California’s Education Board Sues Meta For Gross Negligence And Getting Kids Addicted To Social Media

San Mateo County’s Education Board in California is holding tech giants like Meta responsible for making young kids addicted to social media.

The company was accused of gross negligence in terms of its Facebook and Instagram apps as the lawsuit alleged they did nothing to try and curb the problem that keeps on growing each day.

The board also alleged that tech firms other than Meta including Snap, Google, and TikTok were equally responsible for damaging young kids' minds with so much exposure through social media and keeping no checks and balances on the matter.

This lawsuit was filed a few months back and had a very lengthy description as the board feels Meta’s apps served as nuisances to the general public and they continue to engage in ordeals like racketeering simply because they’re dominant and can do so.

This board went on to mention how there are so many more resources that must be allocated to children by the board to try and reverse the damage that has already been done. And that’s because the effects of too much screen time are beyond negative and linked to mental issues.

So since more resources are being allocated for this purpose and to reverse the matter, sources explained how they’re now forced to make the most of smaller budgets for other crucial goals like teaching and learning.

This lawsuit points to the growing rates of youngsters embarking on self-harm as well and also emphasized how such cases were rarely seen before the advancement of social media in today’s day and age.

The end goal today seems to make younger audiences engaged on how to stay glued to platforms for a long time. And that’s because it gives businesses a greater chance to target them for advertising purposes.

So many firms have learned that things like this are better accomplished through catering toxic content that gets viral easily and they’re allowed to do that because they simply can get away without anyone holding them accountable for the deed.

As of right now, Meta has failed to comment on the matter but in a lawsuit filed in the past, they did reveal how more than 30 tools were up for grabs that enable parents to have more control over their children’s accounts.

They also advocated how necessary it was for parental supervision to take place while kids make use of social media apps in today’s time.

Photo: Bloomberg

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

In 2023, it will be more difficult for marketers to balance data usage and privacy

As data gathering and privacy become more complex in 2023, brands need help finding the right balance.

According to Gartner Inc., this year will present even greater data collection and privacy challenges, two of the most crucial topics in the marketing sector today. According to a Gartner report, 60% of marketers anticipate that obtaining first-party data in 2023 will be more challenging due to balancing value and privacy.

The fact that 85% of organizations have already implemented formal procedures for managing client data raises concerns for many. Around a third have dropped an agency or channel partner over the past year to assure reliability and privacy. Despite these safeguards, only 42% of businesses can send personalized communications to their clients.

However, those who prioritize first-party data are seeing great returns. Over 50% said they exceeded their customer retention expectations. The year 2023 will mark the turning point for businesses as they focus on gathering and analyzing first-party data while protecting customer privacy. Businesses should devise plans to guarantee that they can deliver personalized experiences using correct data without jeopardizing the security and confidence of their clients.

78% of brands allow customers to manage their information to assist them in maintaining customer data management. Businesses can ensure a safe user experience while delivering tailored offers and experiences that increase loyalty by letting customers control how their data is used.

Gathering meaningful customer data while protecting consumer privacy is becoming increasingly complex, but it's essential for success in today's digital world. Companies must take steps now to balance both aspects effectively to remain competitive in 2023 and beyond.

Marketers have noticed major changes in their data sources over the past year due to the decline of third-party cookies. To make up for this loss of external data, nearly half of firms with 11 or more marketing channels actively increased their gathering and use of first-party data, a startling increase from just over one quarter among those using ten or fewer channels.

Gartner's further study finds that 36% of companies are already succeeding with new experiences and service channels, while another 24% find more potential for consumer interaction by deploying AI techniques. These findings, drawn from the research of 400 senior marketing professionals performed between November 2022 and December 2021, demonstrate that companies that can effectively navigate these seismic upheavals will have a competitive advantage in future years.

Businesses must now transition to the digital age; they no longer have a choice. Companies are leveraging technological advancements to offer more personalized customer experiences and more intuitive and efficient services. AI-driven solutions are becoming increasingly popular, as they can automate mundane tasks and provide effective customer interactions that build trust.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

New Report Exposes Alarming Security Risks in Popular Mobile Applications

In a new study conducted by Promon, it has been revealed that a staggering 81% of mobile apps are vulnerable to cyberattacks. The findings raise serious concerns about the security of user data and personal information stored within these applications.

The study analyzed over 350 mobile applications across various industries. It revealed that most of the mobile apps had at least one susceptibility and 81% of the applications are exposed to cyber threats.

The susceptibilities identified in the mobile apps ranged from insecure data storage and insufficient encryption to inadequate authentication and authorization mechanisms. These flaws could potentially allow cybercriminals to gain unauthorized access to sensitive user data, including login credentials, personal information, and financial data.

The analysis also highlighted that 84% of tested applications were not smart enough to detect whether a malicious code is embedded in their source code or not, making them more exposed to cyber criminals.

This study also emphasized a major hack, known as 'repackaging'. This is a technique used by hostile actors to change the existing source code of mobile applications. Using this method, hackers can inject their code on top of an app's source code and run extra background processes beyond what the app is designed to do, making the application completely under control. This hack is too deadly that only 15.7% of tested apps have planted any protective measures against it.

In response to the findings of the report, it is recommended that developers must conduct regular security assessments and testing to identify and remediate vulnerabilities in their applications. Further, it is also suggested that consumers must be cautious when downloading and using mobile apps, particularly those that require access to sensitive information.

The report comes at a time when mobile app usage is at an all-time high, with millions of people relying on these applications for everything from banking to healthcare. The increasing use of mobile apps has also made them an attractive target for cybercriminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities and steal user data.

As such, it is more important than ever for developers to prioritize security in the development of mobile applications, and for users to be vigilant about the security of the apps they use. Failure to do so could have serious consequences for both individuals and businesses alike, with the potential for significant data breaches and financial losses.

Read next: Hacking Competition Sees Top Tech Titans Apple, Microsoft, And Tesla Fall At The Hands Of Elite Hackers
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Microsoft Is Not Worried About Google’s Bard Chatbot As It Calls It Inferior To The Bing Search

We’re finally seeing search engine giant Google pick up the pace and enter the AI race.

The AI-powered chatbot called Bard is open for beta testing finally and while users sign up to get on that waiting list, we thought it would be interesting to see what others like Microsoft felt about the competition.

Needless to say, the computational giant is not worried at all. In fact, it considers Bard Google to be very far behind its popular Bing Search. The latter has been up for public testing for the past few weeks. But what exactly does Microsoft think about the new competition that’s up for grabs?

During the early hours of this morning, Microsoft’s head for web services and advertising, Mikhail Parakhin, did not shy away from answering a query put out by a curious Twitter user. It had to do with his thoughts regarding Bard and whether or not he agreed with so many others about being stunned at this low-level performance when compared to the AI search by Bing.

They are pretty far behind, but it is impressive how much they were able to achieve given the low amount of compute they had and the fact that in core ML algorithms they are trailing the SOTA by, maybe, 6 months. Being "little folks", we learned to never underestimate Google.

— Mikhail Parakhin (@MParakhin) March 23, 2023

Speaking more in detail, he agreed it was great in terms of how many impressive things were on offer, considering how little was provided in terms of the low levels of commute on hand. But let’s not forget how Bard does have one very great advantage over Microsoft’s popular Bing search.

And that is not worrying about any daily chat limits or turns that many users aren’t particularly a fan of. After all, being restricted in terms of using a tool like this can be a nuisance. But again, we may have spoken too soon.

Who knows, Google might end up introducing more limits on its own tool with time. And for that, we’ll need to keep our eyes open.

Read next: Ex-Google Executive Says Microsoft Should Disturb Google’s Search Dominance By Paying Apple To Make Bing Its Default Search Engine On iOS
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

New Proposed FTC Regulation Wants To Make It Easier For Customers To Break Up With Companies

The FTC is on the rise again and this time around, it’s trying to come up with a new proposition that would add simplicity to the lives of so many people.

The FTC is setting out a new regulation that would make it easier for users to break up with their respective companies. And by that, we mean exiting a subscription or a membership with ease, similar to how you entered into it.

This new rule is called ‘Click to Cancel’ and it was only put forward today, and it's being dubbed as the solution to all of those dark and deceptive marketing strategies. So you can bid farewell to dark client experiences as the aim is to prevent users from paying for something that they no longer feel serves them any interest or benefit.

This was further elaborated upon by the FTC as it mentioned how three main requirements would be needed to be fulfilled before users could proceed. For starters, canceling would be as simple as joining. So if you can join online then you can also bid it farewell online.

Secondly, before any organization can give out retention offers to make a user stay, it needs to request the user if they’d like to know more about them. And if the answer is no, the seller needs to accept that.

Negative-option ordeals for so many digital goods where subscriptions get renewed on an automated means are necessary until and unless the client cancels. And who better to be aware of this than Gen X users that know about this from the older days.

Lastly, they would need to have so many subscribers add yearly reminders of the situation before allowing for an auto-renewal process.

This new notice is setting out some estimates about firms that are going to be affected by this regulation would need to spend around an hour yearly for the sake of keeping a track of records and even more time regarding disclosure for statements, with added labor costs to pull this off.

This issue was supposed to be tackled in the year 2021 and that’s when it was proposed by the Senate through a new Unsubscribe Act but it just could not pull through and it failed to meet the requirements for a pass. But today, it’s being dubbed as the right step in a positive direction.

The goal here seems to be for more transparency and greater protection.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Meta Shockingly Admits Its Much-Hyped Metaverse Is Just VR

For a while now, we’ve been hearing so much about the Metaverse, thanks to founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The Meta CEO has been working long and hard in terms of garnering mega hyper surrounding the initiative but today, we’re hearing some shocking statements about it being dialed down as being about just VR (virtual reality).

Seeing this sudden de-hyping phenomenon of the VR world is interesting and far off from what the founder claimed a few years back. And there is no pivot worth raving about as the company tries to lobby against several mobile operators in the European region. The latter want the authorities to force leading tech giants like Meta to pay them for holding their data. They want to fund as they feel the future of the metaverse would need mega infrastructure upgrades to make things happen.

Clearly, this matter is very controversial and the complaints coming forward are not against what the tech giant expected but they are being noticed by those in Brussels.

Just last month, we heard more about lawmakers in the EU mentioning how exploratory consultations regarding the future of networking were on the rise. And then we had people like Thierry Breton who works as an internal market commissioner reveal some sympathy for the cause too.

But Meta does not think so. In fact, it says the argument aligned is nonsense and such fees proposed are arbitrary. Clearly, this is not what telecom companies want as they hope big tech firms like Meta and internet leaders like Netflix and Alphabet need to pay their dues.

In the same way, Meta adds that the creation of the metaverse isn’t going to need telecom operators to expand their capital expenditures so that there is a greater investment for networks. They added how the future of the platform will totally depend on adopting VR technology and all such content of that kind is fixed through the likes of Wi-Fi and which happens to be very well established in most places across Europe.

So basically, there is not going to be any huge difference in the way users achieve product experience through VR headsets. But now the question is where did AR technology go? Is the Metaverse only relying on VR now?

Well, not really. AR technology and its respective devices will end up overlaying technology in the real world in a minor manner and it's going to be another important factor for the metaverse’s future.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Instagram Tests Full-Length Reels Playing Within Users’ Stories Stream

Instagram is working on another new and exciting feature related to its Stories and Reels endeavor.

The leading social media app owned by Meta is trying to figure out an innovative strategy that enables the integration of both Reels and Stories. It is a part of the app’s latest experiment that would see such Reels playing for longer within Stories.

An example was put forward by social media expert Hammod Oh that showed how some people are witnessing Reels of full-length across Stories in comparison to seeing just the initial 15 seconds and then pressing on it to see the entire thing.

This could be one other way to go into the popular Reels format as the head of Instagram mentioned recently how more and more individuals were sharing content through both DMs and Stories. And was in opposition to those resharing posts across the main feed.

Hence, this could be a great means to experiment with the growing trend of usage behavior while keeping users engaged for so much longer.

Today, Instagram Reels and those on Facebook are the company’s answer to making more revenue as they keep getting a lot of attention from users and make them stay on the platform for a longer period of time.

Meanwhile, one internal report arising from Meta revealed how this Facebook usage was going on since Q4 of 2022 and was driven mostly by consuming Reels. This has increased by 20% YoY. Similarly, we’re seeing a fall in the creation of original content through Meta’s apps as fewer people are putting up posts on both Facebook as well as Instagram like they used to in the past.

This actually gives rise to the fact that the time of users on these social media platforms is showing a shift to both consumption and exploring newer things. All credit goes to Meta’s ever-changing AI tools that help users get recommendations.

It’s also seen to bring in more people through a Reels display featuring content coming from both platforms.

While critics are criticizing the replica efforts for Meta, we’ve seen these things roll out so many copies of the functions on other leading apps like TikTok and even Snapchat. Clearly, this is proof that copying them will lead to a surge in engagement.

Whatever the case may be, adding Stories and Reels together is a sensible approach and it might even become a huge deal for creators.

Read next: Instagram Tests New Ads In Search Results To Reach Wider Audiences
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World