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What’s the point of class-action lawsuits?

Aug 25, 2023
Many consumers might not receive much in settlements, but the suits can be a tool for justice, experts say.
Facebook's parent company, Meta, agreed to pay $725 million to settle a class-action lawsuit.
Chesnot/Getty Images

Ads on social media are exceptionally good at getting us to click "buy"

"In the past, we've studied social media ads as if they're just like a billboard or a print magazine ad when they're not," said advertising professor Matthew Pittman. "You're seeing an ad from any number of sources."
On Instagram or in other social media feeds, "you're seeing an ad from any number of sources right after you might see a video or a post from your ex from high school or a new celebrity training fitness routine," said the University of Tennessee's Matthew Pittman.
David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

What happened to the Buy Nothing Project?

May 16, 2023
What started on Facebook evolved into a dysfunctional app and a fractured community, as chronicled by Wired contributor Vauhini Vara.
A screenshot of the Buy Nothing Facebook page. Though the group got its start on the social media site, an effort to raise funds for an app was met with backlash from community members.
Facebook

Meta cuts 10,000 jobs in second wave of layoffs since November

Mar 14, 2023
Meta and other tech companies have been hiring aggressively in recent years but have recently begun to let some of those workers go.
Meta said Tuesday it will reduce the size of its recruiting team and make further cuts in its tech groups in late April, followed by its business groups in late May.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

For small online retailers, digital advertising has become more expensive

Feb 16, 2023
Several factors have pushed up the cost of ads during the pandemic. Even so, many small businesses don’t have much of a choice but to keep advertising.
When Apple’s do-not-track option launched in 2021, it had an outsized impact on smaller businesses trying to advertise digitally.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Is Ireland too economically dependent on Big Tech to regulate it properly?

Jan 31, 2023
Ireland is at loggerheads with the European Union over the best way to police American tech giants with European headquarters on Irish soil.
The influx of Big Tech companies to Ireland has helped fuel  the country's economic growth. Above, Google's offices in Dublin.
Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images

Female truckers say Facebook’s algorithms may be steering job ads away from women, older workers

Dec 20, 2022
A complaint to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission alleges that these algorithms may be recreating hiring biases — unintentionally, in some cases, but still illegally.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said it has a new system in the works to prevent ad discrimination.
Noah Berger/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Ireland fines Meta more than $275 million for failing to protect user data

Nov 29, 2022
Irish regulators fined the social media company about $275 million after an investigation found that it failed to prevent unauthorized access to half a billion Facebook users' personal information.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Facebook, TikTok and YouTube ban Russian state media channels

Mar 1, 2022
The bans follow Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Social media platforms have often resisted calls to restrict controversial content.
A van owned by the RT broadcast network in Moscow. Social media platforms have banned content from Russian state-owned media channels, including RT, in Europe.
Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images

Big Tech is starting to invest heavily in the metaverse

Feb 2, 2022
Competition is heating up in the fledgling space.
An immersive environment like the metaverse offers new ways to work — and purchase goods.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images