Meta Ends Lawsuit Against Data Scraping Company

Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, recently decided to end its legal battle with Bright Data, a company from Israel known for collecting data from websites. Meta had accused Bright Data of taking information from its platforms without permission. This case was part of Meta's ongoing effort to stop companies from scraping, which means collecting large amounts of data from websites automatically.

The court, however, did not side with Meta on a key part of the lawsuit. It said Meta didn't prove that Bright Data took private data that wasn't supposed to be public. Because of this, Meta chose to drop the lawsuit instead of continuing the fight.

What made this case interesting was that Meta and Bright Data had worked together before. Meta had used Bright Data's services to gather data from online stores to help with its advertising. But when Bright Data started taking data from Meta's sites, Meta sued them.

The court's decision focused on whether the data Bright Data took was public or private. Meta showed the court a huge amount of Instagram data Bright Data had sold, but the court wasn't convinced this data was private. Meta also tried to show that Bright Data had access to private information, but the court found these examples unconvincing.

The court also disagreed with Meta's view on how Bright Data collected the data. It said using automated tools to get around website restrictions wasn't the same as breaking into a protected account.

Meta tried to argue that Bright Data used special tools and its own social media accounts to take the data, but the court found no evidence to support this claim. After losing a key part of the case, Meta announced it was thinking about what to do next.

Then, on February 23, 2024, Meta asked the court to close the case. It gave up on its last claim and decided not to appeal the decision that was in favor of Bright Data.

This outcome is unusual for Meta, which usually wins such cases. It has successfully stopped other companies from scraping its sites in the past. But this time, Bright Data said it didn't settle with Meta and won't change how it operates. The company sees this as a big win for itself and others who collect public data from websites.

Bright Data's CEO, Or Lenchner, said this decision supports their right to access public information on the web. He believes the internet should be open for everyone and no single company should control it.

Meta has not commented on the decision to end the lawsuit. This case was one of many where Meta has tried to protect its data from being taken and used by others without permission.

Image: DIW - AIgen

Read next: US Supreme Court Weighs Laws Regulating Social Media Giants' Content Moderation
by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World

US Supreme Court Weighs Laws Regulating Social Media Giants' Content Moderation

The Supreme Court recently looked into laws from Florida and Texas that are trying to put rules on how social media companies manage their content. These laws want to stop companies from blocking or limiting users they find problematic. Most of the justices seem to think that these laws might not respect the social media companies' rights to free speech. This is because the companies should be able to choose what content they want on their platforms, similar to how free speech laws protect individuals from government control but not from private companies.

During the discussions, which lasted almost four hours, justices from different political backgrounds shared their worries about the big influence of social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook. They wondered if these laws should be completely dismissed. Trade groups NetChoice and CCIA argue that these laws go against the Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects free speech, by limiting the companies' ability to select their content.

Some justices think there might be parts of the laws that could be okay, especially for other types of platforms or services like messaging apps. This means the court might not reject the laws fully. The decisions from the court could lead to more legal battles to see if these laws should be allowed.

The laws were made after social media companies banned former President Donald Trump following the storming of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021. The rules in these laws try to control how companies can moderate content and require them to explain why they removed certain content. For example, the Florida law stops companies from banning political figures and controls "shadow banning," where user content is hidden. The Texas law stops platforms from banning users based on their opinions.

• Also read: Is The Peak Smartphone Era Behind Us? This New Market Research Has The Answer

The court also discussed how these laws could affect not just big social media companies but also other businesses like Uber and Etsy, which allow user-generated content. The justices were careful about saying the laws should not apply to services like direct messaging or email because these don't involve the same free speech issues.

These cases are part of several legal issues the Supreme Court is dealing with regarding social media. Another big question, not directly part of this case, is about the legal protection internet companies have for content posted by their users. This protection has been a big deal for a long time, but the Supreme Court has not made a decision on it yet.

Photo: Digital Information World - AIgen

Read next: Breaking Barriers In The World Of Tech: World’s Most Spoken Languages Revealed
by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World

Breaking Barriers In The World Of Tech: World’s Most Spoken Languages Revealed

Globalization continues to peak in today’s modern world where the significance of language in terms of breaking barriers cannot be emphasized enough.

After all, what better way to unite with others and take part in global chats in the world of tech than this? Remember, the internet belongs to those who speak a language featuring a footprint that goes above and beyond the realms of your own nation.

That’s exactly where the English language comes into play. It’s something that links individuals from all across the globe. As per W3Techs’ estimates, close to 50% of all websites make use of the English tone as their main form of communication. And since English is your best bet in terms of maximizing the potential of your viewers online and enhancing engagement, most people focus so much on that.

But this new study is raising the curtain on how English might not be the only means of communication and the mark it has left in terms of a global footprint isn’t too large.

Estimates arising from Ethnologue proved how just 1.4 billion users spoke English. Out of those, just 380 million would be declared native speakers.

While this does make the English language one of the world’s highly spoken languages globally, others cannot be excluded as shown in this infographic. Mandarin and Chinese account for 1.14 billion individuals globally and that also entails 940 million individuals that can be considered native speakers.

All English speakers are still making up less than 20% of the global population so rough estimates prove how 4 out of 5 individuals globally aren’t able to properly comprehend what’s being said in more than half of the websites present today. Exceptions are there because of translation tools but that’s beside the point here.

The infographic sheds light on some of the world’s most spoken languages including Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, and a few others that aren’t represented well online. Others worth a mention include German, English, as well as Russian which have bigger footprints on the internet than what they might be possessing around the globe today.

Therefore, the next time someone tells you that it’s English that happens to be the only source of communication online, you might wish to enlighten them with the findings of this study.

Chart via Statista.

Read next: Nearly Half of American TikTok Users Never Post Videos, per Pew Research Center
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Is The Peak Smartphone Era Behind Us? This New Market Research Has The Answer

Smartphones have been trending for years but despite the world bracing for a shift toward 5G technology, a new market research is shedding light on some other interesting findings.

Advanced technology has manufacturers struggling in terms of growth in today’s mature smartphone market. For instance, when you look at global stats for this moment in time, shipments witnessed a decline to a new low when looking at stats from the last decade.

Estimated figures from the IDC proved how vendors of these smartphones were rolling out close to 1.1 billion phones in 2023 alone. That’s a decline of 20% from what was seen in the year 2016 when the shipments for smartphones rose to 1.4 billion units.

This has led many experts in today’s world to assume how smartphones and their era have been gone. But despite that, market researchers like those at IDC continue to be optimistic about the future of the industry for this year and how growth might be on the rise for 2024 and the upcoming years.

The company’s research head explained how the tide is turning for the better and how it’s starting to feel safer with the worse part being left in the past, which he calls November 2023.

The market is said to be in its stage of maturation and that’s true as we make way for new eras of growth arising in single digits. And while experts admit that the total market share up for grabs will stay lower than what was witnessed during the era before the pandemic, there is a brighter side to this. It has to do with average sale prices being higher than in the past and the same can be said for the market value in this regard.

H/T: Statista

Read next: Giving Kids Smartphones At A Young Age Leads To Devastating Mental Distress As Adults, New Study Proves
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Instagram's Upcoming Feature Allows Users To Track Friends' Locations, Akin To Snapchat Map

Instagram is working on a feature called "Friend Map." This feature lets you see where your friends are on a map. Alessandro Paluzzi, a software developer, first found this feature and shared a screenshot on X a few months ago. He often finds new Instagram features before they're officially announced.

Recently, Paluzzi shared more screenshots of the "Friend Map" on Threads and X. These images show you can choose who sees your location. There's also a "Ghost mode" for times you don't want to share where you are. The feature keeps your location safe with end-to-end encryption.

"Friend Map" seems similar to Snap’s "Snap Map." You can even leave notes on the map, like telling friends about a cool event or that you're out shopping.

It's still unclear if "Friend Map" will be added to Instagram for everyone. The feature is still being worked on.

On the other hand, as per Ahmed Ghanem, Instagram is also testing new ways to make live streams more interactive. Creators can now use "This or That" prompts or "Trivia" games to get viewers talking and engaging more during live videos.

Meta, Instagram's parent company, wants live streaming to be a bigger deal for creators. They're slowly letting more creators get "Stars" from viewers during live streams. This is a way for creators to make money from their videos. Instagram also made it easier to go live from computers in December.

Live streaming is huge in China, especially for shopping. It hasn't become as popular in the West yet. But with TikTok and YouTube pushing live videos, Instagram is adding new features to keep up. They hope live streaming games and other interactive tools will help build community and maybe even help creators sell more.

Read next: Former FBI Expert Warns of Cookie Theft Emerging as Major Cybersecurity Threat, Surpassing Password Concerns with its Ability to Bypass Protections
by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World

Former FBI Expert Warns of Cookie Theft Emerging as Major Cybersecurity Threat, Surpassing Password Concerns with its Ability to Bypass Protections

The manner in which cyber security functions in this modern day and age has experienced a bit of a backslide, which basically means that your password length and complexity can’t really protect you from vicious actors anymore. Even two factor authentication might not be enough with all things having been considered and taken into account, since malware can bypass it all and create a situation wherein your session tokens or cookies can end up in the wrong hands.

According to former FBI digital crime expert Trevor Hilligoss (via CyberNews), who currently serves as the VP of SpyCloud Labs, cookie theft is actually the biggest threat to cybersecurity. Most people tend to focus on things like their passwords, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, it turns out that cookie theft is far more concerning due to how it can bypass various protections that have been put in place.

The most significant situation in which cookie theft can cause a wide array of problems is if it ends up compromising your Google account. Such an event can be catastrophic because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up compromising every single other account that is linked to your Google account, including social media profiles and the like.

The OAuth2 authorization exploit has already given malicious actors the ability to secretly access Google accounts without the owner even realizing what’s going on in the first place. Google accounts can be extremely attractive propositions for them, since they also tend to contain financial information and other highly sensitive data that can cause an incalculable amount of harm.

• Also  read: Researchers Highlight Alarming Findings of Cyberattacks via Wireless Chargers, Risking Smartphone Fires and Device Damage

Authentication cookies can make MFA far less effective, and it’s basically making the most effective strategy to keep hackers at bay practically defenseless. Infostealers have been stealing cookies for quite a long time, and with Malware as a Service quickly picking up steam, hackers don’t even really need all that much technical knowledge in order to implement their schemes.

Since browser cookies are stored in local databases, they’ve become a prime target for these malicious actors which is why it’s so important for any and all holes to be patched.

Malware can basically work similarly to a browser in that it can check for stored cookies that allow for easier log ins. The desired log in tokens will be combined with other system data such as RAM amount and CPU information which obscures it, with the files sent out to the user’s device and then received by the malicious actor in question.

• Use different passwords for your all online accounts. Try this free password generator tool

There are hundreds of thousands of infostealer infections occurring on a day to day basis, and they mostly target people living in developed countries due to the higher value of their data. In order to protect yourself from these attacks, it is absolutely essential that you download an antivirus and continuously update it, and on top of all that, you need to have top notch endpoint monitoring at all times.

Another useful strategy that you can deploy is to avoid clicking on ads. A great deal of malware is transferred through scam ads, so Hilligoss recommends that you just steer clear of ads as much as you can.

Image: DIW-AIGen

Read next: Nearly Half of American TikTok Users Never Post Videos, per Pew Research Center
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Nearly Half of American TikTok Users Never Post Videos, per Pew Research Center

TikTok is a great platform to post videos and go viral but a report by Pew Research Center says that the usual TikTok users do not share content on the app. About half of the American who use TikTok have never posted a single video on the app. This means only a minority of American TikTok users share videos on TikTok while the rest enjoy those short form videos. Only 25% of the US TikTok users create content and post it on TikTok and that makes the 98% of the videos accessible on the platform.

This type of unusual ratio isn’t only limited to TikTok. It was found that this ratio exists almost on all social media platforms, and X takes the second place as per a survey in November 2021. Even though TikTok has gained a lot of young users, many of the users who post on the platform are older. 52% of the users between ages 18 to 34 have uploaded a video on TikTok and among the people between 35-49, the share rate is 60%. People over 50 have a video sharing rate of 39% on TikTok.

Many of the users have made videos on TikTok but never shared them publicly. 40% of the users of TikTok worldwide have uploaded videos on TikTok publicly. TikTokers who post regularly tend to have a high engagement rate on their posts. Most TikTok users watch “For You” page on TikTok and 85% of them say that content on their 'For You' page (FYP) is least interesting while 40% call the content they see there as very interesting. Only 14% are neutral about the content they see on their For You feed. 47% of the users between 18 and 34 called the videos on For You highly interesting.

TikTok executives must be happy with this information because TikTok has already talked about the FYP in their What’s Next 2024 Trends Report. The report stated that 40% of the TikTok users have agreed that TikTok introduces them to new topics and that’s how they find their interests. 44% of the users came on TikTok for some specific reasons but discovered a topic that they really liked.

Read next: Giving Kids Smartphones At A Young Age Leads To Devastating Mental Distress As Adults, New Study Proves
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World