Facebook Inc. | Business Upturn

Facebook Inc. rebrands itself by adopting the name ‘Meta’

Cheryll Jain — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 05:23:23 +0000

Tech giant Facebook Inc. announced on Thursday, October 28 that the company has re-branded itself by adopting a new name — Meta.

Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the same during the Facebook Connect augmented and virtual reality conference. The rebrand comes amidst the growing criticism and mounting allegations against the company for its algorithmic decisions and neglect of the harms of Facebook on its users for profit.

“Today we are seen as a social media company, but in our DNA we are a company that builds technology to connect people,” said Zuckerberg during the conference, adding that metaverse is next on the horizon just as social networking was when Facebook first began.

The company also announced that the new name will mark a change in its stock ticket from FB to MVRS starting from December 1. The name change, however, will not reflect a change in Facebook’s social media service and app but the platform will now be placed under the parent company Meta which will also oversee Facebook’s other entities such as Whatsapp, Instagram, Oculus, among others.

Meta has been gearing up for the name change and expansion into the metaverse market since earlier this summer when the company announced the formation of a dedicated metaverse team in July.

Two months later, the company also shared plans to promote its current head of AR and VR, Andrew Bosworth, to the position of Chief Technology Officer in 2022. The company also stated this week that it is estimated to spend around $10 billion over the next year to develop the technological infrastructure required in building the metaverse.

Meta expects metaverse to reach a billion people within the next decade, hosting hundreds of billions of digital commerce and supporting livelihood for millions of digital creators and developers. “We believe the metaverse will be the successor to the mobile internet,” Zuckerberg said.

Facebook reports 17% rise in third-quarter profits amid growing criticism

Cheryll Jain — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 13:37:21 +0000

Tech Giant Facebook Inc on Monday, October 25 reported third-quarter earnings of $9.19 billion or $3.22 a share, an increase from $2.71 a share it reported during the same quarter last year. The company experienced a rise in profits amid growing criticism that followed the revelations made by whistleblower Frances Haugen on the internal working of Facebook.

However, Facebook’s performance in the last quarter fell short of expectations on the revenue front, which was forecast at $31.5 billion to $34 billion. The reason for the miss has been accounted to the allegations against Facebook for prioritising the company’s growth over public safety.

Whistleblower Frances Haugen, a former product developer at Facebook, had made several accusations against the company and CEO Mark Zuckerberg last month, ranging from censoring government critics in Vietnam at the request of the country’s communist ruling party to withholding data about teenage users of its platform from shareholders.

Nevertheless, the Monthly Active Users or MAUs, which is a crucial metric for Facebook’s growth globally, increased 6% to 2.91 billion, approximately in line with analyst expectations of 2.92 billion.

Commenting on Facebook’s performance in the third quarter, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg stated that the company’s performance would have been better if not for the impact of Apple’s iOS 14, which blocked ads from advertisers that were shown to users without their consent.

“Overall, if it wasn’t for Apple’s iOS 14 changes, we would have seen positive quarter over quarter revenue growth,” she said. Shares of Facebook initially fell in the after-hours trading following the announcement of the results but then moved 2% higher than the closing price of $328.69.

Facebook plans to rebrand itself with a new name: Report

Cheryll Jain — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 05:37:55 +0000

Social Media giant Facebook Inc. is reportedly in talks to rebrand itself with a new name as per sources close to the company. The matter will be brought up by Facebook’s co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the company’s Connect conference slated to be held news week on October 28.

Though Verge has reported that the name change could be announced sooner.

Facebook’s bid to rebrand itself comes in light of the recent controversy that has surrounded the company’s social media platform following whistleblower Frances Haugen leaking internal documents which led to a probe on the tech giant last month.

The planned rebranding is not expected to affect the original Facebook social media service and app but it will be positioned under a new parent company which will also oversee Facebook’s other entities such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Oculus, and more. With this, the company plans to branch out into the technology market to create more innovative products and services for users.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously shared his vision for the company and plans to lay the groundwork for a more prominent focus on the next generation of technology apart from its social media services. He had stated earlier that Facebook’s future will be built on the concept of a Metaverse, in which the users will live, work and exercise in a virtual universe.

Zuckerberg expects people’s outlook towards Facebook to change in the coming years, with it being recognised more as a metaverse company than a social media enterprise. “In many ways, the metaverse is the ultimate expression of social technology,” he said earlier in July.

Gearing up for its expansion into the metaverse market, Facebook set up a dedicated metaverse team earlier this summer. More recently, it declared that the head of AR and VR, Andrew Bosworth, will be promoted to Chief Technology Officer and just a few days prior, Facebook disclosed its plans to hire 10,000 more employees to work on the metaverse in Europe.

Facebook directs apps not to share sensitive data; does not any action itself

Arnav Dogra — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 07:13:52 +0000

Facebook today, reinforcing its own policy guidelines, has directed app developers and websites not to share medical, financial, and other sensitive personal consumer data all the while not taking any true action on it.

Some New York officials in charge of probing into this possible privacy breach have said that Facebook has begun restricting third-party apps from sharing sensitive medical information which was previously being done by the social media giant in breach of its own rules.

Linda Lacewell, Superintendent of State Financial Services in a release said, “Facebook instructed app developers and websites not to share medical, financial, and other sensitive personal consumer data but took no steps to police this rule. By continuing to do business with app developers that broke the rule, Facebook put itself in a position to profit from sensitive data that it was never supposed to receive in the first place.”

Facebook analytics is a tool used by app developers to get a free analysis of data to help guide alterations to apps. In return, Facebook also benefits from this data enabling it to display more specific and deeply targeted ads.

According to the investigators of the matter, an app called ‘Flo Health’, which is used to track menstruation cycles fed Facebook this data and informed it whenever a user was to start their period or was considering pregnancy.

SPAC trends on rise in US as Paul Singer, Facebook co-founder and Dell participate

Sanah Shah — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 06:19:47 +0000

Michael Dell, billionaire hedge fund manager and activist investor Paul Singer, Facebook Inc. co-founder Eduardo Saverin and the previous Xerox Corp. chief Ursula Burns have united to join the ‘blank-check’ IPO parade on the same single day.

Singer’s Elliott Management Corp., becoming more tenacious has registered for two new special purpose acquisition companies or SPACs. In total, at least 13 of the blank-check companies filed on Friday 19th February for U.S. initial public offerings, attempting to raise a combined total of more than $4.5 billion.

SPACs have begun to command IPOs this year, amounting to 63% of the approximate $77 billion raised on U.S. exchanges, according to data collected by Bloomberg. Including Friday’s newcomers, 146 SPACs that have filed since 1st January 2021 are waiting for IPOs to add $40 billion to that total, suggests data.

The vehicles, which consist of an IPO and then merge with a private company looking to go public, have multiplied to the extent that serial filers are putting in for two or even three on the same day. On Friday, that included two SPACs supported by Cantor Fitzgerald — it’s seventh and eighth — in addition to Elliott’s double play.

High-profile investors such as Bill Ackman, whose $4 billion listings by Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd. in July is positioned as the biggest-ever SPAC, have inspired a group of followers. This month, financier Michael Klein added $1.68 billion with two additions — his sixth and seventh — to his blank-check collection. The next day, Vinod Khosla’s namesake venture capital firm won over Klein on the deal count, with three SPACs pricing on one day to raise a total of $1.2 billion.

Lastly, there are SPACs promoted by celebrities and politicians, ranging from former National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick and retired New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez to former House Speaker Paul Ryan and former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

Chirag Jha — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 05:44:14 +0000

Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp said on Thursday it will go ahead with its controversial privacy policy update but will allow users to read it at “their own pace” and will also display a banner providing additional information.

The messaging platform laid out fresh terms in January, aimed at increasing business transactions on the platform.

The policy update would allow owner Facebook and its subsidiaries collect user data, including their phone number and location, which sparked a global outcry and a rush of new users to competitors Telegram and Signal, among others.

WhatsApp then moved to delay the new policy launch to May from February and sought to clarify the update was focused on allowing users to message with businesses and would not affect personal conversations, which will continue to have end-to-end encryption.

In its latest blog post, WhatsApp said it will start reminding users to review and accept updates to keep using the messaging platform.

“We’ve also included more information to try and address concerns we’re hearing,” it added.

The section, which exists in the current policy, reads “You can choose not to have your WhatsApp account information shared with Facebook to improve your Facebook ads and products experiences”.

A noticeable change in the proposed policy. is the absence of a section that gave users the choice of sharing their information with Facebook.

Google opens paid-for Australia news platform amid government’s content payment laws

Ruchira Sonawat — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 09:31:42 +0000

Tech giant Google, on Friday, launched a platform in Australia offering news where it has paid seven domestic outlets to use their content. This was done to show legislation proposed by Canberra to enforce payments.

In a world’s first, Canberra moved to make it a legal requirement for Google and Facebook to pay Australian media companies for using their content included in search results or news feeds as well. If they failed to strike a deal with publishers, a government-appointed arbitrator would decide the price. Google is still lobbying the Australian government in private meetings and has said previously that this legislation was unworkable and would force it to pull out of the country if implemented.

With the legislation now before a parliamentary inquiry, Friday’s launch of News Showcase in Australia will see it pay seven domestic outlets, including the Canberra Times, to use their content.

Google said on Friday in a statement it looked forward to striking agreements with more Australian publishers, whose position has been bolstered by Canberra’s aggressive push back against Facebook and Google.

The News Showcase platform which is only rolled out in Brazil and Germany previously, was originally slated for launch last June but Google delayed the plans after Canberra made the unprecedented move.

Alphabet Inc to disclose first ever Google Cloud profit

Ruchira Sonawat — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 06:13:04 +0000

Quarterly sales record for the internet’s biggest platform for ads to get overshadowed as Alphabet Inc will report the cost and operating profit of its Google Cloud business for the first time on Tuesday.

Google dominates rivals Facebook Inc and Amazon.com Inc in the ad business and has also created a surge in demand for both parts of Google’s cloud business: computing services for retailers and other companies and corporate productivity suites including tools like Gmail.

Google may be ready to show that its heavy investment in staff and data centres to catch up in the industry is finally paying off, say analysts.

An increasing concern for Wall Street related to Alphabet’s costs has been looming as sales growth from the advertising business flattens out. The company started disclosing Cloud and YouTube sales a year ago. Alphabet will provide a detailed annual breakdown for Cloud going back three years.

Wall Street analysts forecast fourth-quarter Cloud sales of $3.82 billion for Google, with expectations for the unit to cross $13 billion in annual sales, according to Refinitiv data.

The JPMorgan analysts estimate Google Cloud spent about 40% more in 2020 than Amazon’s cloud unit did in 2016 when it had about $12 billion in sales. Google’s spending reflects higher competition, as well as cloud vendors expanding into newer technologies.

Analysts expect Google’s advertising business will post $42.6 billion in fourth-quarter sales, pushing overall Alphabet quarterly revenue to $53 billion. That would leave Alphabet with 2020 sales of $179 billion and profit of $11 billion.

WhatsApp gives clarification on newly updated privacy policy

Arjun Kalia — Sat, 09 Jan 2021 05:58:04 +0000

Facebook-owned messaging giant WhatsApp said its new privacy update will not impact how people communicate privately with their friends and family wherever they are in the world but make it easier for people to make purchases and get help from businesses on the messaging platform.

“While most people use WhatsApp to chat with friends and family, increasingly people are reaching out to businesses as well. We updated the privacy policy to describe that, going forward, businesses can choose to receive secure hosting services from our parent company Facebook to help manage their communications with their customers on WhatsApp,” the spokesperson said.

“The update does not change WhatsApp’s data-sharing practices with Facebook and WhatsApp remains deeply committed to protecting people’s privacy,” the spokesperson added.

However, privacy experts said that the updated terms of service and privacy policy give more insight into how the messaging platform will use user data and, more importantly, share it with its parent company Facebook going forward. Users have till February 8, 2021, to accept these in order to continue using the platform.

There is nothing new in WhatsApp updating its terms of service and privacy policy as most software services do update their services occasionally as it is a standard practice that in order to continue using these services, the user accepts the new conditions and policy.

Trump’s account permanently locked from Twitter, supporter’s account gets suspended too

Sanah Shah — Sat, 09 Jan 2021 05:17:03 +0000

Twitter Inc. permanently suspends Donald Trump’s account (@realDonaldTrump), deletes his new tweets on the official government account (@POTUS) and lastly removes his presidential campaign account (@TeamTrump).

After being banned from his personal account, the U.S. President tried to get around the ban and continued to use other accounts such as the government account and his campaign account. He tweeted, “We will not be SILENCED!” from the @POTUS account which holds 33.4 million followers. Twitter said that these accounts could face permanent suspension under its “ban evasion” policies.

Agitated by the ban, he tweeted, “Twitter is not about FREE SPEECH.” This has now been deleted. He added that he is debating creating his own social media platform soon.

Trump’s presidential campaign was suspended after he released a statement on that account criticizing twitter of “banning free speech” and being an ally to “the Democrats and the Radical Left” to suppress him. Previously, this account directed its 2.3 million followers to an account on Parler which is popular with conservatives for its hands-off approach to content control. Alphabet Inc’s Google suspended Parler on 8th January 2021 citing that posts ignite violence, while Apple Inc gave the service 24 hours to submit a detailed moderation plan.

This the first time Twitter has banned a head of state, confirmed by the company. Social media companies have slowly attempted to crack down on Trump and some of his known right-wing allies and supporters. The turmoil and chaos in Washington D.C. on 6th January 2021 led to the death of 5 people; this event propelled social media companies blamed for spreading the word of the violence to take action.

Trump has repeatedly used Twitter and other platforms to claim that his defeat in the 3rd November 2020 election was due to voter fraud and other conspiracy theories. He persuaded his supporters and followers to come to Washington D.C. on 6th January 2021 and march the Capitol to protest the outcome of the elections.

In a blog post by Twitter, it said that two of the president’s tweets on 8th January 2021 were in violation of its policy against the glorification of violence. Twitter had blocked Trump’s account on 6th January 2021 following the siege of Capitol Hill. At that time, he was given a warning that further violations would lead to suspension of his account, permanently. He was required to delete three tweets that were in violation of company policy for it to be unlocked. The next day, 7th January 2021, he returned with a video admitting that Joe Biden would be the next president.

Trump said that he would not attend Biden’s inauguration, in accordance with his beliefs that the elections were rigged. His supporters viewed this as a confirmation that the November elections were illegitimate.

Another tweet praising “American Patriots” and saying Trump’s supporters “will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, the shape or form!!!” were interpreted as “further indication that President Trump does not plan to facilitate an orderly transition.”

Major social media critics who include high-ranking Democratic politicians praised Twitter’s decision and said it was long overdue. On the other hand, Trump’s followers were outraged.

Facebook Inc said that they were suspending Trump’s account “indefinitely.” According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the ban will not be lifted before Inauguration Day.

“The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden,” said Zuckerberg. “We are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.” This decision to ban Trump’s account is an unprecedented elevation in the social media platform’s approach to controlling the president’s posts.

Donald Trump Jr, in a tweet on Friday denounced the ban by saying that dictators who threatened genocide continued to have Twitter accounts while not identifying anybody in particular.

The White House has not made any direct comment. While Trump’s campaign account criticized Twitter for “silencing” the president of the United States.

Trump has admitted to owing his presidential career to social media since his win in 2016. He has used @realDonaldTrump as his personal megaphone, which has sometimes tweeted more than 100 times a day, to engage with supporters, spread wrong information and even fire staff.

In an interview on Fox Business in 2017, Trump said, “I doubt I would be here if it weren’t for social media, to be honest with you.”

Trump has received special privileges from Facebook and Twitter due to being a world leader. Although his tweets have violated company policy, they weren’t removed on account of being in the public interest. These privileges have been terminated on leaving office.

Since last year, Twitter has been labelling and putting warnings on Trump’s tweet that broke their norms against glorifying violence, manipulated media or sharing potentially misleading information about voting processes.

President Donald Trump of the Republic party is due to hand over to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden on 20th January 2021.

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos makes biggest charitable donations of 2020

Ruchira Sonawat — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 10:32:05 +0000

According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of top donations, Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos made a $10 billion gift that is intended to help fight climate change. This was the single-largest charitable contribution in 2020.

The world’s richest man whose real-time worth by Forbes magazine estimates at roughly $188 billion, used the contribution to launch his Bezos Earth Fund. The fund, which supports non-profits involved in the climate crisis, has paid out $790 million to 16 groups so far.

Bezos’ wealth surged by 63 per cent from $113 billion to $184 billion from March 18 through December 7, 2020.

Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, delivered the fourth-largest donation on the Chronicle’s list. A $250 million gift to the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which worked on voting security issues in the 2020 election. Zuckerberg, whose wealth nearly doubled to $105 billion in the March-to-December period has been widely criticized and been called to testify before Congress for his company’s handling of disinformation in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.

Bezos’ and the Zuckerbergs made up the next spots on last year’s top 10 list, with $100 million donations Bezos for Feeding America to aid food banks across the country and the Zuckerbergs to the same election security group.

Two billionaires who donated heavily to charity last year MacKenzie Scott, Bezos’ former wife, and Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter did not make the Chronicle’s list because no single donation of theirs was large enough to qualify. In February, the Chronicle will publish its list of the 50 biggest donors, which counts cumulative donations, not individual gifts.

Facebook cracks down on private groups spreading ‘misinformation’

Chittesh Dalmia — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 08:50:54 +0000

Facebook Inc. on Thursday said it is cracking down on private groups where hate or misinformation is shared among members.

The move comes amid a wider crack down on malicious and false content at the social networking giant which has led people to turn to private groups of like-minded members who can share content that is not available to the wider Facebook community.

California based Facebook uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically scan posts, even in private groups, to take down pages that break its rules or in violation of the social network’s standards.

“People turn to Facebook Groups to connect with others who share their interests, but even if they decide to make a group private, they have to play by the same rules as everyone else,” Facebook vice president of engineering Tom Alison said in a blog post.

Alison said Facebook’s community standards “apply to public and private groups, and our proactive detection tools work across both.”

In the past year, Facebook has removed about 1.5 million pieces of content in groups for violating its policies on organised hate, with 91 percent of those posts found by automated software systems, according to Alison. The social network portal has taken down about 12 million pieces of content in groups for violating policies on hate speech, 87% of which was found proactively.

It is also stated that Facebook will also start “archiving” groups that been without administrators for a long time, meaning they still exist but don’t appear in searches and members can’t post anything.

In 2030, Facebook will reach net zero emissions for its value chain.

And today, we are introducing the Climate Science Information Center. pic.twitter.com/7VfoxW0COV

— Facebook (@facebook) September 15, 2020

Source: Gadgets360

Facebook claims Apple has declined to notify users about App Store fees

Pravin Suryawanshi — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 05:39:14 +0000

On Thursday, Facebook Inc. told Reuters that Apple Inc. rejected its attempt to tell users that the iPhone maker would take a 30 percent cut in revenue in a new online event feature, prompting Facebook to delete the message for users to get the device.

Facebook said Apple cited a rule for the App Store, which prohibits developers from showing users
“irrelevant” content.

On Thursday, Facebook Inc. told Reuters that Apple Inc. rejected its attempt to tell users that the iPhone
maker would take a 30 percent cut in revenue in a new online event feature, prompting Facebook to delete
the message for users to get the device.

Facebook said Apple cited a rule for the App Store, which prohibits developers from showing users
“irrelevant” content.

Facebook earlier this month said it planned to roll out a new tool that would let online influencers and other businesses host paid online events as a way to offset revenue lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said it had asked Apple to waive the 30% fee the iPhone maker charges for in-app purchases so Facebook could pass on all of the revenue of the event to business owners, but that Apple declined.

Facebook had aimed to provide a notice of Apple’s cut to users, according to mock-ups it released at the time, but Reuters found on Thursday that the promised message was not present on the new events feature.

The social media giant also planned to tell users on Alphabet Inc’s Google Play store it would not collect a fee for ticket sales, but that message was not displayed either, Reuters found.

In publicly criticizing Apple’s App Store commissions, Facebook joined other developers such as “Fortnite” creator Epic Games, which is suing Apple on antitrust allegations over the fees. Facebook is also wrangling with Apple over new privacy rules for iPhones that will require more notifications before tracking users across apps.

Both companies, along with fellow tech giants Alphabet and Amazon, are facing multiple probes over alleged anticompetitive behavior.

Facebook & Twitter bans US President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 misinformation video

Chittesh Dalmia — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 05:50:47 +0000

Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. blocked a video shared by accounts linked to U.S. President Donald Trump for violating their policies on coronavirus misinformation.

The Trump re-election campaign’s Twitter account, @TeamTrump, was briefly banned from sending new tweets after it posted a clip of an interview Trump did Wednesday with Fox News in which he said children were “virtually immune” from the COVID-19 coronavirus.

“[Children] don’t have a problem, they just don’t have a problem,” Trump said in the video as part of an argument for why schools should reopen. “It doesn’t have an impact on them. I’ve watched some doctors say they’re totally immune.”

Trump posted the same video to his account on Facebook, which removed the clip shortly before Twitter froze the campaign’s account. Both social-media companies have policies that forbid sharing misleading information about the coronavirus that could cause people harm.

The Washington Post initially reported that Twitter had barred Trump from posting to his personal account, but later corrected its story to say that the temporary ban had only impacted the @TeamTrump campaign account.

The @TeamTrump account resumed posting Wednesday evening after the video appeared to have been taken down. “The original Tweet from @TeamTrump is in violation of the Twitter Rules on COVID-19 misinformation, and we’ve required removal,” according to a post from Twitter spokesman Nick Pacilio. Though the president also shared the video on his personal account, @realDonaldTrump, that account wasn’t punished because the clip was re-shared from the campaign’s feed instead of uploaded directly, Twitter said.

“Silicon Valley is hopelessly biased against the President and only enforces the rules in one direction,” Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in a tweet in response to the company’s actions.

Twitter, which had for years been criticized for its lack of action against the U.S. president’s controversial tweets, has taken a more aggressive stand against the U.S. President in recent months. In late May, the company flagged two Trump posts about mail-in ballots, part of a new policy preventing false or confusing information related to voting. Shortly after that, Twitter highlighted another tweet for violating its rules against glorifying violence when Trump tweeted that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” a reference to protests against police brutality and racism in Minneapolis.

Facebook has also been under fire for what critics say is a failure to enforce its rules against Trump. In early July, an outside auditor found Facebook didn’t enforce its own voter suppression policies against the president when he posted misleading information about mail-in ballots. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has said that fighting misinformation on COVID-19 is easier than on other topics because the company has reliable sources to help determine what is true, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Trump’s comments on children and Covid contradicted what officials at those organizations say about the virus.

Source: Bloomberg

ByteDance’s TikTok accuses Facebook of plagiarism and smear

Chittesh Dalmia — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 06:44:02 +0000

ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, accused Facebook Inc. of “plagiarism and smear,” as it looks to go on the front foot following continued pressure on its business from the U.S.

Late Sunday, the Beijing-based firm said that it is “committed to becoming a global company” but it has faced “all kinds of complex and unimaginable difficulties,” according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese statement.

These include an “intense international political environment, the collision and conflict of different cultures, and the plagiarism and smear of competitor Facebook,” the company said.

Last week, TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer, who was hired in May from Disney, called out Facebook.

“We think fair competition makes all of us better. To those who wish to launch competitive products, we say bring it on. Facebook is even launching another copycat product, Reels (tied to Instagram), after their other copycat Lasso failed quickly,” he said in a blog post.

“But let’s focus our energies on fair and open competition in service of our consumers, rather than maligning attacks by our competitor – namely Facebook – disguised as patriotism and designed to put an end to our very presence in the US.”

Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is in talks with President Donald Trump and ByteDance to acquire the US operations of TikTok. Read here.

Facebook Watch launches music-video in India, US, Thailand; competes with Youtube

Chittesh Dalmia — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 11:20:05 +0000

Facebook Inc. is rolling out official music videos across its platform as well as launching a new music destination on Facebook Watch in India, the United States, and Thailand.

The music destination on Facebook Watch will be available on iOS and Android platforms as of now and will be soon available on desktops.

Users will be able to explore music videos by genre, artist, or mood, as well as access theme-based playlists like “Top Bollywood”, “Top Artists,” among others. They will also be able to access and discover music videos directly on the News Feed or through the Search feature.

Like any video, users can also react to, comment on and share music videos across Facebook’s News Feed, Groups and Messenger.

“Over time, the experience will become more personalized to your tastes based on artists you follow and videos you engage with,” Tamara Hrivnak, vice-president of Music Business Development and Partnerships at Facebook and Vijaye Raji, vice-president of Entertainment at Facebook, said in an official blog post.

In India, the social networking giant has licensing deals with music labels like T-Series Music, Zee Music Company, and Yash Raj Films. Facebook also has similar deals with music label Saregama and artists representative body Indian Performing Rights Society for its music products.

“Over the past year, we have been working with partners in the Indian music industry to build the foundation of a music video experience for our consumers, and are thrilled to launch official music videos on the platform. We will continue to find opportunities to add more unique social sharing experiences and bring music into the ways people share and connect on Facebook” said Manish Chopra, Director, and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India.

Apart from music videos, users will also be able to learn more about the artist, follow them on the platform and watch additional content like the story behind their music on the artists and label’s pages, the company said.

With this, Facebook will be taking on players like Google’s YouTube, Times Internet’s Gaana, Reliance-owned JioSaavn, Xiaomi-backed Hungama who offer music videos on their platforms.

Facebook to acquire rights for Music Video. Read here.

Source: ETtech

Global Social Giant Facebook acquire rights for Music Video competes with YouTube

Chittesh Dalmia — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 07:10:39 +0000

Facebook Inc. has completed a series of deals for the right to show music videos, according to people familiar with the matter, vaulting the social network into a medium dominated by YouTube.

Partnerships with the three largest music companies — Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group — are expected to be announced soon, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Music videos are one of the most popular genres on Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube, and Facebook has long sought the legal rights to allow its billions of users to watch and share them on its platform. Facebook had previously inked deals with rights holders in order to use the audio — useful when people upload clips that include background music, for example — but didn’t have permission to show the official videos.

Facebook Makes Videos

Now, Facebook has approached some artists. And music companies about acquiring exclusive rights to some music videos. Even if just temporarily, the people said. In some cases, Facebook has said it would be willing to pay the video production costs. And that it would promote the video on its service to increase viewership, they said.

Facebook has been looking for more ways to increase video consumption on its service, tapping into a promising market. Video advertising is often more lucrative than other types of ads, and video-based rival TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., has been gaining users at a rapid clip. At the same time, music video consumption has soared on YouTube during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month, Microsoft Corp. announced it would shutter Mixer, its streaming service for gamers, and moved existing partners onto Facebook’s service instead.

On Thursday’s earnings call, Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said. The company is trying to expand into video features. Where creators can build a “community” of fans or supporters. Not just gather views. It’s “something that is just a lot harder to do on a YouTube or a Twitch or other products like that,” he said.

Source: Bloomberg