Posts

Instagram slapped with cease and desist over its use of ‘PG-13’ teen accounts

Image
The Motion Picture Association — the trade group in charge of movie ratings — has asked Meta to stop using its “PG-13” rating when referring to the type of content that teen accounts will see on Instagram. The MPA sent a cease and desist order to Meta on October 28th, saying Meta’s use of the rating is “literally false and highly misleading,” as first reported by The Wall Street Journal . Last month, Meta announced an update to Instagram’s teen accounts that will only allow them to view content “similar to what they’d see in a PG-13 movie.” At the time, the MPA issued a statement that said it was “not contacted by Meta” before its announcement. Now it’s taking things a step further, arguing that Meta’s attempt to restrict content doesn’t follow the MPA’s “curated process” when determining ratings. “The MPA has worked for decades to earn the public’s trust in its rating system,” a copy of the letter seen by The Verge states. “Meta’s claim that its Teen Accounts will be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Instagram and Facebook are breaking the EU’s illegal content rules

Image
Facebook and Instagram are breaching Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA) rules related to the handling of illegal content, moderation, and transparency, according to a preliminary decision issued by the European Commission . TikTok and Meta have both also been found to be violating transparency obligations under the DSA.  The Commission says that Meta is imposing “confusing” obstacles for Facebook and Instagram users to flag illegal content and challenge moderation decisions, finding that the platforms “appear to use so-called ‘dark patterns’, or deceptive interface designs” that can hinder the removal of content like child sexual abuse and terrorism materials. Meta and TikTok are also found to have “burdensome procedures and tools” in place that prevent researchers from accessing public data.  Both companies are now facing fines of up to six percent of their annual worldwide revenue, pending an official ruling. The platforms can challenge the EU’s findings or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meta is adding more parental controls for teen AI use

Image
An early look at Instagram’s parental controls for teen AI use. After enthusiastically rolling AI chatbots out everywhere , Meta has announced new options for parents to get an idea of how teens are chatting with the digital characters and set some limits on use. The move comes as Meta works to rehabilitate its image after disturbing reports of its tools’ romantic interactions with minors and faces growing scrutiny over chatbots’ impact on kids. The new controls will let parents stop their children from speaking with AI chatbots entirely or block access to specific characters they don’t like, Instagram lead Adam Mosseri and Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang wrote in a blog post announcing the changes on Friday. Meta’s AI assistant is a notable exception to this rule. The company says it will “remain available to offer helpful information and educational opportunities” with “age-appropriate protections in place.” Meta said parents will also be given some form of “insi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Instagram is making all teen accounts ‘PG-13’

Image
Instagram’s PG-13-inspired rating will avoid recommending more types of content to teens. | Image: Meta Instagram is making a major update to teen accounts that will only allow them to view content similar to what you would see in a PG-13 movie. Under the new system , Instagram will continue to hide content containing nudity, sexual content, or suggestive poses from teens, but now it will also avoid recommending content with strong swear words and risky stunts across its platform. “Just like you might see some suggestive content or hear some strong language in a PG-13 movie, teens may occasionally see something like that on Instagram — but we’re going to keep doing all we can to keep those instances as rare as possible,” Instagram writes in an announcement on Tuesday. Last year, Instagram began putting all users under 18 into teen accounts, applying its existing restrictions on kids under 16 to a larger swath of young users. Teen accounts are private by default and c...
Post a Comment
Read more

What’s going on with this Instagram promotion?

Image
The Ring is a fantastic horror film that still gives me the chills. I can easily recall the movie’s iconic poster , which features a white ring on a black background and a creepy title font — I didn’t see the movie until years after it first released, but even the thought of it frightened me. So I’m very confused as to why Instagram picked a similar vibe for the debut of Instagram Rings , a new “award” that’s intended to celebrate creators and creativity. Instagram has assembled a panel of judges, which includes Spike Lee, Marc Jacobs, Marques Brownlee, and, uh, Instagram head Adam Mosseri, to “nominate their favorite creators and vote for who they think deserves a spot on the final list.” The creators that win get a real, physical ring, and on their Instagram profile, they’ll get a special golden ring that appears around their profile picture, will be able to customize their profile backdrop color, and can “put their own twist” on the like button, according to Meta. The...
Post a Comment
Read more

Instagram wants me to make content — I just want to post a photo

Image
Why just post a photo when you can encourage all your friends and followers to engage with it? Have you tried simply uploading a photo to Instagram lately? It's a minefield. Is that a Story, a Post, or a Reel? Do you want to add music? A caption? A prompt, which is… different than a caption, somehow? How about a poll? A fundraiser? More text, but this time on top of the image? Share it to Facebook? On and on and on. I have a simple request to anyone at Meta who is listening: please, just give us our photo sharing app back. The current Instagram app is more like three or four apps in a trenchcoat. There's the grid, which is probably what anyone over the age of 35 thinks of as Instagram. Then there's Stories - shamelessly copied from S … Read the full story at The Verge. * This article was originally published here
Post a Comment
Read more

Meta will soon use your AI chats to personalize your feeds

Image
Meta will soon use your conversations with its AI assistant to personalize the ads you see on its platforms. The change, which goes into effect on December 16th, means you’ll also start seeing suggested posts, reels, and Facebook groups related to your AI text and voice chats, too. So if you ask Meta AI about hiking, Meta might learn that you’re interested in the topic and show recommendations for hiking groups on Facebook, posts from friends about local trails, or ads for hiking boots. Meta says it receives these same indicators when you perform other actions on its platforms, such as liking a post or page related to a certain topic. Meta says it won’t use AI conversations about religious views, sexual orientation, political views, health, racial or ethnic origin, philosophical beliefs, or union memberships to personalize content. “We have existing policies around the information that people might consider sensitive, and those will continue to apply,” Meta privacy head ...
Post a Comment
Read more