Meta has begun testing to modify the transparency labels on ads on Instagram and Facebook, changing the old Sponsored label to Ad. This update is part of a general overhaul of the company’s apps and could significantly impact ad performance. From sponsored to ad The new label, which aims to provide a cleaner and simpler experience for users, will likely make it harder for consumers to clearly identify ads while browsing their feeds. By reducing the visual cues that typically indicate paid content, this modification could make ads […]
Meta has started tests to modify the transparency labels on ads on Instagram and Facebook, changing the old Sponsored label to Ad. This update is part of a general overhaul of the company’s applications and could significantly impact ad performance.
From Sponsored to Ad
The new label, which aims to provide a cleaner and simpler experience for users, will likely make it harder for consumers to clearly identify ads while browsing their feeds. By reducing the visual cues that typically indicate paid content, this change could make ads feel more like organic content, which in turn could increase user engagement.
However, this alteration also raises questions about users’ ability to distinguish commercial content in real time. This aspect is especially relevant given that, according to data from Bazaarvoice, more than a third of consumers over 18 prefer clear disclosure tools, such as paid partnership labels.
The change has caught the attention of regulators such as the European Commission, which has already investigated Meta’s advertising practices in the context of increasing scrutiny. The EC has raised concerns about the company’s pay or consent model under the Digital Markets Act, and this new approach could be considered a misleading interface design under the EU Digital Services Act, especially if users cannot easily recognize sponsored content.
For marketers, this change presents both opportunities and challenges. While it could benefit advertising performance by making paid content less obvious, companies must closely monitor regulatory developments and avoid creating content that blurs the lines between ads and organic posts. In the event of regulatory intervention, this modification could be reversed or altered, creating inconsistencies between markets and complicating campaign planning.
Tomonobu Itagaki, a renowned Japanese video game creator, passed away at the age of 58. His death was announced through a heartfelt message on his Facebook account, where he expressed his pride in having fought until the end, lamenting that he could not offer new games to his followers. “I am filled with sadness for not having been able to provide new works to all my fans. I’m sorry,” he said in a message that resonated with the struggle of his life and career. Tomonobu Itagaki is a video game legend, famous for his contributions to video game culture, he was responsible […]
Tomonobu Itagaki, a renowned Japanese video game creator, passed away at the age of 58. His death was announced through a heartfelt message on his Facebook account, where he expressed his pride in having fought until the end, lamenting not being able to offer new games to his followers. “I am filled with sadness for not being able to provide new works to all my fans. I’m sorry,” he said in a message that resonated with the struggle of his life and career.
Tomonobu Itagaki is a video game legend
Itagaki, famous for his contributions to video game culture, was responsible for iconic franchises like Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, which helped define the action genre and the aesthetics of the early 2000s. His provocative style made him a controversial figure, but undeniably influential in the industry. Throughout his career, he stood out for his ability to challenge his competitors, establishing a friendship and rivalry with Katsuhiro Harada, creator of Tekken. Harada expressed his sadness and surprise at Itagaki’s departure, recalling shared moments and the hope for a reunion.
Despite his success at Team Ninja, Itagaki drifted away from glory after leaving the company. His last major project, Devil’s Third, for Wii U, did not achieve the expected success and was a significant blow to his career. Subsequently, Itagaki founded Valhalla Games and worked on several projects, including an NFT-based game titled Warrior, of which there is not much information available.
The departure of Tomonobu Itagaki marks the twilight of a star in the world of video games. However, his legacy will endure, as titles like Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive continue to be celebrated by fans. His legacy will be honored by reviving and enjoying his masterpieces. Rest in peace, Master Itagaki.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has announced the implementation of additional security features in its artificial intelligence language models following the leak of an internal document that revealed issues in its policies regarding conversations with minors. The document, titled GenAI: Content Risk Standards, showed that “sexual” conversations were allowed between AI bots and children, which has generated a strong reaction from the U.S. legislative community. The further away AI is from teenagers, the better. Republican Senator Josh Hawley has called the situation “reprehensible and absurd” and has initiated a […]
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has announced the implementation of additional security features in its artificial intelligence language models following the leak of an internal document that revealed issues in its conversation policies with minors. The document, titled GenAI: Content Risk Standards, showed that “suggestive” conversations were allowed between AI bots and children, which has sparked a strong reaction from the U.S. legislative community.
AI, the further away from teenagers the better
Republican Senator Josh Hawley has called the situation “reprehensible and absurd” and has initiated an official investigation into Meta’s AI policies. In response to the concerns, the company’s spokesperson, Stephanie Otway, stated that the examples and notes in question were erroneous and contradictory to their policies, and that they have been removed.
As part of its new security measures, Meta will limit the interactions of its AI bots with teenagers on sensitive topics such as suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders, redirecting young people to expert resources. However, questions arise about why this precaution was not implemented earlier and whether the bots will still be able to discuss these topics with adults.
Although it has been pointed out that some accounts of sexualized celebrity bots on the Meta platform raise concerns about the safety of young users, the company has stated that teenagers will no longer have access to these interactions. Suicide prevention experts, such as Andy Burrows from the Molly Rose Foundation, have criticized Meta for not conducting sufficient safety testing before launching its products, urging the company to act quickly and effectively to protect minors.
This situation arises at a time when public concern for the safety of teenagers in digital environments continues to grow, especially following the recent suicide of a teenager in California, whose family has sued OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, blaming it for inciting their son.
Apple is positioning itself to take advantage of the growing crisis in the field of artificial intelligence, convinced that it has the necessary tools to stand out in this technological revolution. In a message to his employees, Tim Cook recently hinted that the company has big plans for this emerging sector, and the key piece of its strategy seems to be a new version of Siri, which promises a significant advancement in its functionality. A Siri with more options than ever According to information provided by well-known analyst Mark Gurman, Apple is currently testing improvements to Siri that will allow for the execution […]
Apple is positioning itself to take advantage of the growing crisis in the field of artificial intelligence, convinced that it has the necessary tools to stand out in this technological revolution. In a message to his employees, Tim Cook recently hinted that the company has big plans for this emerging sector, and the key piece of its strategy seems to be a new version of Siri, which promises a significant advancement in its functionality.
A Siri with more options than ever
According to information provided by well-known analyst Mark Gurman, Apple is currently testing improvements to Siri that will allow for more complex actions to be executed through voice commands. This new digital assistant is expected to be rolled out early next year, although the company has not yet decided on a specific date. Originally, this evolution of Siri was planned for iOS 18, but its release has been delayed.
The new version of Siri will not only be able to interact more dynamically with the data stored on the iPhone, making everyday tasks easier such as searching for previous dinners in photos or creating flight reminders. However, the company may choose to limit these functionalities in sensitive applications, such as banking and health, due to the risks associated with potential errors in voice recognition.
In cooperation with third-party applications like WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook, Apple aims to integrate progressive improvements that prioritize voice control, which could revolutionize the way users interact with their devices. However, despite the expectations, the Siri interface has disappointed some, as it has been modernized, removing its classic sphere, leaving enthusiasts wanting more innovations.
The automatic arrival of these new features seems imminent, and it is speculated that the contextualized version of Siri, one of the main novelties announced by the company, will be launched in spring 2024, possibly alongside iOS 26.4.
Facebook reached the peak of its popularity in 2009 and 2010, before the rest of the social networks came to sweep everything away and condemn it to a refuge of people who did not adapt to modern Internet. Back then, it was not uncommon to log in and have several messages and comments on your photos, yes, but above all, messages from games. From many, many games. Whether it was Scrabble, Pet Society, or Mafia Wars, everyone was asking you to help them, lend them something, or simply connect there as well. It was the Steam for people who did not […]
Facebook reached the peak of its popularity in 2009 and 2010, before the rest of the social networks came and swept everything away, condemning it to a refuge for people who did not adapt to modern Internet. Back then, it was not uncommon to log in and have several messages and comments on your photos, yes, but above all, messages from games. From many, many games. Whether it was Scrabble, Pet Society, or Mafia Wars, everyone was asking you to help them, lend them something, or simply connect there as well. It was the Steam for people who didn’t have consoles, the ultimate pastime, the trap that later evolved into freemium games and “pay to win.” But among all of them, there was one that stood out more than any other: FarmVille.
On the Facebook farm, ia, ia, oh
In fact, Zynga didn’t invent anything: FarmVille was the evolution (or rather the plagiarism) of Happy Farm, a game launched by the company 5 Minutes on the Tencent QQ instant messaging app. And it was already a success: in fact, at its peak, 23 million people were playing daily in Asia. Zynga saw that planting vegetables and starting your own garden had appeal and created a version for the rest of the world that spread like wildfire.
It may seem silly to us, but in its day, FarmVille surpassed any game from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft with a staggering nearly 84 million active users worldwide, of which more than 34 million logged in every day. A huge success for a game whose first version took just over a month to develop by four students from the University of Illinois, who maintained the social component and added something very important that was practically unheard of at the time: micropayments.
Now they are part of everyday life, but back then the name sounded somewhat distant (even World Of Warcraft came later!). With Farm Cash -not to be confused with Farm Coins, which were earned by completing objectives within the game- we could buy all kinds of upgrades, such as making your trees grow immediately or resurrecting those that had died along the way. And how was Farm Cash obtained? Well, although you could also help Aunt Manoli and Cousin Juan fix their farm, usually it involved spending money.
In addition, in FarmVille you could send gifts to your friends, something that, I assure you, happened constantly and at all hours to the point that it was almost frightening. In the end, of course, people got tired, and even teaming up with different brands did not help its survival: on December 31, 2020, the game disappeared from Facebook without anyone missing it much. To replace it, Zynga had already laid the groundwork in 2012 and 2021, respectively, with the launches of FarmVille 2 and FarmVille 3, the latter fully intended to be a mobile app. The times a’changing.
Over time, we could see FarmVille for what it was: a machine destined for the absurd, a program that forced us to log in every day, insist on our friends, perform the same meaningless tasks over and over again, and if we got frustrated, spend money to keep going. In fact, when it won an award at the GDC in 2010, the audience did not hesitate to boo Zynga, although that doesn’t seem to matter much today: it was bought for $12.7 billion by Take Two. It may seem outrageous, but it should be noted that, according to estimates, about 10% of the world’s population plays something created by Zynga daily, whether it’s Words With Friends or their slot-style games. If someone here isn’t getting rich, it’s because they don’t want to (or have too much ethics).
During the Stripe Sessions 2025 conference, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, took the opportunity to position Apple as an adversary and Google as an ally. In a conversation with Stripe’s CEO, John Collison, about the recent court ruling in the U.S. that forces Apple to relax its rules in the App Store, Zuckerberg made an ironic comment: “Tim has had a bad week. I don’t want to add more, but I appreciate Sundar.” Zuckerberg criticizes Apple and praises Google at the Stripe Sessions 2025. This exchange highlights the tensions that exist […]
During the Stripe Sessions 2025 conference, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, took the opportunity to position Apple as an adversary and Google as an ally.
In a conversation with Stripe’s CEO, John Collison, about the recent court ruling in the U.S. that forces Apple to relax its rules in the App Store, Zuckerberg made an ironic comment: “Tim has had a bad week. I don’t want to add more, but I appreciate Sundar.”
Zuckerberg criticizes Apple and praises Google at the Stripe Sessions 2025
This exchange highlights the tensions that exist in the field of application platforms. Although both Apple and Google have faced criticism for their market policies, Epic Games’ frustration also extends to Google due to its anti-direction restrictions and a series of ongoing antitrust battles. However, Zuckerberg seems to be seizing the moment to emphasize a notable shift in the dynamics between these companies.
The recent situation benefits Stripe, which is seeing an increase in its popularity among developers who prefer its payment processing solutions, especially after Apple is forced to allow out-of-app purchases without commissions. This could drastically change the way developers interact with their platforms.
On the other hand, Zuckerberg has shared a troubling perspective on artificial intelligence, suggesting that it could be the answer to problems of isolation and lack of friendships. Meta’s vision, which includes holograms and artificial intelligence friends, has sparked criticism, as many suggest that the real solution lies in reconnecting with lost friends and fostering genuine human interactions in public places.
As a popular comment on social media points out, instead of relying on technology to fill the void of social relationships, it is advisable to go out, explore new places, and enjoy life outside of screens.
The highly anticipated Xbox Games Showcase event will return on June 8 with news about a variety of games, both from internal studios and external partners. This year, the event will take on a double presentation format, similar to the showcases of 2023 and 2024, starting with the general Showcase and continuing with a live segment dedicated to The Outer Worlds 2. The stream is scheduled for 10 am PT and will be available on platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook. The focus will be on the upcoming game from Obsidian, The Outer Worlds 2, a sequel to the acclaimed sci-fi RPG developed […]
The highly anticipated Xbox Games Showcase event will return on June 8 with news about a variety of games, both from internal studios and external partners. This year, the event will take on a double presentation format, similar to the showcases of 2023 and 2024, starting with the general Showcase and continuing with a live segment dedicated to The Outer Worlds 2. The broadcast is scheduled for 10 am PT and will be available on platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook.
The focus will be on Obsidian’s next game
The Outer Worlds 2, sequel to the acclaimed sci-fi RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment, promises to be one of the highlights of the presentation. The sequel, which is set to be released in 2025, is expected to offer an expanded and improved gaming experience while staying true to the formula that made the original a success. In this special event called The Outer Worlds 2 Direct, the developers will share news about gameplay, additional details, and insights directly from the team behind the game.
In addition to The Outer Worlds 2, announcements about other important Microsoft titles are anticipated, including Clockwork Revolution, Gears of War: E-Day, and the reboot of Perfect Dark. Although no revelations about The Elder Scrolls 6 are expected, some optimists might fuel hope that something about this title or even a remaster of Oblivion will be shared, although these are still just rumors.
The gaming community is eager to discover what surprises will be unveiled at this event, which has transcended beyond the simple presentation of games, becoming a crucial meeting point for fans of the video game industry. The transition to a bright future in 2025 is closer than ever.
There are concerns in the video game industry about the leak of important titles before their release, as has recently happened with Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This highly anticipated game has been the subject of comments following reports indicating that some physical copies have reached the hands of players, who attempted to share gameplay on streaming platforms. However, leaks are difficult to control for companies like Ubisoft, raising questions about the security of their releases. Physical copies of the game have reached the hands of anonymous players. In recent hours, it has been confirmed that certain physical editions […]
There are concerns in the video game industry about the leaking of important titles before their release, as has recently happened with Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This highly anticipated game has been the subject of comments following reports indicating that some physical copies have reached the hands of players, who attempted to share gameplay on streaming platforms. However, leaks are difficult to control for companies like Ubisoft, raising questions about the security of their releases.
Physical copies of the game have reached the hands of anonymous players
In recent hours, it has been confirmed that certain physical editions of the game could be purchased through the Facebook Marketplace, although now they all seem to have disappeared. This raises the possibility that it is a hoax, a common situation that often occurs in the digital environment when rumors and speculations circulate about highly anticipated releases.
Historically, the industry has faced challenges in preventing important titles from being compromised before their debut. Despite various security measures being implemented, leaks continue to be a recurring problem, especially when it comes to physical copies that are in circulation. This situation creates unease among developers, as players could experience the game’s content before its official release date, scheduled for March 20.
Additionally, it is anticipated that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will require a significant patch before its release. This suggests that the physical versions being distributed do not represent the final experience that players will be able to enjoy. It is reasonable to speculate that the disc version may be far from the definitive one, raising concerns about the quality of the product that will reach stores.
Meta, the company owned by Mark Zuckerberg that was formerly known as Facebook, is facing serious accusations in the Kadrey case against the company, where it is accused of using copyrighted works to train artificial intelligence models. Recent revelations have highlighted the systematic nature of these activities, with evidence suggesting massive downloads of books from platforms like Z-Library and LibGen, reaching a total of 81.7 terabytes of data. Court documents have revealed internal emails showing Meta employees’ awareness of the illegality of their […]
Meta, the company of Mark Zuckerberg that was previously called Facebook, is facing serious accusations in the Kadrey case against the company, in which it is accused of using copyrighted works to train artificial intelligence models.
Recent revelations have highlighted the systematic nature of these activities, with evidence suggesting massive downloads of books from platforms like Z-Library and LibGen, reaching a total of 81.7 terabytes of data.
Judicial documents have revealed internal emails that demonstrate Meta employees’ awareness of the illegality of their actions.
New filing: "Kadrey v. Meta (Book authors sue over LLaMa training)" Doc #418: Letter Brief
Meta has been stealing content for years to train its AI
In October 2022, employee Melanie Kambadur expressed her doubts about the ethics of downloading books using torrents from a corporate computer. Later, in April 2023, Nikolay Bashlykov, a project manager, was cautious about using the corporate network for these downloads, suggesting that it could involve legal risks.
Despite these questions, Meta has filed a motion to dismiss the allegations, arguing that there is no concrete evidence that its employees have downloaded material illegally.
However, the information revealed suggests that among the 81.7 terabytes of downloaded data, at least 35.7 terabytes include books from unauthorized digital libraries.
The industry seems to be normalizing these copyright violations under the concept of “fair use,” an argument that has been widely questioned in the context of AI growth.
However, while “fair use” allows for the limited use of protected material, the constant reports of copyright violations in the field of generative AI suggest that this justification is losing relevance.
Zuckerberg is betting everything on AI. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has announced its intention to invest 62 billion euros in 2025 to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. This decision aims to strengthen its position in a competitive market where rivals like OpenAI and Google are also making multi-billion investments, with Microsoft planning to spend nearly 80 billion euros and Amazon more than 70 billion euros in the same area. With this investment, Meta plans to build data centers exceeding 2 gigawatts, large enough to supply a significant part of Manhattan. The company also […]
Zuckerberg is betting everything on AI. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has announced its intention to invest 62 billion euros in 2025 to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. This decision aims to strengthen its position in a competitive market where rivals like OpenAI and Google are also making multi-billion investments, with Microsoft planning to spend nearly 80 billion euros and Amazon more than 70 billion euros in the same area.
With this investment, Meta plans to build data centers exceeding 2 gigawatts, large enough to supply a significant part of Manhattan. The company also aims to end the year with more than 1.3 million graphics processors and increase its information capacity by an additional gigawatt by 2025. This expansion is particularly relevant following the announcement of the Stargate initiative, in which OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle will invest 500 billion euros in AI infrastructure in the United States.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, expects the company’s AI assistant to be available to more than 1 billion people by 2025, thus surpassing the 600 million monthly active users reported last year. This ambition is supported by the development of key tools, such as its AI chatbot and Ray-Ban smart glasses. Additionally, Meta has adopted an open-source approach, allowing both consumers and businesses to use its Llama models for free.
A smartphone with Facebook’s logo is seen in front of displayed Facebook’s new rebrand logo Meta in this illustration taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
The announcement of the investment has received a positive response in the market; Meta’s shares grew by 1% following the revelation, suggesting a favorable perception of its strategies in the AI field. However, it is important to remember that, despite these initiatives, Meta has faced criticism and challenges recently, especially in the realm of virtual reality, an area that Zuckerberg had strongly bet on.
