The digital ministry filed legal complaints with cybercrime police after the two social media companies missed 15-day deadlines to comply fully with court-issued takedown orders from Aug. 27, the digital minister, Puttipong Punnakanta, said.

No action was taken against Alphabet's Google GOOGL.O as originally suggested, as it took down all the YouTube videos specified in the order late on Wednesday, Puttipong said.

“This is the first time we’re using the Computer Crime Act to take action against platforms for not complying with court orders,” Puttipong told reporters.

“Unless the companies send their representatives to negotiate, police can bring criminal cases against them. But if they do, and acknowledge the wrongdoing, we can settle on fines.”

He did not disclose details of the content or say what laws it had violated. The complaints were against the U.S. parent companies and not their Thai subsidiaries, he said.

The ministry will file more such takedown requests to Facebook, Twitter, and Google, asking them to remove more than 3,000 items from their platforms, with content ranging from pornography to criticism of the monarchy, Puttipong said.

Twitter declined to comment, while Facebook and Google did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Thailand has a tough lese majeste law that prohibits insulting the monarchy. The Computer Crime Act, which outlaws the uploading of information that is false or affects national security, has also been used to prosecute online criticism of the royal family.

In recent years, authorities have filed court orders with requests to social media platforms to restrict or remove perceived royal insults and other illegal content like gambling or copyright violations.

Under the Act, ignoring a court order can result in a fine of up to 200,000 baht ($6,347), then 5,000 baht ($159) per day until the order is observed.

The ministry also filed separate cybercrime complaints against five people who it said criticized the monarchy on Facebook and Twitter during a major anti-government demonstration at the weekend, Puttipong said.

source: Reuters

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Facebook appears to flipping the switch on integrating the chat systems for Instagram and Messenger. On Friday evening, several editors at The Verge across the country — on both iOS and Android devices — noticed an update screen popped up in Instagram’s mobile app with the message “There’s a New Way to Message on Instagram” with a list of features including a “new colorful look for your chats,” more emoji reactions, swipe-to-reply, and the big one: “chat with friends who use Facebook.”
Once you hit update, the regular DM icon in the top right of Instagram is replaced by the Facebook Messenger logo. Chats on Instagram are indeed more colorful than before, with the sender’s messages shifting between blue and purple as you scroll. However, at least for right now, it’s still not possible to message Facebook users from Instagram.
But Facebook has made clear its plans to unify the messaging platforms of its hugely popular apps to allow cross-messaging among Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Facebook was said to be rebuilding the underlying infrastructure so users who were on only one of its apps could connect to others using different Facebook apps. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also said he wants the system to be end-to-end encrypted. By integrating its most popular apps, Facebook may be able to compete more directly with Apple’s iMessage.
Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, and bought WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion. The company did not immediately reply to a request for comment Friday evening.
Sorce: theverge

 

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Two years after agreeing to a self-regulatory code of practice to tackle disinformation, Facebook (FB.O), Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O), Twitter (TWTR.N) and other tech rivals must try harder to be more effective, the European Commission said on Thursday.

Fake news related to COVID-19 has accelerated calls for social media to be more proactive in combating the issue.

The companies, including Mozilla and trade bodies for the advertising industry, signed up to the code in 2018 in a bid to stave off more heavy-handed regulation. Microsoft (MSFT.O) and TikTok subsequently joined the group.

There are, however, several shortcomings in the code following an assessment of its first year in operation, the commission said, according to a report seen by Reuters.

“These can be grouped in four broad categories: inconsistent and incomplete application of the code across platforms and member states, lack of uniform definitions, the existence of several gaps in the coverage of the code commitments, and limitations intrinsic to the self-regulatory nature of the code,” the report said.

The commission vice president for values and transparency, Vera Jourova, called for more action to counter new risks.

“As we also witness new threats and actors the time is ripe to go further and propose new measures. The platforms need to become more accountable and transparent. They need to open up and provide better access to data, among others,” Jourova said.

Jourova is currently working on a European Democracy Action Plan to make democracy more resilient to digital threats.

The commission is also set to propose new rules called the Digital Services Act by the end of the year which will increase social media’s responsibilities and liability for content on their platforms.

Source: Reuters

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Facebook will buy REI’s new and unused Bellevue campus for nearly $368 million, the social media giant said on Monday.

The move further consolidates Facebook’s domain in the upscale Spring District east of Interstate 405 in Bellevue, The Seattle Times reported. Before the acquisition of the 400,000-square-foot (37,161-square-meter) REI offices, Facebook was already moving to occupy nearly 850,000 square feet (78,968 square meters) in three Spring District buildings.

The company, which opened its first Puget Sound office in 2010 with three engineers, now employs more than 5,000 workers in dozens of locations in Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond. That places it alongside Google as the area’s largest out-of-town tech employers. The Seattle area is home to Facebook’s second-largest office footprint, after its headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

“Our growth over the last decade is a testament to the thriving community and immense talent pool that has welcomed us with open arms,” said Nick Raby, Facebook’s director of North American real estate, in a statement. “This purchase doubles downs on our investment in Bellevue and our commitment to the Pacific Northwest.”

The deal signals there is “no single approach” for white-collar employers envisioning the future of office space as work-from-home regimes stretch into their seventh month, said Greg Johnson, the CEO of Spring District developer Wright Runstad & Company.

REI decided to sell its campus after the coronavirus pandemic hammered sales, leading the outdoor equipment retailer to conclude that it couldn’t afford not to sell the space. The company’s work-from-home program also proved to be surprisingly successful, said Ben Steele, REI’s chief customer officer. REI will rely more heavily on remote work and smaller satellite offices.

Source: AP

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