Tech

Meta bans posts calling for the assassination of Russia’s President Putin

Published

2 years ago

March 15, 2022

Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta has explained that it will not allow users to make posts calling for the assassination of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and other members of parliament

Meta recently eased some of its hate speech policy, but only temporarily and in relation to users in Ukraine, allowing them to threaten attacking forces on their platform.

But this was only acceptable in the context of speech regarding the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.

This all comes after Russia opened a criminal inquiry into Meta because of the change in its hate speech policy.

Only days after the country restricted access to Instagram and Facebook following Meta’s censorship of some Kremlin-affiliated news outlets.

The clarification follows Reuters earlier report that Meta’s hate speech policy allowed for death threats against Putin and Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenko.

They also reported that Facebook was allowing posts inciting violence against Russian soldiers within Eastern European countries.

Meta’s president of Global Affairs wrote in a statement that the company is now “narrowing its focus to make explicitly clear in the guidance that it is never to be interpreted as condoning violence against Russians in general.”

He also reiterated that Meta does “not permit calls to assassinate a head of state”.

Tech

Tesla is slashing prices to stay competitive

Published

1 week ago

April 21, 2024

Reuters

Tesla cut the U.S. prices of its Model Y, Model X and Model S vehicles by $2,000 each, days after the first-quarter deliveries of the world’s most valuable automaker missed market expectations.

Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle (EV) maker lowered the prices for its Model Y base variant to $42,990, while the long-range and performance variants are now priced at $47,990 and $51,490, respectively, according to its website.

The basic version of the Model S now costs $72,990 and its plaid variant $87,990. The Model X base variant now costs $77,990 and its plaid variant is priced at $92,900.

Tesla North America also said in a post on X said it would end its referral program benefits in all markets after April 30.

Referral program allows buyers to get extra incentives through referrals from existing customers, a strategy long used by traditional automakers to boost sales.

Musk has postponed a planned trip to India where he was to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announce plans to enter the South Asian market, Reuters reported on Saturday.

On Monday Reuters reported, citing an internal memo, that the EV maker was laying off more than 10% of its global workforce.

Earlier this month Reuters reported the EV maker had canceled a long-promised inexpensive car, expected to cost $25,000, that investors had been counting on to drive mass-market growth.

The EV maker reported this month that its global vehicle deliveries in the first quarter fell for the first time in nearly four years, as price cuts failed to stir demand.

Tesla is to report first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

Tech

TikTok launches Instagram competitor ‘Notes’

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Nathan Langridge

TikTok Notes has launched in Australia & Canada as a formidable competitor to Instagram, offering a unique platform for content creation, text and sharing.

“TikTok Notes is a lifestyle platform that offers informative photo-text content about people’s lives, where you can see individuals sharing their travel tips and daily recipes,” reads the official App Store description.

Take note

The app allows users to create content by combining short videos with text-based notes, closely resembling that of Meta’s Instagram.

Whether it’s sharing a quick tutorial, a personal anecdote, or a thought-provoking message, TikTok Notes is positioned to be a formidable social media platform.

Currently, the app is only available for download and “limited testing” in Australia and Canada.

As it gains momentum, the platform is poised to contest Instagram’s established reign in the social media landscape.

Tech

Ramifications of a TikTok ban to impact Open Internet

Published

2 weeks ago

April 18, 2024

Ahron Young

The United States’ longstanding advocacy for an open internet faces a critical juncture as Congress considers legislation targeting TikTok.

The proposed measures, including a forced sale or outright ban of TikTok, have sparked concerns among digital rights advocates and global observers about the implications for internet freedom and international norms.

For decades, the U.S. has championed the concept of an unregulated internet, advocating for the free flow of digital data across borders.

However, the move against TikTok, a platform with 170 million U.S. users, has raised questions about the consistency of America’s stance on internet governance.

Read more – Big tech to handover misinformation data

Critics fear that actions against TikTok could set a precedent for other countries to justify their own internet censorship measures.

Russian blogger Aleksandr Gorbunov warned that Russia could use the U.S. decision to justify further restrictions on platforms like YouTube.

Similarly, Indian lawyer Mishi Choudhary expressed concerns that a U.S. ban on TikTok would embolden the Indian government to impose additional crackdowns on internet freedoms.

Moreover, the proposed legislation could complicate U.S. efforts to advocate for an internet governed by international organizations rather than individual countries.

China, in particular, has promoted a vision of internet sovereignty, advocating for greater national control over online content.

A TikTok ban could undermine America’s credibility in urging other countries to embrace a more open internet governed by global standards.