Tag Archives: Metas

Zuckerberg: The Face of Meta’s AI Revolution

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Meta has dedicated months to enhancing its artificial intelligence capabilities, whether that involves attracting top talent from competitors, acquiring an AI startup, or planning to construct a data center the size of Manhattan.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, asserts that this significant investment is yielding results. In a new Note shared on Wednesday before the quarterly revenue report, he outlines his vision for what he refers to as “super intelligence.”

Zuckerberg notes, “In recent months, we have begun to reveal glimpses of AI systems enhancing our capabilities. Though the improvements are gradual, they are undeniable. We are now on the path towards ultra-intelligence.”

Wall Street investors are responding positively to Zuckerberg’s bold strategy, with stocks climbing by double digits following the company’s unexpectedly strong financial results for the quarter.

While Zuckerberg did not elaborate on the differences between “Superintelligence” and standard artificial intelligence, he acknowledged that it introduces “new safety concerns.”

He emphasized the need for stringent measures to mitigate these risks and to be cautious with what is made open source.

Zuckerberg contends that Meta distinguishes itself from other AI firms, aiming to “bring something personal and intimate to everyone.” He notes that other companies primarily leverage “super intelligence” for productivity, focusing on the automation of “all valuable jobs.”

He remarks, “The remainder of this decade is pivotal in determining whether superintelligence serves as a tool for personal empowerment or a force aimed at replacing large segments of society.”

Investors are curious: Does AI signify cash flow?

Investors are searching for indicators that Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, is spending its billions wisely. The social media giant reported second-quarter earnings that exceeded market expectations, with stocks gaining 10% after the closing of the New York Stock Exchange. Analysts predict META will need to address whether the revenue generated will offset the substantial capital expenditures related to recruitment and infrastructure.

Minda Smiley, a senior analyst at Emarketer, stated, “AI-led investments in Meta’s advertising division are likely to continue yielding returns and enhancing revenues as the company invests billions into its AI ambitions like super intelligence.” However, she cautioned that Meta’s significant spending on AI initiatives will persistently invite questions from investors eager for tangible returns.

Meta reported earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14, with total earnings at $475.2 billion, marking the latest in a series of quarterly successes that surpassed Wall Street’s financial forecasts despite substantial AI investments.

The company also projected revenues between $47.5 billion and $50.5 billion for the third quarter of 2025.

Zuckerberg provided minimal specifics in the notes; however, one clear takeaway is that Meta recorded a 12% rise in total expenses for the second quarter of 2025, reaching $270.7 billion. Capital expenditures for this period amounted to $170.1 billion.

Meta outlined its anticipated spending for upcoming months, budgeting between $114 billion and $118 billion in total costs for 2025. From this, the company expects capital expenditures to fall between $660 billion and $720 billion, revising its earlier forecast of $640 billion to $720 billion, which was increased from $600 billion to $65 billion.

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Looking ahead to 2026, Meta anticipates that total costs for that year will surpass those of 2025.

According to the company, “The primary drivers of growth will be the rapid expansion of infrastructure and the associated costs of increased operational capabilities as we broaden our infrastructure assets.” Additionally, employee compensation is expected to be the second-largest growth factor as Meta recruits technical talent for its priority areas and acknowledges the one-year compensation for employees throughout 2025.

Meta is forming a new Superintelligence Labs team, recruiting talent from competing AI firms. Initially, they invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI for a 49% stake, appointing startup CEO Alexandr Wang as the chief AI officer. Reports indicate that Meta has successfully attracted engineers and other personnel from various startups, offering lucrative reward packages, including one reported to exceed $200 million for at least one hire from Apple or GitHub (according to Bloomberg).

Mike Pulx, director of research at Forester, stated, “To excel in the super intelligence race, it’s essential to recruit the best talent, and Meta is making significant efforts to attract leading AI professionals.” He added, “They’re leveraging their substantial financial resources to invest in data centers and support AI initiatives, while also providing attractive packages to pull in top talent from competitors.”

Reality Lab continues to generate revenue, contributing $370 million in the second quarter, but Zuckerberg maintains a vibrant outlook on AI glasses. He likens wearing AI glasses to using contact lenses, suggesting that without them, one faces a cognitive disadvantage.

He mentioned, “Personally, I believe that not having AI-enabled glasses puts you at a cognitive disadvantage. It’s akin to being in the forefront of evolving life sciences.”

The company’s primary revenue source, advertising, remains on an upward trajectory. Meta recorded $46.6 billion in advertising revenue for the second quarter, significantly up from $38.3 billion in the previous year’s quarter. Susan Li, Meta’s CFO, noted in a call with investors that she does not anticipate WhatsApp, a new advertising channel, becoming a “meaningful contributor” to growth in the coming years.

Li added, “We expect that ads on WhatsApp and Status will garner lower average prices than Facebook or Instagram ads due to challenges in the WhatsApp monetization market and limited targeting information.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Meta’s AI Memorable Book Verbatim – Can Cost Billions

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In April, authors and publishers protested utilizing copyrighted books for AI training

Vuk Valcic/Alamy Live News

Amid legal battles, billions are at stake as courts in the US and UK deliberate on whether technology firms can legitimately train AI models using copyrighted literature. Numerous lawsuits have been filed by authors and publishers, revealing that at least one AI model has not only utilized popular texts for training but has also memorized portions of these works verbatim.

The crux of the dispute lies in whether AI developers hold the legal authority to employ copyrighted materials without obtaining prior permission. Previous research highlighted that many large language models (LLMs) powering popular AI chatbots were trained on the “Books3” dataset. Developers of these models argued they were not infringing copyright, claiming they were generating new combinations of words rather than directly reproducing the copyrighted content.

However, recent investigations have examined various AI models to determine the extent of verbatim recall from their training datasets. While most models did not retain exact texts, one particular model from Meta remembered nearly the entire text of a specific book. Should the ruling be unfavorable to the company, researchers predict damages could exceed $1 billion.

“AI models are not merely ‘plagiarism machines’ as some suggest; they do not just capture general relationships among words,” explained Mark Remley from Stanford University. “The diversity in responses among different models complicates the establishment of universal legal standards.”

Previously, Lemley defended Meta in a copyright case involving generative AI known as Kadrey V Meta Platforms. The plaintiff, whose works were used to train Meta’s AI models, filed a class-action lawsuit against the tech giant for copyright infringement. The case is currently under consideration in Northern California.

In January 2025, Remley announced he had parted ways with Meta as a client, yet he remains convinced of the company’s favorable chances in the lawsuit. Emile Vasquez, a Meta spokesperson, stated, “Fair use of copyrighted materials is crucial. We challenge the plaintiff’s claims, and the full record presents a different narrative.”

In this new study, Lemley and his team evaluated the memory capabilities of the AI by dividing excerpts from a small book into prefix and suffix segments, checking if a model prompted with the prefix could recall the suffix. For instance, one excerpt from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was divided into a prefix that read, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they broke things and creatures and then retreated,” and a suffix that concluded with, “We went back to money and their vast carelessness, which kept them together and allowed them to clean up any mess that other people had made.”

Researchers calculated the probability of each AI model completing the excerpt accurately and compared these probabilities against random chance.

The tested excerpts included selections from 36 copyrighted works, featuring popular titles by authors like George RR Martin’s Games and Cheryl Sandberg’s Lean In. Additionally, excerpts from books authored by plaintiffs in the Kadrey V Meta Platforms case were also examined.

The experiments involved 13 open-source AI models, including those created by Meta, Google, DeepMind, EleutherAI, and Microsoft. Most companies outside of Meta did not provide comments, with Microsoft opting not to comment.

The analysis revealed that Meta’s Llama 3.1 70b model had a significant recall of texts from JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter tome, as well as from The Great Gatsby and George Orwell’s 1984. Other models, however, showed minimal recall of the texts, including those penned by the plaintiffs. Meta declined to comment on these findings.

Researchers estimate that an AI model found to have infringed on merely 3% of the Books3 dataset could incur almost $1 billion in damages.

This technique has potential as a “forensic tool” for gauging the extent of AI memory, as noted by Randy McCarthy from Hallestill Law Office in Oklahoma. Yet, it does not address whether companies are legally permitted to train AI models on copyrighted works under US “fair use” provisions.

McCarthy points out that AI firms generally utilize copyrighted material for training. “The real question is whether they had the right to do so,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, in the UK, memory assessment is crucial from a copyright perspective, according to Robert Lands from Howard Kennedy Law Office in London. UK copyright legislation adheres to “fair dealing,” which presents much narrower allowances for copyright infringement compared to US fair use doctrine. Therefore, he posits that AI models retaining pirated content would not satisfy this exception.

Topics:

  • artificial intelligence/
  • Law

Source: www.newscientist.com

British Campaigners Warn Against Meta’s Plans to Use Automation in Risk Assessment

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Campaigners for internet safety are calling on the UK Communications Regulator to restrict the application of artificial intelligence in essential risk assessments, following reports that Meta, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, intends to automate these checks.

Ofcom stated that it would “consider the concerns” outlined in the letters from campaigners, as highlighted in last month’s report, which indicated that up to 90% of all risk assessments for the owners of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp would be conducted by AI.

Social media platforms are crucial in assessing how harm manifests on their services and how they can alleviate potential dangers, particularly regarding the protection of child users and the prevention of illegal content, in accordance with the UK’s online safety legislation. The risk assessment process is deemed a vital element of this law.

In correspondence addressed to Ofcom’s CEO, Melanie Dawes, organizations like the Molly Rose Foundation, NSPCC, and Internet Watch Foundation criticized the prospect of AI-led risk assessments as “a backward and bewildering move.”

They urged, “We recommend advocating publicly that risk assessments are rarely seen as ‘appropriate and sufficient.’

The letter also called on the watchdog to “confront the belief that the platform can opt to bypass the risk assessment process.”

A spokesperson from Ofcom remarked, “Who has completed, reviewed, or approved the risk assessment? We are taking the concerns raised in this letter into account and will respond in due course.”

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Mehta commented that the letter misrepresented the company’s safety strategies, which focus on high standards and adherence to regulations.

A Meta spokesperson stated, “We have not relied on AI for making decisions regarding risk. Our specialists have developed tools that assist teams in determining when legal and policy obligations pertain to a specific product. We have enhanced our capability to manage harmful content with human-supervised technology, leading to significantly better safety outcomes.”

The Molly Rose Foundation initiated the letter after a report by US broadcaster NPR last month indicated that Meta’s algorithms and updated safety features had been predominantly approved by AI systems, bypassing human oversight.

An unnamed former Meta executive told NPR that this shift would enable companies to roll out app updates and features more rapidly on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp; however, it raises concerns regarding the prevention of potential issues prior to the launch of new products, resulting in “increased risks” for users.

NPR also noted that Meta is exploring the possibility of automating reviews in sensitive areas, particularly concerning risks to young users and addressing the spread of misinformation.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Zuckerberg’s 2006 Quote Central to Meta’s Antitrust Case

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In September 2006, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg articulated the distinctiveness of his platform.

“Facebook is about genuine connections with actual friends,” he stated Company Posts.

Now, two decades later, this statement lies at the core of Zuckerberg’s pivotal antitrust trial against the social media giant, now called Meta, which is accused of unlawfully stifling competition. The trial essentially questions whether social networking is solely about personal relationships or something broader.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is prosecuting the case, aims to specifically characterize social networking as a service that connects friends and family. By this definition, Meta’s primary competition is with Snap, the creator of Snapchat, based on user reach. However, Meta argues that it competes with all social media platforms, including TikTok and YouTube.

“The aspect of my friends has significantly diminished,” Zuckerberg testified during the trial last month, contradicting his earlier sentiments from 2006.

The contrasting definition of social media in the case—Federal Trade Commission vs. Metaplatforms—highlights the evolution and complexity of social networking over the years. Meta has broadened its origins to become a platform for college students, with numerous other companies now creating similar products that mimic features such as the “Like” button and news feed.

In the trial’s initial four weeks, numerous executives from companies like Reddit, Pinterest, and LinkedIn appeared, yet they did little to clarify what constitutes social networking. They acknowledged competing for the same user base, albeit with different offerings.

Determining Meta’s role in this landscape will be pivotal for Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who is overseeing the case.

“It’s not a walk in the park,” Judge Boasberg remarked in his opinion late last year.

The trial will assess whether Meta’s acquisition of Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and its $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp in 2014 constituted illegal competition. The judge’s ruling could significantly influence tech markets as the industry faces ongoing bipartisan efforts to limit Silicon Valley’s influence on speech, entertainment, commerce, and computing.

Should he side with the government, which aims to dismantle Meta, it could hinder the inclination of major tech companies to acquire smaller competitors. This would disrupt the startup economy, as many founders depend on larger firms to provide liquidity for investors.

“The world we inhabit is becoming increasingly intricate, making this case significant. If the FTC prevails, we could see more vigorous antitrust enforcement,” stated Daniel Rubinfeld, a former Deputy Attorney General who was involved in the government’s antitrust action against Microsoft over two decades ago.

Under most antitrust regulations, competitive markets tend to be clearly defined, according to legal experts. Prices are typically the basis for evaluating a company’s competitive power and effects, including mergers or anti-competitive actions that raise the prices of products like airline tickets and appliances.

However, since internet companies like Meta provide services at no cost to users, this case represents a novel legal challenge.

In his opening statement, Daniel Matheson, the lead attorney for the government, accused Meta of possessing a “monopoly in U.S. personal social networking services.”

Matheson argued that Meta’s extensive network, which facilitates connections among users, was central to the company’s growth and attracted advertisers eager to reach closely connected audiences.

Meta countered by asserting that it primarily competes for user attention with platforms like YouTube and TikTok that focus on short-format videos. Mark Hansen, Meta’s chief litigator, mentioned that the company shifted into “crisis” mode following TikTok’s U.S. launch in 2018.

On Thursday, one of Meta’s attorneys queried Instagram director Adam Mosseri about the app’s resemblance to Facebook and TikTok.

“I see Instagram as being situated between the two; it aligns more closely with TikTok,” he replied. Instagram began as a platform for connecting friends but has evolved into a resource for entertainment.

Despite the influx of executives from other social media platforms, there has been little clarity regarding the market structure of the industry.

“YouTube and Instagram are the primary competitors of TikTok,” according to a 2021 internal TikTok document released by Meta’s legal team.

When queried about competition, TikTok’s business chief Adam Presser downplayed the notion, insisting that the app operates differently: “We don’t perceive it as a social app.”

YouTube, meanwhile, primarily serves entertainment needs, and it’s uncommon for users to share content or follow acquaintances on the platform, noted Aaron Filner, the company’s senior director.

As for social media platform X, Keith Coleman, vice president of product, remarked, “Many people now view it as a space to connect with friends and family, rather than just a news source.”

Experts indicated that it is normal for market definitions to be contested.

In 1997, the FTC successfully blocked the merger between Staples and Office Depot by highlighting their concentration in the office supply market, despite their claims of competition with big-box retailers like Walmart.

The following year, the government accused Microsoft of reducing competition by bundling internet browsers with their widely used Windows operating system, convincing judges to draw a narrow market definition around personal computers running on Intel chips, excluding Apple computers and handheld devices.

The FTC’s case against Meta adopts a conventional approach by narrowly defining the market; however, it also recognizes that digital realities alter the dynamics of competition, focusing on attention and user engagement. This insight comes from an FTC official involved in the agency’s lawsuit against Meta.

Judge Boasberg has kept his views largely private yet has pointed out that various social media applications share numerous characteristics, questioning whether their usage differs “only in degree.”

He mentioned that texting has largely replaced voice calls and that younger users frequently switch between different platforms and technologies.

“Are these norms in a constant state of flux?” Judge Boasberg, who does not engage with social media, queried expert witnesses.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Re-examining Meta’s antitrust test with serial witness Mark Zuckerberg

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Seven years ago, Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg testified for the first time in Congress. After a two-week boot camp by lawyers, he answered questions at three consecutive Buck-to-Buck hearings in two days of baptism by fire to prepare him.

Zuckerberg, 40, has been practicing more since. He made eight appearances before Congress and testified at least twice in court. He defends his company, previously known as Facebook, on issues such as privacy, child safety, and the spread of disinformation.

As early as Monday, Zuckerberg will once again be in a hot seat. This time, as a marquee witness in a landmark federal committee lawsuit accusing Meta of breaking antitrust laws. Regulators sued the US District Court company in the District of Columbia over the acquisition Instagram And WhatsApp says it used “buying and boring strategies” to maintain its monopoly on social media.

Zuckerberg’s turn as a serial witness has become a powerful symbol of Washington’s growing frustration with the power Silicon Valley holds, spurring attempts to curb the tech industry. Under President Trump, the technology chief is welcoming with the administration in hopes of regulators taking softer hands, but his appointees have shown continued scrutiny.

At Capitol Hill, lawmakers have stepped down as Zuckerberg, accusing him of lying and are personally responsible for various social harms. Legal experts said previous tough questions could help him during the expected seven-hour testimony defending Meta in antitrust law.

“He seems to be more aware of the audience he’s talking about compared to his previous years,” said Adam Sterling, Associate Dean at Stanford Law School. “Whether it’s a deposit, a lawsuit, or in front of the Senate, he can actually create a message to that recipient.”

Meta and the FTC declined to comment.

It’s a far cry from Zuckerberg’s start in his Harvard dorm room 21 years ago. After building “Facebook,” he dropped out of school and moved to Silicon Valley to build a social network. His successes and failures were publicly scrutinized.

In 2021, he renamed his efforts to cut some of the company’s packages to Meta. He recently courted Trump. This month he visited the White House to try and persuade the president and his aides to settle the FTC lawsuit.

Government scrutiny and legal challenges did not inflict permanent damage on the company. Meta’s stock price has more than doubled since Zuckerberg first appeared in Congress.

Zuckerberg is likely to face tougher times in the stands in antitrust trials, legal experts said. Congressional hearings feature spectacular features by lawmakers, each limited to a few minutes. The FTC lawyers plan to bake Mr. Zuckerberg for hours. They also have a chunk of his emails and other communications and will ask him to defend documents that prove his company’s maliciousness.

“Trials are another beast as the other counsels are well prepared, ask better questions and keep focused on their cases,” said Nu Wexler, former policymaker for Meta and principal of Four Corners Public Relations.

In 2017, Zuckerberg testified in Dallas in a trial by video game company Zenimax Media about intellectual property theft claims. He also testified in 2023 during an FTC trial in San Jose, California to block the acquisition of Meta’s Virtual Reality Company.

Now, the FTC is asking Judge James E. Boasberg to convict Meta of antitrust violations, which is “exposed to more in danger,” said Katie Harbus, former public policy director for Meta and chief executive of consulting firm Anchor Change.

For the first half of Meta’s history, Zuckerberg has stepped away from the unscripted public appearance. In 2010, he groped through interviews at a technology conference and struggled to answer privacy questions as sweat beads ran through his face.

Most of his public witness experience came before Congress.

Zuckerberg faced a major backlash from Washington State Senators after the 2016 presidential election. Reports have emerged that Facebook has given political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica access to people’s social networking data without consent.

That led to Zuckerberg’s appearance at a packed hearing in Congress in April 2018. His lawyers guided him to calm down when interrupted and to postpone answering harsh questions.

“My team will be back to you,” he said multiple times during the hearings.

The following year, Zuckerberg was faced with questions from the House Financial Services Committee on the security and security of the plans of a cryptocurrency company called Libra.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, interrupted Zuckerberg about misinformation in political ads. He frowned at times, sometimes he struggled to find the answer.

California’s president Maxine Waters, who was then Democratic chairman of the committee, accused Zuckerberg of leading the company’s fate to users.

“You’re going to step into your competitors, women, people of color, even our democracy,” Waters said.

“I don’t think I’m an ideal messenger for this right now,” replied Zuckerberg. “We certainly have the work to do to build trust.”

Zuckerberg has been better with the next two appearances, said a legal expert and former employee, showing that he will control more Poland and his answers. He and the chiefs of Apple, Amazon, and Google were summoned in 2020 during the pandemic when the House Judiciary Committee was summoned for a hearing on the power of big technology. In 2021, Zuckerberg, who joined the CEOs of Twitter and Google, spoke to a House committee about disinformation.

Last year, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley requested at a child safety hearing that Zuckerberg would apologize to parents who lost their children due to bullying and other harms accused of refueling Instagram.

“I’m sorry for everything you’ve gone through,” Zuckerberg told parents in attendance. “No one should experience your family suffering.”

Holy said it is important to keep Meta and Zuckerberg accountable.

“This was my whole goal of enforcing a moment of truth,” Holy said in an interview. “But the truth is that he will continue to sail first and do so until there is a real outcome in Congress and in court next week.”

Source: www.nytimes.com

Authors in London protest Meta’s theft of book and use of ‘Shadow Library’ to train AI

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A demonstration will be held today outside Meta’s London office by authors and other publishing industry experts protesting the organization’s use of copyrighted books for training artificial intelligence.

Notable figures like novelists Kate Moss and Tracy Chevalier, poet Daljit Nagra, and former chairman of the Royal Literature Society, are expected to be present outside Meta’s Kings Cross office.

Protesters will gather at Granary Square at 1:30 pm, with hand-written letters to Meta by the Authors Association (SOA) planned for 1:45 pm, also to be sent to Meta’s US headquarters.

Earlier this year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg allegedly approved the use of Libgen, known as the “Shadow Library,” which contains over 7.5 million books. The Atlantic recently released a searchable database of the titles in Libgen, suggesting that authors’ works may have been used to train Meta’s AI models.

SOA Chair Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin condemned Meta’s actions as “illegal, shocking, and devastating for writers.”

Vanessa added, “Books take years to write, and Meta stealing them for AI replication threatens authors’ livelihoods.”

In response, a Meta spokesperson claimed they respect intellectual property rights and believe their actions comply with the law.

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Several prominent authors, including Moss, Richard Osman, Isiguro Kawako, and Val McDermid, signed a letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandi asking for Meta executives to appear before Congress. The petition garnered over 7,000 signatures.

Today’s protest is led by novelist AJ West, who expressed dismay at seeing their work in the Libgen database without consent.

A court filing in January revealed a group of authors suing Meta for copyright infringement, noting the impact on authors’ rights by using unauthorized databases like Libgen.

SOA’s chief executive Anna Gunley emphasized the detrimental effect of companies exploiting authors’ copyrighted works.

Protesters are encouraged to create placards and use hashtags like #MetaBookThieves, #DothewRiteThing, #MakeItfair.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Nick Clegg justifies Meta’s decision to remove fact checkers from Facebook and Instagram

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Nick Clegg has strongly supported Meta’s decision to downgrade the social media platform’s moderation and remove fact-checkers.

The changes to Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, including a shift to promote more political content, were announced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this month.

Clegg, who is stepping down from the tech company after six years to make room for Joel Kaplan, who leans towards Donald Trump, refuted claims that Meta was diminishing its commitment to truth.

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“Please look at what Meta has announced. Ignore the noise, the politics, and the drama that accompanies it,” he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, describing the new policy as “limited and tailored.” He asserted that.

The former UK deputy prime minister and Liberal Democrat leader stated: “There are still 40,000 people dedicated to safety and content moderation, and this year we will again invest $5 billion (£4 billion) a year in platform integrity. We still maintain the most advanced community standards in the industry.”

Clegg mentioned that Meta’s new community notes system, replacing its fact-checker, will resemble the one used by Elon Musk’s competing social media platform X, and will first be launched in the United States.

He described it as a “crowdsourcing or Wikipedia-style approach to misinformation” and suggested it might be “more scalable” than the fact-checkers that he believes have lost the public’s trust.

Zuckerberg, who has been collaborating closely with President Trump recently, simply aims to refine Meta’s content moderation approach, according to Clegg.

During a roundtable discussion with journalists at a ski resort in Switzerland, Mr. Clegg confirmed that he would not tolerate using the Meta platform in the future, forbidding the use of derogatory terms for groups of people or labeling LGBT individuals as “mentally ill.” Numerous expressions previously allowed were challenged.

Mr. Clegg continued to defend this stance, stating at an event in Davos: “It seems inconceivable to us that individuals can say things in Congress or traditional media that they cannot say on social media. Therefore, some significant adjustments were made.”

He emphasized that speech targeting individuals in a manner designed to intimidate or harass remains unacceptable.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Fact-checkers react negatively to Meta’s decision to transition to a scrappy role

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Founder of Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg

His company Meta announced on Tuesday that it would scrap the facts.
He accused the US checkers of making biased decisions and said he wanted greater freedom of speech. Meta uses third-party independent fact checkers from around the world. Here, one of them, who works at the Full Fact organization in London, explains what they do and their reaction to Zuckerberg’s “mind-boggling” claims.

I was a fact checker at Full Fact in London for a year, investigating questionable content on Facebook, X and newspapers. Our diet is filled with disinformation videos about wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as fake AI-generated video clips of politicians, which are becoming increasingly difficult to disprove. There is. Colleagues are tackling coronavirus disinformation, misinformation about cancer treatments, and there’s a lot of climate-related talk as there are more hurricanes and wildfires.

As soon as you log on at 9am, you’re assigned something to watch. By accessing Meta’s system, you can see which posts are most likely to be false. In some cases, there may be 10 or 15 potentially harmful things and it can be overwhelming. But you can’t check everything.

If a post is a little wild but not harmful, like this AI-generated image of the Pope wearing a giant white puffer coat, we might leave it. But if it’s a fake image of Mike Tyson holding a Palestinian flag, we’re more likely to address it. We propose them in the morning meeting and are then asked to start checking.

Yesterday I was working on a deepfake video in which Keir Starmer said many of the claims about Jimmy Savile were frivolous and that was why he was not prosecuted at the time. We’re getting a lot of engagement. Starmer’s mouth did not look right and did not appear to say anything. It seemed like a false alarm. I immediately started doing a reverse image search and discovered that the video was taken from the Guardian newspaper in 2012. The original was of much higher quality. The area around his mouth is very blurry and you can see exactly what he’s saying when you compare it to what he shares on social media. We contacted the Guardian for comment on the original Downing Street. You can also get in touch with various media forensics and deepfake AI experts.

Some misinformation continues to resurface. There is a particular video of a gas station explosion in Yemen last year that has been reused as either a bombing in Gaza or a Hezbollah attack on Israel.

Fact checkers collect examples of how that information has appeared on social media in the past 24 hours or so, often times like the number of likes or shares, and how do they know when it’s incorrect? indicates.

Attaching fact checks to Facebook posts requires two levels of review. Senior colleagues question every leap in logic we make. For recurring claims, this process can be completed in half a day. New, more complex cases may take closer to a week. The average is about 1 day. It can be frustrating to go back and forth at times, but you want to be as close to 100% sure as possible.

It was very difficult to hear Mark Zuckerberg say that fact checkers are biased on Tuesday. Much of the work we do is about being fair, and that’s instilled in us. I feel it is a very important job to bring about change and provide good information to people.

This is something I wanted to do in my previous job in local journalism, go down rabbit holes and track down sources, but I didn’t have many opportunities. It was very Churnalism. As a local reporter, I was concerned and felt helpless at the amount of conspiracy theories people were seriously engaging with and believing in Facebook groups.

At the end of the day, it can be difficult to switch off. I’m still thinking about how to prove something as quickly as possible. When I see things like content stock prices constantly going up, I get a little worried. But when a fact check is published, there is a sense of satisfaction.

Zuckerberg’s decision was unfortunate. We put a lot of effort into this and we think it’s really important. But we renew our resolve to fight the good fight. Misinformation will never go away. We will continue to be here and fight against it.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Meta’s investment in AI drives impressive earnings report, leading to soaring shares

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Meta shares saw a rise in after-hours trading on Wednesday following a positive earnings report, as the company continues to heavily invest in AI tools.

After the report, the company’s shares increased by about 5%, surpassing analysts’ expectations for the second quarter results.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, disclosed revenue of $39.07 billion and earnings per share of $5.16. These results exceeded market expectations of $38 billion in revenue and $4.70 per share. However, the company’s capital expenditures of $8.47 billion were lower than what analysts had anticipated.

In a statement, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed optimism about the company’s performance, highlighting Meta’s AI advancements, the success of Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, and growth across their apps.

While Meta had reported strong profits in the previous quarter, there were concerns about its future outlook, causing a temporary drop in stock prices. However, a positive earnings forecast issued by Meta on Wednesday helped stabilize the stock.

Meta’s recent focus has been on AI development, with plans to make Meta AI accessible to millions of users. The company recently launched its latest AI model, LLama 3.1 405B, to compete with other AI companies.

Tech giants such as Alphabet, Tesla, and Microsoft have faced challenges in the market recently due to lackluster financial reports related to their AI investments. This has led to a market shift towards smaller companies.

In addition to its financial performance, Meta has also been dealing with legal issues, including a $1.4 billion settlement in a Texas privacy lawsuit and a lawsuit in New Mexico related to child safety concerns.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Meta’s algorithms prioritize feeding blank accounts on Facebook and Instagram, revealing underlying sexism and misogyny.

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HTo find out how Facebook and Instagram's algorithms influence what appears in your news feed, Guardian Australia tested them on a completely blank smartphone linked to an unused email address.

Three months later, without any input, it was full of sexist and misogynistic content.

The Guardian Australia's explore page for dummy Instagram accounts set up in April. Photo: Instagram

The John Doe profile was created in April as a typical 24-year-old male. Facebook was able to collect other information about us, such as our phone type and Melbourne location, but because we had opted out of ad tracking, Facebook couldn't know what we did outside the app.

Facebook left me with little to fall back on, with no likes, comments or accounts added as friends, while Instagram requires users to first follow at least five accounts, so I chose popular suggested accounts, such as the Prime Minister and Bec Judd.

Meta says its algorithm ranks content according to people's interests, but we wanted to see what happens in the absence of such input. We scrolled through our feed every two weeks to see what was on offer.

What did we see?

Initially, Facebook showed jokes about The Office and other sitcom-related memes alongside posts from 7 News, the Daily Mail and Ladbible. The next day, it also started showing Star Wars memes and gym and “dudebro” style content.

By the third day, “traditional Catholic” type memes started appearing and the feed veered towards more sexist content.

Three months later, memes from The Office, Star Wars, and The Boys are still appearing in the feed, now interspersed with extremely sexist and misogynistic imagery that appears in the feed with no input from the user.

On Instagram, the explore page is filled with women in skimpy outfits, but the feed is largely innocuous, mostly Melbourne-related content and foodie influencer recommendations.

An example of a misogynistic meme shoved into the feed of a blank Facebook account. Photo: Facebook

Source: www.theguardian.com

EU to investigate Meta’s election misinformation policies before June vote.

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The EU has reportedly taken legal action against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for failing to address Russian disinformation concerns ahead of the upcoming EU general election in June. The intention is to wake her up.

Concerns are also raised regarding the inadequate monitoring of election-related content and the effectiveness of mechanisms to flag illegal content.

The European Commission is worried that Meta’s moderation system is not strong enough to combat fake news propagation and suppression of votes.

Officials are particularly concerned about Meta’s response to Russia’s attempts to interfere with upcoming European elections, without explicitly mentioning the Kremlin.

According to reports, the European Commission has rejected Meta’s proposal to discontinue CrowdTangle, a tool that helps monitor the spread of fake news and voter suppression attempts in real time across the EU, raising significant concerns.

In accordance with a new law requiring tech companies to regulate their content to comply with EU regulations, Facebook and others must implement systems to guard against election interference risks.

A Meta spokesperson stated: “We have established processes to identify and mitigate risks on our platform. We are collaborating with the European Commission and will provide additional details on our work. We look forward to the opportunity.”

If Meta’s actions are confirmed, it follows recent stress tests conducted by the Commission on major social media platforms to assess their readiness against Russian disinformation. An official announcement is expected shortly.

The stress tests included hypothetical scenarios based on historical attempts to influence elections and cyber-based misinformation campaigns.

This encompassed deepfakes and efforts to suppress authentic voices through online harassment and intimidation.

The EU recognized the stifling of legitimate democratic voices as a new tool to silence dissent in February.

“The objective was to evaluate the platforms’ preparedness to combat manipulative activities leading up to elections, including various tactics,” said the committee.

This allowed them to assess social media’s resilience to manipulation, which is anticipated to escalate in the coming weeks.

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The upcoming European Parliament elections between June 6 and 9 are facing a surge in disinformation across the region.

Congress released voter guidelines on Monday, highlighting past incidents, such as the false claim that only specific ink colors could be used on ballots.

Voters are cautioned to be vigilant against disinformation, drawing from recent national election experiences.

In elections in various countries, misinformation about erasable ink pens and physical threats at polling stations have circulated on social media, reflecting the challenges of combating fake news and manipulation.

The EU Disinfolab documented thousands of cases of fake news targeting Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion and spreading misinformation about President Putin’s motives.

Recently, a Czech news agency’s website was hacked to display fabricated news stories, including alleged assassination attempts and political reactions.

Last month, the Czech government exposed a disinformation network linked to Moscow.

The Belgian prime minister announced an investigation into alleged Russian payments to influence European Parliament elections.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Investors React to Plans for Increased Spending on AI, Leading to $190 Billion Drop in Meta’s Value

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Meta’s stock price tumbled 15% on Wall Street Thursday in response to commitments to ramp up spending on artificial intelligence, resulting in approximately $190 billion being wiped off the market value of the Facebook and Instagram parent company.

During a conference call on Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, emphasized the necessity of increasing spending on AI technology in order to generate “significant revenue” from the company’s new AI products. “There is a need for an increase,” he stated.

The stock price of Meta had previously benefited from stringent cost-cutting measures in 2023, which Zuckerberg referred to as “the year of efficiency.” However, investors were spooked when Meta raised the upper limit of its capital spending guidance from $37 billion to $40 billion on Wednesday.

Meta recently launched Llama 3, the latest iteration of its AI model and image generator, which can update images in real-time while users input prompts. This update also sees the expansion of Meta AI, the company’s AI-powered assistant, to more than 10 markets outside the US, including Australia, Canada, Singapore, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Chris Cox, Meta’s chief product officer, mentioned that the company is still working on implementing this in Europe.

The decline in stock price comes after Meta Inc. experienced a record increase in market value in February, adding $196 billion to its market capitalization following the announcement of its first dividend, which was, at the time, the largest single-day gain in Wall Street history. However, Nvidia, a prominent supplier of chips for AI models, later surpassed this record with a $277 billion profit.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Is Australia at Risk of Misleading Clickbait Surge on Facebook and Instagram Following Meta’s News Ban?

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MExperts say powerful viral clickbait has taken over Facebook and Instagram in Canada after Meta removed news from the platforms nine months ago. Now Australia could face a similar scenario online, with the company preparing to battle the Australian government over payments to news organizations.

Last week, Meta announced it would no longer make payments to Australian news publishers, prompting the Australian government to consider using its legislative powers to force the platform to negotiate payments with news publishers. Ta.


The controversy could prevent Australian news organizations from posting links to their content on Facebook or Instagram, as Meta did for six days in 2021, and as Canada has done since mid-last year. The possibility is increasing.

Experts say Canada’s ban has done little damage to the social media giants, but it has hurt the news organizations Canada most wanted to support.

In June 2023, the Canadian federal government introduced Bill C-18, which aims to increase revenue for Canadian journalism publishers by requiring Meta and Google’s parent company Alphabet to compensate publishers for hosting and linking content. (Online News Act) was passed.

Both tech companies initially balked at the prospect, but Alphabet ultimately agreed to a deal with the government in November. Under the terms of the deal, Google’s parent company will contribute C$73.6 million (A$83 million) annually to be distributed to Canadian news publishers. Experts said the deal was in part because C-18 targeted link sharing and indexing, key aspects of Alphabet’s business model.

But Mehta is resisting the law’s restrictions, arguing it is “fundamentally flawed”. In response, it blocked all news sharing on its platforms, including Instagram and Facebook. Prior to the ban, Meta also announced it was ending its partnership with the Canadian Press, which had funded 30 reporting fellowships for young journalists starting in 2020.

The ban took effect in August amid the worst wildfire season in the country’s history, but lawmakers feared it would prevent Canadians from accessing the latest news in their communities and prevent evacuations. . The broadcaster denounced the move as “anti-competitive behavior” and said it violated regulations. federal law.

Mehta said in a statement at the time: “The Online News Act is based on the false premise that Meta is unfairly profiting from the news content shared on our platforms, when the opposite is true. We voluntarily share content on Facebook and Instagram to help grow our audience and generate revenue.”

Non-news content created by viral content makers is filling the space left by news articles.


“Real Facebook without news has turned out to be more harmful than I expected,” said Jean Hughes-Roy, a journalism professor at the University of Quebec.

2022, Roy conducted a simulation He said he conducted a study on what users would see on Facebook if news was banned, but the reality of the ban was worse than the simulation predicted.

“Viral content creators take news content, make it more sensational by adding misleading information or false details, and publish it on their Facebook pages or Instagram accounts. Such content is blocked by Meta. No, but the actual news will be blocked.”

However, the move doesn’t seem to have affected how Canadians use Facebook.

The number of daily active users on Facebook and the amount of time spent on the social network have changed little since the news block began, according to figures from two digital analytics firms shared with Reuters.

Part of Meta’s argument against compensating Canadian journalistic outlets was that links to news articles accounted for less than 3% of Facebook feeds in the country. This was also the argument made regarding Australia’s decision.

Chris Waddell, of Carleton University’s School of Journalism, said Meta is increasingly wary of its position in the news industry.

“I don’t think we’ve lost any advertisers,” he says. “I don’t know if their decisions really made a difference.” [to the company].

“Meta would do that.” I like to get a break from news from other places. It’s hard to imagine that the company really wants to get dragged into the controversy surrounding the impending US election, with AI-generated fake information being posted on Facebook. It’s a real minefield for them. If they’re right, they only make 3% to 4% of their revenue from news, so I can understand why they would bail out of it. ”

News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson told reporters on Monday that Meta’s 3% claim was “obviously a fabrication and an absurd number.”

“So how much discussion is there about the news? If there is a core news, then the latest factual information on Facebook is 100% news. And these are the things Facebook focuses on. We should also focus on our responsibilities to all Australians.”

Most large publications are finding new ways to redirect users to their sites. But Facebook’s refusal to allow links to be shared on its platform has a huge impact on small publishers.

Eden Fineday, publisher of Indige News, an Indigenous-led online journalism outlet, said traffic on the site has fallen by 43% since the ban.

“Facebook is a very indigenous platform,” Fineday told the Toronto Star. “This is a place where a lot of Indigenous communities connect with each other. So it hurts us. Indigenous people are the least considered demographic, especially by corporate America. They’re not just forgotten, they’re also more vulnerable to these changes. It’s sad that companies don’t consider who is being harmed.”

New Brunswick Media Cooperative Announces loss of 5,000 Facebook followers Prior to being banned from the meta.

Twenty independent media outlets, including the New Brunswick Media Cooperative, have banded together to try to make up for the loss of traffic. not equipped. The purpose is both to strengthen bargaining positions and to share news more effectively with readers.

Waddell said smaller publishers must do the most to win back readers in order to survive.

“Ironically, those that have been most affected are small start-up publications and publications that have been around for some time that have used Facebook as a promotional tool to reach a wider audience.” he said.

Roy said he is concerned about what the disappearance of news from Meta’s platform would mean for Canadian democracy.

“The latest Reuters Journalism Institute Digital News Report found that 45 per cent of Canadians cite social media as a source of news, and the same percentage is true in Australia. “I’m worried” news doesn’t exist anymore. ”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Concerns Raised Over Potential Further Censorship of Pro-Palestinian Content in Meta’s Hate Speech Policy Review

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The Guardian confirmed that Meta is considering expanding and “reconsidering” its hate speech policy regarding the term “Zionist.” On Friday, the company contacted and met with more than a dozen Arab, Islamic, and pro-Palestinian groups to discuss plans to review its policies to ensure that “Zionist” is not used as a substitute for Jewish or Israeli. An email seen by the Guardian revealed this information.

According to an email sent by Meta representatives to invited groups, the current policy allows the use of “Zionist” in political discussions as long as it does not refer to Jewish people in an inhumane or violent manner. The term will be removed if it is used explicitly on behalf of or on behalf of Israelis. The company is considering this review in response to recent posts reported by users and “stakeholders,” as reported by The Intercept.

Senator demands answers on reports of Meta censoring pro-Palestinian content

Another organization received an email from a Meta representative stating that the company’s current policy does not allow users to attack others based on protected characteristics and that a current understanding of language people use to refer to others is necessary. The email also mentioned that “Zionist” often refers to the ideology of an unprotected individual but can also refer to Jews and Israelis. The organizations participating in the discussions expressed concerns about the changes leading to further censorship of pro-Palestinian voices.

In addition, Meta gave examples of posts that would be removed, including a post calling Zionists rats. The company has been criticized for unfairly censoring Palestinian-related content, which raises concerns about the enforcement of these policies.

In response to a request for comment, Meta spokesperson Corey Chambliss shared a previous statement regarding the “increasing polarized public debate.” He added that Meta is considering whether and how it can expand its nuanced response to such language and will continue to consult with stakeholders to improve the policy. Policy discussions take place during high-stakes periods of conflict, and accurate information and its dissemination can have far-reaching effects.

More than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed since the attack on Gaza began in October 2023. Implementing a policy like this in the midst of a genocide is extremely problematic, and it may cause harm to the community, as stated by an official from the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Meta’s Profits Soar as Company Shifts Focus to AI and Announces Dividends to Investors

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Meta stock soared 15% in after-hours trading. The company’s strong fourth quarter results came a day after CEO Mark Zuckerberg was assaulted during a controversial Congressional hearing.

The company also announced that it would pay investors a dividend of 50 cents per share for the first time and authorized a $50 billion stock repurchase program.

Overall, Meta reported fourth-quarter revenue of $40.1 billion, beating expectations of $39.18 billion and increasing 25% year-over-year. The report comes as Meta, like many major technology companies, seeks to integrate artificial intelligence tools into its core products. In a statement accompanying the report, Zuckerberg said Meta was “a significant step forward in our vision of evolving AI and the Metaverse.”

“We anticipate that our ambitious long-term AI research and product development efforts will require increased infrastructure investment beyond this year,” the company’s press release said.


During last quarter’s earnings call, Zuckerberg touted Meta’s plans to invest in AI, saying it would be the company’s biggest investment area in 2024. Zuckerberg said in a video he shared on Instagram in early January that his company would acquire $9 billion worth of AI. Nvidia chips help scale up AI

Zuckerberg said AI will not only enhance ad campaigns and increase ad revenue, but AI will also be used to support new meta-products such as AI chatbots. Advertising revenue, the company’s core business, was $38.7 billion, compared with $31.25 billion in the same period last year. His Meta hardware products, such as the Quest 3 VR headset, still don’t account for a large percentage of the company’s revenue. Zuckerberg said on a conference call Thursday that he expects Meta to begin rolling out its AI services more broadly in the coming months.

Meta has laid off more than 20,000 employees in 2023 as it focuses on cost-cutting measures as part of what Zuckerberg has dubbed the “Year of Efficiency.” These efforts seem to have paid off, with Meta’s operating profit margin doubling from 20% in the same period of 2022 to 41%. Meanwhile, expenses decreased 8% year-on-year to $23.73 billion. Chief Financial Officer Susan Lee said on a conference call that Meta had more than 67,300 employees at the end of the fourth quarter, down 22% from a year ago, but that “hiring efforts have resumed. '', which resulted in a 2% increase from the third quarter.

Regulatory headwinds are probably top of mind for investors following Meta’s public taunts during Wednesday’s Congressional hearing. The hearing was convened to question Zuckerberg and other tech executives over the impact of their platforms on young users. The CEO expressed his condolences to the parents in the crowd who lost their children to online exploitation.

Throughout the hearing, lawmakers touted a bill that could strip Meta and other platforms of legal immunity for content posted on them, a move that would make Meta and other platforms illegal in 41 states over its impact on young users. It was enacted several months after a major lawsuit was filed by the attorney general. New Mexico’s attorney general also accused the company of failing to prevent child sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

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As a result of regulatory concerns, Meta has sought to diversify its core business, which has so far relied on advertising, which collects vast amounts of user data. Reality Labs, the division responsible for developing virtual reality products, faced a loss of $4.65 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $4.28 billion in the same period last year, bringing its total loss for 2023 to $16.1 billion. It reached $20 million. Meta said in a press release that it expects operating losses to “increase significantly year-over-year” as Reality Labs continues to expand its ecosystem.

In addition to regulatory concerns, Meta sees its platform’s user base tightening as young users in particular migrate to new platforms such as TikTok. The company said its platform is experiencing faster growth outside the United States. Insider information Principal Analyst Jasmine Enberg.

“On the usage side, Facebook continued to see a squeeze in user growth, but as expected, most of the new users came from outside of North America,” she said. “In the U.S., popularity among teenagers has become a liability in the eyes of lawmakers, which could hinder Facebook and Instagram’s efforts to grow in the country.”

Source: www.theguardian.com