Meta

Meta unveils Candle cable to boost Asia-Pacific connectivity

Meta has announced Candle, a new submarine cable system designed to enhance digital connectivity across East and Southeast Asia. The 8,000-kilometre network will link Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore by 2028, offering a record 570 terabits per second (Tbps) of capacity.

Developed with regional telecommunications partners, Candle will use advanced 24 fibre-pair technology to deliver Meta’s largest bandwidth performance in the Asia-Pacific region.

The company also confirmed progress on several other subsea infrastructure projects. The Bifrost cable now connects Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the United States, with Mexico expected to join by 2026, adding 260 Tbps of new capacity.

Meanwhile, Echo currently links Guam and California with the same bandwidth, and Apricot has gone live between Japan, Taiwan, and Guam, with future extensions planned to Southeast Asia.

Together, Candle, Bifrost, Echo, and Apricot will improve intra-Asian connectivity and strengthen digital bridges between Asia and the Americas. These projects are part of Meta’s global network investments, including Project Waterworth and 2Africa, aimed at expanding access to AI and digital infrastructure.

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Meta faces fines in Netherlands over algorithm-first timelines

A Dutch court has ordered Meta to give Facebook and Instagram users in the Netherlands the right to set a chronological feed as their default.

The ruling follows a case brought by digital rights group Bits of Freedom, which argued that Meta’s design undermines user autonomy under the European Digital Services Act.

Although a chronological feed is already available, it is hidden and cannot be permanent. The court said Meta must make the settings accessible on the homepage and Reels section and ensure they stay in place when the apps are restarted.

If Meta does not comply within two weeks, it faces a fine of €100,000 per day, capped at €5 million.

Bits of Freedom argued that algorithmic feeds threaten democracy, particularly before elections. The court agreed the change must apply permanently rather than temporarily during campaigns.

The group welcomed the ruling but stressed it was only a small step in tackling the influence of tech giants on public debate.

Meta has not yet responded to the decision, which applies only in the Netherlands despite being based on EU law. Campaigners say the case highlights the need for more vigorous enforcement to ensure digital platforms respect user choice and democratic values.

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Meta to use AI interactions for content and ad recommendations

Meta has announced that beginning 16 December 2025, it will start personalising content and ad recommendations on Facebook, Instagram and other apps using users’ interactions with its generative AI features.

The update means that if you chat with Meta’s AI about a topic, such as hiking, the system may infer your interests and show related content, including posts from hiking groups or ads for boots. Meta emphasises that content and ad recommendations already use signals like likes, shares and follows, but the new change adds AI interactions as another signal.

Meta will notify users starting 7 October via in-app messages and emails to maintain user control. Users will retain access to settings such as Ads Preferences and feed controls to adjust what they see. Meta says it will not use sensitive AI chat content (religion, health, political beliefs, etc.) to personalise ads.

If users have linked those accounts in Meta’s Accounts Centre, interactions with AI on particular accounts will only be used for cross-account personalisation. Also, unless a WhatsApp account is added to the same Accounts Centre, AI interactions won’t influence experience in other apps.

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Calls for regulation grow as OpenAI and Meta adjust chatbots for teen mental health

OpenAI and Meta are adjusting how their chatbots handle conversations with teenagers showing signs of distress or asking about suicide. OpenAI plans to launch new parental controls this fall, enabling parents to link accounts, restrict features, and receive alerts if their child appears to be in acute distress.

The company says its chatbots will also route sensitive conversations to more capable models, aiming to improve responses to vulnerable users. The announcement follows a lawsuit alleging that ChatGPT encouraged a California teenager to take his own life earlier this year.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is also tightening its restrictions. Its chatbots will no longer engage teens on self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, or inappropriate topics, instead redirecting them towards expert resources. Meta already offers parental controls across teen accounts.

The moves come amid growing scrutiny of chatbot safety. A RAND Corporation study found inconsistent responses from ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude when asked about suicide, suggesting the tools require further refinement before being relied upon in high-risk situations.

Lead author Ryan McBain welcomed the updates but called them only incremental. Without safety benchmarks and enforceable standards, he argued, companies remain self-regulating in an area where risks to teenagers are uniquely high.

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New Facebook tools help creators boost fan engagement

Facebook has introduced new tools designed to help creators increase engagement and build stronger communities on the platform. The update includes fan challenges, custom badges for top contributors, and new insights to track audience loyalty.

Fan challenges allow creators with over 100,000 followers to issue prompts inviting fans to share content on a theme or event. Contributions are displayed in a dedicated feed, with a leaderboard ranking entries by reactions.

Challenges can run for a week or stretch over several months, giving creators flexibility in engaging their audiences.

Meta has also launched custom fan badges for creators with more than one million followers, enabling them to rename Top Fan badges each month. The feature gives elite-level fans extra recognition and strengthens the sense of community. Fans can choose whether to accept the custom badge.

To complement these features, Facebook adds new metrics showing the number of Top Fans on a page. These insights help creators measure engagement efforts and reward their most dedicated followers.

The tools are now available to eligible creators worldwide.

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Meta expands global rollout of teen accounts for Facebook and Messenger

US tech giant Meta is expanding its dedicated teen accounts to Facebook and Messenger users worldwide, extending a safety system on Instagram. The move introduces more parental controls and restrictions to protect younger users on Meta’s platforms.

The accounts, now mandatory for teens, include stricter privacy settings that limit contact with unknown adults. Parents can supervise how their children use the apps, monitor screen time, and view who their teens are messaging.

For younger users aged 13 to 15, parental permission is required before adjusting safety-related settings. Meta is also deploying AI tools to detect teens lying about their age.

Alongside the global rollout, Instagram is expanding a school partnership programme in the US, allowing middle and high schools to report bullying and problematic behaviour directly.

The company says early feedback from participating schools has been positive, and the scheme is now open to all schools nationwide.

An expansion that comes as Meta faces lawsuits and investigations over its record on child safety. By strengthening parental controls and school-based reporting, the company aims to address growing criticism while tightening protections for its youngest users.

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New Meta feature floods users with AI slop in TikTok-style feed

Meta has launched a new short-form video feed called Vibes inside its Meta AI app and on meta.ai, offering users endless streams of AI-generated content. The format mimics TikTok and Instagram Reels but consists entirely of algorithmically generated clips.

Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the feature in an Instagram post showcasing surreal creations, from fuzzy creatures leaping across cubes to a cat kneading dough and even an AI-generated Egyptian woman taking a selfie in antiquity.

Users can generate videos from scratch or remix existing clips by adding visuals, music, or stylistic effects before posting to Vibes, sharing via direct message, or cross-posting to Instagram and Facebook Stories.

Meta partnered with Midjourney and Black Forest Labs to support the early rollout, though it plans to transition to its AI models.

The announcement, however, was derided by users, who criticised the platform for adding yet more ‘AI slop’ to already saturated feeds. One top comment under Zuckerberg’s post bluntly read: ‘gang nobody wants this’.

A launch that comes as Meta ramps up its AI investment to catch up with rivals OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.

Earlier during the year, the company consolidated its AI teams into Meta Superintelligence Labs and reorganised them into four units focused on foundation models, research, product integration, and infrastructure.

Despite the strategic shift, many question whether Vibes adds value or deepens user fatigue with generative content.

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Meta offers Llama AI to US allies amid global tech race

Meta will provide its Llama AI model to key European institutions, NATO, and several allied countries as part of efforts to strengthen national security capabilities.

The company confirmed that France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the EU will gain access to the open-source model. US defence and security agencies and partners in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK already use Llama.

Meta stated that the aim is to ensure democratic allies have the most advanced AI tools for decision-making, mission planning, and operational efficiency.

Although its terms bar use for direct military or espionage applications, the company emphasised that supporting allied defence strategies is in the interest of nations.

The move highlights the strategic importance of AI models in global security. Meta has positioned Llama as a counterweight to other countries’ developments, after allegations that researchers adapted earlier versions of the model for military purposes.

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Meta’s open source AI models now available to all federal departments

The US General Services Administration (GSA) has launched a OneGov initiative with Meta to give federal agencies streamlined access to Llama, its open source AI models. The approach eliminates individual agency negotiations, saving time and reducing duplicated work across departments.

The initiative supports America’s AI Action Plan and federal memoranda, promoting the government’s accelerated and efficient use of AI. Rapid access to Llama aims to boost innovation, governance, public trust, and operational efficiency.

Open source Llama models allow federal teams to maintain complete control over data processing and storage. Agencies can build, deploy, and scale AI applications at lower cost, enhancing public services while delivering value to taxpayers.

Meta’s free access to the models further enables agencies to develop tailored solutions without reliance on proprietary platforms.

Collaboration between GSA and Meta ensures federal requirements are met while providing consistent department access. The arrangement enhances the government’s ability to implement AI while promoting transparency, reproducibility, and flexible mission-specific applications.

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Meta and Google to block political ads in EU under new regulations

Broadcasters and advertisers seek clarity before the EU’s political advertising rules become fully applicable on 10 October. The European Commission has promised further guidance, but details on what qualifies as political advertising remain vague.

Meta and Google will block the EU’s political, election, and social issue ads when the rules take effect, citing operational challenges and legal uncertainty. The regulation, aimed at curbing disinformation and foreign interference, requires ads to display labels with sponsors, payments, and targeting.

Publishers fear they lack the technical means to comply or block non-compliant programmatic ads, risking legal exposure. They call for clear sponsor identification procedures, standardised declaration formats, and robust verification processes to ensure authenticity.

Advertisers warn that the rules’ broad definition of political actors may be hard to implement. At the same time, broadcasters fear issue-based campaigns – such as environmental awareness drives – could unintentionally fall under the scope of political advertising.

The Dutch parliamentary election on 29 October will be the first to take place under the fully applicable rules, making clarity from Brussels urgent for media and advertisers across the bloc.

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