Articles about Facebook

In a move that has drawn criticisms from privacy groups, the US government this week started to ask some foreign travelers arriving in the country to hand over their social media account details.

Since Tuesday, visitors to the US arriving under the visa waiver program have been asked if they will provide "information associated with your online presence". Travellers are prompted to provide their usernames for the likes of Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, and while the handing over of information is currently marked as "optional", it's not clear what the consequences of failing to provide it may be, or if there are plans to make it mandatory.

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For all of the talk of it being a social network, Facebook can be a lonely and depressing place. Despite this, many people use the site as somewhere to 'lurk', something which research shows can be psychologically harmful.

A study by the University of Copenhagen found that emotions become more positive and life-satisfaction increased in a group of people who took a break from the site. The effects were more pronounced in heavy users of Facebook, in those who suffered from envy, and those who failed to interact with other users. The advice for some people is that they might want to "consider quitting Facebook for good".

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Smaller businesses are increasingly recognizing the importance of digital marketing and Facebook is their platform of choice for the holiday period.

This is among the findings of a report by marketing platform GetResponse which reveals that 60 percent of SMBs increased their digital marketing budget for this year’s holiday season.

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Facebook has released its Global Government Requests Report for H1 2016, and it shows that there has been a significant increase in the number of government requests for account data.

Compared to the first half of 2015, Facebook received 27 percent more requests globally. Most of these 59,229 requests came from the US government, and more than half of them (56 percent) included a gagging order preventing Facebook from notifying the affected users.

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It's not all that long since Facebook started to allow users to broadcast live video to their friends and followers -- now the social network is doing the same with audio. Things are looking good for mobile users, particularly those with Android devices.

Starting off with partners such as the BBC World Service, LBC and Harper Collins, Live Audio is something of a blend of podcasts and radio. To start off -- just as happened with live video -- audio broadcasting will only be available to a select group of companies, but there are plans to open it up to everyone.

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With the end of the year approaching, many people are looking back over 2016 and picking out the highlights. Others, however, are looking back to see what can be learned for 2017; this is exactly what digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation is doing.

EFF has drawn up a wishlist for 2017, outlining some of the things it hopes technology companies like Google, Twitter, Apple and Facebook will take action on. There are lots of familiar names on the list, and while some of the requests might seem a little hopeful, there is certainly scope for some of the changes to be implemented.

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The European Commission could hit Facebook with a colossal fine for providing misleading information during its $19bn takeover of WhatsApp.

The social networking giant could be hit with a fine equivalent to 1 percent of annual sales (around $125m) for failing to correctly communicate planned changes to privacy policies. The data sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook is already the subject of investigations, but this latest accusation comes as a fresh blow.

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After "the most requested Messenger feature ever" yesterday -- Group Video Chat -- Facebook now has another update.

This time around the social network is allowing users to change the background color of status updates. Before you get too excited, however, there are limitations aplenty to bear in mind.

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Facebook has been adding all sorts of features to its chat app recently, including classic arcade games, and a new camera with art and 3D effects.

Today, the social networking giant introduces the ability to video chat in groups, which it describes as the most requested Messenger feature ever.

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The issue of fake news has been in the headlines a lot recently, and it is Facebook that has borne the brunt of criticism. The social network is in the throes of revamping news feeds in a bid to help stamp out the problem. But Facebook is aware that fake news is not going to be eliminated overnight, and so is focusing on "the worst of the worst".

Today, the company sheds a little light on the work it has undertaken, and what is still being done to help stem the flow of fakery. The initial targets are "the clear hoaxes spread by spammers for their own gain", but this is just the beginning.

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Facebook Messenger doesn’t just let you chat with friends, you can also use it to play games.

Today, the chat app introduces a faster, and easier to use camera that will let you spice up your conversations, and capture and share moments as they happen. There’s more to it than just that, though.

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Twitter is rolling out a new feature to iOS and Android users that enables users to broadcast live video from within the app. If this sounds rather familiar, it's because it's a feature copied from Facebook -- and something that is already offered by Twitter-owned Periscope.

But live video broadcasting on Twitter is not replacing Periscope, it is powered by Periscope. By moving live video direct into the app, Twitter acknowledges the importance that users place on the feature, something which has been proven by the popularity of Facebook Live videos.

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Facebook is on something of a mission to clean up its act, or at least its image, at the moment. The social network is looking to tackle the problems of trolls, bullying and fake news, and its latest campaign is a bid to keep younger users safe.

The minimum age for using Facebook is 13, but this still means that there are some young, naïve and impressionable users out there. With its newly launched Parents Portal, Facebook is looking to arm parents with the information they need to educate their kids about staying safe.

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We're nearing the end of the year, so expect to be inundated with retrospectives for 2016 -- Facebook has just released its look back at the year that's (nearly) gone by.

The social network's review of 2016 comprises two top 10 lists: the most popular trending topics of the year, and the most popular Live videos of the year. It should come as no surprise that the trending topics list is dominated by major political events such as the US election and Brexit, as well as celebrity deaths.

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Payments through Facebook Messenger have been available in the US for some time now, and they're about to make their way to Europe.

Facebook has just been granted a license for 'payment services' and 'e-money issuance' with the Central Bank of Ireland. As a member of the European Union, holding a license in Ireland means that Facebook will be able to offer its payment services in all of the EU member states.

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