United News of Bangladesh

Meta is defending its efforts to protect children online as it faces a growing number of lawsuits accusing the social media company of harming young users. In the latest case, Meta is fighting allegations in a California federal court that it helped fuel the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing Instagram and Facebook features to keep children engaged for long periods. Four US states are seeking billions of dollars in damages and major changes to the way Meta operates the platforms. "Meta takes seriously" issues involving children's mental health and what they see and do on social media, the company's lawyer Paul Schmidt said in opening arguments this week. Critics, however, say Meta's safety measures have not gone far enough and that many of them do not work properly. Marc Berkman, executive director of the Organization for Social Media Safety, said Meta introduced many of its safeguards mainly in response to public pressure rather than genuine concern for children's safety. Measures targeting harmful content Many of Meta's safety changes have focused on bullying, harassment and offensive content. Instagram has long allowed users to block others. Over the years, both Instagram and Facebook have added tools to report problematic accounts and inappropriate content. In 2016, Instagram introduced options to delete or filter offensive comments. It later added warnings encouraging users to think twice before posting potentially harmful content, as well as controls for limiting comments and tags. Meta says adults who are not already connected with teenagers are prevented from starting private conversations with them. The company has also increased efforts to prevent children under 13 — the minimum age for Facebook and Instagram accounts — from using the platforms. Schmidt acknowledged that some users still provide false birth dates when signing up but said Meta takes its age restrictions seriously. The company also displays warnings and support information when users search Instagram for topics such as suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. Meta points to its "Teen Accounts", introduced in 2024, as another major safety measure. The accounts limit the type of photos and videos teenagers can view, broadly following restrictions similar to those of a PG-13 movie unless parents give permission for wider access. Critics say such measures are more about public relations than effective protection. A September 2025 report by former Meta employee and whistleblower Arturo Béjar and four online safety groups accused the company of failing to take meaningful action on child safety. Haley Hinkle, policy counsel at Fairplay, which helped prepare the report, said researchers reviewed 47 of Meta's 53 teen safety features on Instagram and found that 60% were either unavailable or did not work as advertised. Meta rejected the report's conclusions as "misleading" and "dangerously speculative." Concerns over endless scrolling Researchers also question whether Meta has done enough to prevent children from becoming overly dependent on social media. Ashley Shea, a Cornell University Ph.D. candidate who studies social media and online spaces, said features such as endless scrolling, pull-to-refresh designs, frequent notifications and algorithm-based recommendations can keep users engaged. She said these features can take advantage of vulnerabilities in young people's developing brains, particularly their desire for rewards. Shea acknowledged that Meta has taken important steps to deal with harmful content, cyberbullying and sexual predators. But she said she has not seen similar efforts to reduce the addictive effects of features designed to capture users' attention. Time limits and parental controls Meta also points to parental controls and other time-management tools as evidence that it is addressing concerns over excessive social media use. Schmidt said some teenagers struggle to control how much time they spend on social media and highlighted tools such as parental supervision and in-app reminders that encourage teenagers to take a break after repeatedly viewing similar content or using the platforms late at night. Hinkle said these tools are voluntary and difficult to set up, making them inadequate. Béjar also criticized Meta's "Take a Break" feature during testimony Wednesday, saying it is "designed to fail" because users must activate it themselves and few choose to do so. Berkman said technology companies are built to increase revenue, which for social media platforms often means encouraging users, including children, to spend as much time as possible on their services. Shea said the lawsuits are significant because they focus on whether social media platforms are harmful because of the way they are designed, rather than only because of the content users encounter. She added that growing pressure from lawmakers and lawsuits could force broader changes across the technology industry. "The momentum only continues to grow," Shea said, adding that companies driven by profit are likely to respond more quickly as they face greater financial pressure from legal action.  

Instagram users around the world can no longer send highly private direct messages after parent company Meta disabled end-to-end encryption (E2EE) on the platform from Thursday. The move marks a major shift by Meta, which had earlier promoted the technology as the future standard for online privacy. End-to-end encryption is considered one of the safest forms of digital communication because only the sender and receiver can read messages. Critics, however, have long argued that it can also make it harder for authorities to detect crimes such as child abuse and online grooming. With the feature now removed, Instagram will be able to access the contents of direct messages, including photos, videos and voice notes. Meta had announced plans in 2019 to expand E2EE across Facebook and Instagram messaging services. While Facebook Messenger fully adopted the system in 2023, Instagram only offered it as an optional feature and had planned to make it standard later. The company has now abandoned those plans after seven years. Instead, Instagram will use standard encryption, a system commonly used by services such as Gmail, where providers can access data if necessary. Child safety organisations welcomed the decision. The NSPCC, a UK-based children’s charity, said the removal of E2EE would help prevent criminals from hiding abusive activities online. “We are really pleased,” said Rani Govender of the NSPCC, adding that encrypted messaging could allow child abuse and grooming to go undetected. Privacy campaigners strongly criticised the decision, calling it a setback for online security. Maya Thomas of privacy group Big Brother Watch said E2EE helps protect children’s personal data and warned that Meta may be responding to government pressure. Meta did not publicly announce the policy reversal but quietly updated Instagram’s terms and conditions in March, stating that end-to-end encrypted messaging would no longer be supported after May 8, 2026. The company said the decision was made because only a small number of users had enabled the feature. Cybersecurity experts, however, believe the move may also reflect Meta’s growing interest in using data for targeted advertising and artificial intelligence development. Victoria Baines, professor of information technology at Gresham College, said social media companies increasingly see user communications as valuable data for AI training and advertising purposes. Instagram previously said direct messages were not used to train AI systems. The decision could also affect the wider social media industry, where encrypted messaging had increasingly become common. Apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, Facebook Messenger, iMessage and Google Messages currently use E2EE by default. Meanwhile, Telegram offers the feature as optional, while TikTok recently said it has no plans to introduce end-to-end encryption for direct messages. Experts say Meta’s latest move could slow the wider expansion of encrypted messaging on social media platforms. With inputs from BBC.

The first stand-alone trial brought by state prosecutors in a series of lawsuits against Meta is set to begin in New Mexico, with jury selection starting Monday. The case is based on a state undercover investigation that used proxy social media accounts and posed as children to document sexual solicitations and Meta’s response. Meta owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The case could provide states with a new legal avenue to pursue social media companies over the impact of their platforms on children, relying on consumer protection and nuisance laws. Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed the lawsuit in 2023, alleging that Meta created a marketplace and “breeding ground” for predators targeting children for sexual exploitation and failed to disclose what it knew about those harmful effects. Legal experts say a victory for New Mexico could have far-reaching consequences as regulators worldwide search for legal theories to rein in social media companies. “So many regulators are keyed up looking for any evidence of a legal theory that would punish social media that a victory in that case could have ripple effects throughout the country, and the globe,” said Eric Goldman, codirector of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law. “Whatever the jury says will be of substantial interest.” The trial, which is scheduled to begin with opening statements on Feb. 9, is expected to last nearly two months. Read More: Meta secures large nuclear energy supply to power AI data centers Meta has denied the civil allegations, accusing prosecutors of using a “sensationalist” approach. Although CEO Mark Zuckerberg was removed as a defendant, he has been deposed and case documents include references to him. The New Mexico lawsuit centers on allegations that Meta’s algorithms promote harmful and addictive content to children, rather than focusing on user-generated posts themselves. Prosecutors argue this strategy could bypass longstanding legal protections under the First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The state’s undercover investigation involved decoy accounts posing as minors, which documented sexual solicitations and monitored Meta’s response. Prosecutors say the company prioritized profits over child safety. Goldman said Meta is deploying significant legal resources in New Mexico and elsewhere. “If they lose this,” he said, “it becomes another beachhead that might erode their basic business.”

Meta has announced plans to begin testing a new range of paid subscription services on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, signalling a shift toward offering premium features alongside its free core platforms. The tech giant said the upcoming subscriptions will unlock exclusive tools aimed at enhancing creativity, productivity and artificial intelligence use, while keeping basic services accessible to all users at no cost. Meta said the subscriptions will be introduced gradually over the next few months and will deliver a premium experience tailored to how people interact on each app. Rather than launching a single uniform plan, the company will experiment with different feature bundles across platforms, indicating that the strategy may evolve based on user feedback. A key element of the subscription initiative is the expansion of Manus, an AI agent Meta recently acquired for a reported $2 billion. Meta plans to integrate Manus directly into its apps while also continuing to market it as a standalone product for business users. Industry observers have already noticed early signs of Manus integration, including work on adding a shortcut within Instagram. Also Read: EU probes X over Grok AI sexual deepfakes The company is also exploring ways to monetise its AI-driven creative tools. Vibes, an AI-powered short-form video generator available through the Meta AI app, is currently free and allows users to create and remix AI-generated videos. Under the proposed model, users may receive limited free access, with paid subscriptions offering additional video creation credits each month. While Meta has yet to disclose detailed plans for Facebook and WhatsApp, early indications suggest that Instagram’s paid features could include tools such as unlimited audience lists, insights into followers who do not follow back, and the ability to view Stories anonymously. These features are designed to give users greater control and visibility over their social interactions. Meta clarified that the new subscriptions will be separate from Meta Verified, its existing paid service aimed primarily at creators and businesses. Meta Verified focuses on account verification, impersonation protection and priority support, benefits that are less relevant to everyday users. The new subscription plans are intended to attract a broader audience, including casual users and content creators. Also Read: TikTok’s US operation set to collect precise location data Although subscriptions could open up fresh revenue streams, Meta acknowledged the challenge of subscription fatigue, as users already juggle multiple paid services. However, the company pointed to the success of Snapchat+, which has surpassed 16 million subscribers, as evidence that users are willing to pay for added value. Meta said it will closely track user feedback as it rolls out and tests the new offerings. #With inputs from The Indian Express

Bangladesh will maintain a  real-time engagement with Meta to prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation on Facebook during the upcoming 13th national election scheduled for February 12, said Chief Adviser’s Special Envoy on International Affairs Lutfey Siddiqi on Tuesday. Lutfey Siddiqi made the remarks at a press conference held at the Foreign Service Academy, where he briefed the media on Bangladesh’s participation and outcomes at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, last week. He said Meta itself is keen to establish real-time communication with Bangladesh during the election period. “We have a meeting with Meta’s legal team on Wednesday morning. They want real-time engagement with us during the election.” Election officials can’t campaign for or against referendum: EC Anwar He also said Meta is already in contact with the Election Commission (EC). “Meta has its own tools to counter misinformation during elections, and they are discussing those with the EC. In serious situations, Meta will assist Bangladesh in stopping misinformation or shutting down provocative pages.” Addressing concerns over Bangladesh’s data protection ordinance, Lutfey Siddiqi said initial tensions with Meta have now been resolved. “They misunderstood a few issues, which we clarified. Compared to any other time, our relationship with Meta is now quite strong.” Lutfey Siddiqi  also mentioned discussions with PayPal on the sidelines of the WEF meeting, saying the global digital payments platform has shown interest in entering the Bangladeshi market. No possibility of postponing or destabilising Feb-12 election: Home Adviser “PayPal has held talks with the Bangladesh Bank governor and CEO of several private banks and has taken a positive view of Bangladesh. They will discuss the matter at their governing board,” Lutfey Siddiqi said, adding that PayPal expressed satisfaction after engaging with local entrepreneurs, business leaders and banking analysts.

Meta has announced it is suspending teenagers’ access to its artificial intelligence characters, at least for now, according to a blog post released Friday. The company, which owns Instagram and WhatsApp, said that in the coming weeks, teens will no longer be able to use AI characters while Meta works on an updated version of the experience. The restriction applies to users who have listed their age as under 18, as well as those who say they are adults but are believed to be minors based on Meta’s age-detection technology. Teens will still be able to use Meta’s AI assistant, but access to AI characters will be removed. The decision comes just days before Meta, along with TikTok and Google’s YouTube, is set to face trial in Los Angeles over allegations that their platforms harm children. Read More: UK to consult on possible social media ban for under-16s Meta’s move follows similar actions by other tech companies amid rising concerns about how AI-driven interactions may affect young users. Character.AI imposed a ban on teen access last fall and is currently facing multiple lawsuits related to child safety, including a case brought by the mother of a teenager who claims the company’s chatbots encouraged her son to take his own life.

Meta has finalized multiple agreements to supply nuclear-generated electricity to its artificial intelligence data centers, locking in enough power to serve the equivalent of roughly 5 million households. On Friday, the Facebook parent company announced deals with TerraPower, Oklo, and Vistra to provide nuclear energy for its Prometheus AI data center complex under construction in New Albany, Ohio. First revealed in July, Prometheus will be a 1-gigawatt data center campus spread across several facilities and is expected to begin operations later this year. The company did not disclose the financial details of the agreements. In a statement, Meta said the three partnerships will collectively support up to 6.6 gigawatts of new and existing clean power capacity by 2035. In the utility industry, one gigawatt of electricity is generally enough to supply about 750,000 homes. Meta said the projects will strengthen grid reliability, bolster the U.S. nuclear supply chain, and create jobs tied to the construction and operation of power plants across the country. Read More: Japan turns to new technology as dementia cases surge Under its agreement with TerraPower, Meta will fund the development of two Natrium nuclear reactors capable of producing up to 690 megawatts of continuous power, with delivery expected as early as 2032. The deal also gives Meta access to energy from as many as six additional Natrium units, with a combined capacity of about 2.1 gigawatts and a target start date of 2035. Meta also plans to purchase more than 2.1 gigawatts of electricity from two existing Vistra nuclear plants in Ohio, along with additional power from plant expansions in Ohio and a third Vistra facility in Pennsylvania. Vistra said the electricity generated by its Beaver Valley plant in Pennsylvania and the Davis-Besse and Perry plants in Ohio will continue to flow through the regional mid-Atlantic power grid, serving all customers. The company added that the agreements with Meta provide the stability needed to pursue 20-year license renewals for its reactors from federal regulators. Technology companies have faced increasing pressure in the already strained mid-Atlantic power grid — which includes Ohio and Pennsylvania — to develop new generation sources capable of meeting the full energy demands of large data centers. Jesse Jenkins, an energy systems expert and engineering professor at Princeton University, warned that bringing the Prometheus data center online without adding new power generation would likely drive electricity prices higher across the region. Consumers are already seeing increased bills due to existing and planned data center expansion. Read More:Tech’s biggest show returns: what to expect at CES 2026 Meta’s agreement with Oklo — a company backed by OpenAI chief Sam Altman — supports the development of a 1.2-gigawatt nuclear power complex in Pike County, Ohio, intended to supply Meta’s regional data center operations. These nuclear power deals follow Meta’s announcement in June of a separate 20-year energy agreement with Constellation Energy.

In a move sending shockwaves through Silicon Valley, OpenAI is shutting down operations for an entire week. Officially, the company cites employee burnout as the reason. However, the timing raises serious questions, especially as Meta aggressively courts OpenAI’s top talent with eye-popping offers. To many, the break feels less like a wellness initiative and more like a defensive response in the intensifying battle for AI expertise. Why is OpenAI shutting down?According to OpenAI, the week-long pause is intended to help employees recover after enduring relentless, months-long stretches of 80-hour work weeks. The decision comes amid mounting internal concerns over burnout, fatigue, and declining morale across teams. Yet, the timing of the break coincides with Meta's aggressive efforts to poach OpenAI staff, leading many to suspect the shutdown is as much about damage control as it is about employee well-being. New interstellar comet to make a distant flyby of Earth, NASA says Meta’s aggressive talent poachingMeta is making no secret of its recruitment ambitions. Reports suggest the company is offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million to attract leading AI researchers and engineers, particularly those trained at OpenAI. Several former OpenAI employees have already migrated to Meta’s FAIR division and its newly revitalized AGI research teams. With OpenAI staff grappling with exhaustion and feelings of being undervalued, Meta's lucrative offers are proving hard to resist — and Meta is fully aware of the opportunity. Internal response at OpenAILeaked internal memos from OpenAI's Chief Research Officer Mark Chen and CEO Sam Altman reveal the company’s growing unease. Chen admitted to heightened anxiety within teams and encouraged staff to "reconnect with the mission." Meanwhile, Altman has reportedly pledged to revamp compensation packages, improve internal recognition, and called for unity to resist external recruitment pressures. However, many insiders feel these promises have come too late, and Meta's offers are simply too enticing. Risks and growing fearsThere is widespread concern that Meta will use OpenAI's shutdown week to accelerate its recruitment efforts, potentially blindsiding the company. While OpenAI’s technical teams are expected to rest, Meta's recruiters remain active. Only OpenAI’s executive leadership will continue working during the break — a clear sign that management views the situation as more than a routine wellness measure. Meta’s new cloud processing feature raises privacy concerns for Facebook users Broader implications for OpenAI and the AI industryThis shutdown exposes two escalating issues: the unsustainable working conditions at AI labs racing toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and the fierce competition for elite talent. For OpenAI, the pause marks both a moment of vulnerability and a critical cultural inflection point. How the company navigates this period could not only determine its future but also influence the broader trajectory of the AI industry itself.   #With inputs from Hindustan Times  

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday urged Meta, which operates several social media and communication platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger and WhatsApp, to find an effective way to combat disinformation that disrupts social harmony and spreads hatred. “This (disinformation) is a big problem. You must find a way to fight it,” said the Chief Adviser.  Prof Yunus made the comment when Simon Milner, VP, Public Policy, APAC at Meta and Ruzan Sarwar, Public Policy Manager, met him at the State Guest House Jamuna.  ''Bangladesh is a densely populated country. One wrong word can destabilise the whole country. Some people do it deliberately,” said the Chief Adviser. Germany dependable partner in our development journey: Prof Yunus Milner said they were ready to engage with the interim government of Bangladesh to counter disinformation, especially ahead of the upcoming general election next year, and had had meetings with different Bangladeshi authorities and rights groups in the past few days. “We have had a dedicated team for Bangladesh for the last five years,” he said. The Chief Adviser said Meta platforms, especially Facebook, have the potential to promote business growth, but at the same time, they can be potentially dangerous provided they do not maintain ethical standards. Chief Adviser's Special Assistant on Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, was among others present on the occasion, according to Chief Adviser's press wing. Taiyeb urged Meta to increase its Bangla language proficiency, as Meta LLM AI is very much dependent on the English language, which is not helpful. On Tuesday, the Meta officials held a meeting with ICT ministry officials together, where the Bangladesh side, referring to recent researches, urged Meta to increase investment in Bengali LLM & AI based sentiment analysis in Bengali, as well as to increase the number of human reviewers to tackle fake news and information. The ICT Division has called on Meta to strengthen the enforcement of its community standards in the context of Bangladesh by recruiting more Bangladeshi content reviewers who possess a deeper understanding of local language, culture and sensitivities.  Besides, the Bangladeshi side has requested Meta to deploy cache servers and edge routers within the country to improve service efficiency, optimise  bandwidth and protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Bangladesh, South Korea eye stronger infrastructure ties Representatives of Bangladesh Police, BTRC who were present at Tuesday’s meeting, asked Meta to improve the processing time for taking down any harmful posts to protect citizen safety. The police also asked for Meta’s cooperation in a proactive and faster response in threat detection, crime detection, misinformation/disinformation alert, inciting mob violence alert and suicide alert.  

Meta's latest Integrity Report shows worrying spike in violent posts and harassment after policy shift aimed at easing restrictions on political expression. Facebook has seen a notable rise in violent content and online harassment following Meta’s decision to ease enforcement of its content moderation policies, according to the company’s latest Integrity Report. The report, the first since Meta overhauled its moderation strategy in January 2025, reveals that the rollback of stricter content rules has coincided with a drop in content removals and enforcement actions — and a spike in harmful material on its platforms, including Instagram and Threads. Meta’s shift, spearheaded by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, was aimed at reducing moderation errors and giving more space for political discourse. However, the company now faces growing concern that the relaxed rules may have compromised user safety and platform integrity. Violent Content and Harassment on the Rise The report shows that violent and graphic content on Facebook increased from 0.06–0.07 per cent in late 2024 to 0.09 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. While the percentages appear small, the scale is significant for a platform used by billions. Likewise, bullying and harassment rates rose in the same period. Meta attributed this to a March spike in violating content, noting a slight rise from 0.06–0.07 per cent to 0.07–0.08 per cent. These increases mark a reversal of a downward trend in harmful content seen in previous years. Content Removals and Enforcement Plummet The rise in harmful posts comes as Meta dramatically reduces enforcement activity. Only 3.4 million pieces of content were actioned under its hate speech policy in Q1 2025 — the lowest since 2018. Spam removals also fell sharply, from 730 million at the end of 2024 to 366 million in early 2025. Additionally, the number of fake accounts removed dropped from 1.4 billion to 1 billion. Meta’s new enforcement strategy focuses primarily on the most severe violations, such as child exploitation and terrorism, while areas previously subject to stricter moderation — including immigration, gender identity, and race — are now framed as protected political expression. The definition of hate speech has also been narrowed. Under the revised rules, only direct attacks and dehumanising language are flagged. Content previously flagged for expressing contempt or exclusion is now permitted. Shift in Fact-Checking Strategy In another major change, Meta has scrapped its third-party fact-checking partnerships in the United States, replacing them with a crowd-sourced system known as Community Notes. The system, now active across Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and even Reels, relies on users to flag and annotate questionable content. While Meta has yet to release usage data for the new system, critics warn that such an approach could be vulnerable to manipulation and bias in the absence of independent editorial oversight. Fewer Errors, Says Meta Despite the concerns, Meta is presenting the new moderation approach as a success in terms of reducing errors. The company claims moderation mistakes in the United States dropped by 50 per cent between the final quarter of 2024 and Q1 2025. However, it has not disclosed how this figure was calculated. Meta says future reports will include more transparency on error metrics. “We are working to strike the right balance between overreach and under-enforcement,” the report states. Teen Protections Remain in Place One area where Meta has not scaled back enforcement is in content directed at teenagers. The company has maintained strict protections against bullying and harmful content for younger users and is introducing dedicated Teen Accounts across its platforms to improve content filtering. Meta also highlighted growing use of artificial intelligence, including large language models, in its moderation systems. These tools are now exceeding human performance in some cases and can automatically remove posts from review queues if no violation is detected. As Meta pushes ahead with its looser content policies, experts and users alike will be watching closely to see whether the company can truly balance free expression with safety — or whether its platforms risk becoming breeding grounds for harmful content. Source: With inputs from agencies