How the death of an ‘old boy from Ireland’ in London-Irish suburb sparked a misguided viral appeal
The death of Martin Fallon from Sligo recently sparked a viral post about Archway’s evolving Irish enclave
News, analysis, and comment on Meta-owned social media firm Facebook
How social media firms used the ‘like’ button to turbocharge their business models
New book charts the psychology of the like button in the digital world and looks at its future in the world of AI
Tech giants’ indirect emissions rose 150% in three years amid AI growth, UN says
Indirect carbon emissions from Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta, rose on average by 150% from 2020 to 2023
Illegal or fake weight-loss drugs seized by medicines watchdog this month almost five times 2024 total
Authority says it never endorses or lends its logo to brands or products
European Union risks becoming the ‘museum of the world’, says Meta privacy chief
Erin Egan says social media group is working to comply with regulation to unlock the benefits of AI but ‘the puck keeps moving’
Zuckerberg saying AI will cure loneliness is like big tobacco suggesting cigarettes can treat cancer
It’s a solution that can only lead to a deeper emptiness and to a lonelier, less human world
Zuckerberg takes pop at Apple during Stripe Sessions talk
In discussion with Stripe cofounder John Collison, Facebook founder addresses AI potential and failure of digital currency Libra
Playing ‘whack-a-mole’ with Meta over my fraudulent avatars
How is it possible that a company with such huge resources, including artificial intelligence tools, cannot deal with this?
Microsoft and Meta both beat Wall St expectations on earnings
Anlayst focus is on company’s performance in artificial intelligence and how they care coping with tariff-related volatility
Facebook content moderators cannot sue for psychological injuries in Ireland, court rules
Moderators were employed by companies in Germany and Spain to which Facebook/Meta outsourced content moderation work
Meta introducing service to protect public figures from fake ads
Tech giant will use facial recognition technology to help detect and prevent scam ads on Facebook and Instagram
Careless People: The controversial book is shocking and reveals Facebook is far worse than we could have suspected
Sarah Wynn-Williams’ shocking Meta exposure is a scream-fest for anyone who cares about democracy
Instagram’s co-founder testifies Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg withheld resources
Kevin Systrom backs US Federal Trade Commission’s case in monopoly trial
There is no way that big tech can avoid being pulled into the transatlantic trade war
Despite Ireland’s best efforts, the digital tech companies will be pulled into the conflict - this will threaten jobs and could have implications for the way we all use the internet
How to move job, move country and find a new social scene
Relocating for work can be exciting – but once the novelty wears off, how can you avoid the loneliness trap?
What if Mark Zuckerberg had not bought Instagram and WhatsApp?
The big ticket deals were derided at the time, but the apps are now two of the most important parts of Meta’s business
Meta’s Zuckerberg says TikTok is a major competitive threat
US Federal Trade Commission looking to unwind Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014
Zuckerberg considered spinning off Instagram in 2018
Emails show Meta chief’s frustration that Instagram was benefiting from Facebook, but not returning enough back to the company
Meta’s Zuckerberg admits he bought Instagram because its camera was ‘better’
Admission appears to bolster allegations by US antitrust enforcers that Meta used a ‘buy or bury’ strategy to snap up potential rivals
Zuckerberg says Meta has more competitors than FTC claims
US government is arguing that Instagram acquisition should be unwound
Meta warned Government of ‘unsustainable’ operating environment for tech companies in EU
Senior executive Joel Kaplan called for ‘urgent action’ by Ireland to ‘address the challenges we face collectively’
Meta to begin using public Facebook, Instagram data to train AI in Europe
Company paused plans last year after a request from Data Protection Commissioner
Ireland will ‘resist’ EU trade tax on US tech firms, says Taoiseach
Martin cites damage to ‘significant sector’ in Republic if union should impose levies as retaliation
Meta whistleblower to say company helped China in AI race
Meta says claims ‘riddled with false claims’
The Book of Mormon review: Gleeful, joyous and hilarious. Even Bono gets a mention
Theatre: Has this satire aged well? You can find your answer in Donald Trump’s White House
‘It’s time to move on’: Unease is growing among my friends in the tech sector
A new tell-all memoir by a former Facebook executive is selling fast, but it fails to recognise the full nature of corporate behemoths that prize growth above all else.
The WhatsAppification of work has ruined my work-life balance
A dividing line between work and social life has been breached
Facebook exposé Careless People is a gruesome update to The Social Network
Sharks, wasps and billionaires combine to make this memoir by Sarah Wynn-Williams the blueprint for a much-needed sequel to The Social Network
The Siren’s Call and Owned: Commodifying attention and journalistic guns for hire
Two books ask important questions about how our attention is manipulated and monetised
Honest influencers: I have ‘never made any money, ever’ from online content
Some high-profile influencers rarely label sponsored content as required by advertising rules, according to their peers
Meta AI to launch in Europe
Users will have access to intelligent chat features in WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger
Burke family pays Facebook to promote its video of their Washington DC protest
Family member Josiah Burke has spent more than €45,000 since April 2019 promoting family campaigns on Facebook, data shows
Facebook whistleblower finds mischievous party animal Enda Kenny ‘almost charming’
Plus: James Dyson could be in for a land in Waterford; the Irish master of plaster; and the NCH’s bonus buyout
How does a Buddhist respond in a world where might is right?
Rite & Reason: To sit down and meditate or kneel down and pray is possibly the most radical option we have. Finding silence and stillness reminds us that compassion is the only reasonable response
False Facebook reports about alleged rape sparked fatal Myanmar riots, new book claims
Claims survived for hours as Dublin office scrambled to find ‘Burmese guy’ to review content
AI chatbots open a new frontier in fears for our children’s wellbeing
Access to sexualised, manipulative anthropomorphised technology in the psychologically challenging teenage years represents an alarming new threat
Garda pleads guilty to impersonating woman online and inciting two men to rape her
Shane Flanagan (39) also pleaded guilty to possession of four child sexual abuse images
Study shows few effective age controls at social media firms
More than 1m underage users of Meta, Snap in Australia, report says, ahead of law banning such users
Ireland’s EU commissioner snubs offer to meet top Meta executive
Michael McGrath dodged request to sit down with Facebook executive Nick Clegg, records show
As the global AI race intensifies, Europe tries to close the large gap
At a summit in Paris, the EU pledges to start putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to artificial intelligence
Facebook at 21: a lesson in patience and profits
The hardest part of investing isn’t picking winners; it’s having the stomach to hold them
No one is asking Meta to act as God - just not to pollute the public space with lies
Unthinkable: Meta’s stance on fact-checking resembles a philosophical position known as ‘epistemological anarchy’
Meta agrees to pay Trump $25m to settle lawsuit
Payment relates to suspension of US president’s accounts in wake of Capitol riot
Zuckerberg’s culture shift at Meta could make it hard to find new recruits willing to work in his macho organisation
Invention and product innovation require the best minds in cohesive teams, strong collegiality and respect, regardless of sex, skin colour, or religion
Free expression and privacy rights may not stop workers being dismissed over social-media posts - internet law experts
Personal opinion disclaimers on employee’s own social-media accounts ‘have zero value’
How Silicon Valley’s tech moguls discovered a new toy they could fight over: the American president
The digerati developed a monopoly on Americans’ attention, creating division, distrust and envy under the innocent guise of connecting us and making our lives better
Holocaust survivor: ‘I saw normal people in Auschwitz and I saw sadists there who killed people’
As Europe faces a new wave of extreme nationalism, one of the last survivors of Auschwitz looks back
Apple share slump amid iPhone woes should sound caution for new Government
Tech giant’s international operation in Cork believed to be largest taxpayer in Republic
‘Meta sees me as a golden goose.’ How Zuckerberg’s AI creations went rogue and gave the game away
Facebook and Instagram have pulled the plug on AI avatars Grandpa Brian and Liv but their successors will soon flood our lives with lies on a hitherto unimaginable scale
Moves by Meta and Amazon to drop diversity programmes in US unlikely to affect Ireland
Apple, which employs 6,000 here, has asked shareholders to vote against move seen as courting favour with Trump administration
Death and grief in the digital age: ‘We were able to let her say goodbye through a WhatsApp video call’
With grief bots, virtual bouquets and streaming of funerals now available to us, is technology making grieving processes easier?
Biden calls Meta’s decision to drop fact-checking ‘really shameful’
Comments follow Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to replace fact-checking departments with company-moderated community notes
Why is Meta getting rid of fact-checking and will it affect my social media feed?
Move by company’s billionaire founder Mark Zuckerberg prompted alarm among social media experts
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices