Meta

Meta projects Instagram to dominate US ad income

Instagram is poised to account for more than half of Meta Platforms’ US advertising revenue by 2025, according to research firm Emarketer. This anticipated growth is largely attributed to the platform’s enhanced monetisation strategies, particularly its focus on short-form video content such as Reels, which competes directly with TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

The increasing engagement with Reels has attracted marketers seeking to capitalise on the popularity of short videos, leading to a significant rise in ad placements. In 2024, Instagram’s ad revenue was primarily derived from its Feed (53.7%) and Stories (24.6%). However, the combined revenue share from Explore, Reels, and potentially Threads is projected to grow to 9.6% in 2025.

Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Emarketer, notes that users now spend nearly two-thirds of their Instagram time watching videos, underscoring the platform’s shift towards video-centric content. Additionally, if a TikTok ban were to be enforced in the US, Reels could become a prominent alternative for advertisers, further boosting Instagram’s market share.

Meta data breach leads to huge EU fine

Meta has been fined €251 million by the European Union’s privacy regulator over a 2018 security breach that affected 29 million users worldwide. The breach involved the ‘View As’ feature, which cyber attackers exploited to access sensitive personal data such as names, contact details, and even information about users’ children.

The Irish Data Protection Commission, Meta’s lead EU regulator, highlighted the severity of the violation, which exposed users to potential misuse of their private information. Meta resolved the issue shortly after its discovery and notified affected users and authorities. Of the 29 million accounts compromised, approximately 3 million belonged to users in the EU and European Economic Area.

This latest fine brings Meta’s total penalties under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation to nearly €3 billion. A Meta spokesperson stated that the company plans to appeal the decision and emphasised the measures it has implemented to strengthen user data protection. This case underscores the ongoing regulatory scrutiny faced by major technology firms in Europe.

Meta enhances Ray-Ban smart glasses with AI video and translation

Meta Platforms has introduced significant upgrades to its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, adding AI video capabilities and real-time language translation. The updates, announced during Meta’s Connect conference in September, are now available through the v11 software rollout for Early Access Program members.

The new AI video feature lets the smart glasses process visuals and answer user queries in real-time. Additionally, the glasses can now translate speech between English and Spanish, French, or Italian, providing translations via open-ear speakers or as text on a connected phone.

Meta also integrated the Shazam music identification app into the glasses, enhancing their functionality for users in the US and Canada. Earlier AI upgrades, such as setting reminders and scanning QR codes via voice commands, continue to expand the glasses’ utility.

Meta resolves Australian privacy dispute over Cambridge Analytica scandal

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has settled a major privacy lawsuit in Australia with a record A$50 million payment. This settlement concludes years of legal proceedings over allegations that personal data of 311,127 Australian Facebook users was improperly exposed and risked being shared with consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. The firm was infamous for using such data for political profiling, including work on the Brexit campaign and Donald Trump’s election.

Australia’s privacy watchdog initiated the case in 2020 after uncovering that Facebook’s personality quiz app, This is Your Digital Life, was linked to the broader Cambridge Analytica scandal first revealed in 2018. The Australian Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd described the settlement as the largest of its kind in the nation, addressing significant privacy concerns.

Meta stated the agreement was reached on a “no admission” basis, marking an end to the legal battle. The case had already secured a significant victory for Australian regulators when the high court declined Meta’s appeal in 2023, forcing the company into mediation. This outcome highlights Australia’s growing resolve in holding global tech firms accountable for user data protection.

Ethiopian content moderators claim neglect by Meta

Former moderators for Facebook’s parent company, Meta, have accused the tech giant of disregarding threats from Ethiopian rebels after their removal of inflammatory content. According to court documents filed in Kenya, members of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) targeted moderators reviewing Facebook posts, threatening dire consequences unless the posts were reinstated. Contractors hired by Meta allegedly dismissed these concerns, claiming the threats were fabricated, before later offering limited support, such as moving one exposed moderator to a safehouse.

The dispute stems from a lawsuit by 185 former moderators against Meta and two contractors, Sama and Majorel, alleging wrongful termination and blacklisting after they attempted to unionise. Moderators focusing on Ethiopia faced particularly acute risks, receiving threats that detailed their names and addresses, yet their complaints were reportedly met with inaction or suspicion. One moderator, fearing for his life, described living in constant terror of visiting family in Ethiopia.

The case has broader implications for Meta’s content moderation policies, as the company relies on third-party firms worldwide to handle disturbing and often dangerous material. In a related Kenyan lawsuit, Meta stands accused of allowing violent and hateful posts to flourish on its platform, exacerbating Ethiopia’s ongoing civil strife. While Meta, Sama, and the OLA have not commented, the allegations raise serious questions about the accountability of global tech firms in safeguarding their workers and addressing hate speech.

Meta apps experience widespread outages across the United States

Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp experienced significant outages across the United States on Wednesday, leaving thousands of users unable to access the popular platforms. Outage tracking site Downdetector recorded over 27,000 reports for Facebook, 28,000 for Instagram, and more than 1,000 for WhatsApp. The disruptions began around 12:50 p.m. ET, with users encountering error messages such as ‘something went wrong.’

Meta acknowledged the issue in a post on X, assuring users that it was working to resolve the problem quickly. A spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience and said teams were working diligently to restore services to normal.

User frustration echoed on X, with many expressing concerns about the reliability of Meta’s platforms. Outages like this are not unprecedented. Earlier this year, Meta faced a similar global disruption that impacted hundreds of thousands of users. In October, Meta apps were also briefly offline due to technical issues, although those were resolved within an hour.

Meta’s platforms are among the most widely used social media and communication tools globally. The recurrence of technical problems highlights the challenges of maintaining the reliability of such massive online infrastructures.

Serie A takes action against piracy with Meta

Serie A has partnered with Meta to combat illegal live streaming of football matches, aiming to protect its broadcasting rights. Under the agreement, Serie A will gain access to Meta’s tools for real-time detection and swift removal of unauthorised streams on Facebook and Instagram.

Broadcasting revenue remains vital for Serie A clubs, including Inter Milan and Juventus, with €4.5 billion secured through deals with DAZN and Sky until 2029. The league’s CEO urged other platforms to follow Meta’s lead in fighting piracy.

Italian authorities have ramped up anti-piracy measures, passing laws that enable swift takedowns of illegal streams. Earlier this month, police dismantled a network with 22 million users, highlighting the scale of the issue.

Meta introduces tools to enhance the Metaverse

Meta has announced the release of a new AI model, Meta Motivo, designed to enhance the realism of human-like digital agents in the Metaverse. This innovation promises more lifelike movements for avatars, addressing longstanding issues with digital body control. The company believes these advancements will revolutionise character animation and create immersive experiences with highly interactive non-playable characters (NPCs).

Meta’s focus on AI and Metaverse technologies has led to record-breaking investment forecasts for 2024, with capital expenditures projected to reach up to $40 billion. The company has also embraced an open-source approach by making its AI models available for free to developers, fostering innovation across its platforms.

In addition to Meta Motivo, the company introduced the Large Concept Model (LCM), an AI system designed to reimagine language modelling by focusing on high-level concepts rather than predicting text tokens. This system processes entire sentences in multilingual and multimodal contexts, aiming to enhance reasoning capabilities. Meta also unveiled Video Seal, a tool that embeds invisible, traceable watermarks into videos, signalling its commitment to both innovation and security in digital content creation.

These releases reflect Meta’s vision of advancing AI to shape the future of digital interaction and the Metaverse, aiming to establish itself as a leader in cutting-edge virtual and augmented reality technologies.

Italy focuses internet tax on major digital companies

Italy is revamping its web tax to target large tech companies while sparing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and publishing groups, government officials announced. The move aims to balance domestic fiscal needs with international concerns, especially those raised by the United States, which has criticised the tax as unfairly targeting US-based firms like Meta, Google, and Amazon.

Introduced in 2019, the 3% tax applies to digital firms with global revenues exceeding €750 million and at least €5.5 million generated in Italy. Recent attempts by Italy’s Treasury to expand the tax’s scope were met with backlash, prompting officials to retain the original revenue thresholds to avoid burdening smaller companies.

Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti argued that a broader tax base could reduce friction with the US, but internal government opposition led to a pivot. Rome also plans to cut corporate taxes for companies that invest and create jobs, offsetting the cost by raising €5 billion from banks and insurers over three years through measures outlined in the 2025 budget. By refining its approach, Italy seeks to strike a balance between fiscal responsibility and fostering a favorable business environment for smaller enterprises.

Meta tax investigation concludes in Italy

Italian prosecutors have concluded an investigation into alleged tax evasion involving Facebook owner Meta, focusing on unpaid VAT worth €887.6 million. Two executives from the company’s Irish subsidiary are implicated in the case. This marks the final step before a potential trial unless the suspects can demonstrate their innocence.

The dispute centres on whether Meta’s provision of free access to platforms like Facebook and Instagram, in exchange for users’ personal data, qualifies as a taxable transaction. Italian tax police argue that user registrations represent a non-monetary exchange that should incur VAT. Meta disputes these claims, maintaining that it has met all tax obligations and cooperated fully with Italian authorities.

Italy’s Revenue Agency has supported the findings of an earlier police investigation, alleging Meta failed to declare €4 billion in taxable income between 2015 and 2021. Meta now has 60 days to address these observations, potentially leading to either a settlement or a judicial tax dispute.

The case, involving consultations with the European Commission’s VAT Committee, could set significant precedents for digital taxation. A final resolution remains pending, with Meta standing firm against the notion of applying VAT to user access.