Comedian Sued For Creating Fake 'Antifa' Events on Facebook

The mayor of Lafayette, Louisiana has filed a lawsuit against a 28-year-old comedian who created three fake events on Facebook that claimed “antifa” was coming to the town. Police responded to one of the fake events in late August with at least 30 squad cars and heavily armed officers, shutting down a shopping mall…

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Facebook Messenger Limits Message Forwarding to Cut Spread of Misinformation

Facebook has announced a new forward limit on its Messenger chat platform so that messages can now only be forwarded to five people or groups at a time.


The limiter was revealed in a Facebook Newsroom blog post explaining that the new rule has been introduced to provide users with "a safer, more private messaging experience," particularly amid the ongoing global health crisis and in the run up to major elections in the United States.

Limiting forwarding is an effective way to slow the spread of viral misinformation and harmful content that has the potential to cause real world harm.

The change follows a similar limit on Facebook-owned WhatsApp that was introduced in July. In limiting the ability to forward messages to multiple chats at once, the encrypted messaging platform cited events in India as a specific example of how spreading fake messages could cause harm.

Earlier this year, a series of viral message-related crimes in India resulted in 12 dead in the span of just one month. One incident left one man dead and two others severely injured after false rumors went viral on WhatsApp that they had tried to abduct children.

WhatsApp said it was "horrified" by the violence in India, and that it had announced several changes to help address the issues.

Tag: Facebook Messenger

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Apple Publishes Human Rights Policy Following Shareholder Pressure Over China Censorship

Apple has published a human rights policy document that commits to "freedom of information and expression," following years of criticism from investors that it shows too much deference to Beijing and accedes to China's censorship demands.


The four-page document formalizes Apple's commitment to "respecting the human rights of everyone whose lives we touch," but concedes that the company is "required to comply with local laws," although it stops short of mentioning any particular country.

"Where national law and international human rights standards differ, we follow the higher standard. Where they are in conflict, we respect national law while seeking to respect the principles of internationally recognised human rights."

The Financial Times reports that Apple's board of directors approved the policy and published it ahead of a deadline of September 5 for shareholders to submit motions for next year's investor meeting.

The commitment comes seven months after some of Apple's shareholders defied management and supported a proposal from a consumer advocacy group called SumOfUs that would have compelled it to uphold freedom of expression globally. Apple reportedly tried to strike the proposal from the agenda but was denied by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Apple has faced increasingly pressure from investors about its relationship with China and its tendency to accede to Beijing's demands. Last year, for example, Apple removed the app of news outlet Quartz from China's ‌‌App Store‌‌ after complaints from the government that it included content that is illegal in the country. The app was covering the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement protests at the time.

Apple has also been forced to remove many VPN apps from the ‌‌App Store‌‌ in China due to the administration's regulations. Other apps affected in the past include WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and the New York Times app.

Sondhya Gupta, campaign manager at SumOfUs, welcomed the publication of Apple's human rights policy, but told FT it was not clear how Apple would create proper oversight or measure progress, and Apple had not said how it would disclose the actions it might take in response to government demands that could limit free expression or access to information.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
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Japanese Developers Criticize Apple's App Store Policies and Approval Process

The ongoing dispute between Apple and Epic Games has spurred complaints from Japanese game developers about Apple's App Store business model and the way it handles third-party app submissions.

Bloomberg reports that some developers in the Japanese gaming market have been emboldened by the dispute and are becoming more vocal about their own concerns, which including Apple's 30% commission rate and inconsistent enforcement of App Store policies.

While Epic, publisher of the hit title Fortnite, focuses on the 30% revenue cut app stores typically take, Japanese game studios have broader concerns. They have long been unhappy with what they see as Apple's inconsistent enforcement of its own App Store guidelines, unpredictable content decisions and lapses in communication, according to more than a dozen people involved in the matter.

According to game developers in Japan, Google's Play Store offers a smoother approval process and better communication than the App Store. Some developers even rely on a third-party service called iOS Reject Rescue, which helps them navigate through Apple's approval process if their app is rejected.

"Apple's app review is often ambiguous, subjective and irrational," said Makoto Shoji, founder of PrimeTheory, which provides the rejection service. "While Apple will never admit it, I think there are times when they simply forget an item's in the review queue or they intentionally keep it untouched as a sanction to a developer giving them the wrong attitude," Shoji told Bloomberg.

Japanese developers have also been critical of the way Apple interprets what is appropriate content and say it often changes policies without advance notice. One topic in particular they take issue with is Apple's judgement of what constitutes overtly sexualized or pornographic material. The report notes that several game studios had characters in swimsuits approved only for them to be later rejected as Apple considered them to be "sexualized."

Apple has faced increasing scrutiny over its App Store practices from both developers and regulators in recent months. In response to the public clash between Apple and Epic Games, Japan's antitrust regulator has said it will "step up attention" to the iPhone maker's practices and how they affect the country's massive mobile gaming market.

Tags: bloomberg.com, Japan, Epic Games vs. Apple

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Apple Releases iOS 14 Beta 7 and iPadOS 14 Beta 7 [Download]

Apple has released iOS 14 beta 7 and iPadOS 14 beta 7 to developers for testing. The build number is 18A5369b.

This version is intended exclusively for software developers to test their apps and start adopting the new technologies in iOS. Make sure to back up your device and install only on systems you are prepared to erase if necessary.

The major software update introduces Home Screen widgets, App Library, App Clips, updates to Messages, and much more. You can learn about what's new in iOS 14 here and iPadOS 14 here. The last beta brought a new Spatial Audio toggle and other minor improvements.





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