Facebook changes misinfo rules to allow posts claiming COVID-19 is man-made

Facebook made a few noteworthy changes to its misinformation policies this week, including the news that the company will now allow claims that COVID was created by humans — a theory that contradicts the previously prevailing assumption that humans picked up the virus naturally from animals. “In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19...

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Twitter Blue, a $3 monthly subscription service, could be coming soon

Great news for typo-prone tweeters: Twitter Blue, a $2.99 monthly subscription, appears to be coming soon to a Timeline near you. Two weeks ago, researcher Jane Manchun Wong first reported that Twitter’s new subscription service is in the works. But yesterday, Twitter’s iOS App Store listing updated to list Twitter Blue as an in-app purchase, confirming earlier findings from this unofficial source. Though users can’t yet subscribe to Twitter Blue...

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EU to review TikTok’s ToS after child safety complaints

TikTok has a month to respond to concerns raised by European consumer protection agencies earlier this year, EU lawmakers said today. The Commission has launched what it described as “a formal dialogue” with the video sharing platform over its commercial practices and policy. Areas of specific concern include hidden marketing, aggressive advertising techniques targeted at children, and certain contractual terms in TikTok’s policies that could be...

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Twitter Spaces will be available for the web, including accessibility features

On Wednesday evening, Twitter announced that Spaces — its Clubhouse competitor — will start rolling out for use on the web. Earlier this month, Twitter Spaces became available for any user with more than 600 followers on the iOS or Android apps, and around the same time, Clubhouse finally released its long-awaited Android app. Still, Clubhouse has yet to debut on the web, marking a success for Twitter in the race to corner the live social audio market.  Even...

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Paired pulls in $3.6M to encourage more couples to get cosy with app-based relationship care

Can an app improve your romantic relationships? The founders behind Paired, a “relationship care” app for couples, believe it can. And since launching in October, with $1M to kick things off, they’ve convinced 5,000+ coupled-up others to try their custom blend of partner quizzes, “relationship satisfaction” tracking, and audio tips from experts — to try to feel closer to their S.O. Paired is now gunning for serious growth: It’s announcing $3.6M in...

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Instagram launches a new section for shopping product drops

Instagram today announced it’s adding a new feature to help connect online shoppers to product drops through its app. Drops, which are a newer e-commerce trend, help sellers create buzz for forthcoming products in the days and weeks leading up to their availability. The products themselves are often only available in limited supplies or for a short period of time, increasing demand. On Instagram, drops will now have their own destination inside the...

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Facebook and Instagram will now allow users to hide ‘Like’ counts on posts

Facebook this week will begin to publicly roll out the option to hide Likes on posts across both Facebook and Instagram, following earlier tests beginning in 2019. The project, which puts the decision about Likes in the hands of the company’s global user base, had been in development for years, but was deprioritized due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the response work required on Facebook’s part, the company says. Originally, the idea to hide Like...

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Yalo raises $50M to build ‘c-commerce’ services for chat apps like WhatsApp

Facebook has long been working on raising WhatsApp’s profile as a channel for businesses to interact with (and sell to) their customers. Today, a startup that has built a suite of tools for retailers and others to build and run those services over WhatsApp and other messaging platforms is announcing growth funding to address that opportunity. Yalo, which describes itself as a c-commerce (“chat commerce”) startup building tools for businesses to use...

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Tiger Global leads $30 million investment in Indian Twitter rival Koo

Investors are backing Koo, an Indian alternative to Twitter, with large size checks at a time when tension is brewing between the American social network and New Delhi. The Indian startup said on Wednesday it has raised $30 million in a financing round led by Tiger Global Management. Mirae Asset, IIFL’s venture capital fund and existing investors 3one4 Capital, Blume Ventures, and Accel also participated in the round, which valued the Bangalore-based...

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Getty Images leads $16M investment in Promo.com, a social video template tool

The social video tool Promo.com just raised $16 million in a Series B round led by Getty Images, the company synonymous with stock imagery. Brands, creators or whoever else might need some quick and dirty video content can search Promo.com for what they need, just like they would use a stock photography service. Getty offers its own library of stock videos as well, but Promo.com provides both the video clips and the tools for non-editors to craft...

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We owe it to our kids to put an age limit on social media

Ben Pring Contributor Share on Twitter Ben Pring is the co-founder and director of the Center for the Future of Work at Cognizant and co-author of “Monster: A Tough Love Letter to the Machines That Rule our Jobs, Lives, and Future.” For societies with long histories of protecting children with laws and regulations, isn’t it surprising that nothing is being done to similarly shield them from the various and proven dangers of social media?...

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Florida’s ban on bans will test First Amendment rights of social media companies

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has signed into law a restriction on social media companies’ ability to ban candidates for state offices and news outlets, and in doing so offered a direct challenge to those companies’ perceived free speech rights. The law is almost certain to be challenged in court as both unconstitutional and in direct conflict with federal rules. The law, Florida Senate Bill 7072, provides several new checks on tech and social media...

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