Facebook-owner Meta to roll out paid subscription
FACEBOOK, the social network that was supposed to stay free “always,” and its stablemate Instagram launched on Sunday a paid subscription service, as the advertising-based business model that has long dominated the internet falters. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook-parent Meta, announced on Sunday the launch of Meta Verified, a service starting at US$11.99 a…
Adil Aziz
EU studying whether Big Tech should pay network costs: EU document
THE European Union (EU) will consult the technology and telecoms sectors on whether tech giants like Alphabet Inc’s Google, Meta and Amazon.com Inc should subsidise network costs, according to a Commission document seen by Reuters. EU telecoms providers including Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica and Telecom Italia say the six largest content providers account for more…
As Meta and Twitter slash staff, TikTok plans to keep hiring
While much of Silicon Valley is grappling with hiring freezes and job cuts, at least one social media company is still planning to keep hiring TikTok. The short-form video app remains committed to its goal of hiring nearly 1,000 engineers at its Mountain View office, a person familiar with the matter. This specific hiring target is…
President launches commercial helicopter flight service in AJK to promote tourism
President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday launched the commercial helicopter flight operations of Kashmir Air in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as part of an effort to promote tourism in the region. The president, addressing the launching ceremony of Kashmir Air, at Bagh, said the AJK was blessed with immense natural beauty and tourism potential,…
Meta Expands “WeThinkDigital” to Gilgit-Baltistan
Meta is expanding its digital literacy program, ‘WeThinkDigital’, to Gilgit-Baltistan in collaboration with Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) and the Gilgit-Baltistan Department of Education. The program aims to equip the people who live in one of the most marginalised regions in the country with the necessary skills to become responsible digital citizens. With the expansion of the WeThinkDigital…
Meta Donates 125M Rupees for Flood Relief Efforts
In response to the devastating floods in Pakistan, Meta is contributing 125 Million Rupees to UNICEF, Hands and Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) to help communities impacted by the floods. The donation will support emergency aid, food, water, sanitation and help children get back to school in Sindh, Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Prior to the donation when the…
META affirms stringent approach to user privacy in virtual session with Pakistan media
Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram organized a virtual briefing session on its approach to privacy for Pakistani journalists in Islamabad. Arianne Jimenez, Privacy Policy Manager at Meta in the Asia Pacific apprised the reporters about the company’s policies to protect user data and information safety on its platforms. The program was…
Meta, Zindagi Trust join hands to launch child safety campaign in Pakistan
Meta and Zindagi Trust are collaborating to launch a broad-based awareness and stakeholder engagement campaign to curb the spread of harmful content related to child safety in online space. Under the arrangement, a series of policy roundtables will be organised with local CSOs and policy stakeholders working in the areas of both digital safety and…
On World Emoji Day, Meta shares trends for Pakistan’s favorite Emojis
This World Emoji Day, Mark Zukerberg announced that WhatsApp now allows users to react to messages and group chats with a full range of fun emoticons and skin tone selector within conversations. Earlier users could only use six emojis to react to messages and group chats, which has now been changed to the full Emoji…
Meta’s educational ‘Chai Chats’ series is set to foster digital literacy in Pakistan
Meta, in collaboration with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), has launched an educational series, ‘Chai Chats’ to create awareness among young Pakistani Facebook users on digital literacy and social cohesion through improved digital experiences. The series features a close-knit group of university friends encountering difficult online situations which they overcome with grace, friendship, and humour…