Facebook's Internet.org project, which offers people from developing countries free mobile access to selected websites, has been pitched as a philanthropic initiative to connect two thirds of the world who don’t yet have Internet access.
The global digital divide should be closed and we agree that some Internet access is better than none. However, we question whether this is the right way to do it. There's a real risk that the few websites that Facebook and its partners select for Internet.org could end up becoming a ghetto for poor users instead of a stepping stone to the larger Internet.
Read moreA class action lawsuit over alleged breaches of EU privacy law, mass surveillance and involvement in the NSA’s Prism snooping programme has been filed against Facebook in Vienna.
The lawsuit, which was officially filed in a Vienna court on Thursday, is being spearheaded by 27-year-old Austrian law graduate and privacy campaigner Max Schrems. The closely-watched case sees users suing the social network for various rights violations, ranging from the “illegal” tracking of their data under EU law to Facebook’s involvement with the US National Security Agency. Basically they are asking Facebook to stop mass surveillance.
Read moreFacebook founder and CEO hopes to bring his free internet security project, Internet.org, to Europe. The initiative has already been launched in some countries including India, and aims to connect people to the internet who are otherwise unable to access it.
But Zuckerberg hopes to roll it out across the world, Zuckerberg said in a question and answer session held on his Facebook page. In response to a question about whether the project would be rolled out “even in Europe”, Zuckerberg said that he did. Zuckerberg also addressed concerns that the project was undermining net neutrality by only offering “basic internet services” to its users.
Read morePhishing is a type of attack on personal data that comes in the form of a fake email or wesbsite, which is made to look like it comes from a reputable site – but does not.
A user might get an email that has all of the themes and imagery of a typical message from Facebook, except this email will tell the user they need to reset their password and will offer that user a login prompt to do so. The user clicks on the prompt, is directed to a fake webpage that looks like Facebook, and then the user enters their login and password. There are several ways to avoid phishing attacks. The common theme in each is to be highly suspicious of any online request for your personal information.
Read moreFacebook tracks the web browsing of everyone who visits a page on its site even if the user does not have an account or has explicitly opted out of tracking in the EU.
The report was commissioned after an original draft report revealed Facebook’s privacy policy breaches European law. The researchers now claim that Facebook tracks computers of users without their consent, whether they are logged in to Facebook or not, and even if they are not registered users of the site or explicitly opt out in Europe. Facebook tracks users in order to target advertising. Facebook places tracking cookies on users’ computers if they visit any page on the facebook.com domain.
Read moreIn classical mythology, Aquila is the eagle carrying Jupiter’s thunderbolts skyward. At Facebook, it is the code name for a high-flying drone, indicative of the social networking company’s lofty ambitions.
The V-shaped unmanned vehicle weighs less than a small car, is the centerpiece of Facebook’s plans to connect with the five billion or so people it has yet to reach. Taking to the skies to beam Internet access down from solar-powered drones may seem like a stretch for a tech company that sells ads to make money. Facebook is under pressure to show that it can pursue projects that are more speculative than product.
Read moreIn February, Facebook made users sign up for a new privacy policy that allows it to track users everywhere on the Internet even when they are not on Facebook. Facebook’s policy allows it to gather data about you, from across the internet. And in addition to the normal data it generally gathers when you post something or add friends to your network.
Facebook doesn't exactly make it easy for you to stay off its radar. If you want to stay hidden on Facebook, however, we can help you out. When you're finished with this process, no one but you will be able to see your Facebook activity, view your photos, or see where you've checked in.
Read moreRequests from governments for people’s Facebook account data were overall on the rise in the second half of 2014, though they declined in the USA and Germany. The total number of requests rose slightly.
The vast majority of requests relate to criminal cases including robberies and kidnappings. In many of the cases, the government was seeking basic subscriber information such as name and registration date. In others, law enforcement also sought access to IP address logs or account content. Facebook said it responds to valid requests relating to criminal cases but emphasized that it has strict guidelines in place to deal with all government data requests.
Read moreThe world’s largest social network is stepping up its work in cyber security by teaming with other technology companies including Yahoo and online scrapbooking site Pinterest. The platform will enable companies to share clues about how hackers are behaving in the hope of preventing security breaches.
Mark Hammel, Facebook’s manager of threat infrastructure, said ThreatExchange had been developed from a system that Facebook was already using internally to make it easier to catalogue threats to the site in real time. Facebook’s decision to share the tool comes at a time when the company is trying to broaden its appeal beyond social interactions.
Read moreEmojis are words too at least police think so. Every word, every picture and, indeed, every emoji could mean something. Or it could mean nothing at all. Some might see them as a very modern, exalted form of digital cursive script.
That seems to be the view of the New York Police Department, after it viewed the Facebook page of teenager. Despite his young age, Aristy apparently has something of a police record, with 12 arrests, according to DNAInfo, for alleged offenses including criminal possession of a weapon, robbery and assault. His Facebook page was, it seems, part of routine police surveillance.
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