New Facebook logo arrives as its 'family' grows

Yahoo – AFP, November 4, 2019

The move aims to highlight the Facebook "brand" which operates a range of apps and
services including messaging, photo-sharing, virtual reality and is developing wallets
for digital currency.

Facebook on Monday unveiled a new logo to represent the Silicon Valley company, distinct from its core social network.

The move aims to highlight the Facebook "brand" which operates a range of apps and services including messaging, photo-sharing, virtual reality and is developing wallets for digital currency.

The new branding, basically the company name in crisp lettering, will be stamped on its "family" of offerings including WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Oculus, Workplace, Portal and Calibra, according to chief marketing officer Antonio Lucio.

"Today, we're updating our company branding to be clearer about the products that come from Facebook," Lucio said.

"We're introducing a new company logo and further distinguishing the Facebook company from the Facebook app, which will keep its own branding."

The new corporate logo "is a way to better communicate our ownership structure to the people and businesses who use our services to connect," Lucio added.

The move comes with Facebook under intense scrutiny from regulators around the world over how it polices content on its platforms, and with some politicians and activists seeking a breakup of Silicon Valley giants.

Since its start as a social networking application 15 years ago, Facebook has acquired Oculus virtual reality gear company as well as Instagram image-based social network. It has also launched Portal smart screens as well as a Workplace social network tailored for workplace productivity.

Its messaging applications WhatsApp and Messenger are each used by more than a billion people.

Facebook established a Calibra as a digital wallet for use with the proposed cryptocurrency Libra, which has been facing criticism from regulators and lawmakers in various countries.

Lebanon protesters form nationwide human chain

Yahoo – AFP, Jean-Marc Mojon and Anwar Amro, October 27, 2019

Lebanese protesters hold hands to form a human chain (AFP Photo/
ANWAR AMRO)

Beirut (AFP) - Tens of thousands of Lebanese protesters successfully formed a human chain running north-south across the entire country on Sunday to symbolise newfound national unity.

Demonstrators joined hands from Tripoli to Tyre, a 170-kilometre (105-mile) chain running through the capital Beirut, as part of an unprecedented cross-sectarian mobilisation.

Tension has mounted in recent days between security forces and protesters, who have blocked roads and brought the country to a standstill to press their demands for a complete overhaul of the political system.

Lebanon's reviled political elite has defended a belated package of economic reforms and appeared willing to reshuffle the government, but protesters who have stayed on the streets since October 17 want more.

On foot, by bicycle and on motorbikes, demonstrators and volunteers fanned out along the main north-south highway.

"The idea behind this human chain is to show an image of a Lebanon which, from north to south, rejects any sectarian affiliation," Julie Tegho Bou Nassif, one of the organisers, told AFP.

Lebanese protesters formed a 170-kilometre human chain from the southern port 

of Tyre to Tripoli in the north to underscore their unity against sectarian politics 

(AFP Photo/Patrick BAZ)

"There is no political demand today, we only want to send a message by simply holding hands under the Lebanese flag," the 31-year-old history professor told AFP.

On the Beirut seafront, men, women and children held hands, some carrying Lebanese flags and many singing the national anthem, an AFP photographer said.

'Dignified life'

In the northern city of Tripoli, where more than half the population lives under the poverty line, some had painted the Lebanese national symbol of a cedar tree on their faces, an AFP reporter said.

"We're expressing our demand for a dignified life and our dream as youth for a decent future," 30-year-old participant Tariq Fadli told AFP.

In the southern city of Tyre, protesters standing in a line held the edges of a long Lebanese flag, local television showed.

A young boy played with it, making it billow up and down.

The protests have been remarkable for their territorial reach and the absence of political or sectarian banners, in a country often defined by its divisions.

Protestors join hands in Nahr al-Kalb, north of Beirut, in a symbol of 

anti-government protest and national unity (AFP Photo/JOSEPH EID)

The leaderless protest movement, driven mostly by a young generation of men and women born after the 1975-1990 civil war, has even been described by some as the birth of a Lebanese civic identity.

The army has sought to re-open main roads across the country, where schools and banks have been closed for more than a week.

In one of the most serious incidents, the army opened fire on Friday to confront a group of protesters blocking a road in Tripoli, wounding at least six people.

But the unprecedented protest movement has been relatively incident-free, despite tensions with the armed forces and attempts by party loyalists to stage counter-demonstrations.

Protesters have been demanding the removal of the entire ruling class, which has remained largely unchanged in three decades.

Many of the political heavyweights are former warlords seen as representing little beyond their own sectarian or geographical community.

An aerial view shows Lebanese protesters holding hands to form a human 

chain along the coast (AFP Photo)

Brink of collapse

The protesters see them as corrupt and incompetent and have so far dismissed measures proposed by the political leadership to quell the protests.

"We've had the same people in charge for 30 years," said Elie, a 40-year-old demonstrator walking in central Beirut on Sunday morning with a Lebanese flag.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday announced a package of economic reforms which aims to revive an economy that has been on the brink of collapse for months.

His coalition partners have supported the move and warned that a political vacuum in times of economic peril risked chaos.

But the protesters have accused the political elite of desperately attempting to save their jobs and have stuck to their demands for deep, systemic change.

In a now well-established routine, entire families of volunteers showed up early on the main protest sites Sunday to clean up after another night of protests and parties.

After dusk, the central Martyrs' Square in Beirut and other protest hubs in Lebanon -- including the relatively conservative city of Tripoli -- turn into a vast, open ground where protesters dance, sing or organise political meetings.

'We are reaching out across religions and locations.'

When the Lebanese government tried to tax WhatsApp's free call service they instead sparked protests that have grown to an unprecedented scale https://t.co/MjZYYkvUqo pic.twitter.com/BxN9NpTH9E

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 27 oktober 2019

WhatsApp patches flaw after spyware revelation

Yahoo – AFP, Rob Lever, May 14, 2019

Spyware injected into the popular messaging application WhatsApp could compromise
smartphones and lead to targeting of human rights activists, journalists and others
(AFP Photo/Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)

Washington (AFP) - WhatsApp on Tuesday warned users to upgrade the application to plug a security hole that allowed for the injection of sophisticated malware that could be used to spy on journalists, activists and others.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp said it released an update to fix the vulnerability in the messaging app, used by 1.5 billion people around the world.

"WhatsApp encourages people to upgrade to the latest version of our app, as well as keep their mobile operating system up to date, to protect against potential targeted exploits designed to compromise information stored on mobile devices," a company statement said.

The WhatsApp spyware is sophisticated and "would be available to only advanced and highly motivated actors," the company said, adding that a "select number of users were targeted."

"This attack has all the hallmarks of a private company that works with a number of governments around the world" according to initial investigations, it added, but did not name the firm.

The spyware appears to be related to the Pegasus software developed by Israeli-based NSO group, which is normally sold to law enforcement and intelligence services, according to Washington-based analyst Joseph Hall.

A security flaw in WhatsApp, now fixed, allowed attackers to install spyware on 

phones (AFP Photo/NICOLAS ASFOURI)

The spyware "could have gotten into someone's hands" outside legitimate channels for nefarious purposes, Hall, chief technologist at the Center for Democracy and Technology, told AFP.

"It's unclear who is doing this."

Security researchers have found that Android and Apple phones can be infected with the spyware with a simple audio call through WhatsApp, even if the user does not answer, according to Hall, making detection more difficult.

Big risks

Hall said the unpatched security flaw opens the door to spying by rogue entities on human rights activists, journalists and others.

"The potential danger is quite large," he said.

"These kinds of apps that do encrypted messaging and encrypted phone calls tend to store the most secretive data that people need to protect."

He said dissidents and pro-democracy activists seeking to remain anonymous rely on these encrypted applications, as do journalists when speaking with sources about sensitive information.

Facebook did not comment on the number of users affected or who targeted them, and said it had reported the matter to US authorities.

It also informed EU authorities in Ireland about the "serious security vulnerability," according to a statement by the country's Data Protection Commission (DPC).

The revelation is the latest in a series of issues troubling WhatsApp's parent Facebook, which has faced intense criticism for allowing users' data to be harvested by research companies and over its slow response to Russia using the platform as a means to spread disinformation during the 2016 US election campaign.

WhatsApp is used by an estimated 1.5 billion people and 

its encryption feature has encouraged activsts, journalists 

and others for sensitive information (AFP Photo/Lionel 

BONAVENTURE)

Highly invasive software

WhatsApp said it has briefed human rights organizations on the matter, but did not identify them.

The NSO Group came to prominence in 2016 when researchers accused it of helping spy on an activist in the United Arab Emirates.

Its best-known product is Pegasus, a highly invasive tool that can reportedly switch on a target's phone camera and microphone, and access data on it.

The firm said Tuesday it only licenses its software to governments for "fighting crime and terror."

The NSO Group "does not operate the system, and after a rigorous licensing and vetting process, intelligence and law enforcement determine how to use the technology to support their public safety missions," it said in a statement to AFP.

"We investigate any credible allegations of misuse and if necessary, we take action, including shutting down the system."

Researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab have claimed that despite NSO's statement, Pegasus spyware is being misused by many governments.

The WhatsApp breach is the latest in a series of issues troubling its parent 

Facebook (AFP Photo/JUSTIN SULLIVAN)

"Pegasus appears to be in use by multiple countries with dubious human rights records and histories of abusive behavior by state security services," the researchers said in a report last year,

Amnesty International said meanwhile it would join a legal action this week in Israel by some 30 activists to revoke NSO's export license, claiming that one of its own staff members was targeted by a "particularly invasive" variant of the software in June 2018 via WhatsApp.

"NSO Group sells its products to governments who are known for outrageous human rights abuses, giving them the tools to track activists and critics," said Danna Ingleton, deputy director of Amnesty Tech.

"As long as products like Pegasus are marketed without proper control and oversight, the rights and safety of Amnesty International's staff and that of other activists, journalists and dissidents around the world is at risk."

Whatsapp targets fake messages ahead of India mega-election

Yahoo – AFP, April 2, 2019

Whatsapp has launched a hotline in India to flag rumours ahead of the
upcoming election (AFP Photo/NICOLAS ASFOURI)

New Delhi (AFP) - WhatsApp launched a hotline Tuesday allowing Indians to flag rumours circulating ahead of the upcoming election, a major concern in a country where fake news has fuelled violence.

It comes a day after WhatsApp's parent company Facebook removed hundreds of pages promoting India's ruling and opposition parties for violating rules around spam and "coordinated inauthentic behaviour" online.

The spread of viral fake videos and messages on social media platforms has proved incendiary in India, where half a billion people are online but limited digital literacy has helped rumours spread like wildfire.

As hundreds of millions of Indians prepare to vote this month and next, experts say the biggest election in history will also prove an immense misinformation challenge.

Less than two weeks before voting starts, WhatsApp has launched a "tipline" in partnership with an Indian startup that it says will allow voters to submit uncertain or suspicious content for verification.

Pictures, video links and texts will be analysed and debunked if untrue in English and four regional languages, the company said in a statement.

"This combined effort by WhatsApp and industry organisations will help contribute to the safety of the elections, by giving people means to know if the information is verified and deter people from sharing rumors that have no basis in fact," it said.

It follows a major purge of Facebook accounts on Monday by the social media giant, with hundreds of political pages spamming content supportive of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress movement taken down.

Facebook said nearly 700 of these were associated with Congress, whose leader Rahul Gandhi is challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the election. The party said it was investigating the claims.

Another 15 pages shut down for spamming were promoting, among other themes, the BJP and the alleged misconduct of its opponents, Facebook said. One belonged to a news organisation, MyNation, owned by BJP lawmaker Rajeev Chandrasekhar, media reports said.

These pages were followed by 2.6 million users and "linked to individuals associated with an Indian IT firm, Silver Touch", Facebook said.

The company based in Modi's home state of Gujarat developed the premier's personal mobile app and other government projects, Indian media reported.

The WhatsApp tipline follows other security measures taken by the firm in India, its largest global market with 200 million users.

WhatsApp restricted message forwarding in India last year and ran newspaper adverts to counter fake news after a spate of mob killings sparked by hoaxes spread on its messaging service.

In the lead up to the election, YouTube last month said it would start flagging dubious content in news-related videos in India. Its parent company Google is training Indian journalists in verification techniques and boosting stringency over election advertising.

Facebook has also said itwas running its biggest ever election monitoring campaign, with adverts and announcements to help people spot misinformation. It is also working with Indian newsrooms to make false posts less visible.