Social media enables discovery of brands this festive season

It's that season when the festivals start. Also, this year will be observer to an interesting merry season with the drawn out effect of the pandemic. Because of the monetary vulnerability, the shoppers are supposed to be estimated in their classification decisions. There is a rising worth looking for conduct, with an inclination for confided in brands. Brands need to bump shoppers and get into their thought set, on the media stages where the customers are investing a great deal of energy. With advanced speed increase more than ever disclosure, motivation and buy is all occurrence on versatile. Facebook group of applications with wide scale and profound infiltration offer open doors to advertisers to get found in new ways. Around 80% of Gen Z and Millennial customers, say their bubbly shopping is impacted by Facebook and Instagram.

Industry specialists prescribe advertisers to use online entertainment for driving brand revelation this season. In this light, industry pioneers from Facebook, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Samsung and Lenovo have shared bits of knowledge about driving brand disclosure, understanding developing purchaser media propensities, more current shopper encounters, and building the capacity of advanced business....KNOW MORE

Twitter to block users tweeting misinformation about Covid-19 vaccine

 

Twitter has reported to mark Tweets that may contain deceiving data around Covid inoculations and will for all time suspend rehashed wrongdoers.

The miniature contributing to a blog stage has presented a strike framework against such deceptive tweets and at least five strikes will bring about perpetual suspension of the record.

"We accept the strike framework will assist with teaching general society on our strategies and further diminish the spread of possibly destructive and deceiving data on Twitter, especially for rehashed moderate and high-seriousness infringement of our guidelines," the organization said in a proclamation late on Monday.

Since presenting the Covid-19 direction, Twitter said it has taken out in excess of 8,400 Tweets and tested 11.5 million records around the world.

While one strike will cause no record level activity, two strikes will prompt a 12-hour account lock; three strikes in an additional 12-hour account lock; four strikes in a 7-day account lock and at least five strikes implies perpetual suspension of the record.

Marks will initially be applied by Twitter colleagues when they decide content abuses the stage's arrangement.

"We will likely ultimately utilize both robotized and human survey to address content that disregards our Covid-19 immunization falsehood rules," Twitter said.

Twitter will start with English-language content first and utilize this equivalent interaction as it attempts to extend to different dialects and social settings over the long run.

Marks will show up in the client's set presentation language and may connection to curated substance and official general wellbeing data or the Twitter Rules.

Facebook, Instagram ramp up removal of hate speech, bullying content

 

Facebook has eliminated 26.9 million bits of scorn discourse content in the final quarter of 2020 - up from 22.1 million in Q3 and the organization offers credit to enhancements in its mechanized frameworks that catch and cleanse such remarks.

The informal community additionally impeded 6.4 million bits of coordinated disdain content in the October-December period from its fundamental stage, up from 4 million in Q3.

Instagram likewise saw critical bounces in disdain discourse, harassing and self-hurt expulsions, as per the organization's 'Local area Standards Enforcement Report'.

Facebook brought down 6.3 million bits of tormenting and provocation content from its foundation in the final quarter of 2020 - up from 3.5 million in Q3.

"Last quarter, we shared the pervasiveness of scorn discourse on Facebook unexpectedly to show the level of times individuals see this kind of substance on our foundation. This quarter, disdain discourse pervasiveness dropped, seven to eight perspectives on scorn discourse for each 10,000 perspectives on substance," Guy Rosen, VP Integrity at Facebook, said in a blog entry late on Thursday.

Facebook said that its proactive rate for tormenting and provocation went from 26 percent in Q3 to 49 percent in Q4 on its fundamental stage, and 55 percent to 80 percent on Instagram.

"Enhancements to our AI in regions where subtlety and setting are fundamental, for example, scorn discourse or tormenting and badgering, caused us better scale our endeavors to guard individuals," Rosen educated.

The organization likewise made a move on 2.5 million bits of self destruction and self-injury content in Q4, up from 1.3 million in Q3 because of expanded commentator limit.

On Instagram, it hindered 3.4 million bits of self destruction and self-injury content, up from 1.3 million in Q3.

Instagram's algorithm to limit recycled content on Reels: Report

 

Facebook-possessed photograph sharing stage Instagram is making changes to its calculation to get more unique posts on its foundation.

With the assistance of calculation, Reels that are generally covered by text, are foggy, have a watermark or logo, or have a boundary around it will not be suggested as much of the time.

Instagram client reviews showed that individuals have a "less fulfilling" Reels experience when substance is reused from other applications or is hazy, so it'll begin deemphasizing that content in its suggestion programming, said Devi Narasimhan, Spokesperson, Instagram.

The organization is additionally Facebook-possessed photograph sharing stage Instagram is making changes to its calculation to get more unique posts on its foundation.

With the assistance of calculation, Reels that are generally covered by text, are hazy, have a watermark or logo, or have a line around it will not be suggested as regularly.

Instagram client overviews exhibited that individuals have a "less fulfilling" Reels experience when substance is reused from other applications or is foggy, so it'll begin deemphasizing that content in its suggestion programming, said Devi Narasimhan, Spokesperson, Instagram.

The organization is additionally giving new accepted procedures on its @creators record to give Instagram clients tips on the most proficient method to make content that is probably going to be seen and advanced, The Verge covered Tuesday.

As indicated by the report, the group currently suggests that Reels clients post vertical recordings that utilization music found in Instagram's library or sounds that they find on Reels.

"We're expanding on what we've gained from Explore to suggest fun and engaging recordings in spots like the Reels tab, and customize the experience," said Narasimhan in an email to The Verge.issuing new accepted procedures on its @creators record to give Instagram clients tips on the most proficient method to make content that is probably going to be seen and advanced, The Verge wrote about Tuesday.

As per the report, the group presently suggests that Reels clients post vertical recordings that utilization music found in Instagram's library or sounds that they find on Reels.

"We're expanding on what we've gained from Explore to suggest fun and engaging recordings in spots like the Reels tab, and customize the experience," said Narasimhan in an email to The Verge.

YouTube Gaming hits 100bn watch-time hours, Minecraft leads the list

 

YouTube Gaming has uncovered that 2020 has been its greatest year ever, with 100 billion watch-time hours - twofold the quantity of hours viewed in 2018 - and more than 40 million dynamic gaming channels.

Of that 100 billion watch-time hours, 10 billion were of YouTube Gaming live transfers, flagging a solid rivalry for Amazon-possessed Twitch.

The Google-possessed stage said out of 40 million dynamic gaming channels, 80,000 channels hit 100,000 endorsers this previous year.

In excess of 1,000 channels broke 5 million endorsers in 2020, while in excess of 350 channels hit 10 million supporters.

"Indeed, there has never been a superior opportunity to be a YouTube Gaming maker. More than 350 gaming makers arrived at an incredible 10 million supporters," said Ryan Wyatt, Head of Global Gaming at YouTube.

Minecraft was the most-watched game on all of YouTube, with in excess of 200 billion perspectives on live transfers and transferred video watched for the current year.

The following most-watched game on the stage was Roblox with 75 billion perspectives.

Others games in the main 5 were portable fight royale Garena Free Fire (72 billion), Grand Theft Auto V (70 billion) and Fortnite (67 billion).Creators like LazarBeam, Lyna, MortaL, CouRage, TheDonato and Typical Gamer are real time solely on YouTube.

"We've seen Valkyrae develop to get one of the greatest female live decorations over all stages since she began real time solely on YouTube," Wyatt said.

New WhatsApp feature to allow users to mute videos before sending

 

Texting application WhatsApp is apparently taking a shot at another element that would let clients quiet their recordings prior to presenting those on their loved ones or putting them up as status.

As spotted by WABetaInfo, a site that tracks WhatsApp, the Facebook-claimed organization is presently building up a quiet video highlight and it has showed up on a beta update.

In the screen capture shared by the WhatsApp highlights tracker, one can see the alternative of quieting the video alongside the managing choice.

"Subsequent to empowering Advanced Wallpaper highlights and Disappearing messages, WhatsApp is chipping away at new highlights now. The following element, accessible in a future update, will permit quieting recordings prior to shipping off contact or your notices," a report by WABetaInfo read.

WhatsApp has likewise begun turning out cutting edge backdrop highlights to more clients.

This component lets clients set an alternate backdrop for each visit. You can decide to set one backdrop for all talks on WhatsApp, or physically select an alternate one for each visit.

As of late, WhatsApp presented the much-anticipated 'Vanishing Messages' component.

As the name proposes, the component permits client to send messages that will show up for a restricted timeframe.

Creators can now protect their images, videos on FB, Instagram

 

Facebook has reported to extend admittance to Rights Manager to support more makers - who have a huge or developing list of substance - better control when, how and where they share content across Facebook and Instagram.

It implies that Page administrators would now be able to submit pictures and recordings for rights security, extending the scope of the element and more makers can give takedown demands over re-transferred recordings and pictures on Facebook and Instagram which are possessed by them.

"Page administrators can present an application for content they've made and need to secure," said Jeniece Primus, Product Manager at Facebook.

The organization additionally declared to enable more makers to gather promotion profit from coordinated Rights Manager substance and offering in-stream advertisements in more nations.

"Inside Rights Manager, we've improved our Collect Ad Earnings apparatus and are extending accessibility, which implies that more makers will have the option to gather advertisement income from coordinating recordings that remember for stream promotions," Facebook said in an assertion on Monday.

The organization has added another channel see for spotting monetizable matches, better direction for how to catch adaptation openings, exportable income reports, and the capacity to gather advertisement profit while setting a proprietorship connect on the coordinated video.

"Furthermore, the new in-stream promotions switch in the Creator Studio application empowers simple administration from cell phones," Facebook educated.

The interpersonal organization likewise dispatched new video experiences to help rights holders measure and streamline their security exercises, and influence fan-driven dissemination as a vital piece of their business insight.

"We've extended In-stream advertisements to Egypt, Iraq, Morocco and Turkey, adding to the 45 nations where the in-steam program is now accessible".

If Google, FB, Twitter are 'public spheres', they cannot censor content too

 

When talking among themselves, Silicon Valley top dogs in some cases express peculiar things. In an inward introduction in March 2018, Google heads were approached to envision their organization going about as a "Great Censor," so as to restrict the effect of clients "carrying on seriously."

In a 2016 interior video, Nick Foster, Google's head of configuration, imagined a "objective driven record" of all clients' information, enriched with its own "volition or reason," which would push us to take choices (state, about shopping or travel) that would "mirror Google's qualities as an association."

In the event that that doesn't strike you as peculiar — like discourse from some tragic sci-fi novel — at that point you have to peruse more tragic sci-fi. (Start with Yevgeny Zamyatin's incredibly insightful "We.")

The lowliest workers of huge tech organizations — the substance arbitrators whose work it is to spot terrible stuff on the web — offer a fairly alternate point of view. "Keep in mind 'We're the free discourse wing of the free discourse party'?" one of them solicited Alex Feerst from OneZero a year ago, suggesting an early Twitter trademark. "How vain and unmindful does that sound at this point? All things considered, it's the morning after the free discourse party, and the spot is destroyed."

Also, how.

I don't have a clue whether, as the New York Post affirmed a week ago, Democratic official chosen one Joe Biden met with a Ukrainian energy leader named Vadym Pozharskyi in 2015. I don't have the foggiest idea whether Biden's child Hunter attempted to handle such a gathering as a major aspect of his board directorship manage Pozharskyi's firm, Burisma Holdings. What's more, I am pretty dubious that the gathering, if to be sure it occurred, was the explanation Biden requested that the Ukrainian government fire its examiner general, Viktor Shokin, who was exploring Burisma. I am even open to the hypothesis that the entire story is bunk, the messages counterfeit, and the PC and its hard-drive an infowars blessing from Russia, with affection.

What I cannot deny is that in the event that I read the story on the web and thought that it was convincing, I ought to have had the option to impart it to companions. Rather, both Facebook and Twitter settled on a choice to attempt to execute the Post's scoop.

Facebook quietly removes 20% text limit on ad images

 

Facebook has carefully taken out the standard that restricted content space on promotion pictures to just 20%. It implies that the interpersonal interaction monster won't punish promotions with more picture text on them.

Facebook had a 'text overlay' device for promoters to guarantee that text didn't take up more than 20% of their advertisements.

As shared by web-based media master Matt Navarra, Facebook is reaching sponsors to illuminate them regarding the update.

"Enormous news for Facebook sponsors. Facebook is murdering its '<20% text in picture' rule for advertisements," he tweeted as of late.

Facebook said that it "will no longer punish promotions with higher measures of picture text in sales and conveyance".

"We will start steadily eliminating outer material and sources that show that we uphold elevated levels of text in pictures," the informal community included.

Prior, the 'text overlay' instrument by Facebook checked if the promotion lined up with the 20% limitation or not.

"To make a superior encounter for watchers and promoters, advertisements that show up on Facebook, Instagram, and the Audience Network are screened dependent on the measure of picture text utilized in your advertisement," read the prior Facebook rule.

"In view of this audit, notices with a higher level of picture text may not be appeared. If it's not too much trouble note that special cases may apply to certain advertisement pictures. For instance, exclusions apply to book covers, collection spreads and item pictures".

Facebook, in any case, said that sponsors are as yet urged to diminish the measure of text with pictures.

Instagram begins testing 'Shops' feature with select users for online store

After Facebook, Instagram has started testing the new Shops include with select clients comprehensively to help set up a solitary online store for clients.
Tapping on the 'Shops' tab at the base bar in Instagram will take clients to existing shopping involvement with the application, with a posting of posts that have Shopping Tags included by means of endorsed vendors, reports TechCrunch
The Shops tab would supplant the current 'Movement' tab for those in the test.
Clients would have the option to get to 'Movement' through an extra symbol in upper right.
Facebook in May reported to turn out Shops on its foundation.
"Making a Facebook Shop is free and basic. Organizations can pick the items they need to highlight from their index and afterward redo the look and feel of their shop with a spread picture and complement hues that exhibit their image," Facebook said in an announcement.
Any vender, regardless of their size or financial plan, can carry their business on the web and associate with clients any place and at whatever point it's helpful for them.
The organization said that in Facebook Shops, clients will have the option to message a business through WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct to pose inquiries, get support, track conveyances and that's only the tip of the iceberg.
Later on, they will have the option to see a business' shop and make buys directly inside a visit in WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct.


(Just the feature and image of this report may have been adjusted by the Business Standard staff; the remainder of the substance is auto-created from a coordinated feed.)

Facebook, Twitter, others to deny requests on Hong Kong user data

Social media platforms and messaging apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Google and Twitter say they're going to deny enforcement requests for user data in Hong Kong while studying ramifications of a national security law enacted last week.
Facebook and its messaging app WhatsApp said in separate statements Monday that they might freeze the review of state requests for user data in Hong Kong , pending further assessment of the National Security Law, including formal human rights due diligence and consultations with international human rights experts.
The policy changes follow the rollout last week of laws prohibiting what Beijing views as secessionist, subversive or terrorist activities, or as foreign intervention within the territory's internal affairs.
The legislation criminalizes some pro-democracy slogans just like the widely used Liberate Hong Kong , revolution of our time, which the Hong Kong government says has separatist connotations.
The fear is that the new law erodes the freedoms of the semi-autonomous city, which has operated under a 1 country, two systems" framework after Britain handed the colony to China in 1997.
That framework has allowed Hong Kong and its people freedoms not found in China , like unrestricted internet access.
Spokesman Mike Ravdonikas said Monday that Telegram understands the importance of protecting the proper to privacy of our Hong Kong users.
Telegram has been used broadly to spread pro-democracy messages and knowledge about the protests in Hong Kong .
Telegram has never shared any data with the Hong Kong authorities within the past and doesn't shall process any data requests associated with its Hong Kong users until a world consensus is reached in reference to the continued political changes within the city, he said.
Twitter also paused all data and knowledge requests from Hong Kong authorities after the law went into effect last week, the corporate said. it's studying the implications of the safety law.

Like many public interest organisations, civil society leaders and entities, and industry peers, we've grave concerns regarding both the developing process and therefore the full intention of this law, the corporate said during a statement. 

Twitter disables 'tweet via SMS' feature due to text message vulnerability

Twitter has disabled its ‘tweet via SMS’ feature in most countries due to security reasons. The feature has been with the micro blogging site since its inception. However, with the proliferation of affordable smartphones and cheaper internet services, it lost its utility. Moreover, there have been vulnerabilities associated with text messaging service for tweets.
"We want to continue to help keep your account safe. We have seen vulnerabilities with SMS, so we have turned off our Twitter via SMS service, except for a few countries," said the micro-blogging platform in a tweet.
There are not many people who use this feature which is with Twitter since the very beginning but there were some complaints from people who still used SMS to read tweets.
The tweet via SMS feature was launched with Twitter's original 140-character limit.
Everyone will still have access to important SMS messages needed to log in to and manage their accounts.
206 people are talking about this
In September last year, Twitter said that it was temporarily turning off the ability to Tweet via SMS, or text message, to protect people's accounts.

"We're taking this step because of vulnerabilities that need to be addressed by mobile carriers and our reliance on having a linked phone number for two-factor authentication (we're working on improving this)," it added.

Instagram's trial to hide number of 'likes' may save users' self-esteem

International News

Instagram is running a social media experiment in Australia and elsewhere to see what happens when it hides the number of likes on photos and other posts.
If you have an Instagram account, you’ll get to see the numbers but your followers won’t – at least, not automatically. They will be able to click and see who liked your post, but will have to count the list of names themselves.
The trial is taking place right now in six countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. Canada has just finished its trial.
It’s a bold move by Instagram, but arguably a necessary one. There is growing concern about the effect of social media on young people’s mental health and self–esteem.
Read more: Women can build positive body image by controlling what they view on social media
Instagram explained:
We want your friends to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.
Likes, and their public tallying, have become the heart of Instagram and many other social media platforms. By hiding them, does Instagram risk devaluing a crucial currency?

 Receiving loads of likes can feel like getting a gold star. It’s a public affirmation that you’re doing good work – a useful bit of quantitative feedback on your photographic skills or creativity. Under the new trial you’ll still get the gold star, but in private, and without broader recognition...Read More

How tech cos make us feel like we own their apps and how that benefits them

International News

Possessions are going out of fashion. An endless stream of media reports claim millennials – that amorphous mass of people born in the 1980s and 1990s who have grown up with the internet and digital technology – are in favour of accessing rather than owning stuff.
And yet my research shows that owning possessions is still something millennials hunger for. It is just that these possessions are now digital rather than physical.
People who become heavy users of the apps they download can develop deep relationships with these services, so deep that they take on what we call “psychological ownership” of them. This means they perceive each app as something that belongs just to them and has effectively become an extension of themselves. After using it frequently and adjusting the settings to their liking, it becomes “my app”, even though their rights to use the service and transfer their data are actually restricted and their accounts can be terminated at any time.
Psychological ownership can benefit the companies because it leads users to take on valuable extra roles. In the real world, companies have long pushed for shoppers to give feedback, recommend their products and help other shoppers. App “owners” are willingly doing all of this in the digital sphere and often with more expertise and commitment than traditional consumers.

 My colleagues and I studied this phenomenon for users of music streaming apps such as Spotify and QQ Music and found that they went the extra mile in four ways. They provided services such as answering the queries of other users on internet forums or offering other information that would enrich the experience of users. They improved the app by giving the company feedback or taking part in the app’s governance. They advocated for the app by championing it in public or defending it against critics....Read More

Facebook plans to double women employees globally in 5 years

International News

Facebook aims to double the percentage of women working at the social media giant around the world over the next five years, while simultaneously doubling the number of black and Hispanic employees in the US, setting new diversity goals for the organisation.
The world's largest social-media company also wants half of its US workforce to be from underrepresented groups by 2024.
"We envision a company where in five years, at least fifty-per cent of our workforce is made up of women, people who are Black, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islanders, people with two or more ethnicities, people with disabilities and veterans," Maxine Williams, Facebook's chief diversity officer, wrote in a blog post Tuesday.
Facebook released the new targets alongside its annual diversity report, which details the ethnic and gender breakdown of its workforce.
"In doing this, we aim to double our number of women globally and Black and Hispanic employees in the US. It will be a company that reflects and better serves the people on our platforms, services and products," she added.
In the report, the company said women currently make up 36.9 per cent of staff, up from 36.3 per cent last year and 31 per cent in 2014.
At senior leadership level, women account for 32.6 per cent of staff, up from 30 per cent last year.

 Williams said the company had achieved higher representation of women in leadership by focusing on hiring and growing female leaders. In technical roles, though, women account for just 23 per cent of staff...Read More

Instagram wants to curb online bullying with a pop-up warning

Technology News

Instagram on Monday announced new features aimed at curbing online bullying on its platform, including a warning to people as they are preparing to post abusive remarks.
"It's our responsibility to create a safe environment on Instagram," said a statement from Adam Mosseri, head of the visually focused social platform owned by Facebook."This has been an important priority for us for some time, and we are continuing to invest in better understanding and tackling this problem.
One new tool being rolled out is a warning generated by artificial intelligence to notify users their comment may be considered offensive before it is posted."This intervention gives people a chance to reflect and undo their comment and prevents the recipient from receiving the harmful comment notification," Mosseri said.
"From early tests of this feature, we have found that it encourages some people to undo their comment and share something less hurtful once they have had a chance to reflect."
Another new tool is aimed at limiting the spread of abusive comments on a user's feed.
"We've heard from young people in our community that they're reluctant to block, unfollow, or report their bully because it could escalate the situation, especially if they interact with their bully in real life," Mosseri commented.

 A new feature called "restrict" that is being tested will make posts from an offending person visible only to that person."You can choose to make a restricted person's comments visible to others by approving their comments," Mosseri added...Read More

Microsoft tops $1 trillion after strong Q3 earnings, cloud growth forecast

Company News

Microsoft Corp on Wednesday briefly topped $1 trillion in value for the first time after executives predicted continued growth for its cloud computing business.

The Redmond, Washington-based company beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit and revenue, powered by an unexpected boost in Windows revenue and brisk growth in its cloud business which has reached tens of billions of dollars in sales.

Microsoft shares rose 4.4 per cent to $130.54 in late trading after the forecast issued on a conference call with investors, pushing the company ahead of Apple Inc's $980 billion market capitalisation. The companies and Amazon.com Inc have taken turns in recent months to rank as the world's most valuable US-listed company.

Microsoft's stock has gained about 23 per cent gain so far this year, after hitting a record high of $125.85 during regular trading hours.

Under Chief Executive Satya Nadella, the company has spent the past five years shifting from reliance on its once-dominant Windows operating system to selling cloud-based services.
Azure, Microsoft's flagship cloud product, competes with market leader Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide computing power to businesses.

Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood told investors that Microsoft expects to see growth in the fiscal fourth quarter in the business divisions in charge of Azure and Office 365, an online version of its longtime productivity software.


 For the third quarter ended March 31, Azure's growth slowed slightly to 73 per cent, down from 76 per cent in the second quarter. Mike Spencer, Microsoft's head of investor relations, said the decline was roughly in line with the company's estimate...Read More

Facebook beats profit estimates, sets aside $3 billion for privacy penalty

Company News

Facebook Inc on Wednesday blew past Wall Street profit estimates in the first quarter and set aside $3 billion to cover a settlement with U.S. regulators, calming investors who had worried about the outcome of a months-long federal probe.

Shares of the world's biggest online social network jumped more than 10 percent to $200.50 in after-hours trade. They have now regained much of the ground lost last year amid slowing growth and costs associated with the company's privacy scandals.

The settlement accrual, which Facebook set at $3 billion but said could rise as high as $5 billion, cut the company's net income in the first quarter to $2.43 billion, or 85 cents per share.

Excluding the charge, Facebook would have earned $1.89 a share, up from $1.69 in the year-ago quarter and easily beating analysts' average estimate of $1.63 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Total first-quarter revenue rose 26 percent to $15.1 billion from $12.0 billion last year, again beating analysts' average estimate of $15.0 billion.

"This is a strong report suggesting that advertisers still see value in Facebook's platform, as they did before the controversies and scandals erupted," said Haris Anwar, senior analyst at financial markets platform Investing.com.


 Monthly and daily users of the main Facebook app were both up 8 percent compared to last year, to 2.4 billion and 1.6 billion, respectively, in line with forecasts.Total expenses in the first quarter were $11.8 billion, including the settlement accrual, up 80 percent compared with a year ago as the company hired content moderators and invested in new security controls to make its social networks safer...Read More

Facebook, Google face widening crackdown over online content

Company News

Tech giants like Facebook and Google came under increasing pressure in Europe on Monday when countries proposed stricter rules to force them to block extreme material such as terrorist propaganda and child porn.

Britain called for a first-of-its-kind watchdog for social media that could fine executives and even ban companies. And a European Union parliamentary committee approved a bill giving internet companies an hour to remove terror-related material or face fines that could reach into the billions.
"We are forcing these firms to clean up their act once and for all," said British Home Secretary Sajid Javid, whose department collaborated on Britain's proposal.

Opponents warned the British and EU measures could stifle innovation and strengthen the dominance of technology giants because smaller companies won't have the money to comply. That, in turn, could turn Google and Facebook into the web's censors, they said.

The push to make the big companies responsible for the torrent of material they carry has largely been driven by Europeans. But it picked up momentum after the March 15 mosque shootings in New Zealand that killed 50 people and were livestreamed for 17 minutes. Facebook said it removed 1.5 million videos of the attacks in the 24 hours afterward.

The US, where government action is constrained by the First Amendment right to free speech and freedom of the press, has taken a more hands-off approach, though on Tuesday, a House committee will press Google and Facebook executives on whether they are doing enough to curb the spread of hate crimes and white nationalism.


 Australia last week made it a crime for social media platforms not to quickly remove "abhorrent violent material."...Read More

Flipkart India's most preferred workplace; Amazon, Oyo come next: LinkedIn

Company News

Walmart-owned Flipkart is the most preferred workplace in India, followed by Amazon and Oyo in the second and third places, respectively, according to a list compiled by professional social media network LinkedIn.

Internet companies dominate the top 10 spots in LinkedIn's fourth edition of the '2019 Top Companies' list for India.

IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) made its debut at the seventh place, new entrants and homegrown internet and consumer services companies Swiggy and Zomato were ranked sixth and eighth, respectively.

Uber, another new entrant, took the fifth spot, while, One97 Communications was at the fourth rank and Oil and Energy conglomerate Reliance Industries was at the 10th place.

Others on the list include consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) at 13th, Yes Bank (14), IBM (15), Daimler AG (16), Freshworks (17), Accenture (18), Ola (19), ICICI Bank (20), PwC India (21), KPMG India (22), Larsen & Toubro (23), Oracle (24), and Qualcomm (25).

"This year, half the companies are new entrants on the list, including IT giants such as TCS and IBM that showcase the changing job and hiring landscape," said LinkedIn India Managing Editor Adith Charlie.

Charlie further said that "the presence of more blue chip Indian companies such as Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries, among others emphasises the fact that these large firms are getting better at attracting millennials employees".


 The report further noted that majority of companies on the list made maximum new hiring for engineering jobs followed by operations and business development.