The Verge - Metahttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52801/VER_Logomark_32x32..png2024-03-28T09:38:45-04:00https://www.theverge.com/rss/meta/index.xml2024-03-28T09:38:45-04:002024-03-28T09:38:45-04:00Meta is adding AI to its Ray-Ban smart glasses next month
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<img alt="A photo showing the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses on a blue and yellow background" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/X9R_lD2GSHMFcwtdGcx_ZaEOQfg=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73238608/236834_Ray_Ban_Meta_Smart_Glasses_AKrales_0656.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="SAPZca">Meta will bring AI to its Ray-Ban smart glasses starting next month, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/28/technology/personaltech/smart-glasses-ray-ban-meta.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share">a report from <em>The New York Times</em></a>. The multimodal AI features, which can perform translation, along with object, animal, and monument identification, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/12/23998780/ray-ban-smart-glasses-hey-meta-multimodal-ai-features">have been in early access</a> since last December.</p>
<p id="Sx9HMa">Users can activate the glasses’ smart assistant by saying “Hey Meta,” and then saying a prompt or asking a question. It will then respond through the speakers built into the frames. The <em>NYT</em> offers a glimpse at how well Meta’s AI works when taking the glasses for a spin in a grocery store, while driving, at museums, and even at the zoo. </p>
<div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="STx2UV"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses actually make the future look cool","url":"https://www.theverge.com/23922425/ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses-review"},{"title":"Mark Zuckerberg’s new goal is creating artificial general intelligence ","url":"https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/18/24042354/mark-zuckerberg-meta-agi-reorg-interview"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="dQNU8n">Although Meta’s AI was able to correctly identify pets and artwork, it didn’t get things right 100 percent of the time. The <em>NYT</em> found that the glasses struggled to identify zoo animals that were far away and behind cages. It also didn’t properly identify an exotic fruit, called a cherimoya, after multiple tries. As for AI translations, the <em>NYT</em> found that the glasses support English, Spanish, Italian, French, and German.</p>
<p id="sQLH0H">Meta will likely continue refining these features as time goes on. Right now, the AI features in the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses are only available through an <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514734&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.meta.com%2Fhelp%2Fsmart-glasses%2Farticles%2Fvoice-controls%2Fearly-access-program-ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses%2F&referrer=theverge.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2024%2F3%2F28%2F24114454%2Fmeta-ai-ray-ban-smart-glasses-launch" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">early access waitlist</a> for users in the US.</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/28/24114454/meta-ai-ray-ban-smart-glasses-launchEmma Roth2024-03-27T15:55:52-04:002024-03-27T15:55:52-04:00GLAAD report says Meta allows anti-trans hate to ‘flourish’ on its platforms
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<img alt="Meta billboard outside its headquarters" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8ISV0vwYA2wwzqjML4gQu-T8sUs=/0x0:3000x2000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73237144/verge_vjeran_pavic_meta_3_20211028_3000.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Image: Vjeran Pavic</figcaption>
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<p id="zst80Y">GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ media advocacy group, claims that Meta’s content moderation system is allowing an “epidemic of anti-transgender hate” to flourish on its platform. A <a href="https://glaad.org/smsi/report-meta-fails-to-moderate-extreme-anti-trans-hate-across-facebook-instagram-and-threads/">new report</a> published by the group says Meta has allowed dozens of anti-trans posts — including ones that call for violence against private individuals — to stay online. The organization says that LGBTQ+ people “experience an increasing number of well-documented real-world harms” due to “propaganda campaigns, driven by the anti-LGBTQ extremists that Meta allows to flourish on its platforms.”</p>
<p id="nHBIBY">The report documents several examples of anti-trans content posted to Facebook, Instagram, and Threads between June 2023 and March of this year, all of which GLAAD reported via Meta’s “standard platform reporting systems.” Some of the posts used hateful anti-trans slurs, while others — including an Instagram post depicting a person being beaten with stones that have been replaced by the laughing emoji — call transgender people “demonic” and “satanic.” Several posts accuse transgender people of being “sexual predators,” “perverts,” and “groomers,” which, in recent years, has been used as an anti-LGBTQ+ slur. </p>
<p id="6wCoMq">According to GLAAD’s findings, Meta often fails to remove posts that violate its own hate speech policies. After GLAAD flagged posts that violated Meta’s hate speech policies, “Meta either replied that posts were not violative or simply did not take action on them,” the report reads.</p>
<p id="2tQwuL">Some of the posts were made by prominent accounts, including Libs of TikTok, which is run by far-right influencer Chaya Raichik. Raichik has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/24/libs-tiktok-oklahoma-nonbinary-teen-death/">become a fixture</a> in conservative school board politics in recent years. In January, she was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-education-superintendent-walters-libs-tiktok-raichik-4db2bcb9d8e0582f67329f6879bdf6ba">appointed to Oklahoma’s state library advisory committee</a>. The report claims a “prominent anti-LGBTQ extremist account” created Facebook and Instagram posts attacking a gender nonconforming elementary school teacher in Kitsap, Washington, after which the school received a <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvj5dq/schools-report-bomb-threats-following-libs-of-tiktok-anti-lgbtq-posts">bomb threat</a>. The news article cited in the report identifies the account as Raichik’s. </p>
<p id="cO9QlI">“Meta itself acknowledges in its public statements and in its own policies that hate speech ‘creates an environment of intimidation and exclusion, and in some cases may promote offline violence,’” GLAAD said in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/27/meta-glaad-report-released/">a statement to <em>The</em> <em>Washington Post</em></a>.</p>
<p id="YKk38O">Meta has not only allowed this content to stay on its social media platforms but has also profited from it: a 2022 <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/meta-still-profiting-ads-use-anti-lgbtq-groomer-slur-despite-platforms-ban">Media Matters report</a> found that Meta had run at least 150 ads on its platforms accusing people of being “groomers.” That year, Meta <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/debug/reddit-post-inspires-calls-twitter-ban-anti-lgbtq-groomer-slur/">told the <em>Daily Dot</em></a> that making baseless accusations that LGBTQ+ people are groomers is a violation of its hate speech policies. Meta <a href="https://glaad.org/releases/meta-suspends-instagram-page-of-gays-against-groomers/">suspended</a> the “Gays Against Groomers” Facebook account last September but later restored it. Meta told the <em>Daily Dot</em> that the suspension <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/news/facebook-suspends-controversial-right-wing-group/">was the result of a platform error</a>.</p>
<p id="VjpNaH">In January, Meta’s Oversight Board <a href="https://www.oversightboard.com/news/1376420189678927-oversight-board-overturns-meta-s-original-decision-in-post-in-polish-targeting-trans-people-case/">overturned the company’s decision not to remove a post</a> encouraging transgender people to commit suicide. The board noted that 11 different users had reported the post 12 times, but Meta’s automated systems only prioritized two of those posts for human review. Both of the reviewers “assessed it as non-violating and did not escalate it further.” The post was only removed after the board officially took up the appeal. </p>
<p id="XZMvit">The issue, the board claimed, was not that Meta didn’t have adequate policies against hate speech but that it failed to enforce them.<strong> </strong>The board found that the person behind the original post had previously harassed trans people online and had created a new Facebook account after being suspended in the past.<strong> </strong>“Meta’s repeated failure to take the correct enforcement action, despite multiple signals about the post’s harmful content, leads the Board to conclude the company is not living up to the ideals it has articulated on LGBTQIA+ safety,” the board wrote.</p>
<p id="GFW2Wi">Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/27/24113755/meta-anti-trans-hate-speech-glaad-instagram-facebook-threadsGaby Del Valle2024-03-25T14:16:46-04:002024-03-25T14:16:46-04:00Meta’s new opt-out setting limits visibility of politics on Instagram and Threads
<figure>
<img alt="Illustration of the Threads app logo" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_T1nEWsTQTNm2i5mR8qb9pVePCw=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73232065/STK156_Instagram_threads_2.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Illustration: The Verge</figcaption>
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<p id="c4fozU">Meta’s executives have been saying for a while that they <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/9/24067742/instagram-threads-meta-political-content-recommended-feeds">don’t want to boost posts about politics</a> in their apps. Now, an opt-out setting that limits recommendations of “political content” has been added to Instagram and Threads.</p>
<p id="c9jTyb">You can find it under your “Content preferences” account settings in Instagram. From there, “Limit political content from people you don’t follow” is enabled by default. The setting applies to Threads as well since that app shares its account system with Instagram.</p>
<p id="NCuo7w">Meta has framed this new setting as being good for user choice, and the company says it isn’t limiting the reach of political content from accounts people choose to follow. While the change was <a href="https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/continuing-our-approach-to-political-content-on-instagram-and-threads">first announced in early February</a>, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed to <em>The Verge</em> that it began widely rolling out last week. As of Monday, the company hasn’t sent any in-app notifications alerting people to the setting and the fact that it’s on by default. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Screenshots of Meta’s setting for limiting the visibility of politics in the Instagram app." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KPV6oKCxOBMyDZ3V-z5mhJv0WDY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25354575/Instagram_limit_political_content_setting.png">
<cite>Alex Heath / The Verge</cite>
<figcaption><em>Where to find Meta’s new setting for limiting the visibility of politics on Instagram and Threads.</em></figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="cZfWk4">If you talk to people at Meta about why they’ve soured on recommending politics, you’ll usually hear that they believe most people don’t want to see it put in their feeds. Last year, however, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri was more direct about the company’s motivation <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/7/23787334/instagram-threads-news-politics-adam-mosseri-meta-facebook">in a conversation with me on Threads</a>. </p>
<p id="NB1Eq1">“Politics and hard news are important, I don’t want to imply otherwise,” he <a href="https://www.threads.net/@mosseri/post/CuZ6opKtHva">said at the time</a>. “But my take is, from a platform’s perspective, any incremental engagement or revenue they might drive is not at all worth the scrutiny, negativity (let’s be honest), or integrity risks that come along with them.”</p>
<div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="Z5Ay4W"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"How Donald Trump changed Facebook","url":"https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/10/23300246/trump-facebook-election-land-of-the-giants"},{"title":"Meta says you better disclose your AI fakes or it might just pull them","url":"https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/6/24062388/meta-ai-photo-watermark-facebook-instagram-threads"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="f5CVyY">So, there you have it: Meta doesn’t want the blowback that comes from its role in actively surfacing political content, which <a href="https://help.instagram.com/339680465107440">it defines as</a> posts about “governments,” “elections,” and “social topics” — an ambiguous term that is likely intended to give lots of wiggle room for what can be included in this policy. If you don’t want Meta making these calls about what it recommends to you, it’s time to change your settings.</p>
<aside id="nnRfMY"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"commandlinefree"}'></div></aside>
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/25/24111604/meta-setting-downranks-politics-instagram-threadsAlex Heath2024-03-21T14:21:08-04:002024-03-21T14:21:08-04:00Threads’ fediverse beta opens to share your posts on Mastodon, too
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<img alt="An image showing the Threads logo" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BCMCzb6dlZ7c_N8F0OycRabos7o=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73223753/STK156_Instagram_threads_3.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Image: The Verge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="rCrtS7">Threads is rolling out a beta of its fediverse integration in the US, Canada, and Japan. In a post on Thursday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg <a href="https://www.threads.net/@zuck/post/C4yMgnQRH_T">announced</a> that toggling on the feature will let you cross-post and view likes from other federated platforms, like Mastodon.</p>
<p id="JYgyWY"><a href="https://www.theverge.com/24106231/threads-fediverse-demo-meta-fediforum">Threads previewed its fediverse integration</a> earlier this week during the FediForum. As outlined on its support page, <a href="https://help.instagram.com/169559812696339">Meta says</a> that you must have a public account to turn on fediverse sharing, which will allow users on other servers to “search for and follow your profile, view your posts, interact with your content, and share your content to anyone on or off their server.”</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kRZq-KTf2WogAh1s_-ScLde6oEs=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25348209/threads_fediverse.png">
<cite>Image: Meta</cite>
</figure>
<p id="8v9rlr">There are still a few limitations, though. The beta currently doesn’t let users view replies and follows from the fediverse, for example. Meta also can’t promise that when you delete a federated post on Threads, it will also get deleted on the other platforms it was shared on.</p>
<p id="KwUjls">Still, it’s promising to see Threads starting to get into the fediverse after first <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/13/24000120/threads-meta-activitypub-test-mastodon">testing its ActivityPub integration</a> last year. You <a href="https://help.instagram.com/169559812696339">can turn on the feature</a> by heading to your Threads account settings, selecting <strong>Fediverse sharing (Beta)</strong>, and following the instructions. </p>
<div id="tUZMzn">
<div class="iframely-embed"><div class="iframely-responsive" style="padding-bottom: 100%;"><a href="https://www.threads.net/@zuck/post/C4yMgnQRH_T" data-iframely-url="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.threads.net%2F%40zuck%2Fpost%2FC4yMgnQRH_T&key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197"></a></div></div>
<script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/21/24107881/threads-fediverse-beta-launch-mastodonEmma Roth2024-03-20T14:02:22-04:002024-03-20T14:02:22-04:00Microsoft and Meta accuse Apple of playing games with App Store rules
<figure>
<img alt="Illustration of the Apple logo on a yellow and teal background." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1Kuu2jkDyxIR8iqZHYMpzwcD2I8=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73221217/STK071_apple_K_Radtke_02.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Illustration: The Verge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="zme3PF">Apple is not living up to the letter or spirit of an order issued by a California federal judge in its trial against Epic Games. That’s what Meta, Microsoft, Match Group, and X told the court <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17442392/904/1/epic-games-inc-v-apple-inc/">in an amicus brief</a> on Wednesday.</p>
<p id="IAEH2X"><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/12/22667694/epic-v-apple-trial-fortnite-judge-yvonne-gonzalez-rogers-final-ruling-injunction-breakdown">Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers told Apple in 2021</a> that it could not prevent app developers from using “buttons, external links, or other calls to action” informing users of payment options outside of their apps. Epic and other developers have taken issue with Apple’s 15 to 30 percent fees on in-app purchases, which Apple makes difficult to avoid by also preventing them from directing users to payment options at a lower price outside of the iOS ecosystem. Apple has defended the fees as reasonable compensation for its own services on the App Store.</p>
<p id="DzeHqM">But the companies that filed the brief Wednesday, all of which say they’ve been subject to Apple’s rules against steering users away from its own payment processing, say Apple’s idea of compliance would not fix the problem. Its proposal to let developers point to an external purchase link is complex and burdensome, the companies say. </p>
<p id="R2aaY1">“Apple’s new restrictions are plainly designed to render alternatives to Apple’s IAP impractical for developers, and inaccessible and unappealing to consumers, thus circumventing both the spirit and underlying goals of the injunction,” the companies wrote in their brief. </p>
<p id="4zYX9c"><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/13/24099734/epic-v-apple-app-store-outside-payments-motion-enforce-injunction">Epic itself has asked the judge</a> to enforce her original order, saying that Apple is in “blatant violation” of the injunction. But it’s notable that other large developers, like Meta and Microsoft, have decided to weigh in now and shows that Apple’s rules can impact even the largest of tech companies.</p>
<p id="1Y8olv">The amici say that Apple’s 12 to 27 percent fee on external purchases defeats the purpose of the new requirement since it’s only a few percentage points below what developers would otherwise be required to pay for in-app purchases. The external purchase fee could make it unrealistic for developers to even set up an external payments system, given that other transaction costs they might incur through that route could eliminate any of the 3 percent gains they’d get from moving away from Apple’s system. Plus, customers are unlikely to choose the external option if it’s the same price or higher.</p>
<p id="wb8R2q">The companies explain how Apple’s in-app payment requirements impact them and allegedly harm them and their users. Meta, for example, says that Apple decided in 2022 to require Meta to pay the IAP fee for its product that lets advertisers boost posts within their apps to reach more users. Meta says this change increases the costs of using the feature, which would not be the case if Meta could steer users to its own payment options.</p>
<p id="m45Qww">When asked for comment on the amicus brief, Apple spokesperson Fred Sainz pointed to the company’s <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17442392/871/epic-games-inc-v-apple-inc/">statement of compliance to the court</a>, where it says it has “fully complied with the Injunction” as of January 16th. In that earlier filing, Apple says that Epic “has never disputed” that “unregulated external payment links will ‘harm users, developers, and the iOS platform more generally.’” That makes the requirements for the external payment links “necessary to protect user privacy and security, maintain the integrity of Apple’s ecosystem, promote the flow of information, avoid user confusion, and enable efficient review of developers’ apps by App Review,” according to Apple.</p>
<p id="xjgpDG">Apple will get the chance to file a response before a hearing about enforcing the injunction on April 30th.</p>
<p id="9NYwZ9"><em><strong>Update March 20, 2024 4:40PM:</strong></em><em> This story has been updated with a response from Apple. </em></p>
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/20/24106838/apple-epic-anti-steering-developers-in-app-payments-meta-microsoft-matchLauren Feiner2024-03-19T18:34:00-04:002024-03-19T18:34:00-04:00Meta just showed off Threads’ fediverse integration for the very first time
<figure>
<img alt="An image showing the Threads logo" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TIXrC-kvxcH_rN5WTt7zMrSVrvQ=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73219222/STK156_Instagram_threads_1.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Illustration: The Verge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="0q72oH">Threads is coming to the fediverse — and we just got our first official look at how that might work from Meta itself. During the FediForum conference on Tuesday, Meta’s Peter Cottle <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGEVy-CjBBg">showed off a brief demo</a> of how users will eventually be able to connect their accounts and posts to the fediverse. The integration will let users share their posts across different platforms through Threads, letting them reach multiple audiences at once. Meta is just one of the many platforms <a href="https://www.theverge.com/24063290/fediverse-explained-activitypub-social-media-open-protocol">aiming to join the fediverse</a>, a group of decentralized social networks aiming to become interoperable with one another.</p>
<p id="smzogz">As you can see in the video below, which FediForum shared with <em>The Verge</em>, Cottle can navigate to his Threads account settings and toggle on an option called “fediverse sharing.” Meta will then show a pop-up explaining what exactly the fediverse is, along with some disclaimers Meta will flag to users so they know what they’re getting into. </p>
<div id="ZgdYMM"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XGEVy-CjBBg?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="g2xGcT">First, Meta notes that users will need to have a public profile to toggle on the feature, something Instagram head <a href="https://www.threads.net/@mosseri/post/C051TLnud8U">Adam Mosseri has already</a> mentioned. Users in the current alpha test also can’t view replies to their posts and can only see the likes they get. Cottle says Meta is working “super hard” on changing that.</p>
<p id="uAlzsW">Additionally, Meta warns that Threads can’t “guarantee” that a post gets deleted on other linked platforms if a user decides to delete it on Threads. In other words, your post may still be visible on, say, a linked Mastodon server, even if you decide to delete it with Threads.</p>
<p id="lT2unT">“I think this is a downside of the protocol that we use today, but I think it’s important to let people know that if you post something and another server grabs a copy, we can’t necessarily enforce it,” Cottle says. </p>
<div id="Rp5K4e">
<div class="iframely-embed"><div class="iframely-responsive" style="padding-bottom: 100%;"><a href="https://www.threads.net/@pcottle/post/C4s1oznudph" data-iframely-url="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.threads.net%2F%40pcottle%2Fpost%2FC4s1oznudph&key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197"></a></div></div>
<script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p id="Cb0aEq">Once fediverse sharing is enabled, users will be able to post to other services that interoperate through ActivityPub. Cottle says Threads will “wait five minutes” before sending posts out into the fediverse, during which users have a chance to edit or delete their post. If a Threads user has fediverse sharing enabled, their profiles will display a “pill” icon that other users can click into to copy their fediverse usernames. </p>
<p id="wfOnXe">Cottle demonstrated the process of using Threads to post to the fediverse, and <a href="https://mastodon.social/redirect/statuses/112123041700912493">you can already see how his post federated out to Mastodon</a>.</p>
<div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="9Gj49o"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The fediverse, explained","url":"https://www.theverge.com/24063290/fediverse-explained-activitypub-social-media-open-protocol"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="CuKjpW">“I know there’s a ton of skepticism about Meta entering the fediverse — it’s completely understandable,” Cottle says. “I do want to kind of make a plea that I think everyone on the team has really good intentions. We really want to be a good member of the community and give people the ability to experience what the fediverse is.”</p>
<p id="mv5fnS">The FediForum is an online event that gives developers the opportunity to show off what they’re working on in the fediverse. “It’s good for them, and it’s good for the rest of us to see what they’re up to,” Johannes Ernst, one of FediForum’s co-founders, tells <em>The Verge</em>. “They’re being transparent about what they’re building and why.” </p>
<p id="PTlJVW">Threads started testing an <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/13/24000120/threads-meta-activitypub-test-mastodon">ActivityPub integration last year</a>, and Mosseri <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/15/24003435/adam-mosseri-threads-fediverse-plans">suggested last December</a> that Threads’ plans for the fediverse could take “the better part of a year” to pan out. Earlier this month, Threads gave Evan Prodromou, one of the creators of the ActivityPub protocol, the ability to post on both Threads and Mastodon. Threads also plans on letting users follow non-Threads fediverse accounts and letting creators take their followers with them to another platform.</p>
https://www.theverge.com/24106231/threads-fediverse-demo-meta-fediforumEmma Roth2024-03-19T13:00:00-04:002024-03-19T13:00:00-04:00How AI companies are reckoning with elections
<figure>
<img alt="Graphic photo illustration of I Voted stickers." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vNsv8rpE_ajcQyNaTrZqlprIrNI=/20x0:2021x1334/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73218198/STK466_ELECTION_2024_CVirginia_D.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="Bnhjre">The US is heading into its first presidential election since generative AI tools have gone mainstream. And the companies offering these tools — like Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft — have each made announcements about how they plan to handle the months leading up to it.</p>
<p id="66cAt4">This election season, we’ve already seen <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/8/23753626/deepfake-political-attack-ad-ron-desantis-donald-trump-anthony-fauci">AI-generated images in ads</a> and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/6/24063885/biden-robocalls-ai-fcc-cease-desist-lingo-telecom-life-new-hampshire">attempts to mislead voters</a> with voice cloning. The potential harms from AI chatbots aren’t as visible in the public eye — yet, anyway. But chatbots are known to confidently provide made-up facts, including in responses to good-faith <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/15/24003248/microsoft-ai-copilot-algorithm-watch-bing-election-misinformation">questions about basic voting information</a>. In a high-stakes election, that could be disastrous.</p>
<p id="L67XFz">One plausible solution is to try to avoid election-related queries altogether. In December, <a href="https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/civics/how-were-approaching-the-2024-us-elections/">Google announced</a> that Gemini would simply refuse to answer election-related questions in the US, referring users to Google Search instead. Google spokesperson Christa Muldoon confirmed to <em>The Verge</em> via email the change is now rolling out globally. (Of course, that relies on the reliability of Google Search — something the company <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/5/24091099/google-search-high-quality-results-spam-ai-content">has been working on with an eye toward AI spam</a>.) Muldoon said Google has “no plans” to lift these restrictions, which she said also “apply to all queries and outputs” generated by Gemini, not just text.</p>
<div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="w52irV"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"AI deepfakes are cheap, easy, and coming for the 2024 election","url":"https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/29/24085663/ai-deepfakes-misinformation-policy-free-speech-first-amendment-decoder-podcast"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="4H5p2b">Earlier this year, OpenAI said that <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/15/24039333/openai-chatgpt-dalle-ai-2024-election-misinformation-plan">ChatGPT would start</a> referring users to <a href="http://canivote.org/">CanIVote.org</a>, generally considered one of the best online resources for local voting information. The company’s policy now forbids impersonating candidates or local governments using ChatGPT. It likewise prohibits using its tools for campaigning, lobbying, discouraging voting, or otherwise misrepresenting the voting process, under the updated rules. </p>
<p id="hjfOAO">In a statement emailed to <em>The Verge, </em>Aravind Srinivas, CEO of the AI search company Perplexity, said Perplexity’s algorithms prioritize “reliable and reputable sources like news outlets” and that it always provides links so users can verify its output.</p>
<p id="cH1iuR">In an email to <em>The Verge, </em>Microsoft representative Brian Gluckman says the company has rolled out updates to address concerns from <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/15/24003248/microsoft-ai-copilot-algorithm-watch-bing-election-misinformation">a report last year</a> about false election information provided by Copilot (formerly known as Bing). His email also pointed to <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2024/02/13/generative-ai-content-abuse-online-safety/">the company’s blog post</a> about<strong> </strong>combating abusive AI content as an example of the measures it’s applying, with provenance technology, bans for users who break the rules, and more.</p>
<div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="2GYm9B"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The AI-generated hell of the 2024 election","url":"https://www.theverge.com/policy/24098798/2024-election-ai-generated-disinformation"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="zovtGe">All of these companies’ responses (maybe Google’s most of all) are very different from how they’ve tended to approach elections with their other products. Google has used (and continues to use) <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/27/21535564/google-associated-press-partnership-election-results-misinformation"><em>Associated Press</em></a> <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/01/the-ap-debuts-election-buzz-a-tool-that-uses-twitter-and-google-data-to-track-the-u-s-elections/">partnerships</a> to bring factual election information to the top of search results and has tried to counter false claims about mail-in voting by <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/24/21452892/youtube-mail-in-voting-misinformation-election-day-donald-trump">using labels on YouTube</a>. Other companies have made similar efforts — see <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/2/21310690/facebook-voter-registration-information-box-top-news-feeds">Facebook’s voter registration links</a> and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/26/21534620/twitter-anti-misinformation-banner-voter-fraud-results-2020-election">Twitter’s anti-misinformation banner</a>.</p>
<p id="dJZYNS">Yet major events like the US presidential election seem like a real opportunity to prove whether AI chatbots are actually a useful shortcut to legitimate information. I asked a couple of Texas voting questions of some chatbots to get an idea of their usefulness. OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4 was able to correctly list<strong> </strong>the <a href="https://www.votetexas.gov/voting/need-id.html">seven different forms of valid ID</a> for voters, and it also identified that the next significant election is the <a href="https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/important-election-dates.shtml">primary runoff election on May 28th</a>. Perplexity AI answered those questions correctly as well, linking<strong> </strong>multiple sources at the top. Copilot got its answers right and even did one better by telling me what my options were if I didn’t have any of the seven forms of ID. (ChatGPT also coughed up this addendum on a second try).</p>
<p id="BHIHS0">Gemini just referred me to Google Search, which got me the right answers about ID, but when I asked for the date of next election, an out-of-date box at the top referred me to the March 5th primary. </p>
<p id="0jGL4y">Many of the companies working on AI have made various commitments to prevent or mitigate the intentional misuse of their products. Microsoft says it will <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/8/23951955/microsoft-elections-generative-ai-content-watermarks">work with candidates</a> and political parties to curtail election misinformation. The company has also started releasing what it says will be regular reports on foreign influences in key elections — its <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/5/2023/11/MTAC-Report-2024-Election-Threat-Assessment-11082023-2-1.pdf">first such threat analysis</a> came in November. </p>
<p id="kiPfcu">Google says it <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/29/23849107/synthid-google-deepmind-ai-image-detector">will digitally watermark images</a> created with its products using DeepMind’s SynthID. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/15/24039333/openai-chatgpt-dalle-ai-2024-election-misinformation-plan">OpenAI</a> and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/8/23951955/microsoft-elections-generative-ai-content-watermarks">Microsoft</a> have both announced that they would use the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity’s (C2PA) digital credentials to denote AI-generated images with a CR symbol. But each company <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/6/24063954/ai-watermarks-dalle3-openai-content-credentials">has said</a> that these approaches <a href="https://arc.net/l/quote/gesnaqwp">aren’t enough</a>. One way Microsoft plans to account for that is through its website that lets political candidates report deepfakes.</p>
<p id="6oEeNY">Stability AI, which owns the Stable Diffusion image generator, updated its policies recently to ban using its product for “fraud or the creation or promotion of disinformation.” Midjourney <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/openai-microsoft-ai-tools-generate-misleading-election-images-researchers-say-2024-03-06/">told <em>Reuters</em> last week that</a> “updates related specifically to the upcoming U.S. election are coming soon.” Its image generator performed the worst when it came to making misleading images, according to a Center for Countering Digital Hate report <a href="https://counterhate.com/research/fake-image-factories/">published last week</a>.</p>
<p id="yudbob">Meta <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/8/23951346/meta-political-ads-ai-artificial-intelligence-advertising">announced in November</a> of last year that it would require political advertisers to disclose if they used “AI or other digital techniques” to create ads published on its platforms. The company <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-bar-political-advertisers-using-generative-ai-ads-tools-2023-11-06/">has also banned</a> the use of its generative AI tools by political campaigns and groups.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A screenshot summarizing the accord’s goals. It has a grid of six square boxes reading “Prevention,” “Provenance,” “Detection,” “Evaluation,” and “Public Awareness,” with a large rectangle below labeled “Resilience.” Each box holds a description, elaborating on the labels." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/n0dPSzJxND8Ir-7mPsLh56ciU4M=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25332126/Screenshot_2024_03_12_at_11.21.50_AM.png">
<cite>Image: AI Elections accord</cite>
<figcaption><em>The “Seven Principle Goals” of the AI Elections accord.</em></figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="Tv3y8N">Several companies, including all of the ones above, <a href="https://www.aielectionsaccord.com/">signed an accord</a> last month, promising to create new ways to mitigate the deceptive use of AI in elections. The companies agreed on seven “principle goals,” like research and deployment of prevention methods, giving provenance for content (such as with C2PA or SynthID-style watermarking), improving their AI detection capabilities, and collectively evaluating and learning from the effects of misleading AI-generated content. </p>
<p id="WoM67L">In January, two companies in Texas <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/6/24063885/biden-robocalls-ai-fcc-cease-desist-lingo-telecom-life-new-hampshire">cloned President Biden’s voice</a> to discourage voting in the New Hampshire primary. It won’t be the last time generative AI makes an unwanted appearance in this election cycle. As the 2024 race heats up, we’ll surely see these companies tested on the safeguards they’ve built and the commitments they’ve made.</p>
<p id="1Xbi63"><em><strong>Update March 19th, 2024, 7:03PM ET: </strong></em><em>Added comment from Microsoft and additional context around Google’s Search and </em>Associated Press<em> partnership.</em></p>
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/19/24098381/ai-chatbots-election-misinformation-chatgpt-gemini-copilot-bing-claudeWes Davis2024-03-19T09:10:48-04:002024-03-19T09:10:48-04:00Ad-free Facebook might get way cheaper to appease EU regulators
<figure>
<img alt="A Facebook logo surrounded by blue dots and white squiggles." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YZ8ESnxWunZOWYgGmXYETJy_onY=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73217520/STK040_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_4_facebook.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="6LjCgr">Meta says it’s offered to reduce the price of its ad-free subscription for Instagram and Facebook in Europe to address regulatory concerns, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-offers-cut-facebook-instagram-monthly-fees-599-euros-2024-03-19/"><em>Reuters</em> reports</a>. Speaking in a hearing with the European Commission, Meta lawyer Tim Lamb said the company has “offered to drop the price from €9.99 to €5.99 for a single account and €4 for any additional accounts” in its discussion with privacy regulators in an attempt to “get to a steady state.”</p>
<p id="M3fVNd">Lamb said €5.99 is “by far the lowest end of the range that any reasonable person should be paying for services of this quality” and hoped that the “regulatory uncertainty” will “settle down quickly.” It reportedly made the offer to cut its prices to data protection authorities earlier this year.</p>
<p id="ZBZgNA">The company launched its ad-free subscription <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/10/23955987/instagram-facebook-without-ads-eu-subscription">last November</a> after European Union regulators <a href="https://www.edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2023/edpb-urgent-binding-decision-processing-personal-data-behavioural-advertising-meta_en">challenged the legal basis for its collection and processing of user data</a>. Meta hoped that this “Subscription for no ads” program would allow it to effectively get consent to process user data under the EU’s GDPR rules as well as the Digital Markets Act. The subscription is available in the European Economic Area and Switzerland.</p>
<div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="g9cH5R"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Facebook and Instagram launch a paid ad-free subscription","url":"https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/30/23938283/facebook-instagram-ad-free-subscription-eu"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="a16u4n">But the paid tier was quickly the subject of complaints from consumer groups, who’ve attacked the measure as a “<a href="https://www.beuc.eu/press-releases/consumer-groups-launch-complaints-against-metas-massive-illegal-data-processing">pay-or-consent</a>” smokescreen. “Meta’s offer to consumers is smoke and mirrors to cover up what is, at its core, the same old hoovering up of all kinds of sensitive information about people’s lives which it then monetises through its invasive advertising model,” the European Consumer Organisation’s (BEUC) deputy director general, Ursula Pachl, said in a statement in February.</p>
<p id="i9YT7x">Eight consumer groups from the BEUC’s network filed complaints with their respective national data protection authorities accusing Meta of not complying with the GDPR. <a href="https://www.beuc.eu/press-releases/consumer-groups-launch-complaints-against-metas-massive-illegal-data-processing">The group said</a> Meta doesn’t have a “valid legal basis” to justify its data collection and that “the choice it imposes on its users can not lead to their freely given and informed consent.”</p>
<p id="Z7lD8z">It’s unclear whether simply lowering the price of this monthly subscription will address these privacy concerns. Although privacy rights group <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/28/meta-ad-free-sub-noyb-complaint/">NOYB attacked the cost of the subscription</a> for being “way out of proportion” to the value Meta gets from tracking EU users, other groups have more structural complaints with the way the subscription has been implemented. BEUC, which serves as an umbrella group of 45 consumer organizations, has <a href="https://www.beuc.eu/choose-to-Lose-with-Meta#the-solution">called for Meta</a> to give consumers more time to think about their choice, for example, and to be more transparent about which data is collected under the paid option.</p>
<p id="1gqUbe"></p>
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/19/24105660/meta-ad-free-subscription-facebook-instagram-gdpr-dma-eu-privacy-regulationJon Porter2024-03-16T16:56:27-04:002024-03-16T16:56:27-04:00Starship Home uses mixed reality to make your living room an intergalactic greenhouse
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rfv9dszC34Rspn57B15S4KSQYGI=/156x0:1844x1125/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73212203/Starship_Home.0.png" />
</figure>
<p id="VL30un"><em>Starship Home, </em>a cozy mixed-reality game <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514734&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.meta.com%2Fexperiences%2F5959677854068956%2F%3Fintern_source%3Dblog%26intern_content%3Dstarship-home-announcement-creature-vr-mr-game&referrer=theverge.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2024%2F3%2F16%2F24103308%2Fstarship-home-meta-quest-3-mixed-reality-sim-game" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">for the Meta Quest 3</a>, is trying to get to the heart of “what makes a game meaningful in mixed reality.” That’s according to developer Doug North Cook, who <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/1bfi1rj/starship_home_our_first_mixed_reality_game/">wrote on Reddit</a> that the game, which turns your environment into a custom spaceship and you into an intergalactic horticulturist, is indie studio Creature’s “first answer to that question.”</p>
<p id="7pKJVI">A Meta Quest <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1514734&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.meta.com%2Fblog%2Fquest%2Fstarship-home-announcement-creature-vr-mr-game%2F&referrer=theverge.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2024%2F3%2F16%2F24103308%2Fstarship-home-meta-quest-3-mixed-reality-sim-game" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">blog post</a> says players will customize their starship by “strategically placing virtual windows, control panels, and other components” in their room. Outside the windows, the game’s trailer shows you’ll see things like space creatures, planets, cloud-tops, and travel animations as you leave planets. When players land on a planet, they’ll collect plant clippings and nurture them aboard their ship. The game <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/1bfiih5/announcing_starship_home_our_new_mixed_reality/kv15myv/">uses the Quest 3’s automatic room meshing</a>, so you won’t have to do any manual blocking to tell the headset where things are in your space.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A screenshot showing passthrough video of a room, but with AR objects like windows on the walls and plants on surfaces." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GFr7cb67uIfhvXDy5nMu-yoxfBU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25339843/Starship_Home.png">
<cite>Image: Creature</cite>
<figcaption><em>This could be your space room.</em></figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="uKz3OV"><em>Starship Home</em>’s story puts players in charge of exploring planets and saving alien flora from a “sinister blight that threatens plant life across the galaxy.” Other aspects of the game will include entering the plants’ dreams, navigating with a star chart, interplanetary space jumps, and “unraveling the mystery” of the sickness afflicting the plants, <a href="https://creaturelabel.notion.site/Starship-Home-Press-Kit-a802480f81154ce0b9fa3b629d24d89d#14c2f880a3d74695a56dbe72172e3cce">according to Creature’s website</a>.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="A screenshot showing the a watering can pouring water into a pot with an otherworldly plant that has an eyeball." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/39soxK1w7BAZn_-Ue8yr0VS2VoE=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25339842/Watering_a_space_plant.png">
<cite>Image: Creature</cite>
<figcaption><em>How about a plant that looks at you?</em></figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="X967gK">The whole thing sounds like it could be very fun — if it’s done right. The developer doesn’t seem to say whether your spaceship persists across play sessions (it sounds like it might, given Cook’s <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/comments/1bfiih5/announcing_starship_home_our_new_mixed_reality/kv15tvz/">Reddit reply</a> saying there will be save files “so you can each have your own Starship”). If it does, that could give you a real reason to actually put the headset on every day. You know, the sort of time-honored tradition seen in everything from <em>Animal Crossing </em>to <em>Tamagotchi. </em>“Sorry, family,” you might say, “I need to go down to the basement to <s>play with my trains</s> tend to my space plants.”</p>
<p id="EVpAZO"><em>Starship Home</em> is a Quest 3 exclusive; its first, <a href="https://www.uploadvr.com/starship-home-quest-3-exclusive/">according to <em>UploadVR</em></a>. At the moment, it doesn’t have a specific release date, but Creature says it’ll be out in the third quarter this year.</p>
<p id="XvKS5Z"></p>
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/16/24103308/starship-home-meta-quest-3-mixed-reality-sim-gameWes Davis2024-03-16T13:12:08-04:002024-03-16T13:12:08-04:00US prosecutors are investigating how Meta platforms played a part in illegal drug sales
<figure>
<img alt="Image of Meta’s logo with a red and blue background." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ib1cVaAoTjL4a0QPdqQVtc7frwY=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73211876/STK043_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_1_Meta.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="b8vCDF">Federal prosecutors asking questions about Meta are "looking into whether the company’s social-media platforms are facilitating and profiting from the illegal sale of drugs," according to unnamed sources in a report today by the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/u-s-is-investigating-meta-for-role-in-drug-sales-574944cb"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a>. Prosecutors reportedly sent Meta subpoenas last year seeking records on “violative drug content on Meta’s platforms and/or the illicit sale of drugs via Meta’s platforms.” </p>
<p id="FAlK4s">A Meta spokesperson told the <em>Journal </em>that, “The sale of illicit drugs is against our policies and we work to find and remove this content from our services. Meta proactively cooperates with law enforcement authorities to help combat the sale and distribution of illicit drugs.” </p>
<p id="87lWEp">The <em>WSJ</em> said TikTok did not respond when asked whether it has received any subpoenas. </p>
<div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="4BUQBg"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Who wins when telehealth companies push weight loss drugs?","url":"https://www.theverge.com/23878992/ro-ozempic-subway-ads-telehealth-weight-loss-drugs"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="hLJwSt"><a href="https://ati.io/">Researchers who collected data</a> about prescription drug ads on Facebook for the <em>Journal</em> in 2022 also said they received a subpoena. Meta didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment. </p>
<p id="fwpvwB">As the <em>Journal </em>notes, Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg <a href="https://x.com/nickclegg/status/1768663371820446029?s=20">posted on Friday</a> that the company has joined the Alliance to Prevent Drug Harms. <a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-at-the-67th-session-of-the-un-commission-on-narcotic-drugs/">US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said</a> during a session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs yesterday that the US and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime had begun “a new collaborative effort with Meta, Snap, and others to disrupt synthetic drug activity online.”</p>
<p id="GAhZ86"></p>
<p id="ZqCj2H"></p>
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/16/24103027/us-investigation-meta-drug-sales-profitsWes Davis