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Social Media App
Data Safety iOS Mobile Security Passkey Social Media App

X Launches Secure Login with Passkey for iOS Users in US

 

X (formerly known as Twitter) is set to allow users to login in with a passkey rather than a password, but only on iOS devices.

X earlier announced its intention to roll out passwordless technology, and it has now made the option available to iPhone customers. It enables a faster login process by allowing users to authenticate with whatever they use to lock their device, such as their fingerprint, FaceID, or PIN. 

They are also regarded to be safer, because the device generates the underlying cryptographic key, which is unknown to anyone, even the user. This means they are impervious to phishing, which means cybercriminals cannot use fake emails and social engineering strategies to lure them out of targets.

Only for iPhones

The FIDO Alliance designed passkeys and set technological guidelines for them. They employ the WebAuthn standard, which is a vital component of the FIDO2 requirements. The alliance's board of directors includes the majority of top technology firms, including Apple, Google, and Microsoft. 

To set up passkeys on X, open the X app on iPhone and go to "Settings and privacy" under "Your account". Then navigate to "Security and account access" and then "Security". Choose "Passkey" under "Additional password protection" and comply with the on-screen directions. You can remove a passkey from the same menu at any moment. 

Although X does not make passkeys necessary, it highly encourages users to start using them. Currently, users must have a password-protected account with X before they can set up a passkey, however the company advises customers should "stay tuned" on this.

As iOS devices are the only ones capable of logging into X using a passkey (for the time being), users' passkeys will be synced across their Apple devices via Apple's Keychain password manager, allowing multiple iOS devices to login to X with an identical passkey.
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User Privacy
Consumer Report Data Breach Private Data Social Media App User Privacy

Meta is Collecting Consumers Data from Thousands of Firms

 

Consumer Reports conducted an experiment which revealed that Instagram and Facebook collect your private data from thousands of firms. The company is also the largest reporter of potentially child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), yet many of these reports are sent in a fashion that raises legal concerns.

To find out where parent firm Meta gets its personal data from for targeted advertising, Consumer Reports sought the assistance of over 700 volunteers.

The Markup, an American nonprofit news publication, says the study found that Meta collected data from an average of 2,230 companies. Markup assisted Consumer Reports in finding study participants. The last three years' worth of participant data were retrieved from Facebook settings and sent to Consumer Reports in an archive. 

A total of 186,892 companies shared data concerning them to the social network, according to Consumer Reports. 2,230 companies on average shared the data of each study participant to Facebook. This figure varied widely, with the data from some participants suggesting that over 7,000 companies submitted their data. 

Undoubtedly, data brokers were the most common source of private information that the social media giant collected, but Amazon and Home Depot were also in the top 10. 

The websites you visit are the most frequently acquired sort of data, either through cookies or tracking pixels that allow for the creation of an interest and activity profile. 

If you search for bathroom fittings on Amazon, for instance, adverts for that particular product category or more general ones like home renovations may appear. Similarly, if you visit a lot of tech websites, you may be served gadget ads. 

Meta states that it provides consumers with choices and is open about the data it collects and uses: “We offer a number of transparency tools to help people understand the information that businesses choose to share with us, and manage how it’s used.” 

However, the Electronic Privacy Information Centre argues that suggesting that customers understand the extent and nature of this tracking is foolish. 

“This type of tracking which occurs entirely outside of the user’s view is just so far outside of what people expect when they use the internet […] they don’t expect Meta to know what stores they walk into or what news articles they’re reading or every site they visit online,” the centre stated.
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Social Media App
Advertising Laws AI Chatbot Chatbots Manipulative Ads Mark Zuckerberg Meta Meta Chatbots Privacy Social media algorithms Social Media App

Lawmaker Warns: Meta Chatbots Could Influence Users by ‘Manipulative’ Advertising


Senator Ed Markey has urged Meta to postpone the launch of its new chatbots since they could lead to increased data collection and confuse young users by blurring the line between content and advertisements.

The warning letter was issued the same day Meta revealed their plans to incorporate chatbots powered by AI into their sponsored apps, i.e. WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.

In the letter, Markey wrote to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that, “These chatbots could create new privacy harms and exacerbate those already prevalent on your platforms, including invasive data collection, algorithmic discrimination, and manipulative advertisements[…]I strongly urge you to pause the release of any AI chatbots until Meta understands the effect that such products will have on young users.”

According to Markey, the algorithms have already “caused serious harms,” to customers, like “collecting and storing detailed personal information[…]facilitating housing discrimination against communities of color.”

He added that while chatbots can benefit people, they also possess certain risks. He further highlighted the risk of chatbots, noting the possibility that they could identify the difference between ads and content. 

“Young users may not realize that a chatbot’s response is actually advertising for a product or service[…]Generative AI also has the potential to adapt and target advertising to an 'audience of one,' making ads even more difficult for young users to identify,” states Markey.

Markey also noted that chatbots might also make social media platforms more “addictive” to the users (than they already are).

“By creating the appearance of chatting with a real person, chatbots may significantly expand users’ -- especially younger users’ – time on the platform, allowing the platform to collect more of their personal information and profit from advertising,” he wrote. “With chatbots threatening to supercharge these problematic practices, Big Tech companies, such as Meta, should abandon this 'move fast and break things' ethos and proceed with the utmost caution.”

The lawmaker is now asking Meta to respond to a series of questions in regards to their new chatbots, including the ones that might have an impact on users’ privacy and advertising.

Moreover, the questions include a detailed insight into the roles of chatbots when it comes to data collection and whether Meta will commit not to use any information gleaned from them to target advertisements for their young users. Markey inquired about the possibility of adverts being integrated into the chatbots and, if so, how Meta intends to prevent those ads from confusing children.

In their response, a Meta spokesperson has confirmed that the company has indeed received the said letter. 

Meta further notes in a blog post that it is working in collaboration with the government and other entities “to establish responsible guardrails,” and is training the chatbots with consideration to safety. For instance, Meta writes, the tools “will suggest local suicide and eating disorder organizations in response to certain queries, while making it clear that it cannot provide medical advice.”  

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Technology
Data Safety DBA European Union Privacy Act Social Media App Technology

Here's Why Twitter Rival Threads Isn’t Accessible in the E.U.

 

With the introduction of Threads, Meta's text-based conversation network, across 100 countries in July, Twitter is facing its most formidable rival yet after months of instability under its new owner. 

The app gained 30 million users in less than a day, including celebrities and media outlets, but its debut in Europe has been delayed due to concerns over data protection. 

The app has been delayed by "upcoming regulatory uncertainty," as Meta spokesperson Christine Pai put it, which is generally understood to be a reference to the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA). 

Tech firms and regulatory sceptics have long maintained that rules like the DMA stifle innovation by imposing onerous user security measures, but the looming competition law hasn't stopped Meta from offering new products — and Meta hasn't suggested that a European launch will be cancelled. 

If anything, the DMA adds friction to a product's introduction, forcing the company to review how it safeguards users before releasing it into the open — even if it affects Threads' popularity promptly. 

However, there is still a lot of uncertainty as companies wait for additional guidelines later this autumn, as well as an unanswered question: will compliance with Europe's standards undermine the design that has allowed Threads to grow so quickly?

Pai and other Meta representatives have refused to blame the Threads delay on any of Europe's multiple tech guidelines. However, discussions with Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri suggest that the EU's Digital Markets Act is to blame.

The regulation, which was passed last year, includes a slew of new rules aimed at preventing "gatekeepers" — companies with a specific user base and market cap — from abusing their market position.

The DMA forbids companies as big as Meta from reusing a user's personal data — including name and location — across products for targeted advertising without the user's agreement.

According to Meta's privacy policies, it collects and uses information across its products to deliver adverts to consumers. Information from Apple’s App Store suggests that Threads could collect a wide range of personal data, including a user's contacts and search history, as well as health and location data.

According to Ireland's Independent newspaper, a representative for the Data Protection Commission (DPC) suggested that the watchdog had been in communication with Meta concerning Threads and that the platform would not be rolled out in the EU "at this point." 

Meta's history with EU regulators 

Two recent rulings have raised data and privacy concerns regarding Meta's operations in the European Union. Earlier this year in July, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg ruled that a German watchdog may investigate privacy violations in which user agreement wasn't acquired prior to the firm using personal data to target adverts to consumers.

Furthermore, in May, Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC), which oversees Meta across the EU, ordered Facebook to halt data transfers from the EU to the US and fined the internet giant a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for violating General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) standards. 

Meta announced that it will appeal the ruling, claiming that it had been "singled out" by the DPC despite the fact that several other companies use identical data migration techniques.
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