Social Media

GeekWire reports: LinkedIn blocked or removed 21.6 million fake accounts on its platform from January to June of this year, a sign that the Microsoft-owned social network is actively fighting some of the same issues that have plagued Facebook, Twitter and others. In a blog post, LinkedIn’s Head of Trust and Safety Paul Rockwell wrote that the vast majority of …

The Associated Press reports: Soon, you could get fewer familiar ads following you around the internet — or at least on Facebook. Facebook is launching a long-promised tool that lets you limit what the social network can gather about you on outside websites and apps. The company said Tuesday that it is adding a section where you can see the …

TechCrunch reports: Twitter says a significant information operation involving hundreds of accounts linked to China were part of an effort to deliberately “sow political discord” in Hong Kong after weeks of protests in the region. In a blog post, the social networking site said the 936 accounts it found tried to undermine “the legitimacy and political positions of the protest …

TechCrunch reports: “The future is private.” Clearly, Facebook still has a way to go. Facebook has become the latest tech giant to face scrutiny over its handling of users’ data, following a report that said the social media giant collected audio data and recordings from its users and transcribed it using third-party contractors. The report came from Bloomberg, citing the …

Politico reports: Twitter today reversed course and unlocked the campaign account of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, moving to defuse a growing controversy with the Republican political establishment. The company on Wednesday had frozen the McConnell account over a post featuring a profanity-laced video of protesters hurling threats toward the GOP lawmaker’s Kentucky home. The post, the company said, violated …

Courthouse News reports: Rejecting arguments that Facebook users suffered no “concrete harm” by having their facial data mapped and stored, the Ninth Circuit advanced a $35 billion class action against the social media giant Thursday. Facebook sought to swat down the lawsuit last year after U.S. District Judge James Donato ordered it to alert users about an upcoming trial on …

Politico reports: Senate Republicans’ campaign arm announced today it will stop spending money to advertise on Twitter after the social media platform locked Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s account for posting a video of violent threats against him. “Twitter’s hostile actions toward Leader McConnell’s campaign are outrageous, and we will not tolerate it,” said Jesse Hunt, a spokesman for the National …

Politico reports: The White House is circulating drafts of a proposed executive order that would address allegations of anti-conservative bias by social media companies, according to a White House official and two other people familiar with the matter — a month after President Donald Trump pledged to explore “all regulatory and legislative solutions” on the issue. None of the three …

The Verge reports: Just how uncool can Facebook make Instagram and WhatsApp? If exerting more influence over the direction of both apps by installing Facebook executives wasn’t enough, now the social network giant is going to add “Facebook” to their names. Instagram will soon become “Instagram from Facebook” and WhatsApp will turn into “WhatsApp from Facebook.” The company already follows …

The Washington Post reports: The El Paso massacre began like the fatal attacks earlier this year at mosques in New Zealand and a San Diego-area synagogue: with a racist manifesto and announcement on the anonymous message board 8chan, one of the Web’s most venomous refuges for extremist hate. And like after the mass shootings in Christchurch and the Chabad of …

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: Seven Philadelphia police officers whose racist or otherwise offensive Facebook posts were catalogued in an online database have resigned in the last two weeks, the Police Department said Wednesday. Capt. Sekou Kinebrew, a police spokesperson, said labor law restrictions prevented him from confirming whether those seven officers were among the 13 whom Police Commissioner Richard Ross …

Politico reports: The hashtag #MoscowMitchMcTreason began trending on Twitter Tuesday morning after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) fired back against the nickname “Moscow Mitch” in a fiery speech from the Senate floor. MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, a former GOP lawmaker, dubbed McConnell “Moscow Mitch” after McConnell on Friday after blocked two election security measures. The hashtag #MoscowMitch quickly began …

The Hill reports: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a freshman who has emerged as a top Republican critic of major technology companies in Congress, on Tuesday will introduce a bill banning social media companies from building “addictive” features into their products. Hawley’s Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology (SMART) Act would make it illegal for social media platforms to hook users by …

Roll Call reports: Critics of President Trump began using the hashtag #unfollowTrump on Twitter Monday morning, following the lead of Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) who said he would unfollow Trump’s “hate-filled, racist, and demeaning” feed. The hashtag began circulating on social media after Murphy appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to explain his decision to unfollow the president’s @realDonaldTrump account. “Yesterday …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump continued to use his Twitter platform Sunday to defend himself after he drew fire from critics for angry comments previously tweeted about Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings and the city of Baltimore. The president’s insistence on insulting the metropolis ultimately resulted in the hashtag #TrumpIsARat trending on social media. Trump’s comments on Baltimore appeared to be …

The Verge reports: The Federal Trade Commission formally announced its $5 billion settlement with Facebook on Wednesday morning, which is the culmination of a years-long investigation into the Cambridge Analytica scandal and other privacy breaches. In the agreement filed today, the FTC alleges that Facebook violated the law by failing to protect data from third parties, serving ads through the …

The Washington Post reports: A wave of fakes purporting to sell or represent Facebook’s not-yet-available Libra currency have swept onto the social-media giant’s platforms, highlighting how the tech firm is struggling to rebuild trust and fight the fraud likely to surround the new financial system. Roughly a dozen fake accounts, pages and groups scattered across Facebook and its photo-sharing app …

From today’s Team Trump 2020 fundraising email: This is absurd – Coastal Elites are turning their “nonpartisan” platforms into liberal soapboxes. They’re simultaneously pushing BIG GOVERNMENT SOCIALIST agendas while silencing conservative American Patriots. What they’re doing isn’t right. In fact, it’s downright UN-AMERICAN. That’s why on July 11th, President Trump held the first ever Presidential Social Media Summit to meet …

The Verge reports: Facebook has reportedly reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over repeated privacy violations, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, the FTC voted this week to approve a $5 billion settlement, which has now moved to the Justice Department’s civil division for review. It is unclear how long the review will take. The …

CNET reports: Twitter’s desktop site and its mobile app went offline on Thursday morning, with an error message reading that “something is technically wrong.” The phrase greeted users as they went to tweet or view other users’ tweets. “We are currently investigating issues people are having accessing Twitter,” a company spokesperson told TheWrap. The Twitter rep added the company will …