Monthly Archives: April 2020

FILE PHOTO: A Facebook logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday revived nationwide litigation accusing Facebook Inc (FB.O) of violating users privacy rights by tracking their internet activity even after they logged out of the social media website.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Facebook users could pursue several claims under federal and California privacy and wiretapping laws.

A spokeswoman for Facebook said the proposed class action was without merit, and the Menlo Park, California-based company will continue defending itself.

Facebook users had accused the company of quietly storing cookies on their browsers that tracked when they visited outside websites containing like buttons, and then selling personal profiles based on their browsing histories to advertisers.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California had dismissed the lawsuit in 2017, including claims under the federal Wiretap Act, and said the users lacked legal standing to pursue economic damages claims.

But in Thursdays decision, Chief Judge Sidney Thomas wrote for a three-judge panel that users had a reasonable expectation of privacy, and had sufficiently alleged a clear invasion of their right to privacy.

The panel also said California law recognized a right to recoup unjustly earned profits, regardless of whether a defendants conduct directly caused economic harm.

Facebooks user profiles would allegedly reveal an individuals likes, dislikes, interests, and habits over a significant amount of time, without affording users meaningful opportunity to control or prevent the unauthorized exploration of their private lives, Thomas wrote.

Citing Facebooks data use policy, he also said the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that Facebook set an expectation that logged-out user data would not be collected, but then collected it anyway.

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York Editing by Noeleen Walder and Matthew Lewis

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Facebook must face renewed privacy lawsuit over user tracking - Reuters

Facebook has published a new, 64-page guide of key tips and notes to help brands and organizations maintain connection with their Facebook and Instagram audiences amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The guide covers all aspects of Facebook and Instagram content, including Stories, live-streaming, IGTV, groups and more. Each section includes notes on how to make best use of the latest features and updates, along with the key considerations for audiences in relation to the pandemic.

Here's an overview of some of the key elements:

First off, Facebook provides notes on what to keep in mind when communicating at this time.

The guide also lays out more specific pointers on how to connect, including the types of content that are likely to best serve your community during the lockdowns.

In terms of more function-specific advice, Facebook provides tips on what to consider when going live:

In Stories content:

And how you can ensure you're creating top-quality material:

There are also notes on working from home effectively, account security consideration, Branded Content tips, Creator Studio notes, Crowdtangle insights, and more.

There's a heap to take in - if you're looking for ways to maximize your use of Facebook and Instagram, or specific notes on how to use key elements, it's worth downloading the guide and taking a look. Even if you're confident that you're using all the tools and functions to best effect, there are likely some helpful notes to consider.

You can download Facebook's "Connecting people during the COVID-19 pandemic" guide book here.

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Facebook Publishes New Guide on How to Maintain Connection With Audiences Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic - Social Media Today

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When we no longer fear that we have entered the twilight of our way of living, a great reckoning will occur.

Many people will look inside themselves and assess their lifestyle and how they acted when most of humanity was forced to hide inside their homes so they werent killed by a deadly virus. This mass introspection will affect all areas of society. Investors will try to identify pandemic-proof companies.

Pharmaceutical companies like Abbott Laboratories (ticker: ABT), Gilead Sciences (GILD), and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) should win praise. The scientists and company that discover the cure or vaccine for this virus will be heroes.

Already, investors are hoping that a potential peak in the pandemics death rate means this nightmare may be coming to an end. The stock market has rallied higher in anticipation that the economy soon reopens.

When this happens, Facebook (FB) will probably prosper, much as it has during the crisis. Many people have been using Facebook to communicate with friends and family during weeks of isolation. When the quarantine ends, everyone will almost certainly post even more to Facebook, and its subsidiaries Instagram and WhatsApp, to share the post-quarantine celebration.

As a business, Facebooks conduct during the crisis has been exemplary. It has made $100 million available in cash grants to help small businesses. They can now host fund-raisers, a helpful feature for selling gift cards and organizing community support. The company gave its own employees $1,000 bonuses and announced plans to hire 10,000 more people by years end.

Facebooks leadership has been decisive and humane in the crisis, and it could overshadow longstanding concerns that it is a bully that weaponizes user data to make money and destroy competitors.

Though advertisers are reportedly not spending money to reach people on Facebook, only a fool would discount the companys leading role during the pandemic and what that probably augurs for its financial future.

Facebooks stock is arguably attractively priced, with shares down a hair more than the broader market. They are now down 15.1% this year, compared with a 14.9% decline for the S&P 500 index, and are attractive by various other measures.

We could summon persuasive data to demonstrate that Facebook is poised to benefit from the virus continuing, but we will pass. Everyone hopes, as evidenced by the S&P 500s recent stratospheric rallies, that the pandemic will soon be under control. Of course, no one knows if thats true, and that is reflected in narrower realms such as the options market, where Facebooks volatility is elevated and its shares look battered.

In our disciplinelong asserted here throughout other vicissitudes, including the financial crisisselling high in the options market to buy low in the stock market is often a winning strategy. By selling options, especially cash-secured puts, investors can monetize fear and get paid by the options market to buy stock.

With Facebook stock at $173.73, consider selling the May $160 put for $4.90 and buying the May $180 call for $6.50. The so-called risk reversalselling a put and buying a call with a higher strike price but a similar expirationis designed to catch Facebooks first-quarter earnings report. The date hasnt been announced, but a year ago it occurred on April 24.

For $1.60the trades costinvestors profit from rallies above $181.60, while they are obligated to buy the stock at the put strike price. The great risk is that the stock tumbles on earnings and is far below $160 at expiration. Consider this trade only if you have enough cash to ride out the pandemic.

One day the quarantine will end. This trade expresses the view that Facebook will benefit because it is more integral to societys functioning than perhaps anyone would like to admit.

Email: editors@barrons.com

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Facebook Is Winning the Pandemic. How to Bet on It With Options. - Barron's

I am tired of bringing food to the Queen to justify my existence, a poster writes. When does it end? When can I have some of the food I bring home? When will I see the value of my labor?

You goddamn traitor, reads the top comment. BITE, writes another user. BITE BITE BITE, writes another.

Someone just peed on my whole family, says another post. Rest in pees, commiserates a commenter.

Just found out my homie got crushed by human today RIP bro, another poster says. Then: 25 replies, all variations of F.

Welcome to A group where we all pretend to be ants in an ant colony, a Facebook group with over 135,000 members who are, well, pretending to be ants in an ant colony. Its been around since June of last year.

The group is one of a large, interconnected network of semi-satirical, semi-reverent Facebook groups centered on loud and fervent pretending. One of the largest is We Pretend Its 2007-2012 Internet, a haven for Club Penguin references, troll faces, and long-forgotten meme formats. There are its offshoots, We Pretend Its 1453 Internet (Oh, todays youth, always dying of the plague, reads a recent post) and We Pretend Its 1897 Internet (Ladies, lips that touch liquor shall not touch ours!). Theres A group where we all pretend to be boomers, A GROUP WHERE WE ALL PRETEND TO BE DRAMATIC TUMBLR USERS and A group where we all pretend to work in the same office (Who the fuck stole my stapler?).

But theres something special about the ant colony group. Yes, jokes and memes are exchanged. But theres a unique earnestness to the interactions; it feels like a world. A user confesses that hes in love with the Queen, and 120 commenters urge him to set aside his dalliance, remember his purpose, and get back to work. A member announces that a larva is missing; commenters split into search parties, some volunteer information, others ask for updates, and the larva is eventually found. Its silly, but Ill admit: I breathed a sigh of relief.

I am a lurker in the ant colony group. I post the occasional comment, often a variant of BITE. But mostly, I sit back and watch it unfold. The scene is a fascinating and profoundly odd exercise in empathy.

I dont need to tell you that were living in stressful times, and while were all experiencing them together, their impacts on us, and the particular patchwork of ways theyve upended each of our lives our workplaces, our families, our own health are unique to each of us. Were experiencing a shared crisis alone.

Different things help different people stay sane. For me, the ant colony group is a reminder of the bigger things bigger worlds, longer times that surround the tragic and terrifying microcosm were currently in. I think about the ant hills on my lawn. I think of an ant, feet under the ground, standing before a crowd of fellow insects, somberly announcing Death water came from the sky today. Many good workers lost. Press F. I think of another ant, huddled with a group off to the side, asking in a hushed voice, Alright, whats our stance on allying with the red ants? Yea or nay?

I know thats not whats happening, obviously. But in whatever non-English medium ants and anteaters and termites and fruit flies and everything else use to communicate, there are things going on out there. Things are happening, constantly, that are far beyond my understanding. The ants are marching on. Its probably silly that that helps me get through each day, but it does all the same.

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All I need in life is this Facebook group where everyone pretends to be ants - The Verge

The District 6 Councilman took to Facebook Live while driving down John Street to criticize people at the Budget Inn, saying "I guess it's taco time." Salinas Californian

Salinas City Councilman John "Tony" Villegas went on Facebook Live earlier this week while driving around south Salinas.

In the video,Villegas turnsright from John Street onto Front Street and said: "This is nuts."

He then drives through the gas station across from the KSBW studios to go down John Street in the other direction, towards downtown Salinas.

"I was just driving around to see what was going on and here we are," he said. "I was going to see some of the work being done."

Villegas did not return a request for comment from The Californian about the Facebook Live video.It's unclear what "work" he is referencing.

After merging onto John Street, Villegas drives past the Budget Inn Motel where dozens of people are gathered in the parking lot.

"Over at the Budget Motel and Inn on John Street, this is their social distancing," he said, referring to the people standing in the parking lot.

"Look at all that," he continued. "I guess it's taco time. Insane."

One of the viewers commented, "That is farmworker housing that the city approves, isn't it?"

The Budget Inn Motel is in factused for H-2A worker housing.

Another wrote, "That is so sad...people just don't get it. I hope they fine the owner of the motel."

A few H2A workers hanging out n the second floor of the Budget Inn Motel in Salinas talk to a person standing just right outside their room on April 2, 2020.(Photo: David Rodriguez/The Salinas Californian)

Villegas is the District 6 representative on the Salinas City Council, the district in northern Salinas which covers the area betweenHarden Ranch Plaza andEverett Alvarez High School and stretches as far south as Natividad Medical Center.

The Facebook Live video has since been deleted from Villegas' page.

Some community members were upset that the video depicted Villegas using his phone while driving and his use of "taco time" aspossibly derogatory.

Last September, Villegas feuded with Salinas Union High School District Trustee Anthony Rocha following the latter's involvement with a resolution to terminate the TV show 'Live PD.'

Villegas referred to Rocha as "CockRocha" in the comments of aFacebook post and created a derogatory Facebook event called 'A Pity Party for CockRocha.'

Hes trying to take the moral high ground here," Villegas said of Rocha at the time. "Andas far as Im concerned, sometimes I have to lower myself in the gutter where people like him are,to reach them at their level of understanding.

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'Guess it's taco time': City councilman criticizes gathering on Facebook Live while driving - The Californian

CARMEL, Ind. (WTHR) - The pandemic means public health is the top priority.

As a result, were missing a lot of the simple joys In our life, including live music performances.

But musicians everywhere have said music will continue, and theyre finding new ways to utilize technology to share their gift.

The Carmel Symphony Orchestra said they decided to cancel, not postpone their in-person performances.

Great Bassist Edgar Myer, who has won several Grammy awards, we decided to postpone (his concert) 'til next season. The ticket sales were fantastic, and the concert was amazing. We just decided we could add it to next season, said Janna Humes, music director.

Those who were planning to see Myer are elated to know that they havent missed that chance due to COVID-19, but live performances arent just enjoyable to those who are able to witness the performance. The orchestra feeds off the energy.

When we rehearse, its to get the pieces to the best quality that we have, but we really play our best at concerts. We can feel the energy, it is quite powerful. And I dont know how that is. Its not just through their applause, because I dont see them, I have my back to them. And the musicians are playing and theyre not really looking at them, said Hymes. Always better with an audience."

While many other musicians are performing live on social media, the Carmel Symphony Orchestra said they wanted to do something different. They are posting weekly shows every Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

We have cuts from concerts that were filmed and well play some of those and we intersperse them with interviews of our musicians speaking about different topics, said Hymes.

CSO says they are an orchestra for the community, playing everything from Beethoven to Sinatra

Its not highbrow. We all live there and many of our players have other jobs, so you might know them that way. We play such a variety of music. I guarantee there will be something at every concert that theyll enjoy, said Hymes.

The Carmel Symphony Orchestra said they look forward to being able to connect with their audience in person again, when the pandemic is contained. While social media allows us to connect, there are some things technology can never replace.

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From Beethoven to Sinatra: Carmel Symphony Orchestra offers weekly shows on Facebook - WTHR

We're ALL going to need a physical and emotional make-over when this is over -- but for now you can watch a brand new show about exactly that.

La La Anthony's Reclaim Your Life launched this week exclusively on Facebook Watch, production of which -- like everything else on the planet -- ground to a halt amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The actress visited TooFab (remotely via Zoom, of course) to chat about her new show, and how it -- and more importantly her family -- has been affected by the pandemic.

"I'm just trying to stay sane in the middle of such uncertain times," she smiled. "People always ask 'how are you getting through the quarantine?' If I go day by day that works for me."

"If I start thinking too far in advance I just get stressed out and anxious... I try not to think about 'when is this going to be over?'; 'when are we gonna be back outside?'"

The "Power" star is also mindful of trying to take the positives from a horrible situation.

"It also makes you not take things for granted anymore," she continued. "If you were working all the time, or outside all the time, and were like 'oh I just wish I could have a break! or 'I just wish I could slow down a little!'... and now the whole world is being forced to slow down, and all we want is to get back outside."

"It just gives you an appreciation for things that maybe you didn't pay attention to before. I think when we do come out of this everyone is going to come out a different person, and with a different appreciation for taking care of each other, and taking care of the world."

La La's own charity for example has been working to give out free meals to hospitals in the tri-state area, including her home town of New York.

"What I do love about even this uncertain time is just when you see so many people just banding together, helping each other, donating to different causes, being on the front lines with healthcare workers," she added.

Like many parents currently pulling their hair out, La La is stuck at home with her son, 13-year-old Kiyan (or he's stuck home with her), who as a basketball player like his dad Carmello, is going extra stir crazy at being trapped indoors. But as she points out, parents must remember it is as frustrating for them as it is for us.

"I'm always trying to be mindful of our children and how they are feeling because this is new to them too," she said. "Like sticking my kid in front of a computer and saying: 'Go to school! Go to class! Pay attention!'... they have to be having anxiety and uncertainty about what's going on in the world right now."

In some very unfortunate timing, La La only got one episode of her new show under her belt before the shut down -- but it's a good one (you can watch it below).

It is called -- ironically enough, since it's what we are all waiting to do right now -- "Reclaim Your Life".

"We're taking women who kind of feel like they are struck in life right now," she said. "Whether their self-esteem has been knocked down, their confidence, from careers, relationships, families, heartbreak -- things that we all can relate to."

"They get an internal makeover first, then the icing on the cake is get a makeover from my glam team."

As viewers will see from ep 1, there's a lot of emotion on show.

Or as La La summarizes: "It's okay to look the part -- but you gotta feel the part."

And while the show is initially embracing the ladies, she vowed to possibly open it up to the guys once the dust settles and the show restarts.

In the first episode, La La's pal Karrueche Tran also stars; the 90210 star has an extensive Rolodex she intends flicking through to draft some of her superstar friends in every future installment.

The dazzle of her celeb circle was evident this week when she hosted an IG Live party to celebrate the launch of the show -- and the likes of Megan Thee Stallion, 50 Cent, Kelly Rowland, and Charlamagne Tha God all dropped by.

The session turned into an impromptu game of "Would You Rather?", and some pretty deep insights were shared.

50 Cent, for example, claimed he would rather go a month without social media than sex (of which La La is still skeptical); Megan said she didn't have to choose because she was having a month without sex under quarantine anyway.

As for La La's other shows: she stars in the new season of "The Chi", which has been pushed back for release on Showtime until June 21, while 90210 she hopes -- like the rest of us -- that it will return one day after the Age of Rona has passed.

Got a story or a tip for us? Email TooFab editors at tips@toofab.com.

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La La Anthony on Coronavirus Lockdown, Her New Facebook Show and Those Wild IG Live Sessions (Exclusive) - TooFab

Campaigners have called for a coronavirus levy on the household name tech giants accused of avoiding at least 1.3billion in tax.

The Fair Tax Mark wants a dramatic change in taxation so that international companies help fund the crippling cost of the lockdown in Britain instead of lowly-paid workers like NHS staff.

The demand come just weeks after five tech giants including Google were accused of avoiding tax worth an estimated 1.3billion in the UK last year.

Paul Monaghan, chief executive of Fair Tax Mark, said: Silicon Valley mega-corporations such as Apple, Facebook and Google should be forced, at last, to make a fair tax contribution to the public services on which they rely, just like the rest of us.

No public money, be that coronavirus bailouts or public procurement contracts, should go toward businesses that refuse to sign a Fair Tax Lockdown pledge.

This would entail a binding public commitment from them to shun tax avoidance and tax havens.

The call was backed by Labours new shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds, who said: At a time when so many people are seeing income plummet, many tech companies are experiencing a boom.

Its more important than ever they are paying their fair share of tax. Labour will continue to push the Government to help secure vital funding for our NHS and public services at this critical time.

Britains economy is predicted to shrink by 15-25 per cent between this month and June.

And the cost to the taxpayer of the job retention scheme has been estimated at 30-40 billion over the three months.

Meanwhile Apple, Google, Cisco, Facebook and Microsoft raked in a combined profit of 8.1billion in Britain in 2018, think-tank Tax Watch UK said in February.

But it claimed they used complex financial structures to take profits offshore and pay a fraction of the tax they should have handed over.

Their UK corporation tax totalled 237million in 2018 an effective tax rate of just 2.9 per cent.

Tax Watch estimates Apple avoided a 559million bill, Google 389million, Facebook 165million, Microsoft 156million and Cisco 44million.

In the UK, Facebook paid just 28.5million in corporation tax in 2018 despite a record 1.65billion in British sales. This week it emerged Google paid 44million in UK corporation tax in the last year despite 1.6billion in revenues.

Research company eMarketer this week estimated Google made 5.7billion in ad revenue in the UK last year and will make more than 6billion this year.

Amazon paid only 220million tax on British revenue of 10.9billion.

The Government is attempting to crack down on moving profits to low-tax areas and is planning a 2 per cent digital service tax.

But campaigners say tech giants will always shift profits to tax havens unless governments work with each other.

Fair Tax Marks Mr Monaghan said: In the long term, governments need to get together and rip up the international rule book and move toward something called unitary taxation.

Profits would be apportioned to each country for tax on the basis of where real economic activity takes place. For Google this would likely see a four to five-fold rise in the corporation tax paid in the UK.

An Apple spokesman said: We are proud of Apples many contributions to economic development and job creation across the UK.

"We pay all that we owe according to tax laws wherever we operate.

"Since 2008 Apples corporate taxes alone have totalled over 100 billion dollars.

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has said he accepts tech giants may have to pay more tax in Europe.

Amazon says it has invested 18billion in the UK since 2010, and generated 220million in direct taxes and 573million in indirect taxes in 2018.

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Calls for coronavirus levy as Google and Facebook accused of avoiding billions in tax - Mirror Online

Daryl Hunter, owner of the Anchorage restaurant Wings 'N Things earned the wrath of hundreds of commenters with a post on his business Facebook page Wednesday night suggesting the coronavirus crisis is a hoax and a conspiracy. At 8:16 p.m. on Wednesday night, Hunter posted a status under the Wings 'N Things Facebook page that he deleted by Thursday afternoon.

The post read:

"Does anyone ever wonder why EVERYONE'S not getting the virus where it's supposedly at?

I mean if it's a virus that is in the air or wherever is there only so many viruses that are out there? And only a specified amount in each state or country or continent that has divided itself into only a specific amount?

Come on!!!

Or could it be maybe just a big distraction for what's to come by promoting possibly digital IDs and digital health certificates and digital currency using a "virus" as a means to do that?"

Later in the post, Hunter spoke about his restaurant:

"Anyways, there is definitely no virus at Wings 'N Things and I GUARANTEE THERE WON'T EVER BE ANY CORONAVIRUS AT Wings 'N Things unless the men in black come over and decide that there is!

So just watch for that :)"

Hunter wound up in a back and forth of insults, especially after commenters pointed to Facebook posts of Hunter's daughter, who apparently returned from a trip to Arizona and was not obeying the state's 14-day quarantine requirement.

Commenters also posted links to a 2011 Alaska Journal of Commerce article from 2011, which detailed Hunter's guilty plea to charges that included "using drug money to put a $200,000 down payment on the business."

In one exchange, Hunter accused a customer of smoking meth.

Hunter didn't help his situation any on Thursday morning with a post that blamed a supposed 'marketing rep' for making the coronavirus post.

"Looks like we're going to have to fire our marketing rep, which we did," Hunter's post read. "Our sincerest apologies to everyone that has been offended, but to our customers a double apology! One person's belief was never intended to be offensive in anyway!"

The post was taken down Thursday morning at and replaced with the following apology:

"One more time,

We at Wings N Things do sincerely apologize to everyone that has been offended by a previous post, which has now been deleted.

We do take this Coronavirus pandemic very serious and will continue to take all the extra precautions in our restaurant."

Within three hours more than 500 comments were posted to the apology, many of the comments screenshots of Hunter's prior clashes with commenters.

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Wings 'N Things owner gets in hot water over coronavirus Facebook post - Anchorage Press

In 2017, CEO Jeff Bezos asked an all-hands Amazon staff meeting: "What does Day Two look like?"

After a short pause, the billionaire answered his own question: "stasis, followed by irrelevance, followed by excruciating, painful decline, followed by death."

Bezos' question formed the basis of the new book from the BuzzFeed reporter Alex Kantrowitz, "Always Day One: How the Tech Titans Stay on Top."

The book, which was written over several years, offers exclusive access to a host of previously unrevealed insider tidbits, including Google employees mocking their outgoing exec Marissa Mayer and Mark Zuckerberg matching with his wife's friend on a dating app.

But beyond industry gossip, "Always Day One" gives readers an unparalleled overview of the business secrets, corporate structures, and internal cultures that have allowed Facebook, Amazon, and Google to thrive.

We broke down some of the key lessons from "Always Day One":

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'Always Day One': Facebook, Amazon and Google business secrets revealed - Business Insider UK