Facebook has been trying to make a breakup impossible for years.
55 years ago

Facebook has been trying to make a breakup impossible for years.

Slate  

The U.S. government wants to break up Facebook—and Facebook has spent years barricading its bunker for the fight. The FTC cites Facebook’s 2012 acquisition of Instagram, 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp, and restrictions on software developers as instances of monopolistic behavior that has smothered potential competitors. The commission is seeking a permanent injunction that would require Facebook to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp and discontinue policies that cut off API access to developers seen as building competitive software products. “Years after the FTC cleared our acquisitions, the government now wants a do-over with no regard for the impact that precedent would have on the broader business community or the people who choose our products every day,” Facebook’s PR team wrote in a tweet. In 2019, Zuckerberg reportedly began making it a priority for Facebook to unify the underlying infrastructure of WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, allowing users to communicate with each other across platforms.

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History of this topic

WhatsApp Business Cross 200 Million Users Facebook Instagram Create Account
1 year, 6 months ago

WhatsApp Business Cross 200 Million Users Facebook Instagram Create Account

ABP News  

WhatsApp Business has crossed 200 million users, company CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said. The world's most popular messaging platform is also getting a new paid messaging feature that is aimed to help small businesses easily target new customers. "Soon the 200M+ users of the WhatsApp Business app will be able to create Facebook and Instagram ads to find and connect …

WhatsApp Business crosses 200 million monthly active users globally, introduces new customer connection tools
1 year, 6 months ago

WhatsApp Business crosses 200 million monthly active users globally, introduces new customer connection tools

India TV News  

WhatsApp Business, owned by Meta, has experienced significant growth, reaching over 200 million monthly active users globally, compared to 50 million in 2020. The new feature allows businesses to send personalized messages including the customer's name and customizable call-to-action buttons to specific customer lists. Furthermore, the company has announced plans to enable small businesses worldwide, which primarily operate through the …

Zuckerberg's Meta to sell Kustomer business software to cut costs? It says…
1 year, 9 months ago

Zuckerberg's Meta to sell Kustomer business software to cut costs? It says…

Hindustan Times  

Meta Platforms Inc said on Friday it is exploring strategic alternatives for customer service company Kustomer that it acquired in a process ending last year. "We are currently exploring strategic alternatives for Kustomer and will continue to support Kustomer's product and customer base throughout this process," the Facebook owner said in an emailed statement to Reuters, without providing additional details …

Meta Partners With Salesforce For Bringing Businesses On WhatsApp
2 years, 3 months ago

Meta Partners With Salesforce For Bringing Businesses On WhatsApp

News 18  

Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday announced a partnership with software company Salesforce where companies on their platform can use WhatsApp business messages to answer customer questions, run marketing campaigns and sell directly in chat. The new integration will help businesses build experiences to chat with customers on WhatsApp, while being able to manage communication directly from the …

Facebook is in trouble. Its escape plan: Turn into TikTok
2 years, 5 months ago

Facebook is in trouble. Its escape plan: Turn into TikTok

LA Times  

On a quarterly earnings call, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Meta Platforms’ products will lean into algorithmic recommendation — a trend that has frustrated some users. “One of the main transformations in our business right now is that social feeds are going from being driven primarily by the people and accounts you follow to increasingly also being driven by AI …

Zuckerberg’s biggest bet might not pay off
2 years, 5 months ago

Zuckerberg’s biggest bet might not pay off

Live Mint  

Mark Zuckerberg will probablywish he was hydrofoiling in Hawaiion Wednesdayinstead of revealing Meta Platforms Inc.’s second-quarter earnings. Approximately 2billion people actively use WhatsApp, but in Zuckerberg’s universe it has been more of adefensive ploy andearnings voidthan amoney maker like Instagram. Butseven months later, Zuckerberg’svision had changed.He announced that the future of the internet lay inthe immersive world of the metaverse,representingthe …

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg delivers harsh message to employees
2 years, 6 months ago

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg delivers harsh message to employees

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy As tech stocks take a tumble amid a broader market downturn, Meta chief …

Op-Ed: It’s too late to envision a future without Facebook — or at least the world it built
2 years, 10 months ago

Op-Ed: It’s too late to envision a future without Facebook — or at least the world it built

LA Times  

The world’s biggest social media site might be tanking. Earlier this month, Facebook shared that it lost a million daily users for the first time in its history, which led to a loss of nearly $240 billion — a quarter of the company’s value. Last week Google announced similar protection for Android phones, which is likely to cost Meta, Facebook’s …

Meta closes Kustomer deal after regulatory approval
2 years, 10 months ago

Meta closes Kustomer deal after regulatory approval

The Hindu  

Meta Platforms Inc said on Tuesday it had closed its acquisition of Kustomer, a U.S. customer service startup, after winning conditional EU antitrust approvalfor the deal last month. The probe came amid regulatory concerns on both sides of the Atlantic that a buying spree of startups by big firms may be so-called killer acquisitions aimed at closing down nascent rivals. …

Facebook wins conditional EU antitrust nod for Kustomer deal
2 years, 11 months ago

Facebook wins conditional EU antitrust nod for Kustomer deal

The Hindu  

Facebook on Thursday secured EU antitrust approval for its acquisition of U.S. customer service startup Kustomer after agreeing to provide rivals free access to its messaging channels for 10 years. Reuters reported last month that the world's largest social network would gained conditional EU clearance for the deal. "Our decision today will ensure that innovative rivals and new entrants in …

Facebook to win conditional EU nod for Kustomer buy
3 years ago

Facebook to win conditional EU nod for Kustomer buy

The Hindu  

Facebook is set to gain EU antitrust approval for its acquisition of Kustomer after offering remedies that allow rival products to function with those of the U.S. customer service startup, people familiar with the matter said. Kustomer, which sells CRM software to businesses so they can communicate with consumers by phone, email, text messages, WhatsApp, Instagram and other channels, would …

Facebook will be now called Meta as Mark Zuckerberg works to create Metaverse: Full story in 10 points
3 years, 2 months ago

Facebook will be now called Meta as Mark Zuckerberg works to create Metaverse: Full story in 10 points

India Today  

Facebook’s parent company is now Meta. This is because Zuckerberg wants to move beyond the realms of social media and does not wish his company to be known as a social media company only. “Today we are seen as a social media company, but in our DNA we are a company that builds technology to connect people, and the metaverse …

Facebook Is Going Meta
55 years ago

Facebook Is Going Meta

Wired  

From Wall Street to Main Street to Capitol Hill, everyone is mad at Facebook. “Today, we're seen as a social media company, but in our DNA we are a company that builds technology to connect people,” Zuckerberg said at the company's Connect conference on Thursday morning, where he unveiled a series of new products and ambitions around the metaverse. “It …

Former Zuckerberg advisor: Facebook’s problem is its business model
3 years, 2 months ago

Former Zuckerberg advisor: Facebook’s problem is its business model

CNN  

Editor’s Note: This interview has been editing for length and clarity. New York CNN Business — Calls for increased regulation of Facebook continue to grow louder after leaked internal documents became public and whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony showed that the social media platform has repeatedly failed to rein hate speech and misinformation. On Friday, a consortium of 17 US news …

People or profit? Facebook papers show deep conflict within
3 years, 2 months ago

People or profit? Facebook papers show deep conflict within

Associated Press  

Facebook the company is losing control of Facebook the product — not to mention the last shreds of its carefully crafted, decade-old image as a benevolent company just wanting to connect the world. “A curated selection out of millions of documents at Facebook can in no way be used to draw fair conclusions about us,” Facebook tweeted from its public …

Facebook is going to change its name, report claims
3 years, 2 months ago

Facebook is going to change its name, report claims

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The social media company’s rebranding, according to a report from The Verge, would put the Facebook app …

Facebook May Be Planning To Change Its Name, To Focus On 'Metaverse': Report
3 years, 2 months ago

Facebook May Be Planning To Change Its Name, To Focus On 'Metaverse': Report

News 18  

Social media giant Facebook may be planning to rebrand itself with a new name next week, a report in The Verge said on Tuesday, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg plans to talk about the name change at the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28, but it could be unveiled …

Facebook planning to change its name as it becomes more than a social media company
3 years, 2 months ago

Facebook planning to change its name as it becomes more than a social media company

India Today  

Facebook - the social media company that owns Instagram and WhatsApp - seems done with its household name. According to a new report, Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook is planning to change its name to something that will show the company’s commitment towards building a sort of metaverse of services. Simply put, Facebook does not want to be known as just a …

Facebook ‘planning to rebrand company’ with new name
3 years, 2 months ago

Facebook ‘planning to rebrand company’ with new name

Al Jazeera  

CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to talk about the name change at its annual conference on October 28, but it could be sooner. Social media giant Facebook Inc is planning to rebrand itself with a new name next week, American technology blog the Verge reported on Tuesday, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark …

Facebook tech chief Mike Schroepfer to step down
3 years, 3 months ago

Facebook tech chief Mike Schroepfer to step down

The Hindu  

September 23, 2021 12:51 pm | Updated 12:51 pm IST Facebook’s Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer is stepping down from the social media company, taking on a part-time role while longtime executive Andrew Bosworth will replace him next year. Bosworth, known as “Boz," is another longtime Facebook exec and a close friend of Zuckerberg's. “As our next CTO, Boz will …

Facebook ties up with Indian firm to provide SMB loans up to ₹50 lakh
3 years, 4 months ago

Facebook ties up with Indian firm to provide SMB loans up to ₹50 lakh

Live Mint  

New Delhi: Facebook is partnering with an Indian online lending firm to help provide loans to small domestic businesses, its country head said on Friday, as part of a push to bring more businesses to advertise on its platform. The social media giant is joining hands with Indifi to help provide loans ranging from Ra 50,00,00 to ₹50, 00,000 at …

FTC says Facebook 'bought and buried' rivals in renewed antitrust fight
3 years, 4 months ago

FTC says Facebook 'bought and buried' rivals in renewed antitrust fight

The Hindu  

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission refreshed its antitrust case against Facebook Thursday, adding more detail on the accusation the social media company crushed or bought rivals and once again asking a judge to force the social media giant to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. "It is unfortunate that despite the court's dismissal of the complaint and conclusion that it lacked the …

Facebook’s Kustomer deal may hurt competition, EU regulators say
3 years, 5 months ago

Facebook’s Kustomer deal may hurt competition, EU regulators say

The Hindu  

Facebook’s acquisition of U.S. customer service startup Kustomer may hurt competition and boost its market power in online advertising, European Union antitrust regulators warned on Monday as they opened a full-scale investigation into the deal. The move by the European Commission comes amid regulatory concerns on both sides of the Atlantic that a buying spree of startups by big firms, …

From Facebook to Twitter, Big Tech sees social commerce driving sales growth
3 years, 5 months ago

From Facebook to Twitter, Big Tech sees social commerce driving sales growth

The Hindu  

Led by Facebook, social media platforms from Alphabet's YouTube to Snap Inc and Twitter are investing heavily in shopping features to drive revenue growth, a major theme that emerged during second-quarter results over the past week. The companies are vying for a piece of the so-called social commerce industry, which relies on users' ability to discover and buy products through …

Facebook joins $1 trillion club after antitrust win
3 years, 6 months ago

Facebook joins $1 trillion club after antitrust win

The Telegraph  

Facebook has reached a $1 trillion valuation, becoming the last of the “big five” American tech giants to pass the milestone following a victory in two antitrust cases. The social media giant’s shares jumped as much as 4.4pc - the biggest intraday gain since April 29 - after a judge granted its request to dismiss complaints filed last year by …

Facebook wins dismissal of U.S., states’ antitrust lawsuits
3 years, 6 months ago

Facebook wins dismissal of U.S., states’ antitrust lawsuits

LA Times  

A federal judge’s ruling delivers a blow to the FTC and the states, which claimed Facebook violated antitrust laws in order to cut off emerging competitive threats. The decision by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington on Monday sent Facebook shares soaring, pushing the company’s market value to more than $1 trillion. Rather than compete with its own products, …

Facebook expands Shops to WhatsApp, Marketplace in commerce push
3 years, 6 months ago

Facebook expands Shops to WhatsApp, Marketplace in commerce push

The Hindu  

Facebook Inc is expanding its "Shops" feature to its messaging app WhatsApp in several countries and to Facebook Marketplace in the United States, the company said on Tuesday as it announced changes to its commerce tools. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said it would also introduce personalised ads in its Shops service based on users' shopping behavior. The social media …

Facebook Is Expanding Shops To WhatsApp and Facebook Marketplace In Several Countries
3 years, 6 months ago

Facebook Is Expanding Shops To WhatsApp and Facebook Marketplace In Several Countries

News 18  

Facebook is expanding its “Shops” feature to its messaging app WhatsApp in several countries and to Facebook Marketplace in the United States, the company said on Tuesday as it announced changes to its commerce tools. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said it would also introduce personalised The social media giant, which launched Shops last year as a way for people …

How Apple screwed Facebook
3 years, 7 months ago

How Apple screwed Facebook

Wired  

It is not unusual for the bosses of Apple and Facebook to be at loggerheads with each other over privacy. Back in 2018 Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg accused his Apple counterpart Tim Cook of being “extremely glib” for making scathing remarks about Facebook’s involvement in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Weeks later Apple introduced privacy controls that hampered Facebook’s ability …

Facebook Messenger crosses five billion mark on Google Play Store
3 years, 7 months ago

Facebook Messenger crosses five billion mark on Google Play Store

Firstpost  

The Messenger follows the suit of most downloads after the Facebook app and WhatsApp. F_acebook Messenger_ has become the fourteenth app in the world to reach 5 billion downloads on Google Play Store. It has become the fourteenth app to cross the five billion mark on Google Play, following YouTube, Google Maps, and Gmail. The app also continues Facebook’s legacy …

Facebook announces plans for its Clubhouse chatroom copycat
3 years, 8 months ago

Facebook announces plans for its Clubhouse chatroom copycat

Daily Mail  

Facebook announced Monday it is developing a series of ‘social audio’ products to compete against rivals such as Twitter and popular new chatroom app Clubhouse. As well as targeting Twitter and Clubhouse, Facebook also appears to have set Apple in its sights by offering users podcasts that can be downloaded and listened to directly in its main app Mark Zuckerberg …

Signal Trolls Mark Zuckerberg After Facebook CEO Found 'Using' WhatsApp's Rival App
3 years, 9 months ago

Signal Trolls Mark Zuckerberg After Facebook CEO Found 'Using' WhatsApp's Rival App

News 18  

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was among the 533 million Facebook users from 106 countries whose personal information was reportedly leaked by hackers on April 3. On April 4, Walker tweeted, “Regarding the #FacebookLeak, of the 533M people in the leak – the irony is that Mark Zuckerberg is regrettably included in the leak as well.” In another tweet, the security …

Paytm's Savage Dig at WhatsApp, Facebook Goes Viral amid Social Media Platforms' Global Outage
3 years, 9 months ago

Paytm's Savage Dig at WhatsApp, Facebook Goes Viral amid Social Media Platforms' Global Outage

News 18  

Late on Friday evening, thousands of netizens from India and other parts of the world scrambled to Twitter to check if they were the only ones facing “Internet downtime”. Once there, it soon sunk in that major social media platforms WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram– all the apps were facing global outage, something that lasted for at least 30 minutes in …

Apple Vs Facebook: A Losing Battle For Facebook Because Privacy Always Wins With Users
3 years, 10 months ago

Apple Vs Facebook: A Losing Battle For Facebook Because Privacy Always Wins With Users

News 18  

It is nothing new. First, Apple is not ending data tracking and secondly, Apple is not putting an end to personalized In a blog post, Facebook says, “Everyone’s News Feed is unique, which means you’re more likely to see content you want to watch, groups you want to join, creators you want to follow, and products and services you want …

Facebook faces year of reckoning after showdown in Australia
3 years, 10 months ago

Facebook faces year of reckoning after showdown in Australia

Live Mint  

Facebook Inc.’s brief but tempestuous standoff with the Australian government over a world-first pay-for-news law is only the start of a string of regulatory battles that the world’s biggest social network faces in 2021. Mark Zuckerberg started the year on the offensive, blocking news across Rupert Murdoch’s home turf of Australia to fend off demands that Facebook pay media companies …

Facebook now building Clubhouse-like app, days after Mark Zuckerberg tried it
3 years, 10 months ago

Facebook now building Clubhouse-like app, days after Mark Zuckerberg tried it

India Today  

Facebook is reportedly working on a new app that bears a strong resemblance to the audio-chatting app Clubhouse. As per reports, Facebook is developing an app similar to Clubhouse and it is in its “early stages of development”. As per New York Times report, Facebook has asked its product team to create an app similar to Clubhouse. Interestingly, the reports …

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel Says Apple's New Privacy Measures Are Good for End Consumers
3 years, 11 months ago

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel Says Apple's New Privacy Measures Are Good for End Consumers

News 18  

With Facebook launching criticism of Apple’s upcoming privacy changes, CEO of Snap Inc, Evan Spiegel has said that while it will be disruptive for advertising, it is ultimately the right choice for consumers. In an interview with CNBC, Spiegel said that the new changes announced by Apple are in line with his company’s privacy philosophy as it has never allowed …

German cartel office extends probe of ties between Facebook and Oculus
3 years, 11 months ago

German cartel office extends probe of ties between Facebook and Oculus

The Hindu  

Germany's antitrust regulator said on Thursday it was extending the scope of its abuse proceedings against Facebook related to the links between its Oculus virtual reality products and the social medianetwork. The move comes after legislation took effect earlier this month that sets new rules for "undertakings of paramount significance for competition across markets", the Federal Cartel Office said in …

Zuckerberg says WhatsApp is under threat... from Apple iMessage
3 years, 11 months ago

Zuckerberg says WhatsApp is under threat... from Apple iMessage

India Today  

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has voiced his opinion against Apple’s privacy policies and how it will affect the social media giant’s business. Facebook had alleged that Apple’s new policy that requires the apps to add privacy labels on it and provide information to users about how much data an app collects. However, Facebook has been miffed ever since and has …

Facebook feuds with Apple over privacy changes that threaten its advertising business
4 years ago

Facebook feuds with Apple over privacy changes that threaten its advertising business

CNN  

CNN Business — Facebook is now waging a public relations effort to attack Apple ahead of new iOS data privacy changes that would make it harder for advertisers to track users, in a possible sign of just how much the social network views the move as a threat to its core business. The newspaper ads coincide with a new section …

Breaking up: The Hindu Editorial on lawsuits against Facebook
4 years ago

Breaking up: The Hindu Editorial on lawsuits against Facebook

The Hindu  

The lawsuits against Facebook by the Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of 46 U.S. States, the District of Columbia and the territory of Guam are a significant challenge to the dominant Internet empire that Mark Zuckerberg has built in such a short time. The lawsuits highlight Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp, which happened when Mr. Zuckerberg saw …

The Hindu Explains | Why are the the recent accusations against Facebook significant, and what do they entail?
4 years ago

The Hindu Explains | Why are the the recent accusations against Facebook significant, and what do they entail?

The Hindu  

The story so far: On December 9, social networking giant Facebook was sued by the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. agency which seeks to protect consumers and promote competition, as well as by the attorneys general of 46 States, the territory of Guam and the district of Columbia. The plaintiffs — the FTC and attorneys general of all U.S. States …

Facebook antitrust case: Here’s what you need to know
4 years ago

Facebook antitrust case: Here’s what you need to know

CNN  

San Francisco CNN Business — The US government just opened another big new front on the techlash. “Facebook’s actions to entrench and maintain its monopoly deny consumers the benefits of competition,” Ian Conner, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said in a statement. “Our aim is to roll back Facebook’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition so that innovation and …

US antitrust siege of tech widens with lawsuits vs Facebook
4 years, 1 month ago

US antitrust siege of tech widens with lawsuits vs Facebook

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The giant tech companies whose services are woven into the fabric of social life are now the targets of a widening assault by government competition enforcers. The Federal Trade Commission and 48 states and districts sued the social network giant, accusing it of abusing its market power to squash smaller competitors and seeking remedies that could include a …

US antitrust siege of tech widens with lawsuits vs Facebook
4 years, 1 month ago

US antitrust siege of tech widens with lawsuits vs Facebook

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The Federal Trade Commission and 48 states and districts sued the social network giant, …

US trade commission and over 40 states accuse Facebook of illegally crushing competition
4 years, 1 month ago

US trade commission and over 40 states accuse Facebook of illegally crushing competition

Firstpost  

While Facebook said the regulators had ignored important history, the lawsuits set off a chorus of bipartisan support on Capitol Hill Washington: The Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 states accused Facebook on Wednesday of buying up its rivals to illegally squash competition, and they called for the deals to be unwound, escalating regulators’ battle against the biggest tech …

The legal battle to break up Facebook is underway. Now comes the hard part
4 years, 1 month ago

The legal battle to break up Facebook is underway. Now comes the hard part

CNN  

CNN — The groundbreaking lawsuits filed against Facebook on Wednesday by state and federal officials represent the gravest regulatory threat the social media giant has ever faced. The suits threaten to remake Facebook’s social media empire by carving out two of its most popular applications, Instagram and WhatsApp, each with well over a billion users. “It sort of defeats the …

Editorial: Facebook is too big. Breaking it up is just part of the solution
4 years, 1 month ago

Editorial: Facebook is too big. Breaking it up is just part of the solution

LA Times  

The Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of 46 states filed lawsuits Wednesday seeking what amounted to a do-over on Facebook — the chance to reject two acquisitions that helped make the social network the behemoth it is today. Among other noxious pursuits, the social network has been used to incite violence, spread disinformation, vacuum up personal information, manipulate …

Facebook Messenger gets new WhatsApp-like update for forwarded messages
4 years, 4 months ago

Facebook Messenger gets new WhatsApp-like update for forwarded messages

Live Mint  

WhatsApp and parent company Facebook have the widest reach among other social media platforms and both platforms have been criticized extensively for their part in disseminating misinformation and fake news. The official blogpost read, “We believe controlling the spread of misinformation is critical as the global COVID-19 pandemic continues and we head toward major elections in the US, New Zealand …

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