Mia Sato
If you are Mark Zuckerberg’s stylist please contact me immediately.
I’m at mia@theverge.com. Thanks!
Thomas Ricker
Meta’s Oversight board is getting smaller.
An unknown number of “targeted cuts” are coming to staffers who support the 22-member board that polices the world’s largest social media network. Launched in 2019, Meta has contributed $280 million to keep the board operational through 2025... which is a lot for a company that just emerged from its “year of efficiency.”
Meta’s oversight body prepares to lay off workers
[The Washington Post]
Wes Davis
The EU is preparing to investigate Meta’s handling of disinformation.
According to Financial Times, regulators are concerned that Meta isn’t doing enough to stifle disinformation being seeded by countries like Russia in order to undermine EU elections.
Officials reportedly also believe Meta’s process for flagging illegal content isn’t “user-friendly enough to comply with the EU Digital Services Act.” The probe would apparently begin today.
EU to probe Meta over handling of Russian disinformation
[FinancialTimes]
Nilay Patel
F, now we have Instagram KPIs.
Look, this is fine advice from Adam Mosseri — build an audience, not traffic, as we say so often around here — but it’s just so weird to lean this far into the idea of engagement for regular people. These platforms all feel like work now, and increasingly less fun work. No wonder everyone is going to the DMs!
Richard Lawler
This looks better on your phone.
Now, Threads posts with Reels (like this one of Becca Farsace checking out the new Insta360 cam) viewed in the Android or iOS app will display the video in line instead of burdening viewers with the responsibility of an additional click. Web viewers, however, will still need to use their imagination or click through.
Jess Weatherbed
Is Meta doing enough to tackle explicit AI-generated imagery?
That’s the question being raised by its Oversight Board, which today announced two new cases looking into how Meta handled explicit fakes of female public figures posted to Facebook and Instagram. One of which could concern the fake Taylor Swift images that circulated online earlier this year.
The board’s investigation will take a few weeks before reaching a final non-binding decision.
Emma Roth
Threads is testing new search filters.
While the “recent” filter should make it easier to find real-time search results, the “top” option shows popular posts related to your search. The test is only rolling out to a small number of users, according to Instagram head Adam Mosseri.
Emilia David
Instagram is getting AI-powered search.
TechCrunch reports Meta is testing more AI features on Instagram, this time to help users find new Reels, posts or ask questions. This is similar to the AI chat feature Meta rolled out on Instagram, the very same one that couldn’t generate photos of Asian men with white wives.
Jess Weatherbed
Barbara Krasnoff
Wes Davis
Instagram is working on in-channel photo contests.
Developer Alessandro Paluzzi spotted a new “challenges” feature being developed for Instagram’s Telegram-like broadcast channels that lets creators start photo contests for members and award them prizes.
According to the screenshot Paluzzi shared, channel members can interact with or report entries, and can also share them “in their stories, messages and across other apps.”
Emma Roth
Threads will now show trending topics for all users in the US.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the feature is no longer in testing, which means you’ll now get to keep tabs on what people are talking about from the app’s search tab and For You feed.
Richard Lawler
The “new” Threads desktop app is available for Windows PCs.
Yes, Windows users can get the Threads app Mark Zuckerberg is showing here from the Microsoft Store
But once it’s installed, you’ll get the same desktop web app experience (loaded in Microsoft’s Edge web browser) that we’ve had access to since August.
Amrita Khalid
Jess Weatherbed
Meta’s ‘consent or pay’ approach to privacy targeted by EU watchdogs.
Eight consumer rights groups from across the bloc filed GDPR complaints on Thursday, arguing that the ad-free subscriptions introduced for Facebook and Instagram in response to EU privacy regulations are a “consent masquerade that does not actually give consumers a free choice.”
Ursula Pachl, deputy director general of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), said in a statement:
“Meta’s offer to consumers is smoke and mirrors to cover up what is, at its core, the same old hoovering up of all kinds of sensitive information about people’s lives which it then monetises through its invasive advertising model.”
Choose to Lose with Meta
[BEUC]
Wes Davis
Instagram is preparing a “Friend Map” feature.
Alessandro Paluzzi, who discovers a lot of Instagram features before they’re announced, posted an update on something he’d spotted in the app months ago: the ability to see where your friends are on a map. Snap’s Snap Map is similar, as are features built into Android and iOS.
According to the images Paluzzi posted, Friend Map would be opt-in, and location data end-to-end encrypted.
Emma Roth
Instagram might let you use AI to write messages.
Mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi shared a screenshot that shows an option to “write with AI” when messaging another user. It’s too early to tell what this feature will do, but it’s not exactly a surprise given the AI features Meta has already rolled out on its platforms.
Richard Lawler
Instagram’s ‘Flipside’ feature creates a finsta forclose friends.
This Instagram feature was spotted late last year, but now some people say it’s live on their accounts.
Going a step further than “Close Friends” posts that are only visible to a select few, it enables another version of a person’s profile with a different name, details, and profile picture, with photos, reels, and stories that only approved accounts can see.