Facebook News & Updates

  • Thread starter Thread starter kramkumar
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies: Replies 448
  • Views Views: Views 103,094
Facebook again tries to settle privacy violation case

A US judge said he would consider whether to preliminarily approve Facebook's second attempt to settle allegations the social networking company violated privacy rights.

Earlier this year, US District Judge Richard Seeborg rejected a proposed class action settlement over Facebook's 'Sponsored Stories' advertising feature. But at a hearing on Thursday in San Francisco federal court, Seeborg was much less critical of a revised proposal and promised a ruling "very shortly."

Five Facebook members filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against the social networking site, saying its Sponsored Stories feature violated California law by publicising users' 'likes' of certain advertisers without paying them or giving them a way to opt out. The case involved over 100 million potential class members.

As part of a proposed settlement reached earlier this year, Facebook agreed to allow members more control over how their personal information is used. Facebook also agreed to pay $10 million for legal fees and $10 million to charity, according to court documents.

However, Seeborg rejected the proposed deal in August, questioning why it did not award any money to members.

In a revised proposal, Facebook and plaintiff lawyers said users now could claim a cash payment of up to $10 each to be paid from a $20 million total settlement fund. Any money remaining would then go to charity.

The company also said it would engineer a new tool to enable users to view any content that might have been displayed in Sponsored Stories and then opt out if they desire, the court document says.

In court on Thursday, Facebook attorney Michael Rhodes said the settlement provided meaningful protections and that Seeborg's job was to ensure a fair settlement - not write national privacy policy.

"Trust me, I'm not proposing to set grand policy with privacy issues writ large," Seeborg said.

Two children's advocacy groups filed court papers opposing the deal, saying that an opt - in procedure with parental consent should be required before Facebook can use a minor's content in ads.

However, plaintiff attorney Robert Arns said the deal balances the public good with Facebook's ability to run a profitable social networking service.

"We believe we cracked the code so that it's fair," he said.

If Seeborg grants his preliminary approval, outside groups would be able to file further objections before a final hearing.

The case in US District Court, Northern District of California is Angel Fraley et al, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated vs Facebook Inc, 11-cv-1726.

Facebook again tries to settle privacy violation case - The Times of India
 
Facebook ordered to remove paedophile monitoring page

A Facebook page set up to monitor paedophiles has been removed after a judge in Northern Ireland ruled Friday that it risked infringing the human rights of a convicted s#x offender.
The man, who cannot be identified, started legal proceedings against the social networking site after discovering his photograph and threatening comments had been posted on the page.

High Court judge Bernard McCloskey ruled some content on the page amounted to prima facie harassment of the man, known only as XY.

The man had previously been given a six-year jail sentence for a string of child s#x offences committed more than 20 years ago.

Judge McCloskey said "Society has dealt with the plaintiff in accordance with the rule of law.

"He has been punished by incarceration and he is subject to substantial daily restrictions on his lifestyle."

The judge in his ruling gave Facebook 72 hours to take the original page down.

A spokeswoman for Facebook said "We are considering our next steps in light of the court judgment and we have nothing further to add at this stage."

The page, called 'Keeping our kids safe from predators', was no longer visible at 20:00GMT but a new page entitled 'Keeping our kids safe from predators 2' had appeared, gaining over 2,400 likes in just a few hours.

It is not clear whether the creator of the new page is the same as the user that set up the original one.

However, the new page's administrator wrote in a posting at 15:30GMT "Thats (sic) the first page gone ( sad day."

More than 5,000 people had liked the original page before its removal.

Some of the latest posts were written after the judge made his ruling.

Facebook is understood to have removed the man's photo and comments made about him but his legal team insisted that the page should be shut down.

Facebook ordered to remove paedophile monitoring page | NDTV Gadgets
 
Facebook may decide if you will get an interview call

Employers turn to social media sites like Facebook when deciding whether to even call a job candidate for an interview, according to a new study.
Research from a global security software company discovered that more than 90 percent of human resources professionals search for unprotected social media profiles in order to assess a candidate's suitability.

What employers find online has huge implications on a job seeker's chance of even getting an interview, BusinessNewsDaily reported.

The study was based on surveys of 230 human resources professionals in the US and UK, and 4,400 job seekers between the ages of 18 and 25.

Researchers found that job candidates who display inebriated photos on their social media profiles reduce their chances of securing an interview by 84 percent, while 90 percent of human resources managers considered n*de photos a reason to not set up an interview.

Other actions seen on social media that can cost job candidate an employment opportunity include evidence of obnoxious behaviour, negative or derogatory comments about a previous employer or extremist views about topics such as race.

Overall, nearly 50 percent of the hiring managers surveyed have turned down a job applicant because of their online profile.

Tony Anscombe, the ambassador of free products for AVG Technologies, said the Internet, and social networks in particular, have changed the way that human resources professionals approach the recruitment process.

"Nowadays, online content posted about, or by a candidate, has become the modern-day equivalent of a first interview," Anscombe said.

It's not just Facebook that hiring managers are searching to find out about prospective candidates. The research shows other sites they turn to include Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Flickr.

Facebook may decide if you will get an interview call | NDTV Gadgets
 
Facebook ends democracy experiment after voters fail to show up

facebook-data-635.jpg


Facebook closed the polls Monday on letting democracy rule when it comes to policy changes.
A referendum to strip Facebook users of the power to endorse or reject policy changes through popular vote was opposed by a majority of voters, but not enough people cast ballots to make the results binding.

The referendum was opposed by 87 percent of the 668,125 members who cast ballots, according to a posting on the Facebook governance site.

But Facebook had indicated that if fewer than 30 percent of Facebook's one billion users voted, the California-based firm would be free to go forward with a plan to eliminate the voting structure and integrate Instagram data for ad purposes.

Facebook bought smartphone-picture sharing service Instagram early this year in a cash and stock deal valued at a billion dollars at the time.

A week ago, Facebook asked its members to vote on an overhaul of privacy and other policies in what on Monday became the last binding referendum of its kind at the huge social network.

The social media giant, which has drawn fresh fire from privacy activists for the proposed changes on how it manages users' data, said the poll would be binding only if it gets responses from 30 percent of members or 300 million people.

The changes end the voting process, and also would permit sharing of information with its newly acquired photo-sharing service, Instagram.

Additionally, the changes would make it easier for advertisers and others to send messages on Facebook, limiting users' control, according to privacy rights groups.

Activists have raised a ruckus, saying the new policies, if implemented, could violate some laws or Facebook's agreement with US regulators earlier this year after complaints from privacy groups.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center urged Facebook users to vote no, saying the changes "would end user voting, remove spam blocking, and combine personal information from Facebook with data from photo-blogging site Instagram."

Facebook said in a message to users last month that the vote system implemented in 2009"resulted in a system that incentivized the quantity of comments over their quality."

Facebook's stock price tumbled after its hotly anticipated market debut in May at $38 a share, in part due to concerns over ad and revenue growth.

However, Facebook shares have rallied in recent weeks and were up slightly to $27.92 on Monday.

Facebook ends democracy experiment after voters fail to show up | NDTV Gadgets
 
Facebook to take on Snapchat with a new app

New Delhi: Facebook is all set to contend against the photo sharing service Snapchat that allows users to send impermanent photo messages to one another. Your chat partner can view the photo for an alloted amount of time.
According to a report from AllThingsD, the social networking giant is testing its built-in-house version of a Snapchat-like app.
It further says that Facebook plans to launch the app in the coming weeks, sometime before the end of the year. However, AllThingsD does not have any information about the name of the app.

.

"After a user opens the new app, they're presented with a list of their current message threads between them and their friends. Hold your finger down on one of the threads, and a timer comes up to ask how long the message should be viewable. From there, you're able to send the message which, just like on Snapchat, will only be viewable for a fixed period of time," said AllThingsD.

Facebook to take on Snapchat with a new app - Tech - IBNLive
 
All you need to know about Facebook’s Graph Search

Facebook introduced a new version of search on the site called Graph Search late yesterday night India time. According to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook now has three pillars, namely Newsfeed, Timeline and now Graph Search. Graph Search is still in beta mode and when it does go live it will be available on desktop first. Mobile version of Graph Search will still take some time.

So what is that you as active Facebook users need to know about Graph Search? Here’s a quick look at exactly how it works.

• How it looks: Graph Search will appear as a bigger search bar at the top of each page once it goes live. When you search for something on Facebook, that search not only determines the set of results you get, but also serves as a title for the page. Facebook is giving users the option to edit the title of the page as well and thus create their own custom view of the content that you search/share.

• This is not web search: Zuckerberg pointed this out at the very beginning of his presentation. It’s not going to give your best possible results and links like a regular web search. Instead Graph search will look at phrases that you type and give you results based on what your friends have shared.

• What it will let you search for now: Currently search will focus on Photos, People, Places and Interests. So if you want to search for say people who live in your city with the same interests like a Tv show, Graph search will show you the relevant results. Every time you check into a restaurant or mall, Facebook’s Graph Search could show it to your friends if they too search for the same place.

• What about privacy Again Zuckerberg was keen to emphasise this during the press event and it seems Graph Search will not shred your privacy settings. Only results that you have shared with friends, friends of friends, or the public, will be found by other people. Photos, updates and links that keep at a custom setting of “Me only” won’t be displayed in Graph Search.




All you need to know about Facebook’s Graph Search | Firstpost
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top Bottom