Facebook and Twitter remove more fake accounts linked to Iran and Venezuela

Facebook and Twitter have taken action against thousands of fake accounts and pages thought to be linked to Iran, Venezuela and Russia in the latest crackdown on political manipulation across social media. Facebook said it had removed a total of 783 pages, groups and accounts “engaging in co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour tied to Iran” using re-purposed…

Children’s Commissioner urges social media to protect children from ‘disturbing content’

Social media companies must take more responsibility for protecting children from disturbing content on their platforms, the Children’s Commissioner for England has said. In an open letter to the platforms most used by children – YouTube, Facebook (which owns Instagram), Snapchat and Pinterest – Anne Longfield urged the companies to back a statutory duty of…

Facebook ‘willing to change everything’ to tackle suicide posts, says Sir Nick Clegg

Facebook is willing to “change everything” to curb posts about suicide following the death of British teenager Molly Russell, according to Sir Nick Clegg. The former Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister, now Facebook’s head of global affairs, said social media platforms have a “profound responsibility” to safeguard teenagers. Speaking in an interview with the BBC,…