Instagram

Friday, May 14, 2021 | Last Update : 12:28 PM IST

Weaken/remove encryption, and Facebook will instantly be branded Orwellian. Enforce encryption, and it becomes a lot harder to deal with bad actors on the platform. There are no winners here.

Tech This Week | Facebook services integration comes with trade-offs

Once WhatsApp and Instagram (and Oculus) became sufficiently big, it was time to integrate these properties into the larger Facebook machine

04 Oct 2020 10:32 PM

TikTok’s interim CEO Vanessa Pappas proposed a meeting of safety officers from each company to work out details of a collective approach, “which we believe will help us all improve safety for our users”. (Photo | Pixabay - iXimus)

Come together to stop spread of suicide content, TikTok urges Facebook, Google, Snapchat, others

It is proposed that nine social media firms speedily identify violent, graphic content, including suicide, and swiftly notify the others.

22 Sep 2020 7:33 PM

A total of about 39 million people have already visited the virtual voting information centres on Facebook and Instagram. (Representative Image | AP)

Facebook launches information centres to get people to vote to make up for its role in 2016

Facebook is seeking to show that it is no longer a means of massive disinformation as it was ahead of major votes in 2016.

21 Sep 2020 5:55 PM

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on his instagram account, shows himself, centre, and his wife Yulia, right, daughter Daria, and son Zakhar, top left, posing for a photo in a hospital in Berlin, Germany. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has posted the picture of himself in a hospital in Germany and says he's breathing on his own. He posted on Instagram Tuesday Sept. 15, 2020: "Hi, this is Navalny. I have been missing you. I still can't do much, but yesterday I managed to breathe on my own for the entire day." (Navalny instagram via AP)

'Poisoned' Putin critic Navalny shares hospital photo of himself

Navalny’s spokeswoman said that once he has recovered, the Putin critic plans to return to Russia

16 Sep 2020 9:38 AM

While it is “understandable” that social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter remove content that incites or promotes violence, “they are not currently archiving this material in a manner that is accessible for investigators and researchers to help hold perpetrators to account”, HRW said.

Not enough to remove hate speech, social networks must archive evidence: Human Rights Watch

Online posts could also help document atrocities and abuses such as chemical weapons attacks in Syria and police abuse in the United States.

10 Sep 2020 4:22 PM

Mathematics teacher Basirat Olamide Ajayi, 36, teaches probability theory with the aid of playing cards, online via her mobile phone from her house in Lagos, Nigeria Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. Ajayi’s free classes are attracting students from all over Nigeria, and now students abroad are joining. A recent request came from Canada. Ajayi says she is beginning to see herself as a global teacher. (Photo | AP)

Pandemic opens global opportunity for maths teacher taking classes on Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp

Students watch Basirat Olamide Ajayi’s short math videos—no more than 5 minutes long—and respond to her questions.

07 Sep 2020 5:54 PM

The CCI’s basis for dismissal of the anti-trust case against Whatsapp is that UPI payments apps are an evolving market. But it does not appreciate the power of network effects and convenience enough. Yes, the payments feature is not going to be coerced onto users, but if Facebook’s history is anything to go by, it might not make a difference.

Tech This Week | The UPI payments space is in for its biggest shift yet

Earlier this week, the Competition Commission of India dismissed an anti-trust case against WhatsApp Pay.

22 Aug 2020 2:45 PM

“I want to be more open about my insecurities, what makes me happy and what makes me sad. I want to be extremely transparent. And I’m not even talking about my body, you know, just my life. I feel like not everybody deserves to see it,” Cardi B said. (Photo | Instagram - iamcardib)

OnlyFans deserve to hear what Carbi B has to say about her life, rapper starts new social media account

The 27-year-old musician said she wants to share her personal experiences with her admirers.

16 Aug 2020 3:06 PM

Evidence produced in court showed how unsuspecting officers had been giving out information on their postings and the whereabouts of other colleagues on social media, putting national security at risk, despite earlier advisories on conduct of military personnel on social media. (Photo | Pixabay - PixelKult)

Ban on social media use by defence personnel remains, Delhi High Court dismisses plea against it

The court said that if the government had assessed that social media enables espionage by enemy countries, it would not overturn the ban.

05 Aug 2020 7:42 PM

It is not the first time Gates has found himself targeted by conspiracy theorists. When Zika virus broke out in 2015 in Brazil, he was one of several powerful Western figures blamed for the disease. Other rumors claim he is secretly a lizard, an old favorite among online trolls. (Photo | Wikimedia Commons - Kuhlmann)

Debunking rumours of profiteering off the pandemic, Bill Gates wants to get the truth out

Fabricated news articles crafted by conspiracy theorists targeting Gates have gained traction online with hundreds of thousands of believers

24 Jul 2020 5:22 PM

It was unclear whether Disney’s cut on ads was in protest over Facebook’s inaction on hate speech. The economic fallout from the pandemic has also cut into companies’ advertising budgets. (Photo | AFP)

Disney cuts big chunk of ads on Facebook, Instagram

Disney, Facebook's biggest advertiser this year, joins hundreds of firms that paused spending on the social media platforms.

20 Jul 2020 1:56 PM

Instagram's Reels feature will start rolling out to users in India from Wednesday evening and at the onset, will be populated with content from public figures and creators, including Arjun Kanungo (in pic here), Jahnavi Dasetty aka Mahathalli, Indrani Biswas aka Wondermunna, Kusha Kapila, Radhika Bangia, RJ Abhinav and Ankush Bhaguna. (Photo | Arjun Kanungo Instagram)

Can Instagram Reels be as big as TikTok was in India?

The Facebook product looms large in a space that Indian apps Chingari, Roposo, and Go Social are trying establish a foothold in.

08 Jul 2020 7:04 PM

Performers, including former actress Genelia Deshmukh (centre), feature among those trending page on Chingari, the Indian replacement for TikTok. (Combination photo | Chingari.io)

TikTok influencers unfazed by ban, confident of gaining fame and money on other platforms too

They will bear the brunt of losing income for the sake of the nation, they say

01 Jul 2020 11:52 PM

Freddy Birdy, a bar and restaurant designer, is also an artist and adman.

Some professionals have more Instagram followers than movie stars, here's five of them

These 'influencers', who offer more than just pretty pictures, are the rage on the social media platform

27 Jun 2020 7:07 PM

No remorse for their actions, the Bois Locker Room tried to restart after the controversy blew up, but seems not to have taken off.

Bois locker room: HC seeks response from Google, Facebook, Twitter on plea to remove content

The Bois Locker Room Instagram chat group of 17-18 year-old boys from affluent Delhi families was exposed discussing raping their classmates

19 May 2020 3:36 PM

In this Tuesday, May 12, 2020 file photo, senators listen as Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a virtual Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labour, and Pensions hearing in Washington. On Friday, May 15, 2020, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly asserting Fauci has sat on Microsoft's board of directors with Bill Gates as his boss. Fauci has become a target of misinformation as he oversees the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo | AP)

YouTube, WhatsApp abound with conspiracy theories accusing Bill Gates of starting the virus outbreak

In recent months, 5G networks and Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros have also been blamed for creating COVID-19

18 May 2020 10:09 PM

Facebook, which already offers Giphy’s library of GIFs on WhatsApp and Messenger, said owning the service would make it easier for people to find the perfect GIFs and stickers in Stories and direct messages.

Giphy, bought by Facebook, to be integrated into Instagram

The social-media giant has reportedly offered to keep more than 100 Giphy employees

15 May 2020 11:06 PM

The 2020 election is “a battle for the soul of this nation,” Biden likes to say. But it’s also a battle for the soul of the internet.

Can't remain an Average Joe online, Biden's gotta go 'social' to beat Trump in the election

Strategists worry that Biden is dangerously behind Trump on key metrics across platforms including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

12 May 2020 3:23 PM

Milano Digital Fashion Week from July 14-17 will include photo and video content, backstage interviews with designers, as well as webinars and live streaming of keynote speeches. (Photo | AFP)

No crowded shows, Milan Fashion Week will be live on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Weibo

Thousands of Chinese buyers and media are prevented from travelling to the shows, forcing the fashion chamber to offer digital alternatives.

07 May 2020 5:14 PM

The Facebook oversight board will be able to overturn decisions by the company and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on whether individual pieces of content should be allowed on Facebook and Instagram. But critics call the oversight board a bid by Facebook to forestall regulation or even an eventual breakup. (Photo | Flickr - Anthony Quintano)

Facebook's ‘Supreme Court’ of Nobel winner, former Guardian editor, former PM, others to rule on content

The oversight board is to make binding decisions on hate speech and misinformation, following free speech norms and preventing censorship.

07 May 2020 4:19 PM

1 of 25

Columns

Karan Thapar