Key figures in Facebook data breach storm speak out

Facebook is facing a historic crisis. Revelations by former data scientist-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen have shed light inside the notoriously secretive tech giant. She says Facebook harms children, sparks division and undermines democracy in pursuit of astronomical profits. Her allegations are backed by the leak of tens of thousands of internal documents.

Facebook has announced that it will expand in the European Union to build a new computing platform. It comes as the tech giant contends with concerns over its practices.

An investigation suggests that Facebook has selectively chosen what hate speech it wants to shut down in India. Whistleblower Frances Haugen's disclosures come as she is set to appear before British lawmakers.

Facebook reported an annual 17 per cent jump in third-quarter net profit, driven by an increase in daily active users and strong advertising sales despite the platform facing multiple controversies that have led to calls for tighter regulation.

European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told DW in an interview that legal action against the tech giant could be endless, but regulation now could limit its damage.

Facebook began this week by announcing more than $9 billion in quarterly profits, an increase of about 17 percent. The social media giant also announced that it now has close to three billion users. But all is not well on the Facebook front as Mark Zuckerberg’s platform has been facing a deluge of scathing reports.

Facebook has changed its name to "Meta" in a shift away from social media and towards developing "the metaverse," a digital world that could be the next generation of the internet. Here's what they have planned.

Frances Haugen said her former boss, Mark Zuckerberg, should step down and allow change instead of devoting resources to build the so-called "metaverse."

Frances Haugen called on lawmakers in Brussels to seize the opportunity to create a "global gold standard" as they draft oversight regulation for tech giants.

Facebook became Meta Platforms on October 28 and subsequently announced its grand plans for bringing the virtual and physical worlds together in the metaverse. Since then, tech and entertainment giants have been jumping on the bandwagon and staking their own claims as builders of a new reality. But what exactly is the metaverse and what are the risks associated with it? Peter O'Brien takes a closer look in this week's Tech 24, the first in a new live format.

Many Facebook groups based in Mali and Nigeria began sharing a video of a helicopter on December 9, claiming it showed an aircraft delivering weapons to terrorists. In Mali, the posts often accused the French government of operating the helicopter, while posts coming from Nigeria laid the blame on the Nigerian government. In reality, the video is from neither one of these countries – it was filmed in the Central African Republic during a routine supply drop.

Trump's two eldest children Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka have also been summoned to testify in an investigation into the family's business practices.