Tag: facebook

DOJ Wants to Break Up Google Ad Biz; Facebook Getting AI Dating Assistant; Uber Launches Prepaid Passes; WhatsApp Adds Built in Translation

September 23rd, 2025

The Department of Justice wants to break up Google’s ad business as the antitrust case against the search giant rolls on. Arstechnica.com reports that US District Judge Leonie Brinkema has already ruled that Google operated an illegal monopoly in digital advertising, and now we address the remedies that may apply. Google’s had mixed luck with antitrust rulings lately. The DOJ is asking the court to force Google to spin off Google Ad Manager, the marketplace through which advertisers buy ads on Google’s platform. The government was able to convince the court that Google’s control of Ad Manager gave it an unfair advantage that boosted its own services, but is a breakup the proper remedy? That will be the issue for the court to eventually rule on.

As if the myriad of dating apps wasn’t enough, now Facebook is bowing an AI dating assistant. According to TechCrunch.com, the chatbot is supposed to help users find matches that are more closely tailored to what they are looking for. You can put in parameters like location, job or social interests, and so forth…then ask the AI to help refine things. Meta has also rolled out Meet Cute, which gives users a weekly ‘surprise match’ based on its algorithm. Facebook Dating matches are up 10% they say for people 18-29 year over year. They have ‘hundreds of thousands’ of users. That’s a bunch, but Tinder has about 50 million daily active users!

Uber is launching prepaid passes, which let you pay a discounted price in advance on frequently taken trips. Cnet.com reports that the passes are available in bundles of 5, 10, 15, or 20 rides. The bigger the bundle you buy, the bigger the discount. The discounts run 5 to 20%. You do have to select a 1 hour request window, and Uber will display a countdown so customers know how many passes they have left. The feature is available in75 cities.

WhatsApp has rolled out built-in text translations on iPhone and Android. Theverge.com says that it is a gradual rollout, starting today in 1 to 1 chats, groups, and Channel update messages. You turn the feature on by long pressing down on messages and touching the ‘Translate’ option to pick the language you want to translate to or from. Support for English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, and Arabic will initially be available for Android users, while iPhone users can translate messages into more than 19 languages at launch. Android users can also enable automatic translation for entire chat threads to apply the feature to all incoming messages.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Meta Will Pay $1.4 Billion to Texas Over Facial Recognition; Auto Makers Still Selling Driver Data; Twitch Gets TikTok-Like Refresh; Instagram Creators Can Make Own AI Chatbots

July 30th, 2024

Meta has settled with Texas over the use of facial recognition on Facebook…to the tune of $1.4 billion. Reuters.com reports that the huge fine resolves a lawsuit dating from 2022 that claimed that the “Tag Suggestions” feature on photos uploaded to Facebook violated the state’s Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. It’s the largest settlement ever resulting from an action brought by a single state, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Meta admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.

Automakers continue to sell your driving data, and some Congressmen have complained to the Federal Trade Commission about the practice. According to mashable.com, Senators Ron Wyden and Ed Markey sent a letter to the FTC, asking the commission to investigate the continued practice of car manufacturers collecting and then selling the driving data of its customers — which includes information like the exact time, distance, speed, and braking behavior of every auto trip. This data is then offered to insurance companies. So if your insurance mysteriously went up with no tickets or accidents, this could be why. the Senators said in their letter that “Companies should not be selling Americans’ data without their consent, period. But it is particularly insulting for automakers that are selling cars for tens of thousands of dollars to then squeeze out a few additional pennies of profit with consumers’ private data,”

Twitch is getting a new look that looks a lot like TikTok. Theverge.com says the new app is rolling out on Android and iOS. The main change is that it will now open on a feed of content you might like, instead of on the ‘Following’ tab. This is also what Threads and others have done to try to drive people to their algorithm based feeds. More than 50% of Twitch users ‘primarily’ watch on their phones. The app is supposed to make it quote “easy to find streamers that you already love while also exploring and discovering new streamers.”

Soon, if you send a direct message to a big Instagram creator, you may hear back from an AI bot they have made. Engadget.com reports that Meta is rolling out its AI Studio, and the tool box will allow Instagram creators to make an AI persona that can answer questions and chat with their followers and fans on their behalf. Meta says the new creator AIs are meant to address a long-running issue for Instagram users with large followings: it can be nearly impossible for the service’s most popular users to keep up with the flood of messages they receive every day. Meta claims that the creators’ AI will function as ‘an extension of themselves.’

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
How Americans See News on Major Web Platforms; X Makes Likes (Mostly) Private; Apple Stock Hits All-Time High After WWDC Keynote on AI; Waymo-2nd Recall After Robotaxi Hits Phone Pole

June 12th, 2024

Pew Research.org has just released a study on how Americans get news and information from the likes of TikTok, X, Instagram, and Facebook. The study surveyed over 10,000 adult internet users in the US between March 18th and 24th of 2024. Here are some interesting headlines. First, the majority of Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok users say keeping up with news is not a reason they use the sites. X (formerly Twitter) is the exception to this pattern: Most X users say that keeping up with news is either a major or minor reason they use the platform, and about half say they regularly get news there. That said, users do see news on all four platforms…particularly through opinion or humor based content…in other words, they’re seeing news through memes! Those who regularly get news on Facebook and Instagram are more likely than those on TikTok and X to get news from friends, family and acquaintances. More news consumers get news from influencers or other people they don’t know personally on TikTok than on other platforms. And news outlets or journalists are a more common source of news on X than on any other site. Lastly, and in general, Democrats tend to be more skeptical than Republicans of the news they see on X, while the reverse is true on Facebook. Among those who regularly get news on X, for example, 42% of Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party say they often see news there that seems inaccurate, compared with 31% of Republicans and GOP leaners. As one talk host I used to manage used to say…and still does, actually…’We’re doomed….doomed!’

The platform known as X (why do I feel like I’m echoing the old ‘artist formerly known as Prince) will now make likes mostly private. Engadget.com says this is coming from Elon Musk, who calls it an important change so people can “like posts without getting attacked for doing so.” Hiding likes up to now has been a feature of the paid X Premium tier. Premium costs $16 a month and does cut ads from timelines. You will still be able to see who liked your own tweets and the count of likes and other metrics…but others won’t be able to.

Apple got a nice stock price boost after introducing ‘Apple Intelligence,’ its flavor of AI at the WWDC keynote Monday. The stock moved above the $200 per share mark, and hit a new all- time high in intraday trading, according to macrumors.com. We had reported that Nvidia had briefly passed Apple last week to become the world’s second most valuable company after Microsoft, but Apple has retaken the #2 spot…with a market cap of $3.1 trillion. Microsoft is at $3.2 trillion at the moment.

Waymo has put out a recall for all 672 of its iPace EV Jaguars after one hit a phone pole in Phoenix. Techcrunch.com reports that the Alphabet division had to recall software for vehicles in February after two one them hit the same pickup that was being towed by a tow truck. According to Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna, this is just the 2nd voluntary recall by the autonomous vehicle company. Waymo is being proactive after incidents with GM-owned Cruise, including one where a Cruise vehicle hit and dragged a pedestrian in San Francisco last year.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Microsoft Better Battery Prototype; Amazon Launches Matter Casting at CES; Meta to Restrict Teen Instagram & Facebook Accounts-Blocking Self-Harm & Eating Disorder Content; Google Chromecast-Watch TikTok on Your TV

January 9th, 2024

Researchers at Microsoft and the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) say they’ve discovered a way to reduce the lithium content in batteries by as much as 70%, using a process that shows the potential for artificial intelligence to significantly accelerate all sorts of scientific research. Geekwire.com reports that The researchers used AI and high-performance computing to identify promising materials for batteries in a matter of days, successfully shortcutting a process that would normally take years or decades, according to an announcement Tuesday from Microsoft and the lab. Researchers acknowledge that the chemistry has yet to be fully proven, and might not work at a larger scale. They say it’s nonetheless a promising development in the quest for alternatives to traditional lithium-ion batteries, which are widely used but have drawbacks such as scarcity, cost, environmental impact and safety.

Amazon just showed off Matter Casting at CES. The system is an interoperable rival to Apple’s AirPlay. Initially, it will only support streaming content from Amazon’s Prime Video app to Echo Show devices, but the feature will support Fire TV in the coming months according to macrumors.com. Later in the year, it will work across a range of other video services, including Plex, Starz, Pluto TV, Sling TV, and ZDF. The Matter standard allows interoperability between platforms, and is backed by Amazon, Google, and Apple. Besides streaming, it is designed to make internet of things devices in your home from your fridge to your thermostat…all play nicely together…eventually.

Meta has announced that it will automatically limit some types of content teens can see on their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Techcrunch.com says those accounts will be automatically restricted from seeing harmful content, such as posts about self-harm, graphic violence and eating disorders. That content was already kept from Reels and Explore, but now will not be shown in Feed and Stories…even if shared by someone a teen follows. Meta is also automatically placing all teen accounts in Instagram’s and Facebook’s most restrictive content control setting. The setting is automatically applied for new teens joining the platforms, but now it will be applied to teens who are already using the apps. The content recommendation controls, which are called “Sensitive Content Control” on Instagram and “Reduce” on Facebook, are designed to make it harder for users to come across potentially sensitive content or accounts in places like Search and Explore.

Not that more people need more ways to view TikTok, but now Google has announced at CES that they have added TikTok compatibility to Chromecast. Cnet.com reports that in addition, Google has rolled out Fast Pair support for quicker Bluetooth connections…this will work on LG TVs with built in Chromecast this year in addition to the Chromecast dongle. As for the TikTok content…that compatibility is available now…you can stream content including live videos from your phone or tablet over Chromecast to your TV.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.

Tag: facebook

DOJ Wants to Break Up Google Ad Biz; Facebook Getting AI Dating Assistant; Uber Launches Prepaid Passes; WhatsApp Adds Built in Translation

Meta Will Pay $1.4 Billion to Texas Over Facial Recognition; Auto Makers Still Selling Driver Data; Twitch Gets TikTok-Like Refresh; Instagram Creators Can Make Own AI Chatbots

How Americans See News on Major Web Platforms; X Makes Likes (Mostly) Private; Apple Stock Hits All-Time High After WWDC Keynote on AI; Waymo-2nd Recall After Robotaxi Hits Phone Pole

Microsoft Better Battery Prototype; Amazon Launches Matter Casting at CES; Meta to Restrict Teen Instagram & Facebook Accounts-Blocking Self-Harm & Eating Disorder Content; Google Chromecast-Watch TikTok on Your TV