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A Russian court has banned Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, for "extremist activities." WhatsApp is excluded from the ruling, however.

A Russian court bans Facebook and Instagram as extremist

12:42pm March 21, 2022

by Alina Selyukh

The ruling amounts to an immediate ban of Facebook and Instagram in Russia, where both platforms are already blocked. WhatsApp, which is owned by the same company, is still allowed.

Meta banned seven surveillance firms from Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp on Thursday, accusing the firms of using the platforms to spy on about 50,000 unsuspecting people.

Facebook bans 7 'surveillance-for-hire' companies that spied on 50,000 users

4:20pm December 16, 2021

by Shannon Bond

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram says the firms used its platforms to spy on human rights activists, government critics, celebrities and journalists in more than 100 countries.

An update to Facebook's routers that coordinate network traffic went wrong on Monday, sending a wave of disruption and effectively shutting down Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.

National

Why Facebook and Instagram went down for hours on Monday

12:42pm October 05, 2021

When a company can't use the internet's core protocols, it's as if its online domains simply don't exist. That happened to Facebook, creating a cascade of problems.

The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in a standoff with social media companies over what content gets investigated or blocked online, and who gets to decide.

World News

India And Tech Companies Clash Over Censorship, Privacy And 'Digital Colonialism'

12:21pm June 10, 2021

India's new social media rules give the government broad powers to block some content and break encryption. It's the latest in a standoff with tech companies over censorship, privacy and free speech.

Queue Listen Now

Priyali Sur, 29 weeks pregnant, at home in Delhi on April 30.

She Was Pregnant. She Was Sick. And In India, She Had Nowhere To Go

8:14pm May 18, 2021

by Priyali Sur

A pregnant journalist investigates and finds many pregnant, COVID-positive women can't access life-saving healthcare during the country's deadly second wave.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in 2019. His company has been hit with twin lawsuits alleging it abused its power in order to crush rivals.

National

'The Wrath Of Mark': 4 Takeaways From The Government's Case Against Facebook

11:19am December 11, 2020

by Shannon Bond

Twin complaints from the Federal Trade Commission and 48 attorneys general paint a portrait of a company protecting its power at all costs.

Goat Sales For Eid Were Tanking Due To The Pandemic. So Marketers Got Creative

5:31pm July 31, 2020

by Sandip Roy

It's been hard to sell the sacrificial animal in India for the Eid al-Adha holiday amid COVID-19. Goat dealers are trying everything from a pageant hosted by a TikTok star to WhatsApp orders.

Police stand guard at an apartment building that's considered a coronavirus hot spot. Other state efforts involve using GPS data to keep track of people who've been ordered into home quarantine.

An Indian State Tells Quarantined Folks: 'A Selfie An Hour Will Keep The Police Away'

7:00am April 12, 2020

by Kamala Thiagarajan

In Karnataka, people under quarantine must take hourly selfies as proof of staying home. The government is also publishing addresses of the quarantined. Legal activists are raising privacy concerns.

Lebanese anti-government protesters use the light on their mobile phones during a demonstration in downtown Beirut in November. Activists turned to social media platforms to get out their message, streaming protests live on Twitter and highlighting police

World News

Lebanon's Government Is Accused Of Swarming WhatsApp To Catch Protesters

9:05am March 09, 2020

by Deborah Amos

Protest organizers, lawyers and rights advocates tell NPR the authorities have adopted surveillance tactics, including allegedly invading chat groups to intimidate and investigate critics.

Senior adviser to the President Jared Kushner used private email and a messaging app to conduct official business, the House oversight committee says. Kushner's lawyer has pushed back on some of the committee's assertions.

Politics & Government

Kushner Used Private Email To Conduct Official Business, House Committee Says

10:38pm March 21, 2019

by Tim Mak

Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., is investigating alleged violations of federal records laws. Jared Kushner's lawyer disputes some of Cummings' assertions about what he told the committee.