Why did Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp vanish yesterday? Listen now to find out how it happened.
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What really caused the Facebook outage?
🧑⚖️ Zuck tried to settle with mucho bucks: Mark Zuckerberg thought he could pay his way out of a government antitrust trial over Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC wanted $30B; Zuckerberg offered $450M and good vibes. The FTC said: lol, no. Meta argues that TikTok is the real threat now, not Instagram.
No FaceTime or Skype? No problem. Try WhatsApp for Mac when you want to include Android pals, too. You can add eight people to a video call or 32 for audio-only. Hit this link for the Windows version.
🏛️ Meta, meet another existential court case: Mark Zuckerberg put on his best courtroom tie and took the stand Monday in a trial that could break up Meta’s empire. The FTC basically wants (paywall link) Meta to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp, claiming Meta bought them just to squash the competition. If IG goes, it could gut over half of Meta’s U.S. ad revenue. The trial runs through July, but the vibes are already tense.
🚨 Use WhatsApp? Watch out. There’s a nasty bug going around that lets hackers send you what looks like a JPEG, but it’s actually malware. Click it, and boom: A hidden .exe file could run and infiltrate your system. Blame WhatsApp for misreading certain file types. The fix? Make sure you’re running a version higher than 2.2450.6 to be safe.
🤖 Not the AI Zuck wanted: Harry Potter, Jesus Christ and Taylor Swift walk into a bar … in the form of Meta chatbots. Anyone can whip up a chatbot on Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp. Meta’s system is supposed to flag religious figures, real-life people and trademarked fictional characters, but it’s easy to get around that with a typo or two.
WhatsApp not so private, 3 smart tech hacks, talking duck
After years of assuring users Facebook can’t read WhatsApp messages, the truth comes out. Kim, Allie and Ben offer up their favorite quick tech life hacks, including how to use your browser to earn cash. And in weird news of a week, a talking duck named Ripper has something to say.
Tech Refresh: WhatsApp not so private, 3 smart tech hacks, talking duck
After years of assuring users Facebook can’t read WhatsApp messages, the truth comes out. Kim, Allie and Ben offer up their favorite quick tech life hacks, including how to use your browser to earn cash. And in weird news of a week, a talking duck named Ripper has something to say.
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Facebook’s big — this big
With two lawsuits already filed and a third on the way, the Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp business can virtually silence anyone on social media it chooses. Here’s why these lawsuits are historic.
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Facebook’s in big trouble
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission, along with 48 states, filed two separate lawsuits against Facebook. And when the government wins, look for Facebook to be forced to spin off both Instagram and WhatsApp.
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Another Facebook lie you shouldn’t believe
The Facebook-owned WhatsApp has a promise: Use it for all your confidential, intimate messaging — and everything you post will be deleted in a week. Now, three major reasons why you CANNOT trust them.
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Why the government wants to prevent WhatsApp and Facebook from encrypting user messages
As Facebook is working to make its messaging more private for users, the Justice Department is ramping up the fight for backdoor access. Here’s my take on encrypted messages sent through Facebook and WhatsApp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices