The European Union Considering To Ban Under-16 Age Group To Use Facebook and Other Social Platforms

European Commission might not let 16 years olds utilize Facebook's platform without parental permission

Facebook might receive a bad news from Europe. European Commission might make it prohibited for social platform operators to let any 16 years old use their platform without the permission of their parents. The need has been forwarded on the eve of one of the ultimate deliberations on the Draft Data Protection regulation regarding which voting will take place on December 17.

At its center, the amendment states that any website that is able to process personal information should make sure that parents have given their consent for kids who fall in the under 16 age group  to utilize the platform.  The amendment states: "The processing of personal data of a child below the age of 16 years shall only be lawful if, and to the extent that, such consent is given or authorized by the holder of parental responsibility over the child,”

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs will discuss the amendment on Thursday. If approved the European Parliament’s members might vote on it before the year end. The legislation would be endorsed by 2017, if not earlier and will apply fairly to all the European states.

The decision concerned with increase the legitimate age at which kids could employ social websites to 16 would doubtlessly frustrate organizations like Facebook and Twitter by eliminating a new users’ source for a time span of 3 years and carry out the creation of legal headaches regarding the means to carry out the policy of such a requirement.

The ICT Coalition for Children, a team that is known for counting, Google, Twitter and Facebook amongst its members, condemned the changes for being done without any discussion and at such a later stage in the procedure 

"Negotiators have rushed this amendment without soliciting any meaningful input from stakeholders; including child safety organizations. Negotiators should also explain the rationale for raising the age to 16; to date no explanation has been given."

The step has also played a role in raising concerns from groups of children. An open letter endorsed by many individuals and well-known charitable organizations like the Family Online Safety Institute and Anti- Bullying Pro, made a claim that the decision to make  social platforms inaccessible would probably prove to be more destructive than beneficial.

“Children aged 13 and above shouldn’t be restricted from accessing critical online support services. Sadly, we know that some parents do not always act in their child’s best interests”

The letter also states that the amendment will doubtlessly prompt kids to lie about their age, meaning that webpages would not be able to easily share age-appropriate information or content with youngsters. The Draft Data Protection law has been discussed for many years now and a large number of new stricter provisions have become a part of the draft rule.

Facebook Testing A GIF Sharing Feature In Messenger

Facebook comes up with GIFs for Messenger app

Facebook Inc. is extremely keen about making use of GIFs in its messaging app, Messenger. The company has recently unveiled a new set of GIF applications belonging to the third party that will work alongside Messenger. This will be a part of the initiative to bolster Messenger but now the company has plans to expand its capacity through a series of pilots that will allow them to interlink Messenger with GIFs without the need for third party applications.

Firstly, according to latest Facebook news, the company is all set to test a button dedicated to GIFs which will allow users to locate and send images that are in motion in the two taps. This is relatively easier than the prevailing setup since it has a relatively good amount of friction. In order to download content, users have to utilize an app along with Messenger in order to share content.

The Messenger currently has a user base of 700 million users who observed a GIF button on the app. The app has the potential to go through various GIFs that are trending available on Riffsy and Giphy.  These two companies have played a substantial role in producing application for Messenger. This allows users to share with ease without the need for the Messenger app.

The best part is that once these GIFs are sent, they come up with a download option so that the GIF can be obtained on Messenger from Giphy or Riffsy, according to current Facebook updates.

However it is extremely early to predict the type of response Facebook Messenger will get from consumers for this new feature. Many analysts believe that the response is likely to be positive since those who enjoy GIFs will like this feature but those who don’t won’t really be bothered by them. Tech Crunch, the popular tech website asked Facebook products to comment on the issue. However, no response has been observed by them.

“GIFs have seen success as a rich media format within Messenger,” a company spokesperson told us. “With this feature, we’re testing various ways to make it even easier to send great content — like GIFs — with just a few taps.”

Hence Facebook is trying its best to come up with new and engaging features for Messenger so that more individuals are encouraged to use the platform. The company has been trying its best to intrigue and has succeeded in doing so to a great extent where more people are now interested to use this platform to connect to their friends and family.

Facebook Introduces Online Selling Update

The American social network has recently introduced a new selling feature.

The American social network, Facebook, has recently introduced a new selling feature. Facebook news reported that sellers would soon be able to be benefit from the company’s ‘Buy’ button. After testing the function with a few selected test merchants, the company has test-launched it on Shopify’s ecommerce network.

A larger number of retailers would now be able to benefit from the update. Experts presented their view that the introduction of the recent update would not only improve sale conversion rates for selling shops but also speed up the process of purchasing goods.

Facebook news today informed that the said update would help the networking organization battle against seller-friendly organizations, Google and Pinterest. The users of the network would soon find the said button in the platform’s Page Posts and Promoted Posts Advertisements launched by Shopify merchants. The latest initiative of the company would reduce online buyer’s dependence on the websites of retailers, as it would initiate a checkout link within the Newsfeed.

Facebook Breaking news affirmed that this update would permit online shoppers to buy instantly. To benefit from the new feature, buyers would need to file their payment details with the platform. It is expected that the launch would help the platform’s management comprehend the means by which this function can drive sales for various types of merchants. It has been revealed that the launched technology would let merchants track Facebook sales.

It is expected that Shopify would help the company to benefit from a standardized online selling backend, which necessitates the development of the feature. Electronic selling networks are not new for the company, as it has previously tested its payment detail auto-fill update on Ecwid.

Company sources have highlighted that Facebook has struggled several times to discover the means by which it could successfully dominate the field of online selling. Initially, it operated its gifts store, where social network users could purchase products from the platform and send them to friends. Unfortunately, the store failed.

Industry experts believe that if the new feature succeeds in addressing the concerns of the sellers and buyers, then it would help to improve the reputation of the company in the highly competitive world. Media sources stated that ‘buy’ button is not the only seller-friendly update launched by the digital network, as beacon has recently been introduced to ease the difficulties of the retailers as well.

Facebook should now plan to share its feature with the largest number of sellers available on the selling networks, so that it could benefit from the necessary feedback.

Facebook To Shutdown Its Friend Data API

The social networking would send Amber Alerts to Canadian citizens.

Facebook has helped a Canadian family by playing an important role in finding the daughter of Mr Boisclair via social network, as reported by Facebook news. The one-year-old girl, Victoria, was kidnapped from a hospital located in Trois-Rivieres. The child’s mother attempted to catch the woman but unfortunately, she was unable to stop the abductor.

The couple was tensed with the belief that they would never see Victoria again but the Canadian law enforcers were able to locate her 31.5 hours later. The pictures uploaded on the social network platform helped the Canadian Police.

On Monday, the child and her parents attended a ceremony in which the company proclaimed to launch Amber Alerts among its 20,000,000 Canadian users. One of the baby’s guardians stated, “Last year we had success with Victoria and we are just hoping that every child missing in the past or in the future will have the same help as us.”

She further added that Amber Alerts themselves provide meaningful information, but when the network is involved, the details are disseminated in at a very fast pace. Facebook Breaking news highlighted that in the case of that girl, details were shared thousands of times in just 60 minutes.

The managing director of Facebook Canada, Jordan Banks, claimed that Amber Alerts are rare and effective. He added each alert would be sent to the firm’s customers who reside in a designated area. Industry sources have informed that alert would be comprehensive with pictures and relevant details about the child and their suspected abductor.

Facebook news today affirmed that the law enforcement agency of the Canadian province, Nova Scotia, has proclaimed that the province has introduced a Facebook page that will work closely with company, as they would jointly send alert notifications to the residents on their mobile devices and computers.

Justice Minister, Lena Metlege Diab, has stated that this initiative would help in saving the life of any threatened person. She added that officials are persuading people to ‘like’ the page and share it with a large number of other people.

RCMP Supt. Ray Oliver tends also believes that the capability of the social media could play an essential role, as it can be used to disclose details of any abducted person to all of the residents of the province. The official added that the network could help the authorities gather necessary details for tracking missing people.

It is probable that a large number of Canadian citizens would welcome the new safety initiative. Facebook and the Canadian government are recommended to devise strategies to effectively use the alert program.

Facebook Messenger App Unveils Voice Calling Facility

Facebook unveils voice calling feature through Messenger app

Facebook Inc. is one of those platforms that offer numerous services apart from its social media platform that have intrigued the masses. The company has launched several app and desktop based sites that are extremely popular amongst the masses. WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger are few successful endeavors of the company. Facebook constantly modifies its app by adding new features. Thus, now the company is offering its Messenger app users with free voice calling facility.

Earlier people had to login at several other voice and video calling platforms to connect with their loved ones. But now the vigorous task has become fairly easier since now Messenger users can voice or video call their friends anywhere anytime by just one tap.

As reported by latest Facebook news, the layout is fairly simple and intriguing. An icon is present on the top right of the screen that will allow users to call their family and friends who are already present on Messenger. The front camera will initially be in use. However, users will have the liberty to switch to the back camera according to their needs. The window shown on Messenger during the call actually denotes where the camera is currently pointing at which can be dragged around according to the users preference. Moreover, the company understands that at times the Internet quality does not support video calling. Therefore, users can always switch to simple audio call on case they experience distortion.

Before FB actually launched its voice calling feature, users already enjoyed this facility on Facebook Messenger to come in contact with family and friends. Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of Facebook announced that almost 10 per cent VoIP calls that are made across the globally are done through Messenger.

The ability to make calls in real time makes connectivity so much easier. The company is enthralled by the response they have received from users even before the official launch which makes them optimistic about the future of this feature.

Before FB actually launched its voice calling feature, users already enjoyed this facility on Facebook Messenger to come in contact with family and friends. Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of Facebook announced that almost 10 per cent VoIP calls that are made across the globally are sone through Messenger.

The ability to make calls in real time makes connectivity so much easier. The company is enthralled by the response they have received from users even before the official launch which makes them optimistic about the future of this feature.

This is certainly not the first time when Facebook has come up with video calling facility. However in 2011, it came up with a similar facility in collaboration with Skype. But now it does not need the support of third party apps since it had its own "video communication infrastructure". This makes Facebook a staunch competitor to Apple owned FaceTime, Google owned Hangout and Skype.

Facebook stocks are likely to benefit from this new feature since more users will be inclined to Messenger now for VoIP calls