TechScape: the US government may be one step closer to breaking up Meta
In this week’s newsletter: How a judge’s ruling could pave the way for a costly, lengthy legal battle over the future of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram
Campaign aims to stop Facebook encryption plans over child abuse fears
No Place to Hide drive funded by Home Office to warn social media firms over dangers of end-to-end encryption
Will blockchain fulfil its democratic promise or will it become a tool of big tech?
Engineers are focused on reducing its carbon footprint, ignoring the governance issues raised by the technology
Facebook owner to ‘assess feasibility’ of hate speech study in Ethiopia
Meta says human rights diligence projects can be ‘highly time intensive’ and run for year or more
‘Breeding grounds for radicalization’: Capitol attack panel signals loss of patience with big tech
Subpoenas are an escalation in the committee’s efforts for answers as companies ignored information requests
Meta sued for £2.3bn over claim Facebook users in UK were exploited
Lawsuit claims company set ‘unfair price’ by taking users’ personal data without proper compensation
Capitol attack panel subpoenas Google, Facebook and Twitter for digital records
Select committee seeks records from social media giants related to insurrection that could potentially incriminate the Trump White House
‘A banana, concrete – those are good gifts’: the recycling group turning strangers into friends
There are 7,000 Buy Nothing groups with more than 5 million members worldwide. But their appeal goes beyond the chance to swap everything from nettles to power tools
Lawsuit aiming to break up Facebook group Meta can go ahead, US court rules
The Federal Trade Commission wants to force sale of Instagram and WhatsApp
Take-Two acquires FarmVille creator Zynga in £9.4bn deal
The maker of Grand Theft Auto adds popular farming game and Harry Potter to roster to create gaming giant
Are we witnessing the dawn of post-theory science?
Does the advent of machine learning mean the classic methodology of hypothesise, predict and test has had its day?
Sister of murdered officer sues Facebook for radicalizing attackers
Angela Underwood claims Facebook ‘knowingly promoted inflammatory and violent content and connected extremists’
France fines Google and Facebook €210m over user tracking
Data privacy watchdog says websites make it difficult for users to refuse cookies
‘I have moments of shame I can’t control’: the lives ruined by explicit ‘collector culture’
The swapping, collating and posting of nude images of women without their consent is on the rise. But unlike revenge porn, it is not a crime. Now survivors are demanding a change in the law
TechScape: Elizabeth Holmes is far from the only tech leader overpromising and underdelivering
In this week’s newsletter: the Theranos founder’s conviction shows healthy scepticism about promises to radically rewrite our future is no bad thing