Facebook adds anonymous login, in move to build trust

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook moved Wednesday to bolster the trust of its more than one billion users by providing new controls on how much information is shared on the world´s leading social network.

In a major shift away from the notion long preached by Facebook co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg of having a single known identity online, people will be able to use applications anonymously at Facebook.

The social network also provided a streamlined way for people to control which data applications can access and began letting people rein in what friends can do with shared posts at Facebook.

Zuckerberg announced the changes, along with moves to make Facebook a more stable platform for applications, at the social network´s sold-out f8 developers conference.

"By giving people more power and control, they are going to trust all the apps we build more and over time use them more," Zuckerberg told an audience of about 1,700 conference attendees.

"That is positive for everyone."In a statement Facebook explained its new "Anonymous Login" as an easy way for people to try an app without sharing personal information from Facebook..

"People tell us they´re sometimes worried about sharing information with apps and want more choice and control over what personal information apps receive," the company said. "Today´s announcements put power and control squarely in people´s hands."

- People are scared -

In coming weeks, Facebook will also roll out a redesigned dashboard to give users a simple way to manage or remove third-party applications linked to their profiles at the social network.

"This is really big from a user standpoint," JibJab chief executive Gregg Spiridellis said of what he heard during the keynote presentation that opened the one-day Facebook conference."I think they are seeing people are scared.

They realize that long-term, they need to be trusted."A JibJab application that can synch with Facebook lets people personalize digital greeting cards with images of themselves or friends.In a major move that promises to help application makers bring in more money and to further challenge Google for online marketing revenue, Facebook is expanding a test of putting its ad-targeting prowess to work for developers.

A Facebook Audience Network will what people share publicly about themselves and their interests to pinpoint marketing messages in third-party apps linked to Facebook on desktop computers or mobile devices.Better targeted ads promise to be more effective and, by extension, more attractive to marketers as well as app makers."These guys are so smart," Spiridellis said of the Facebook team. "Every publisher is going to switch to Audience."

- Hacker way -

Facebook revived its popular developers conference after a two-year hiatus and promised that the event will take place annually for the foreseeable future.Zuckerberg said the overarching themes at f8 were ways to help developers "build, grow, and monetize" applications that synch with Facebook.

While Zuckerberg still proudly endorses a "hacker way" of creatively bending software in innovative directions, he promised developers that the Facebook platform on which they rely will deliver "stability and consistency."

"My goal is building a culture of loving the people we serve that is as strong as hacking it," Zuckerberg said as he wound up his presentation on a personal note.He described being in a personally reflective period triggered by Facebook turning 10 years old in February and him marking his 30th birthday in just a few weeks.

It has also been 10 years since he first met his wife, Priscilla Chan, he added."It´s a time to reflect in life, family, philanthropy and what is important in the 10 years ahead," Zuckerberg said.

Deepika Padukone beats Amitabh Bachchan, invites 15 million Facebook fans for live chat

 

Deepika is currently gearing up for her Diwali release 'Happy New Year'.

Actress Deepika Padukone today invited her 15 million Facebook fans for a live web chat as a way to express her gratitude for their support and love.

Deepika, 28, also celebrated her more than 15 million fan following on Facebook beating superstars like Salman Khan (14,811,718 likes), Aamir Khan (11,597,563 likes) and Amitabh Bachchan (10,518,577) among others.

The ‘Chennai Express’ star even updated her cover photo one hour prior to the live chat with her fans.

“Celebrating 15 million crazens. Live Chat with Deepika now,” read the caption on the picture.

Deepika is currently gearing up for her Diwali release ‘Happy New Year’, which also stars Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani and Sonu Sood. The action comedy-drama is being directed by Farah Khan.

Yahoo won’t let users Google, Facebook authentication for Flickr

"Yahoo is continually working on improving the user experience, the company said in a statement.

Yahoo Inc will stop letting consumers access its various online services, including Fantasy Sports and photo-sharing site Flickr, by signing-in with their Facebook Inc or Google Inc credentials.
The change, which will be rolled out gradually according to a Yahoo spokeswoman, will require users to register for a Yahoo ID in order to use any of the Internet portal’s services.
The move marks the latest change to Yahoo by Chief Executive Marissa Mayer, who is striving to spark fresh interest in the company’s Web products and to revive its stagnant revenue.
“Yahoo is continually working on improving the user experience,” the company said in a statement, noting that the new process “will allow us to offer the best personalized experience to everyone”.
The first Yahoo service to require the new sign-in process is Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick’Em, a service focused on the NCAA college basketball tournament which begins later this month. News of the change to Yahoo’s Tourney Pick’Em sign-in process was first reported by the technology blog Betanews.
Since Mayer took the reins in 2012, the company has rolled out new versions of many of its key products, including Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Finance. Last year, Yahoo announced a program to recycle inactive Yahoo user IDs, letting new users claim email addresses that have not been used for more than 12 months.
In eliminating the Facebook and Google sign-in features, Mayer, a former Google executive, is effectively reversing a strategy that Yahoo adopted in 2010 and 2011 under then CEO Carol Bartz.
The change to the Tourney Pick’Em sign-in process began on Monday, the Yahoo spokeswoman said, noting that users could still access other services with Google or Facebook IDs.
The sign-in buttons for Facebook and Google will eventually be removed from all Yahoo properties, the Yahoo spokeswoman, though she declined to provide a timeframe.

Facebook, Instagram crack down on gun sales on social networks

Facebook said its policy change was made in consultation with a number of individuals and organizations

Facebook Inc  and its photo sharing subsidiary, Instagram, will delete posts offering to buy or sell guns without background checks, Facebook announced on Wednesday.
In an effort to curb what gun control advocates say is the increasing use of the social networks to circumvent checks and controls on firearms sales, Facebook and Instagram will also bar users under 18 from viewing gun offers posted by individuals or groups. “We will not permit people to post offers to sell regulated items that indicate a willingness to evade or help others evade the law,” Facebook said.
The move by the world’s largest social network and Instagram may add fuel to an already intense debate over U.S. gun rights, following a series of mass shootings across the country. A spate of shootings in recent weeks across the United States has renewed questions about the vulnerability of public places like shopping centers and schools and sparked fresh calls for stiffer gun controls such as universal background checks and limitations on the sale of ammunition.
States like Connecticut and New York have passed a series of new gun measures. But opponents, including the National Rifle Association, the nation’s leading gun rights lobby, argue that tighter restrictions would unfairly limit the rights of responsible gun owners.
PLEADING THE SECOND
Facebook said its policy change was made in consultation with a number of individuals and organizations, including New York state Attorney General Attorney Eric Schneiderman, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Sandy Hook Promise and Moms Demand Action, which drew attention to loopholes on the Internet that allowed private sales of firearms without background checks.
“Our campaign exposed how simple it is for dangerous people to get their hands on guns, no questions asked – not only on Facebook and Instagram – but across the Internet,” Mayors Against Illegal Guns Chairman John Feinblatt said in a joint statement with Moms Demand Action.
“Unfortunately, the ‘private sale loophole’ allows anonymous parties to sell guns without background checks, and there are simply too many ways for criminals, minors and other prohibited gun purchasers to get them easily – with just the click of a mouse,” he said.
On Wednesday, the NRA accused Mayors Against Illegal Guns of previously trying to inhibit free expression on Facebook.
The groups “tried to pressure Facebook into shutting down discussion of Second Amendment issues on its social media platforms,” said Chris Cox, executive director, NRA Institute for Legislative Action.
“NRA members and our supporters will continue to have a platform to exercise their First Amendment rights in support of their Second Amendment freedoms.”
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects freedom of expression, as well as freedom of religion.
The Second Amendment says, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Whether the amendment protects an individual’s right to own firearms or solely a state’s right to self-defense has been heavily debated.
(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic and Edwin Chan; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Minister admits Iran cannot block Facebook forever

TEHRAN: Iran will not be able to keep up forever its ban on legal access to Internet hubs such as Facebook, which has four million Iranian users, Culture Minister Ali Janati said Sunday.
Such remarks by an Iranian official would have been unimaginable before President Hassan Rouhani, a reputed moderate, took office in August with a vow for more freedom.
"Four million Iranians are on Facebook, and we have restricted it," said Janati.
"We cannot restrict the advance of (such technology) under the pretext of protecting Islamic values," said the minister.
Access to the popular social networking site -- along with others which Iranian authorities regard as un-Islamic, immoral or undermining the Islamic establishment -- is obstructed by a massive filtering mechanism.
But tech-savvy Iranians have resorted to measures, known as anti-filters, to circumvent the restrictions.
Janati drew a parallel with a ban on fax machines and video tapes and players imposed the 1979 Islamic revolution.
"If we look back, we see many of the actions we took after the revolution were ridiculous."
Rouhani has adopted a policy that promises greater tolerance on social, cultural and media issues -- a vow that helped him beat his conservative opponents in the presidential election last year.
But the government has faced resistance from hardliners resisting a reversal in such policies.
A committee of 13 members determines what online content can be reached on Iran's Internet, which is notoriously slow.
Unapproved sites are put under the filtering system. The ban includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and numerous other sites, including blogs.
On Sunday, Janati suggested that the government was working to remove the online constraints.
"The six ministers who are members of the (filtering) committee have clearly stated that we cannot continue to isolate ourselves from the world," he said.
But, he added it would take time.
"However, (filtering) is one of those issues whose solution requires time. And it will be resolved in time," Janati said.
Despite the bans, several Iranian officials are active on social networking sites.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has attracted nearly 850,000 Facebook followers by posting regular updates in Persian, and he operates the only "verified" account of an Iranian official on Twitter.
He also has a YouTube channel.
Several pages are also apparently run by Iranian officials, including a popular Twitter account, @HassanRouhani, believed to belong to the president's office.
Iran's ultimate authority, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also has an online presence, with a Twitter account in Farsi and a Facebook page (facebook.com/www.Khamenei.ir) dedicated to him.

Quebec store owner ordered to change Facebook page to French

The Facebook page is only in English, though the store's pamphlets and sign are in French. (CBC)

Theowner of a store in Chelsea, Que., says she has been inundated with calls of support since the Quebec government ordered her to change the language on her store’s Facebook page to French.
Eva Cooper owns the women’s clothing boutique store, Delilah (in the Parc), with locations in Ottawa’s Glebe neighbourhood and in Chelsea, just north of Gatineau.

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Cooper said she serves customers in both languages, but her Facebook posts are mostly in English.
“I was a little bit in shock. I was a bit taken aback,” Cooper said regarding the request to change her Facebook page.
“It’s not like I’ve ever not followed the law with my businesses on the Quebec side.”

Customer complaint prompted order

Cooper said she received a letter from the provincial government after a customer complained the page did not meet the requirements of Bill 101, the main legislation in Quebec’s language policy.

Bill 101: Chapter VII

Language of Commerce and Business
52. Catalogues, brochures, folders, commercial directories and any similar publications must be drawn up in French.

Cooper has been ordered to translate her page by March 10 or she could face legal action.
Jean-Pierre Leblanc, a spokesman with Quebec's French-language office, said any promotional material from a business must be written in French, including posts on Facebook and Twitter.
"It's not the media itself, it's the use of it, so when you use it for commercial purpose, advertising, you are selling product or you are advertising for a service, it's applied," said Leblanc.
But Cooper argues there are blurred lines because the law does not mention social media.

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“Interestingly enough, it doesn’t really state anything to do with Facebook, but it does talk about catalogues and brochures and flyers,” Cooper said.
“We are dealing with social media and the World Wide Web. It definitely is another area, and it’s a grey zone.”
Cooper said she's received many calls of support from English and francophone customers since news of the government order was publicized this week, and 'likes' on her Facebook page have tripled to close to 3,000.
Cooper said she requested an English copy of the letter from the government and she wants to learn more background on the law before making any changes.
In 2001, a couple selling maple syrup was fined for operating an English-only website in Quebec.

Social media should be exempt, says rights group

Sylvia Martine LaForge, a spokeswoman for the Quebec Community Groups Network, a Quebec English rights group, said the law was created in the 1970s and applies to pamphlets and signs but not social media.
She said the fact the province's New York office runs a Facebook page in English is a clear sign that social media should be exempt.
"It's a question of social media being such an unknown territory right now. So if you say to me, will their Facebook page in New York now be bilingual, or will it have a French site and an English site, they might have to consider that."
Julius Grey, a constitutional lawyer in Montreal, agrees the law is not specific when it comes to the internet.
"The OQLF has often tended to adopt very hard interpretation … It seems to me that when they talk about signs and so on, you’d have to then say social media are to be assi