that works similarly to Community Notes on X. The social network announced on Wednesday that Footnotes will allow users to add additional context and relevant information to videos to help others better understand certain content, starting in the United States. The company says Footnotes will complement its current…
Apps, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Patreon, Social
Patreon tests a native live video feature where creators can stream 24/7
Patreon is finally experimenting with a native livestreaming, a new feature that could attract more creators and help them earn more money. The capability is rolling out to select testers this week and will become more widely available this summer. Similar to other platforms, Patreon’s new livestream feature comes with a live chat where fans…
AI, Global Security News, Social, social media, X
A year after Elon Musk’s takeover, UK revenues for X plummeted
X has not been fairing well in the U.K., previously a major source of revenue for the social network prior to Elon Musk’s arrival. Still named Twitter UK Ltd, revenues and profits for X’s UK entity collapsed by over 60% in the year after Musk took it over and changed its moderation controls, according to…
Apps, Global Security News, Social
TikTok takes on Google Maps by surfacing reviews in the comments tab
As TikTok continues to build out its search experience, the social network is now surfacing reviews for select places right within the comments tab of a video. The new feature, which appears to be a test, eliminates the need to conduct a new search or open up Google when you come across a place on…
AI, Global Security News, Meta, openai, Social, Social networks, Twitter, X
OpenAI is reportedly developing its own X-like social media platform
OpenAI is building its own X-like social media network, according to a new report from The Verge. The project is still in the early stages, but there’s an internal prototype focused on ChatGPT’s image generation that contains a social feed. The report states that it’s unknown if OpenAI plans to launch the social network as a…
antitrust, Facebook, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Social
Mark Zuckerberg once considered deleting all your Facebook friends
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once considered deleting everyone’s Facebook friends in an effort to boost the social network’s cultural relevance. This “potentially crazy idea,” as the exec called it at the time, was revealed on Monday as a part of the evidence introduced during the first day of the U.S. government’s antitrust trial against Meta.…
Global Security News, Government & Policy, jack dorsey, Social
Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk would like to ‘delete all IP law’
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter (now X) and Square (now Block), sparked a weekend’s worth of debate around intellectual property, patents, and copyright, with a characteristically terse post declaring, “delete all IP law.” X’s current owner Elon Musk quickly replied, “I agree.” It’s not clear what exactly brought these comments on, but they come at…
Global Security News, jeff bezos, Mira Murati, Nikola, openai, Social, Waymo, Week in Review
Week in Review: Jeff Bezos’ secret EV startup
Welcome back to Week in Review! We’ve got tons of cool stuff for your reading pleasure this week: Jeff Bezos backs EV startup Slate; a Meta whistleblower accuses the company of collusion; Waymo may use interior camera data; and much more. Let’s get to it! I want this: Slate, an EV startup, has the ambitious…
AI, Elon Musk, Global Security News, Grok, Social, X, xAI
The xAI–X merger is a good deal — if you’re betting on Musk’s empire
When Elon Musk announced that his AI startup, xAI, had acquired his social media company, X (formerly known as Twitter), in an all-stock deal, it raised some eyebrows. But in many ways, the deal made sense. xAI’s chatbot, Grok, was already deeply integrated with X, X was floundering financially, and Musk needed a way to…
Global Security News, Meta, patrick collison, Social
Meta adds Stripe CEO Patrick Collison and Dina Powell McCormick to its board
Banking executive and former presidential advisor Dina Powell McCormick and Stripe co-founder and CEO Patrick Collison are joining the board of Meta, according to a report from Axios. Powell McCormick spent 16 years in several leadership roles at Goldman Sachs. She also served as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Donald J. Trump during his…
AI, Elon Musk, Europe, GDPR, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Grok, Social, X, xAI
Ireland’s data regulator investigates X’s use of European user data to train Grok
Ireland’s data regulator, the Data Protection Commission (DPC), said Friday that it has opened an investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the social media platform’s use of personal data collected from European users to train Grok. The DPC will investigate how X processes personal data “comprised” in publicly accessible posts by European users for the…
Apps, Bluesky, evergreens, fediverse, Global Security News, Social, social media
What is Bluesky? Everything to know about the X competitor
Is the grass greener on the other side? We’re not sure, but the sky is most certainly bluer. It’s been over two years since Elon Musk purchased Twitter, now X, leading people to set up shop on alternative platforms. Mastodon, Post, Pebble (two of which have already shuttered operations) and Spill have been presented as…
Apps, Bluesky, evergreens, fediverse, Global Security News, Social, social media
What is Bluesky? Everything to know about the X competitor
Is the grass greener on the other side? We’re not sure, but the sky is most certainly bluer. It’s been over two years since Elon Musk purchased Twitter, now X, leading people to set up shop on alternative platforms. Mastodon, Post, Pebble (two of which have already shuttered operations) and Spill have been presented as…
Apps, Bluesky, evergreens, fediverse, Global Security News, Social, social media
What is Bluesky? Everything to know about the X competitor
Is the grass greener on the other side? We’re not sure, but the sky is most certainly bluer. It’s been over two years since Elon Musk purchased Twitter, now X, leading people to set up shop on alternative platforms. Mastodon, Post, Pebble (two of which have already shuttered operations) and Spill have been presented as…
Global Security News, Social
BeReal, which says it has 40M monthly users, is rolling out ads in the US
It’s time for BeReal to get real — it’s difficult to turn a profit on a social photo-sharing app without selling ads or memberships. Now, after its €500 million exit to French mobile publisher Voodoo, BeReal is rolling out advertising in the U.S. Its initial products include in-feed ads in the app’s same dual-camera post…
Global Security News, Social
BeReal, which says it has 40M monthly users, is rolling out ads in the US
It’s time for BeReal to get real — it’s difficult to turn a profit on a social photo-sharing app without selling ads or memberships. Now, after its €500 million exit to French mobile publisher Voodoo, BeReal is rolling out advertising in the U.S. Its initial products include in-feed ads in the app’s same dual-camera post…
Global Security News, Social
BeReal, which says it has 40M monthly users, is rolling out ads in the US
It’s time for BeReal to get real — it’s difficult to turn a profit on a social photo-sharing app without selling ads or memberships. Now, after its €500 million exit to French mobile publisher Voodoo, BeReal is rolling out advertising in the U.S. Its initial products include in-feed ads in the app’s same dual-camera post…
Apps, Bluesky, Global Security News, open social, Social, social media, Social networks, TC, X
Bluesky’s latest update adds chat reactions and an Explore page, similar to X
Social network Bluesky is rolling out a new version of its software, which adopts some of the features former X users have missed. Nope, it’s not an edit button! Instead, the open social network is adding support for chat reactions in its direct messages feature and is revamping its search page as “Explore,” directing users…
Apps, Bluesky, Global Security News, open social, Social, social media, Social networks, TC, X
Bluesky’s latest update adds chat reactions and an Explore page, similar to X
Social network Bluesky is rolling out a new version of its software, which adopts some of the features former X users have missed. Nope, it’s not an edit button! Instead, the open social network is adding support for chat reactions in its direct messages feature and is revamping its search page as “Explore,” directing users…
Apps, Bluesky, Global Security News, open social, Social, social media, Social networks, TC, X
Bluesky’s latest update adds chat reactions and an Explore page, similar to X
Social network Bluesky is rolling out a new version of its software, which adopts some of the features former X users have missed. Nope, it’s not an edit button! Instead, the open social network is adding support for chat reactions in its direct messages feature and is revamping its search page as “Explore,” directing users…
Global Security News, kevin rose, Social
Rebooted Digg launches early-access community with $5 fee
The reboot of early-internet social news site Digg is underway. Original founder Kevin Rose and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian have launched an early-access community for some of the first people who signed up after last month’s announcement that the pair had bought Digg and planned to relaunch it as something new. The early-access program is…