Illinois Facebook users could get $345 each in photo-tagging lawsuit after judge approves $650M settlement

Illinois Facebook users may be entitled to at least $345 each after a federal judge approved a $650 million settlement in a lawsuit over Facebook's photo-tagging technology dating back to 2015.

Federal judge approves $650M Facebook privacy lawsuit settlement

U.S. District Judge James Donato approved the deal in a class-action lawsuit that was filed in Illinois in 2015. Nearly 1.6 million Facebook users in Illinois who submitted claims will be affected.

Facebook introduces new fact-check tool to combat Holocaust denial

Anyone who searches on Facebook for terms related to the Holocaust or Holocaust denial will see a message labeled “Learning about the Holocaust,” which includes a link to read credible information about the Nazi genocide.

Facebook to remove false claims about COVID-19 vaccines

The social network said it will remove any Facebook or Instagram posts with false information about COVID-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts.

Facebook says it's ready to fight against misinformation amid COVID-19 pandemic, election

Facebook is facing its toughest challenge yet: an election complicated by a pandemic, a deeply divided nation lured by conspiracy theories and alternate versions of reality.

Facebook reducing distribution of Hunter Biden story in New York Post

Facebook is limiting the distribution of a story in the New York Post about a purported email between Hunter Biden and an adviser to a Ukrainian energy company.

Facebook removes more than 275 fake accounts linked to conservative group

Facebook has removed more than 275 accounts that used fake profiles to pose as conservative Americans. The platform announced Thursday that it's also banned an Arizona-based marketing firm that its investigation found was behind the fake accounts.

Facebook bans some, but not all, QAnon groups, accounts

Facebook says it will restrict the right-wing conspiracy movement QAnon and will no longer recommend that users join groups supporting it, although the company isn’t banning it outright.

Facebook planning TikTok competitor 'Instagram Reels'

NEW YORK -- Facebook is planning to launch a short-form video feature on Instagram in early August, increasing competition with TikTok, according to reports.Developers are joining the race to create a quality TikTok alternative, TechCrunch reported, as U.S. officials consider a ban on the app and influencers leave the platform due to security concerns.The outlet reported that Facebook, which has more than 2.5 billion uses worldwide, launched Reels in Brazil in November, in France and Germany last month and in India last week after the country banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese-owned apps amid tensions between the two countries.“The community in our test countries has shown so much creativity in short-form video, and we’ve heard from creators and people around the world that they’re eager to get started as well,” a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch.Reels will launch in the U.S. and more than 50 other countries, NBC News reported.

Facebook groups pivot to attacks on Black Lives Matter

CHICAGO — A loose network of Facebook groups that took root across the country in April to organize protests over coronavirus stay-at-home orders has become a hub of misinformation and conspiracy theories that have pivoted to a variety of new targets.

Starbucks latest to say it will pause social media ads

SEATTLE -- Starbucks is the latest company to say it will pause social media ads after a campaign led by civil rights organizations called for an ad boycott of Facebook, saying it doesn't do enough to stop racist and violent content.Starbucks said Sunday that its actions were not part of the “#StopHateforProfit” campaign, but that it is pausing its social ads while talking with civil rights organizations and its media partners about how to stop hate speech online.The coffee chain's announcement follows statements from Unilever, the European consumer-goods giant behind Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dove soap; Coca-Cola; cellphone company Verizon and outdoors companies like Patagonia, Eddie Bauer and REI; film company Magnolia Pictures; jeans maker Levi's and dozens of smaller companies.

Facebook to label all rule-breaking posts - even President Trump's

OAKLAND, Calif. — Facebook said Friday that it will flag all "newsworthy" posts from politicians that break its rules, including those from President Donald Trump.Separately, Facebook's stock dropped more than 8%, erasing roughly $50 billion from its market valuation, after the European company behind brands such as Ben & Jerry's and Dove announced it would boycott Facebook ads through the end of the year over the amount of hate speech and divisive rhetoric on its platform.