Tag: meta

Meta Deliberately Shut Down Facebook Pages to Pressure Australian Government

Meta’s sweeping news ban across Australia in early 2021, which saw the Facebook pages of non-profits and government entities also shut down, was a deliberate ploy by the tech giant’s top brass to gain leverage during heated negotiations over an impending media payment law. The U.S.-based Whistleblower Aid revealed on May 5 that it had…


Meta Deliberately Shut Down Major Facebook Accounts to Strong-Arm Australian Government

Meta’s sweeping news ban across Australia in early 2021, which saw the Facebook pages of non-profits and government entities also shut down, was a deliberate ploy by the tech giant’s top brass to gain leverage during heated negotiations over an impending media payment law. The U.S.-based Whistleblower Aid revealed on May 5 that it had…


German Regulator Imposes Tougher Rules on Facebook Owner Meta

BERLIN—Germany’s cartel office said that Meta Platforms Inc., the owner of Facebook, has “paramount significance for competition across markets,” a classification which gives the regulator more leeway to curb digital companies’ market power. Under legislation introduced by German lawmakers in early 2021, the cartel office can ban what it deems to be anti-competitive activities. Meta,…



Meta Still Subject to Consumer Lawsuits for Breach of Data Protection Rules, EU Regulator Says

The European Union’s top court said Meta Platforms Inc. is still subject to consumer group lawsuits for possible violations of data protection rules, Bloomberg reports. In a dispute between the Federation of German Consumer Organizations and Meta’s Facebook, Germany’s top civil court sought the EU tribunal’s guidance on whether lawsuits to protect consumers from Big Tech were…


Meta Expanding Massive $1 Billion Illinois Data Center, Set to Power Everything From Facebook to Instagram Beginning Next Year

By Robert Channick From Chicago Tribune Meta, the social media giant formerly known as Facebook, is expanding its massive $1 billion data center under construction in DeKalb to nearly 2.4 million square feet, putting the college town west of Chicago at the center of its metaverse. Slated to open next year, the five-building complex filled…


Meta’s Facebook Reality Labs Loses Nearly $3 Billion in Q1

Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. posted nearly $3 billion in losses in the first three months of 2022 for its Metaverse-focused Reality Labs division. According to an earnings report (pdf) published on April 27, the company’s Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) division, which houses its augmented and virtual reality operations, had $695 million in revenue in the first quarter, driven by…


Russia Fines Meta Platforms Over ‘LGBT Propaganda’, Ifax Says

A Russian court on Tuesday fined Meta Platforms Inc. 4 million roubles ($54,030) for failing to delete posts that contained what it calls “LGBT propaganda,” the Interfax news agency reported. A 2013 Russian law, decried by Western countries as state-enforced bigotry, bans the “promotion of non-traditional sexual relations to minors.” Meta did not immediately respond…


Elon Musk Becomes a Freedom of Speech Hero

Commentary The richest man in the world has decided to use some of his vast fortune to promote free speech in a real and practical way. Elon Musk has literally put his money where his mouth is. Musk is prepared to use part of his fortune to transform Twitter into a vehicle for free speech….


Meta Institutional Investors Urge Opposing Re-Election of 2 Board Members

A group representing some of Meta Platforms Inc.’s institutional investors urged shareholders of the Facebook owner to vote against the re-election of two of its board members, Marc Andreessen and Peggy Alford. “We believe the lack of independence of board members Peggy Alford and Marc L. Andreessen is undermining the board’s ability to adequately oversee…