Internet

Facebook reported its second quarter earnings on Wednesday, and the results were predictably positive. The social network passed 2 billion monthly users earlier this summer, with over 1.3 billion using its software every day. The company parlayed that audience into $9.3 billion in revenue and $3.89 billion in net income. That’s a 71 percent higher profit than it reported for this same period last year.

"I want to see us move a little faster here but I’m confident that we’re going to get this right over the long term," Zuckerberg said in a conference call with analysts.

Alphabet reported a 21% jump in quarterly revenue on Monday, maintaining a growth rate that is rarely seen among companies its size and suggesting the big sales gains enjoyed recently […]

Facebook is in talks with Hollywood studios about producing scripted, TV-quality shows, with the aim of launching original programming by late summer, according to Wall Street Journal report.
Facebook has indicated that it was willing to commit to production budgets of as much as, even $3 million for each episode, in meetings with Hollywood talent agencies, the Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

A district court in northern Switzerland’s Zurich on Monday gave a Swiss man a suspended sentence and a 4,000 CHF (4,000 U.S. dollars) fine in a defamation case which involved him "liking" on Facebook posts, local media reported on Tuesday.

The 45-year-old defendant was found guilty of defamation for his liking posted on Facebook that accused an animal rights activist of racism and anti-Semitism, the Swissinfo reported.

Facebook is allowing users to share death threats, videos of self-harm and pictures of animal torture, it emerged yesterday.
The english newspaper Guardian has obtained leaked copies of over 100 internal documents outlining Facebook’s rules for handling sensitive content that reveal staff moderating the social media website are told not to delete such content.

The images may be removed from the site "once there’s no longer an opportunity to help the person," unless the incident has news value, according to the documents. Facebook is said to have an extensive list of secret rules and guidelines for deciding what its 2 billion users can and cannot post.

Google has launched a new feature on Search and News which shows a "Fact Check" label for certain links, indicating whether a third-party fact-checking organization has found the story factual or not.

In October, the search giant introduced the fact check label for Google News in a few countries. But now the company is expanding use of the tag to search, as well as Google News in every other country where it’s available.

The German Parliament approved a plan Wednesday that will force social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to remove hate speech within 24 hours or face a fine of up to $53 million.

Angela Merkel’s cabinet voted on the measures amid concerns over free speech, with campaigners, technology firms and journalists raising fears that tightened regulations could restrict expression. "Hate crimes that are not effectively combated and prosecuted pose a great danger for the peaceful cohesion of a free, open and democratic society," said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet.

Twitter is considering whether to build a premium version of its popular Tweetdeck interface aimed at professionals, the company said on Thursday, raising the possibility that it could collect subscription fees from some users for the first time.
The way that this subscription format would manifest would be in the form of a premium version of its popular Tweetdeck service, which is a popular app and website that the firm bought six years ago. It allows users to run multiple accounts out of the one interface, schedule tweets and generally have greater control over their Twitter experiences.