Facebook users might eventually be able to profit from their posts on the social network.
The company is said to be considering adding tools that would let individual users earn money in a variety of ways, The Verge reports. Facebook recently sent some users a survey asking them to vote for a preferred method of making money. The questionnaire was spotted on a verified user’s page, but it’s unclear if the survey had only been sent to such members or if it had been distributed more broadly.
Options included adding a virtual tip jar so that fans can tip the user, earning money through branded content, a donation option that would let fans contribute to a charity of the user’s choosing, and a call to action button (i.e. buy tickets, etc.), among other choices.
Facebook doesn’t currently offer a means for individual users to earn money from posts on the platform, although it does allow users to send money to other members through Facebook Messenger. The company also added a new way for publishers to monetize Instant Articles by introducing the option to include video ads in such posts, which The Wall Street Journal first reported in March. Facebook also recently changed its policy around branded content to make it easier for publishers and verified users to work with sponsors, allowing for more monetization opportunities.
The survey doesn’t indicate that Facebook has plans to roll out such features for individual users; it only suggests that the company might be considering it. TIME has reached out to Facebook for comment regarding the survey and will update this story with any response.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Apple complies with greater proportion of US data demands
Apple is consistently more compliant with US requests for access to users' information than with the rest of the world on average, it has emerged.
Its own figures showed that, in 2015, Apple released data on users' devices to US authorities 80% of the time, compared to 55% when it came to the UK.
That compared to a global average of nearly 60%, Apple's data showed.
A security expert said it was "deeply frustrating" for law enforcement agencies.
Apple released its latest transparency report on Monday to complement previous releases going back as far as 2013.
It published the numbers of device requests it received - those from law enforcement for contact information and other data.
Separately, it released data on account requests - those from government agencies for account details, including iTunes and iCloud account information.
Data release
The BBC's analysis has revealed that, similar to in 2015, the UK was below the global average and the US above it for both types of request in each of the previous years for which there were comparable data.
Among the five countries that regularly submitted a large number of device requests - more than 2,000 per year - the US was the only country to consistently receive Apple customer information a greater-than-average proportion of the time. Singapore was also below the average in each of the three years.
Apple's figures showed that, on average, it was unable to release data for 33% of account requests from across the world in 2015. In the US, the rate was 18% and, in the UK, 40%. A similar picture emerged in 2014. A comparison of account requests in 2013 was not possible because Apple did not release exact figures for the US for that year.
The US and the UK were the only countries to make more than 300 account requests per year.
The consistently lower proportion of successful requests from the UK could be because Britain is seen as "less protective of personal privacy" than the US, said Prof Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey.
The security expert, who advises Europol and who has also advised GCHQ in the past, said: "Whatever the reason, it is a deeply frustrating situation for law enforcement agencies."
Despite Apple's presence in many countries outside the US, he added that it may also feel less duty bound to comply with requests from foreign governments.
'Government abuse'
According to Apple's report, the majority of device requests were in cases of lost or stolen phones and the BBC understands that some of the differences between countries were dependent on the differing approaches of national police forces towards phone theft.
The BBC also understands that some of the unsuccessful account requests were down to the company not holding any information, rather than resisting law enforcement efforts.
The firm declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.
On Monday, Blackberry's chief executive John Chen said the firm would comply with law enforcement but would prevent "government abuse of invading citizen's privacy".
He spoke in response to reports that Canadian police could intercept and read encrypted messages sent using Blackberry phones. Mr Chen said the firm "stood by [its] lawful access principles".
EU Has Meddled Too Much, Admits Boss Juncker
European Union meddles too much in people's lives, according to its most senior official.
In a significant admission, Jean-Claude Juncker said a lot of the laws made in Brussels should have been left to national governments.
As a result the EU has lost popularity with ordinary people because they feel it over-regulates, the European Commission President said.
Asked about the rise of euroscepticism by a Tory MP, Mr Juncker said: "We are not blind. We are listening to those who are expressing their views.
"You are right in saying the European project has lost parts of its attractiveness."
He told backbencher Nigel Evans, who asked whether he recognised there was a problem, that the EU had been "wrong in over-regulating and interfering too much in the daily lives of our fellow citizens".
Mr Juncker's candid comments came during a session of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
The EU boss said: "I think that one of the reasons that European citizens are stepping away from the European project is that we are interfering in too many domains of their private lives. And too many domains where the member states are better placed to take action and pass legislation …"
He insisted the Commission was trying to "do less" and that 80 pieces of European legislation had been scrapped on his watch.
The remarks are significant because Mr Juncker, the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, is seen as old-fashioned federalist.
Prime Minister David Cameron waged a public campaign to stop him getting the top job two years ago, saying Mr Juncker was too wedded to "ever closer union" in Europe.
With Britain's EU referendum in just two months' time and polls showing the result could be on a knife edge, Mr Juncker seems to be trying to show the EU is listening to voters' concerns.
Mr Evans told Sky: "It's nice and refreshing that he said it but people want him to deliver – the EU should not be regulating the power of hairdryers and vacuum cleaners.
"David Cameron has unwittingly ignited a debate about the EU. People want fundamental reform not just tinkering around the edges."
Euroscepticism is also on the rise in other countries – thought to be fuelled by the migration crisis and economic worries.
The Remain side is banking on support from high-profile figures who want Britain to stay in – the most important being Barack Obama, who arrives in the UK on Thursday.
The US President is expected to call publicly for Britain to stay in the bloc, after meeting Mr Cameron in Downing Street.
It comes after eight former US treasury secretaries backed Remain in a letter to The Times today.
George Schultz, Larry Summers and five other ex-White House advisers who have served under Democratic and Republican presidents warned that leaving the EU would be a "risky bet" for the UK.
They wrote: "A strong Britain, inside the European Union, remains the best hope in our view for securing Britain's future, creating a more prosperous Europe and protecting a healthy and resilient global economy."
The intervention was criticised by Brexit campaigners.
Former defence secretary Liam Fox said: "The most important failure of the analysis is that they have failed to take into account the decline and failure of the European economy itself with a falling share of world trade, a smaller and less important destination for UK exports, and with chronic unemployment."
British Hiker Missing In Peru Is Found Dead
British hiker Harry Greaves, who went missing in the Peruvian Andes nearly two weeks ago, has been confirmed dead by his family.
He was last seen on 7 April - two days before his 29th birthday - when he set out on a solo mountain hike.
The experienced outdoorsman was expected to return three days later, but he did not come back.
Mr Greaves' body was discovered by police and volunteers in a 40-metre crevasse on Tuesday.
His family described him as "one of the most loveliest men you could ever wish to meet" and said he was an "extremely genuine and caring person".
"Our dearest Harry has been found," they said in a statement.
"It is with great sadness that we announce that his smile will no longer give such light, he will no longer give calm through his touch, and wisdom through his words.
"Thank you to everyone who has helped us find our beloved Harry. His spirit will always be with us. From his loving family."
Mr Greaves, a furniture maker from Shropshire, flew to Peru on 20 February and was visiting friends in Pisac, near the city of Cusco.
His friends and family - helped by the Lucie Blackman Trust, which supports Britons in crisis abroad - launched a search of the area by land and helicopter in an effort to find him.
The Foreign Office confirmed the death and said: "Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time and our Embassy staff are continuing to support them."
The U.S. Begins a Criminal Probe Into the Panama Papers Disclosures
U.S. attorney for Manhattan Preet Bharara is initiating a criminal investigation into any possible wrongdoing revealed into this month’s massive Panama Papers leak.
Bharara wrote to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) — which led a reporting effort on the leak with more than 100 global partners — seeking further information on the 11.5 million documents leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that would help him in his investigation, the Guardian reported Tuesday.
Bharara is already investigating many of the 200 U.S. citizens named in the documents, and said in the letter to ICIJ that his office has “opened a criminal investigation regarding matters to which the Panama Papers are relevant.”
Being named in the papers is not itself evidence of wrongdoing, and tax avoidance — as distinct from tax evasion — is a legal activity.
The leak, which revealed the offshore banking affairs of several heads of state, politicians, celebrities and public figures has already resulted in some resignations (most notably that of the prime minister of Iceland), and saw U.K. prime minister David Cameron come under sustained pressure over whether he benefited from an offshore fund set up by his late father.
President Barack Obama recently described tax avoidance as a “big global problem” to media at the White House, and advocated “the basic principle of making sure everyone pays their fair share.”
“A lot of these loopholes come at the expense of middle-class families, because that lost revenue has to be made up somewhere,” he added.
Bharara wrote to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) — which led a reporting effort on the leak with more than 100 global partners — seeking further information on the 11.5 million documents leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that would help him in his investigation, the Guardian reported Tuesday.
Bharara is already investigating many of the 200 U.S. citizens named in the documents, and said in the letter to ICIJ that his office has “opened a criminal investigation regarding matters to which the Panama Papers are relevant.”
Being named in the papers is not itself evidence of wrongdoing, and tax avoidance — as distinct from tax evasion — is a legal activity.
The leak, which revealed the offshore banking affairs of several heads of state, politicians, celebrities and public figures has already resulted in some resignations (most notably that of the prime minister of Iceland), and saw U.K. prime minister David Cameron come under sustained pressure over whether he benefited from an offshore fund set up by his late father.
President Barack Obama recently described tax avoidance as a “big global problem” to media at the White House, and advocated “the basic principle of making sure everyone pays their fair share.”
“A lot of these loopholes come at the expense of middle-class families, because that lost revenue has to be made up somewhere,” he added.
Over-35s 'Hit Weekly Alcohol Limit In A Night'
Middle-aged drinkers are putting their health at risk by regularly reaching the recommended weekly alcohol limit on a single night out, according to new research.
The study suggests many Britons over the age of 35 are emulating the drinking habits of young people by having alcohol before and after visits to restaurants and pubs.
On average, older adults consume 14 units on such occasions - the equivalent of a bottle and a half of wine, experts at the University of Sheffield's Alcohol Research Group say.
Nearly a quarter of the 60,000 people questioned about their alcohol habits in the previous week had indulged in heavy drinking in more than one place on a single night, their study found.
As well as going to bars, the report showed many middle-aged Britons were drinking heavily while enjoying a get-together at the house of a friend or family member.
Senior research fellow Dr John Holmes said: "For those in middle age, it's probably not drinking before going out and tearing up the town, but it leads to them consuming the same amount as younger age groups, which obviously affects their health long-term if they're doing it regularly.
might be that you're going out to dinner with friends and you open up a bottle of wine before you go, or you go for Sunday lunch and then have a beer in the garden afterwards."
Their findings, published in the Addiction journal, even show that couples who tend to stay at home and drink on the weekend are having an average of 11.6 units each.
Overall, almost half of the 190,000 drinking sessions the group examined showed moderate consumption.
James Nicholls of Alcohol Research UK, which financed the study, added: "Rather than assuming society is neatly divided between 'binge', 'heavy' or 'moderate' drinkers we should think about the occasions on which people drink more or less heavily - and the fact we may be moderate in some contexts and less so in others."
William 'Looked Up To Queen' After Diana Died
Prince William has spoken of the incredible support he received from the Queen in the years following the death of his mother, Princess Diana.
Speaking to Sky News as the family prepares to celebrate Her Majesty's 90th birthday, the Duke of Cambridge said his grandmother had been a "strong female influence" to him - especially during his teenage years.
"Having lost my mother at a very young age, it has been particularly important for me that I had somebody like the Queen to look up to and who has been there and has understood some of the more complex issues when you lose a loved one," he said.
Prince William was 15 when his mother was killed in a car crash in Paris - and following her death in 1997, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were heavily criticised for staying in Balmoral with William and Harry rather than immediately returning to Buckingham Palace.
It is an aspect of his relationship with his grandmother that he has rarely spoken about publicly.
Asked if he had any particularly fond childhood memories of the Queen, Prince William recalled a time when she gave him and his cousin a severe telling off.
He explained: "(We) were on a quad bike in Balmoral and we were chasing Zara around who was on a go-cart. Peter and I managed to herd Zara into a lamppost and the lamppost came down and nearly squashed her.
"I remember my grandmother being the first person out and running across the lawn in her kilt. She came charging over and gave us the most almighty b*****king.
Speaking to Sky News as the family prepares to celebrate Her Majesty's 90th birthday, the Duke of Cambridge said his grandmother had been a "strong female influence" to him - especially during his teenage years.
"Having lost my mother at a very young age, it has been particularly important for me that I had somebody like the Queen to look up to and who has been there and has understood some of the more complex issues when you lose a loved one," he said.
Prince William was 15 when his mother was killed in a car crash in Paris - and following her death in 1997, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were heavily criticised for staying in Balmoral with William and Harry rather than immediately returning to Buckingham Palace.
It is an aspect of his relationship with his grandmother that he has rarely spoken about publicly.
Asked if he had any particularly fond childhood memories of the Queen, Prince William recalled a time when she gave him and his cousin a severe telling off.
He explained: "(We) were on a quad bike in Balmoral and we were chasing Zara around who was on a go-cart. Peter and I managed to herd Zara into a lamppost and the lamppost came down and nearly squashed her.
"I remember my grandmother being the first person out and running across the lawn in her kilt. She came charging over and gave us the most almighty b*****king.
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