1. Google’s Move To End Controversy Over Its Ethical AI Team Isn’t Going Too Well (CNN)
Google just fired Margaret Mitchell, the founder and former co-lead of the company’s ethical AI team, fueling the Ethical AI team controversy further. Mitchell’s firing, quoting new policies, appeared as if Google was trying to wrap up an investigation into the matter by announcing policy changes abruptly. Mitchell’s exit within months of Gebru’s departure would only add to the tensions that have been brewing within the company, CNN reports.
2. Facebook’s Australia Ban Threatens To Leave Pacific Without Key News Source (The Guardian)
Facebook’s ban on Australian news will cut off vital sources of authoritative information for the government and industry in the Pacific region, analysts have warned. Across the Pacific, thousands have lost access to news, or severely limited, following the tech giant wiping all news on the platform in Australia in response to proposed legislation that would require Facebook to pay for content from media groups.
3. ABC News App Briefly The Most Downloaded App On AU App Store After Facebook Ban (The Verge)
Soon after Facebook banned Australian news sources on its platform, Apple’s App Store charts saw a surge of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s news App that made it reach the top. To this, Financial Times’ Uma Patel tweeted that it was possible ABC capitalized on Facebook’s news ban to urge its people to use the app.
4. Amazon, Alphabet, And Netflix Generate More Revenue Amidst Cuts On Ad Spending (AdAge)
In 2020, Amazon, Alphabet, and Netflix all figured out how to generate more revenue while spending less on advertising. Amazon’s net sales skyrocketed by 38% last year to $386 billion. But it trimmed ad and promotion spend by 1% to $10.9 billion. Alphabet’s revenue rose 13% to $183 billion. But it slashed ad spending by 21% to $5.4 billion. Netflix revenue increased 24% to $25 billion in 2020. Its ad spending plunged 23% to $1.4 billion. Ad Age Datacenter analyzed the ad spends across the FANG companies over the past year as they dealt with the pandemic, thus showing a steep cut in the ad spending trends.
5. Facebook Takes Down Main Page of Myanmar Military (Business Standard)
Facebook on Sunday deleted the main page of the Myanmar military under its standards prohibiting the incitement of violence, the company said, a day after two protesters were killed when police opened fire at a demonstration against the February 1 coup.
6. Lawmakers Ask Twitter And Facebook To Crack Down On COVID-19 Anti-Vaxxers (Media Post)
Senator Richard Blumenthal urged Twitter and Facebook to act aggressively, policing the posts that target pregnant women. “I write with alarm about harassment on Facebook and Instagram of expectant mothers and women that have suffered miscarriages by groups and accounts promoting conspiracy theories and disinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine,” the Democratic lawmaker from Connecticut said Thursday in a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
7. Clubhouse Raising Concerns Over Security After Its Chats Are Breached (Bloomberg)
A week after Clubhouse creators were taking steps to ensure data privacy of the users, an unidentified user streamed audio chats to their own website. Reema Bahnasy, a spokesperson for Clubhouse said the hacker was able to stream Clubhouse audio feeds this weekend from “multiple rooms” into their own third-party website. Clubhouse recently raised $100 million at a reported $1 billion valuation. Agora has soared more than 150% since mid-January. It is now worth close to $10 billion.
