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Zuckerberg vetoed ban on certain filters despite concerns for kids: Lawsuit

Zuckerberg vetoed ban on certain filters despite concerns for kids: Lawsuit

by | Nov 28, 2023 | Technology



By Anthony Aarons and Madlin Mekelburg


Mark Zuckerberg vetoed a proposal at Meta Platforms Inc. to ban filters that simulate the effects of plastic surgery, despite concerns that the technology could harm girls’ mental health, according to a lawsuit by more than 30 US states.

 


The allegations about the filters, the number of users under the age of 13 and whether the company misrepresented the safety of its Facebook and Instagram platforms were detailed in a largely unredacted copy of the suit distributed Monday by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The filters issue provides additional context for the alleged misconduct at the heart of the complaint, Bonta said.


The suit, initially filed in federal court in Oakland last month, added to growing scrutiny of social media giants over how they serve their youngest users. Meta has said it’s committed to keeping teens safe online and has introduced more than 30 tools to support youths and their families.


“Meta knows that what it is doing is bad for kids — period,” Bonta said in a statement. “Thanks to our unredacted federal complaint, it is now there in black and white, and it is damning.”


The company said in a statement that “while filters exist across every major social platform and smartphone camera, Meta bans those that directly promote cosmetic surgery, changes in skin color or extreme weight loss.” 


“We want teens to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online,” the Menlo Park, California-based company said. “We’ve spent a decade working on these issues and hiring people who have dedicated their careers to keeping young people safe and supported online.”


According to the lawsuit, in 2020, Zuckerberg, the company’s chief executive officer, was given internal memos on filters that detailed Meta’s consultation with independent experts “about the impact of these effects on body dysmorphia and eating disorders,” especially for teenage girls.


“The document reminded Meta’s senior leaders that academic researchers had demonstrated that ‘Facebook and Instagram use is associated with body image issues and anxiety among users and particularly among women and teenage girls,”’ according the lawsuit, which cited the document.


But in early April, Zuckerberg canceled a meeting to discuss the issue and then vetoed the proposal to ban camera filters that simulated plastic surgery, according to the unredacted complaint. “Zuckerberg dismissed concerns about the filters (from the public, from experts, and from his own employees) as ‘paternalistic,”’ according to the lawsuit.


The unredacted version of the suit includes claims that Meta “coveted and pursued” young users on its social media platforms and failed to pursue strategies that might limit use by children under 13, due to concerns that it might harm business.


The company allegedly doesn’t take action on accounts of possibly underage users unless it can verify they actually belong to people under 13. The states claim that Meta has a “backlog of 2-2.5 million under 13 accounts awaiting action — and permits the collection of data from those accounts until Meta can evaluate the reported account.”


The company said that because verifying age is a “complex industry challenge,” it is supporting a federal legislative proposal to requires app store to get parents’ approval whenever their teens under 16 download apps.


The complaint says company documents show Meta set goals for the amount of time users spend on the platform — despite public statements to the contrary — and Zuckerberg prioritized that metric over reducing the number of notifications delivered to users.


The states also allege that the company said publicly that its platform was safe, when internal data showed that users experienced disproportionate harm online.


“Meta represented to the public that its Social Media Platforms were far safer for young users than they actually were,” lawyers for the states wrote.


State and federal judges in California overseeing more than 700 personal injury claims have allowed families to move forward with negligence allegations against Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap. The companies also face more than 400 suits by school districts alleging they have created a public nuisance.


The case is California v. Meta Platforms Inc., 23-cv-05448, US District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).



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Judge denies Meta’s bid to push US FTC into court on privacy settlement

Judge denies Meta’s bid to push US FTC into court on privacy settlement

by | Nov 28, 2023 | Technology


Meta shares fell as much as 1.2% to $334.35 on the news. The company said it was considering legal options and opposes the FTC’s efforts to amend the deal (Photo: Bloomberg)


By Leah Nylen


The US Federal Trade Commission can move forward with revisions to Meta Platforms Inc.’s 2020 privacy settlement after a judge denied the social network’s bid to force the agency into court.

 


US District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington ruled Monday that the federal court didn’t have jurisdiction over the FTC settlement with the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. 


Meta shares fell as much as 1.2% to $334.35 on the news. The company said it was considering legal options and opposes the FTC’s efforts to amend the deal.


“Today’s decision does not address the substance of the FTC’s allegations, which are without merit,” Meta spokesperson Christopher Sgro said. “We will continue to invest in our privacy program and remain focused on protecting people’s privacy.”


The FTC declined to comment. 


Under the 2020 deal, Meta agreed to pay a $5 billion fine — the largest ever imposed for a privacy violation — and make changes to its internal privacy checks, including increased responsibility for the company’s board and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to protect user data. 


In May, the FTC said Meta has repeatedly violated its privacy promises and opened an internal proceeding to modify the 2020 settlement. The agency said it would seek to change the earlier settlement to ban Meta’s use of facial recognition tools or monetizing children’s data. 


Weeks later, Meta petitioned Kelly — who had approved part of the settlement before it was finalized — to bar the agency from moving forward in-house and to instead file a case in federal court. 


“The parties here are sophisticated ones that, at least in theory, could have proceeded differently,” Kelly wrote. “They didn’t. And the court may not rewrite the parties’ agreement to make it so.”

First Published: Nov 28 2023 | 7:16 AM IST



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Google will start deleting ‘inactive’ accounts in December, check details

Google will start deleting ‘inactive’ accounts in December, check details

by | Nov 28, 2023 | Technology



Have a Google account you haven’t used in a while? If you want to keep it from disappearing, you should sign in before the end of the week.


Under Google’s updated inactive account policy, which the tech giant announced back in May, accounts that haven’t been used in at least two years could be deleted. Accounts deemed inactive could be erased beginning Friday.


If you have an account that’s deemed inactive and at risk for deletion, you should receive notices from Google sent to the email affiliated with that account and its recovery address (if one exits). But if you’re still catching up on this new policy and want to ensure that your content on Google Drive, Docs, Gmail and more is saved here’s what you need to know.

WHY IS GOOGLE DELETING INACTIVE ACCOUNTS

In May’s announcement, Google credited its inactive account update to security issues.


Accounts that haven’t been used for a long time are more likely to be compromised, the company said noting that forgotten or unattended accounts typically have old passwords, often lack two-factor authentication and receive fewer security checks. As a result, these accounts could be hijacked and used for spam or other malicious content, as well as identity theft.

HOW CAN I PREVENT MY ACCOUNT FROM BEING DELETED?

The easiest way to keep your Google account active (and thus prevent it from being deleted) is to sign in at least once every two years.


Other actions that fulfill account activity requirements include sending or scrolling through emails, using Google search and watching YouTube videos (YouTube is owned by Google) all while signed into your Google account. Existing subscriptions set up through your Google account, including profiles for third-party apps and publications, can also account for activity.


Preserving content on Google Photos requires a specific sign-in. As previously announced by Google, Photos content may be similarly deleted after two years of inactivity meaning you should open the application every so often to keep images from going into the trash.

ARE THERE ANY EXCEPTIONS TO THIS POLICY?

Only personal Google accounts that haven’t been used for two years or more will be impacted under this inactive account update. Accounts made for organizations, like schools or companies, will not be affected, Google says.


Per Google’s online policy, other exceptions include Google accounts that manage active minor accounts, accounts containing a gift card balance as well as those that have been used to purchase Google products, apps or subscriptions that are ongoing.


As of May’s announcement, Google also said there were no plans to delete accounts with YouTube videos. The Associated Press reached out to Google Monday to confirm that’s still the case.

CAN I SAVE DATA FROM MY GOOGLE ACCOUNT?

Beyond keeping your Google account active, there’s a few tools to help manage and backup your data.


Google Takeout, for example, allows users to download and export account data outside of Google at any time. And its Inactive Account Manager lets you choose what would happen to your account and data if it becomes inactive including options to send select files to trusted contacts or delete the account entirely. Google’s online policy also says the company can work with immediate family to close the account of a deceased loved one and/or provide some account content without sharing login credentials on a case-by-case basis.


Google asks users to provide and update a recovery email for their account which is also helpful for sending inactive account notices and other communications.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)



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Gen AI likely to have more impact on white-collar jobs than blue-collar

Gen AI likely to have more impact on white-collar jobs than blue-collar

by | Nov 27, 2023 | Technology



Generative AI is likely to become a much greater threat for white-collar roles, such as accounting and book-keeping, rather than blue-collar jobs, a report said on Monday.


Many administrative roles involve repetitive tasks such as scheduling appointments or answering and directing calls, which can easily be replicated by generative AI, according to global learning company Pearson’s Skills Outlook report — ‘Gen AI Proof Jobs’.


The report cited that in India around 30 per cent or more time spent on some white-collar tasks every week can be performed by generative AI.


However, generative AI can do less than 1 per cent of a blue collar workers’ job in a week, it said.


“As employees look to the future, understanding which jobs are at risk from AI allows them to prepare. They should also consider where new roles might be created by Gen AI,” Pearson Workforce Skills President Mike Howells said.


“Workers and employers should look at how they can ride this wave of change by using the best of AI and the best of human skills together,” he said.


Pearson’s Skills Outlook series looks at ‘Gen AI Proof Jobs’, based on an analysis of impact of generative AI on more than 5,000 jobs in five countries — Australia, Brazil, India, the US, and the UK.


As per the report, in India, the most impacted white-collar jobs are accounting and book-keeping clerks (46 per cent), word processor and related operators (40 per cent), administrative secretaries and related associate professionals (38 per cent), stall and market salespersons (30 per cent), and accountants (28 per cent).


In the blue-collar job categories, weavers, knitters and related roles will be impacted 17 per cent, basketry weavers, brush makers and related work by 17 per cent, weaving and knitting machine operators by 16 per cent, waiters and bartenders by 15 per cent and bakers, pastry and confectionery makers by 15 per cent, it added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)



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TCS ties up with Amazon Web Services to launch generative AI practice

TCS ties up with Amazon Web Services to launch generative AI practice

by | Nov 27, 2023 | Technology


TCS is at present focused on certifying over 25,000 employees on AWS generative AI services.(Photo: Bloomberg)


The country’s largest IT services exporter TCS on Monday announced its tie-up with Amazon Web Services to launch a dedicated generative artificial intelligence practice.


The Tata Group company recently announced that it has imparted foundation training on GenAI for 1 lakh employees across the world.


The practice will focus on using responsible AI frameworks and its “Paceport innovation hubs” to build a comprehensive portfolio of solutions and services for every industry sector, as per an official statement.


It has already bagged a customer, with the world’s largest hotel franchising company Wyndham Hotels and Resorts extending its strategic partnership with TCS and AWS to manage its digital transformation journey.


Generative AI has captured the attention of enterprises globally for its potential to significantly reshape industries, the statement said, adding that TCS has already been working on GenAI with clients.


TCS is at present focused on certifying over 25,000 employees on AWS generative AI services.


The company’s consultants will help clients explore the most impactful use cases in their business context, experiment collaboratively and co-innovate generative AI-powered solutions.


“To make generative AI deployment effective and trust-worthy, we must approach the technology holistically across multiple dimensions, including creativity, productivity, and business value,” Krishna Mohan, Deputy Head, TCS AI, Cloud unit, said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Nov 27 2023 | 7:39 PM IST



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Paris mayor quitting Musk’s ‘global sewer’ platform X ahead of Olympics

Paris mayor quitting Musk’s ‘global sewer’ platform X ahead of Olympics

by | Nov 27, 2023 | Technology



The mayor of future Olympic host city Paris says she is quitting X, accusing Elon Musk ‘s platform previously known as Twitter of spreading disinformation and hatred and of becoming a gigantic global sewer that is toxic for democracy and constructive debate.


With its thousands of anonymous accounts and its troll farms, life on Twitter is the exact opposite of democratic life, Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in a long post titled, Why I am leaving Twitter.


I refuse to endorse this evil scheme, she wrote.


An Associated Press request for comment emailed to X got an automated reply, Busy now, please check back later.


Hidalgo’s office said posts on Monday in French and English that announced her departure from X would be the Socialist mayor’s last and that she will then close her account which has 1.5 million followers at the end of the week.


Her office said that Paris City Hall is keeping its own separate account on X.


Hidalgo’s withdrawal from X follows a fractious period for the mayor. She has faced criticism from political opponents over the expense and need for a trip she made in October to the French South Pacific territories of New Caledonia and Tahiti.


The Olympic surfing competition next July is being held on Tahiti’s world-famous Teahupo’o wave.


She also locked horns last week with government ministers over the French capital’s readiness for the 2024 Summer Games. Hidalgo said some transport options won’t be ready for the July 26-Aug. 11 Olympics. Firing back, Transport Minister Clement Beaune said the mayor’s comments were a shameful attempt to divert attention from her Pacific voyage.


Hidalgo’s office said her decision to leave X was not in response to the recent criticism but was thought-out over time. Musk took control of Twitter in October 2022 and has dismantled some of its core features.


We are dealing here with an utterly clear political project to push aside democracy and its values in favor of powerful private interests, Hidalgo wrote.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Nov 27 2023 | 7:26 PM IST



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