[Meta](https://www.fastcompany.com/91190917/restarts-plans-to-train-ai-with-uk-user-data-facebook-instagram-content-social-media-activity) said it’s banning the Russia state media organization from its social media platforms, alleging that the outlets used deceptive tactics to amplify Moscow’s propaganda. The announcement drew a rebuke from the Kremlin on Tuesday. The company, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, said late Monday that it will roll out the ban over the next few days in an escalation of its [efforts to counter Russia’s covert influence operations](https://www.fastcompany.com/90725896/meta-will-expand-lock-your-profile-protections-to-russian-facebook-users). “After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets: Rossiya Segodnya, RT, and other related entities are now banned from our apps globally for foreign interference activity,” Meta said in a prepared statement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov lashed out, saying that “such selective actions against Russian media are unacceptable,” and that “Meta with these actions are discrediting themselves. “We have an extremely negative attitude towards this. And this, of course, complicates the prospects for normalizing our relations with Meta,” Peskov told reporters during his daily conference call. RT, formerly known as Russia Today, and Russia Segodnya, also denounced the move. “It’s cute how there’s a competition in the West—who can try to spank RT the hardest, in order to make themselves look better,” RT said in a release. Expand to continue reading ↓

175131917 story [](//tech.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=facebook)[](//tech.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=technology) Posted by msmash on Wednesday September 25, 2024 @02:02PM from the pushing-the-limits dept. Meta [unveiled prototype AR glasses codenamed Orion](https://www.theverge.com/24253908/meta-orion-ar-glasses-demo-mark-zuckerberg-interview) on Wednesday, featuring a 70-degree field of view, Micro LED projectors, and silicon carbide lenses that beam graphics directly into the wearer's eyes. In an interview with The Verge, CEO Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated the device's capabilities, including ingredient recognition, holographic gaming, and video calling, controlled by a neural wristband that interprets hand gestures through electromyography. Despite technological advances, Meta has shelved Orion's commercial release, citing manufacturing complexities and costs reaching $10,000 per unit, primarily due to difficulties in producing the silicon carbide lenses. The company now aims to launch a refined, more affordable version in coming years, with executives hinting at a price comparable to high-end smartphones and laptops. Zuckerberg views AR glasses as critical to Meta's future, potentially freeing the company from its reliance on smartphone platforms controlled by Apple and Google. The push into AR hardware comes as tech giants and startups intensify competition in the space, with Apple launching Vision Pro and Google partnering with Magic Leap and Samsung on headset development.

Facebook owner [Meta](https://www.fastcompany.com/91211773/meta-platforms-2024-layoffs-reality-labs-instagram-whatsapp-year-of-efficiency) said on Friday it was releasing a batch of new [AI](https://www.fastcompany.com/91206477/meta-ai-chatbot-brazil-uk-chatgpt) models from its research division, including a “Self-Taught Evaluator” that may offer a path toward less human involvement in the AI development process. The release follows Meta’s introduction of the tool in an August paper, which detailed how it relies upon the same “chain of thought” technique used by OpenAI’s recently released o1 models to get it to make reliable judgments about models’ responses. That technique involves breaking down complex problems into smaller logical steps and appears to improve the accuracy of responses on challenging problems in subjects like science, coding and math. Meta’s researchers used entirely AI-generated data to train the evaluator model, eliminating human input at that stage as well. The ability to use AI to evaluate AI reliably offers a glimpse at a possible pathway toward building autonomous AI agents that can learn from their own mistakes, two of the Meta researchers behind the project told Reuters. Many in the AI field envision such agents as digital assistants intelligent enough to carry out a vast array of tasks without human intervention. Self-improving models could cut out the need for an often expensive and inefficient process used today called Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback, which requires input from human annotators who must have specialized expertise to label data accurately and verify that answers to complex math and writing queries are correct. Expand to continue reading ↓

 Michael Hunter, an Atlanta-based real estate marketing professional and Apple ([AAPL](https://qz.com/quote/AAPL)) power user, has watched Apple’s new Apple Intelligence features evolve from promising to problematic. After a month with iOS 18.1's early release through his developer account, Hunter was impressed by the system’s enhanced Siri capabilities and responsiveness. [Read More](https://qz.com/apple-intelligence-ai-iphone-beta-features-siri-users-1851684957)

[BABA+1.03%](https://qz.com/quote/BABA)[META+0.60%](https://qz.com/quote/META)[NVDA\-5.05%](https://qz.com/quote/NVDA) Days after Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek sparked a [global tech stock sell-off](https://qz.com/nasdaq-nvidia-tech-stocks-deepseek-ai-djia-sp500-1851748172?_gl=1*10076yc*_ga*MjMyMTcyODYuMTcwNzE2NTQ5Mg..*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczODE2NjQ1OS40OTkuMS4xNzM4MTY4MjY1LjIxLjAuMA..), a homegrown rival said its new AI model performed even better. Alibaba Cloud ([BABA+1.03%](https://qz.com/quote/BABA)) released an upgraded version of its [flagship AI model, Qwen2.5-Max](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/hP-r8h-LliFUPYKbd3lkUQ), that performed better than top open-source competitors, including DeepSeek’s V3 model and Meta’s ([META+0.60%](https://qz.com/quote/META)) Llama 3.1 model on various benchmarks, according to [results](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/hP-r8h-LliFUPYKbd3lkUQ) published by the firm on WeChat. The cloud computing subsidiary of Alibaba Group also found its Qwen2.5-Max showed comparable performance to OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet — both closed-source models. The Chinese firm said its AI model “has demonstrated world-leading model performance in mainstream authoritative benchmarks,” including the Massive Multitask Language Understanding (MMLU), which evaluates general knowledge, and LiveCodeBench, which tests coding skills. The Qwen2.5-Max announcement follows DeepSeek’s launch of its [first-generation reasoning models, DeepSeek-R1](https://qz.com/china-ai-startup-deepseek-r1-v3-openai-reasoning-model-1851748222), last week, which demonstrated comparable performance to OpenAI’s reasoning models, O1-mini and O1, on several industry benchmarks, according to its [technical paper](https://api-docs.deepseek.com/news/news250120). The release of DeepSeek-R1 prompted Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and S&P 500 futures [to fall](https://qz.com/nasdaq-nvidia-tech-stocks-deepseek-ai-djia-sp500-1851748172?_gl=1*10076yc*_ga*MjMyMTcyODYuMTcwNzE2NTQ5Mg..*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczODE2NjQ1OS40OTkuMS4xNzM4MTY4MjY1LjIxLjAuMA..) Monday morning. Nvidia’s ([NVDA\-5.05%](https://qz.com/quote/NVDA)) shares [plunged 17%](https://qz.com/nvidia-deepseek-r1-ai-model-chips-stock-rout-china-us-1851748667?_gl=1*ne4vve*_ga*MjMyMTcyODYuMTcwNzE2NTQ5Mg..*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczODE2NjQ1OS40OTkuMS4xNzM4MTY4MjY1LjIxLjAuMA..), wiping out nearly $600 billion in value — a record loss for a U.S. company. Investors were spooked by the DeepSeek-R1 launch, which comes after the December release of DeepSeek-V3. While Alibaba Cloud hasn’t disclosed its development costs, DeepSeek’s [claim that it built its model](https://github.com/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V3/blob/main/DeepSeek_V3.pdf) for just $5.6 million using Nvidia’s reduced-capability graphics processing units has caught the market’s attention, challenging assumptions about the [massive investments needed for AI development](https://qz.com/stargate-ai-infrastructure-data-center-trump-openai-1851744873). According to the technical paper, DeepSeek used a cluster of just under 2,050 Nvidia H800 chips for training its V3 model — a less powerful version of the chipmaker’s H100 that it is allowed to sell to Chinese firms under U.S. chip restrictions. The cluster is also much smaller than the [tens of thousands of chips](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/supercharging-llama-3-1-across-nvidia-platforms) U.S. firms are using to train similarly-sized models. DeepSeek’s release has called [Big Tech’s tens of billions in spending on AI](https://qz.com/tech-earnings-meta-microsoft-apple-deepseek-ai-nvidia-1851749011?_gl=1*1uj6qzz*_ga*MjMyMTcyODYuMTcwNzE2NTQ5Mg..*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTczODE2NjQ1OS40OTkuMS4xNzM4MTY3NDY5LjYwLjAuMA..) into question ahead of a slate of earnings results, as well as the effectiveness of U.S. efforts to curb advanced chips from entering the country.

Meta ([META\-4.64%](https://qz.com/quote/META)) is rolling out community notes on March 18, taking a page from the playbook of Elon Musk’s X. The incoming feature will ask users to fact-check or clarify claims in popular posts, marking a departure from Meta’s [former fact-checking system](https://www.facebook.com/journalismproject/programs/third-party-fact-checking/selecting-partners), which relied on fact-checking experts. “We won’t be reinventing the wheel. Initially we will use X’s open-source algorithm as the basis of our rating system,” Meta said in a [press release](https://about.fb.com/news/2025/03/testing-begins-community-notes-facebook-instagram-threads/) on Thursday. Twitter introduced community notes under the name Birdwatch in 2021, well before Musk bought the service and rebranded it as X. Users on X already rank other users’ notes, and the most popular response appears directly below posts. Meta said it will launch its similar feature on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, but only within the United States for now. The company eventually intends to roll out the new system globally. Meta added that user-submitted notes won’t actually appear beneath posts until it thinks its system is working properly. Meta first announced that it would retire its third-party fact-checking program in January. At the time, CEO [Mark Zuckerberg said](https://qz.com/meta-fact-check-elon-musk-trump-x-community-notes-1851733906?_gl=1*15p8iii*_ga*MzUxNzY2NjAwLjE3MjAwMTcyMjA.*_ga_V4QNJTT5L0*MTc0MTg3NzMyOS4yMTkuMS4xNzQxODgwODExLjYwLjAuMA..) that the company would replace it with community notes, similar to X, without giving much detail. Meta’s third-party fact-checking program started in 2016, shortly after President Donald Trump won his first election. At the time, Facebook faced criticism for failing to catch election-related misinformation on the platform, including disinformation campaigns led by foreign governments. “We expect Community Notes to be less biased than the third party fact checking program it replaces, and to operate at a greater scale when it is fully up and running,” the company said in the press release, saying the experts in the earlier fact-checking program had political biases that affected their judgement. “Community Notes allow more people with more perspectives to add context to more types of content, and because publishing a note requires agreement between different people, we believe it will be less prone to bias,” Meta said. Separately, Zuckerberg has said the change could also mean that Meta is “going to catch less bad stuff,” per [ABC](https://abcnews.go.com/US/why-did-meta-remove-fact-checkers-experts-explain/story?id=117417445). Meta’s community notes also won’t have penalties associated with them. Under the earlier system, posts that received third-party fact-checking intervention were shown less often on people’s feeds, due to them potentially harboring false and harmful information. That won’t be the case with posts that receive community notes. But X’s crowd-sourced fact-checking has also been deemed ill-equipped for handling misinformation. [Reports](https://apnews.com/article/x-musk-twitter-misinformation-ccdh-0fa4fec0f703369b93be248461e8005d) have found that accurate notes on misleading posts were not displayed 100% of the time, and even when they were, the original post got significantly more views than the correcting note. Meta shared that around 200,000 users have signed up to become Community Notes contributors so far across all three apps, and the waitlist is still open for those who wish to take part. The feature will be available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Portuguese to start before expanding to other languages with time.

Meta has expanded both the feature set and availability of its Ray-Ban smart glasses. Notable updates [include live translation with offline support](https://www.theverge.com/news/654387/meta-smart-glasses-ray-ban-live-translation-ai) through downloadable language packs, the ability to send messages and make calls via Instagram, and conversations with Meta AI based on real-time visual context. The Verge reports: _Live translation was first teased at Meta Connect 2024 last October, and saw a limited rollout through Meta's Early Access Program in select countries last December. Starting today it's getting a wider rollout to all the markets where the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are available. You can hold a conversation with someone who speaks English, French, Italian, or Spanish, and hear a real-time translation through the smart glasses in your preferred language. If you download a language pack in advance, you can use the live translations feature without Wi-Fi or access to a cellular network, making it more convenient to use while traveling abroad. Meta also highlighted a few other features that are still enroute or getting an expanded release. Live AI, which allows the Meta AI smart assistant to continuously see what you do for more natural conversations is now "coming soon to general availability in the US and Canada." The ability to "send and receive direct messages, photos, audio calls, and video calls from Instagram on your glasses," similar to functionality already available through WhatsApp, Messenger, and iOS and Android's native messaging apps, is coming soon as well. Access to music apps like Spotify, Amazon Music, Shazam, and Apple Music is starting to expand beyond the US and Canada, Meta says. However, asking Meta AI to play music, or for more information about what you're listening to, will still only be available to those with their "default language is set to English." _

Meta ([META+0.81%](https://qz.com/quote/META)) [announced](https://about.fb.com/news/2025/04/introducing-meta-ai-app-new-way-access-ai-assistant/) the launch of its own “social” AI app on Tuesday as it tries to challenge [ChatGPT’s market dominance](https://qz.com/open-ai-sam-altman-chatgpt-gpt4-please-thank-you-1851777047). The app, which expands on the AI already integrated into Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, is centered around voice conversations, with the idea that the AI will become familiar with who you are. “Meta AI is built to get to know you, so its answers are more helpful,” the company said in its press release. “It’s easy to talk to, so it’s more seamless and natural to interact with.” [Meta](https://qz.com/meta-q1-2025-earnings-wall-street-analysts-ads-ai-llama-1851778147) described its AI as “social,” highlighting its ability to show you posts from friends you care about. And the app has a “Discover” feed where people can share how they are using Meta AI. The app will also be a companion to Meta’s AI glasses, so users “can pick up where you left off from anywhere you are.” “We built a new thing for you,” [Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg](https://qz.com/meta-ftc-antitrust-trial-week-1-zuckerberg-1851776650) said in [a Reel posted to Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1194067775494747). “There are almost a billion people who are using Meta AI across an app, so we made a new standalone app.” Zuckerberg said it’s designed to be “your personal AI.” “This is the beginning of what is going to be a long journey,” he added. The app is built with Meta’s Llama 4 technology. Earlier this year, Zuckerberg said the tech giant is planning to [invest between $60 billion and $65 billion in capital expenditures](https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/pfbid0219ude255AKkmk4JAueXZeZ9zpjNYio2tBkd7bNmCaRbJ6iJaVVjypUgDg78CNdq5l) on AI in 2025. To power its AI plans, Zuckerberg said Meta is building a data center with a capacity of more than two gigawatts — a site that could cover a large part of Manhattan. The company plans to “significantly” grow its AI teams, he said, and has “the capital to continue investing in the years ahead.” _—Britney Nguyen contributed to this article._

[META\-2.36%](https://qz.com/quote/META)[MSFT\-0.92%](https://qz.com/quote/MSFT)[SBUX\-6.61%](https://qz.com/quote/SBUX)[V\-0.28%](https://qz.com/quote/V)[YUM+0.90%](https://qz.com/quote/YUM)  Markets were [slipping lower](https://qz.com/markets-mixed-signals-yum-visa-starbucks-big-tech-1851778414) ahead of Wednesday’s open, with S&P 500 futures down 0.7%, the Nasdaq down 1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average off about 0.2%. The [big week for earnings continues](https://qz.com/apple-amazon-meta-microsoft-earnings-stock-tech-tariffs-1851778348) with Microsoft ([MSFT\-0.92%](https://qz.com/quote/MSFT)) and Meta reporting after the bell, and investors digesting results from Visa, Starbucks, and others. Here are some stocks to watch today. Market awaits read from Big Tech -------------------------------- Bill Gates’ baby reports fiscal third-quarter results Wednesday after the bell, with investors looking for evidence that its [AI momentum and cloud strength](https://qz.com/msft-nasdaq-earnings-preview-week-of-april-28-1851778129) can withstand the macro turbulence and uncertainty brought on by President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is also set to report its first-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday. Analysts are [projecting](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/META/analysis/) EPS of about $5.22 on revenue of $41.35 billion, marking year-over-year increases of 11% and 13%. **Visa beats on earnings, market shrugs** ----------------------------------------- Visa ([V\-0.28%](https://qz.com/quote/V)) posted a [strong Q2](https://s1.q4cdn.com/050606653/files/doc_financials/2025/q2/Q2-2025-Earnings-Release_vF.pdf), with non-GAAP EPS up 10% to $2.76 and revenue rising 9% to $9.6 billion. Payments volume grew 8%, cross-border volume rose 13%, and the company announced a $30 billion buyback. Still, the stock barely moved premarket — perhaps because the beat was already baked in. Visa shares are up 25% in the last 12 months. **Starbucks stock sinks on slipping sales** ------------------------------------------- Starbucks ([SBUX\-6.61%](https://qz.com/quote/SBUX)) shares tumbled 8% after reporting a [rough quarter](https://s203.q4cdn.com/326826266/files/doc_financials/2025/q2/SBUX-3-30-2025-Exhibit-99-1.pdf). U.S. comparable sales dropped 2% on a 4% decline in transactions, while international operating income fell 7%. Overall EPS sank 50%. Executives blamed restructuring costs and bad weather, but flat China sales and shrinking foot traffic point to a broader consumer slowdown. Shares sank 9% premarket. **Yum and Mondelez buck the trend** ----------------------------------- Yum Brands ([YUM+0.90%](https://qz.com/quote/YUM)) delivered a [solid quarter](https://s2.q4cdn.com/890585342/files/doc_financials/2025/q1/Yum-Brands-1Q25-Earnings-Release.pdf): EPS rose 13% as strength at Taco Bell and KFC offset weakness at Pizza Hut. CEO David Gibbs credited Yum’s global reach, digital momentum, and a new AI partnership with Nvidia ([NVDA\-1.54%](https://qz.com/quote/NVDA)). Mondelez ([MDLZ+3.91%](https://qz.com/quote/MDLZ)) also posted [strong results](https://ir.mondelezinternational.com/news-releases/news-release-details/mondelez-international-reports-q1-2025-results), with organic revenue up 4.2% and EPS nearly 9% higher. Emerging markets drove growth, while North America held steady. Cookies and chocolate, it turns out, remain a resilient indulgence even as pricier café visits lose steam. **Travel demand stays afloat** ------------------------------ Booking Holdings ([BKNG+2.44%](https://qz.com/quote/BKNG)) beat [expectations](https://s201.q4cdn.com/865305287/files/doc_financials/2025/q1/BKNG-Quarterly-Earnings-Presentation-Q1-2025.pdf) with 8% revenue growth and a 7% increase in gross bookings. Alternative accommodations outpaced traditional hotels, and the company saw a big jump in flight bookings. The results stand in contrast to recent airline warnings, hinting that travelers may be shifting how — but not whether — they spend.

[META\-2.36%](https://qz.com/quote/META)[NWSA\-0.90%](https://qz.com/quote/NWSA)[GOOGL\-1.57%](https://qz.com/quote/GOOGL) Meta ([META\-2.36%](https://qz.com/quote/META)) reportedly has delayed the release of its latest artificial intelligence model, known internally as “Behemoth,” raising concerns among employees about the effectiveness and direction of the company’s massive AI investments. Engineers have struggled to improve the large-language model’s performance compared to earlier versions in the Llama model family, The Wall Street Journal ([NWSA\-0.90%](https://qz.com/quote/NWSA)) [reports](https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta-is-delaying-the-rollout-of-its-flagship-ai-model-f4b105f7). This has prompted internal debate about whether the upgrade is substantial enough to merit public release, sources told the Journal. Shares in Meta were down more than 2% by Thursday’s close. Initially set for an April debut during Meta’s first AI developer conference, Behemoth’s launch was pushed to June and potentially has been postponed until at least the fall. When Meta released two smaller Llama models [in April](https://qz.com/meta-ai-app-challenge-chatgpt-social-discovery-feed-1851778293), the company was praised for the speed with which it has caught up with rivals when it comes to developing its own generative AI tools. The company now faces increasing pressure to demonstrate meaningful progress with Behemoth and signal to Wall Street it can follow through with a return-on-investment. Meta has spent billions on AI development, with [plans for up to $65 billion](https://qz.com/meta-ai-app-challenge-chatgpt-social-discovery-feed-1851778293) in capital expenditures this year. Its stock price to earnings ratio is 25.05, [as of](https://ycharts.com/companies/META/pe_ratio) May 15, meaning investors are paying $25.05 for every $1 of earnings. Though Meta has publicly claimed Behemoth outperforms competing models such as OpenAI, Google ([GOOGL\-1.57%](https://qz.com/quote/GOOGL)), and Anthropic in some benchmarks, internal sources told the Journal that the model is facing significant training challenges, and its real-world performance may not live up to the company’s public claims. Meta’s AI journey began with its Fundamental AI Research Team, which developed the original Llama models in early 2023. However, 11 of the 14 authors of the initial Llama paper [have since left the company](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/inside-metas-ai-drama-internal-feuds-over-compute-power), and newer versions are being built by a different team. Controversy also arose in April when [it was revealed](https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.20879) that the model Meta submitted to a widely used AI chatbot leaderboard was not the same version released to the public. Meta later admitted it had optimized the submitted model specifically for the benchmark. Meta is not alone in facing delays, however. OpenAI’s next major model, GPT-5, has also been postponed, with the company instead rolling out an intermediate version called GPT-4.5. Anthropic has likewise delayed the release of Claude 3.5 Opus, a larger and more powerful AI model, though it said the release is imminent.

**[Has your data leaked on the dark web? Get your free dark web report now.](https://hubs.la/Q038lz530)** × 177533507 story [](//meta.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=ai)[ ](//meta.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=business)[](//meta.slashdot.org/index2.pl?fhfilter=meta) Posted by [BeauHD](https://www.linkedin.com/in/beauhd/) on Thursday May 15, 2025 @05:25PM from the change-of-plans dept. According to the [Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta-is-delaying-the-rollout-of-its-flagship-ai-model-f4b105f7?mod=hp_lead_pos1) _(paywalled),_ Meta is [delaying the release of its largest Llama 4 AI model](https://www.axios.com/2025/05/15/meta-behemoth-llama-scaling-delays), known as "Behemoth," over concerns that it may not be enough of an advance on previous models. "It's another indicator that the AI industry's scaling strategy -- 'just make everything bigger' -- could be hitting a wall," notes Axios. From the report: _The Journal says that Behemoth is now expected to be released in the fall or even later. It was originally scheduled to coincide with Meta's Llamacon event last month, then later postponed till June. It's also possible the company could speed up a more limited Behemoth release._

One of the most popular smartphone apps in the world has finally come to the iPad. Today, Meta has officially [released](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/whatsapp-messenger/id310633997?platform=ipad) WhatsApp for iPad. The release comes nearly 16 years after WhatsApp debuted on the iPhone and then went on to become the de facto messaging app for most of the world. WhatsApp debuted on the iPhone in 2009, and within just five years, that messaging app had become so popular that Facebook (now Meta) announced in 2014 that it was acquiring it for a staggering $19 billion. But the extraordinary sum Meta paid for WhatsApp seems to have been worth it. On Meta’s financial conference call on April 30, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that WhatsApp now has 3 billion monthly active users worldwide. That’s a billion more than the app had just five years earlier, in 2020, notes TechCrunch. Outside of the United States and China—where Apple’s iMessage and Tencent’s WeChat, respectively, dominate the messaging app market—WhatsApp is the preferred communication app for the rest of the world. It’s no wonder, then, that fans of the app have hoped it would come to Apple’s iPad ever since the tablet was introduced in 2010. Today, those hopes have finally been realized: Meta has released an updated WhatsApp app on Apple’s App Store that runs natively on both the iPhone and iPad. Based on the App Store listing images, WhatsApp for iPad supports many of the features of WhatsApp for iPhone, including messaging, calls, and app lock. To get WhatsApp for iPad, go to the App Store on your iPad and search for WhatsApp. You’ll now see the app show up in your search results. Simply click on the Get button to download the app (or the cloud download button if you previously downloaded the app to your iPhone). WhatsApp will then be installed on your iPad, and you’ll be ready to chat on your Apple tablet. You can check out the App Store listing for WhatsApp for iPad [here](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/whatsapp-messenger/id310633997?platform=ipad). Surprisingly, Meta has launched WhatsApp for iPad with little fanfare. As of the time of this writing, Meta has not published any announcement that WhatsApp is now available on the iPad. Even the release notes for the latest build of WhatsApp for iPhone don’t mention that the app now natively supports the iPad. (Meta uses a single binary for the iPhone and iPad versions of the app.) The only public comment Meta has given about WhatsApp for iPad was in a post on X yesterday. The official WhatsApp account on X replied with an eye emoji to a comment suggesting that the app should be released on the iPad. > 👀 [https://t.co/RWs0L40cBm](https://t.co/RWs0L40cBm) > > — WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) [May 26, 2025](https://twitter.com/WhatsApp/status/1927047493797192070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) Regardless of the lack of fanfare from Meta, WhatsApp and iPad fans will be happy that 15 years after Apple’s tablet debuted, and 16 years after the app debuted, it’s now usable on the iPad. _ The final deadline for Fast Company’s [Brands That Matter Awards](https://www.fastcompany.com/apply/brands-that-matter) is Friday, May 30, at 11:59 p.m. PT. [Apply today.](https://www.fastcompany.com/apply/brands-that-matter) _

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Record: _A German court has ruled that Meta must pay $5,900 to a German Facebook user who sued the platform for embedding tracking technology in third-party websites -- a ruling that could open the door to large fines down the road over data privacy violations relating to pixels and similar tools. The Regional Court of Leipzig in Germany ruled Friday that Meta tracking pixels and software development kits embedded in countless websites and apps [collect users' data without their consent and violate the continent's General Data Protection Regulation](https://therecord.media/german-court-meta-tracking-tech) (GDPR)._ _The ruling in favor of the plaintiff sets a precedent which the court acknowledged will allow countless other users to sue without "explicitly demonstrating individual damages," according to a Leipzig Regional Court [press release](https://www.medienservice.sachsen.de/medien/news/1088732%EF%BF%BC). "Every user is individually identifiable to Meta at all times as soon as they visit the third-party websites or use an app, even if they have not logged in via the Instagram and Facebook account," the press release said._ "This may very well be one of the most substantial rulings coming out of Europe this year," said Ronni K. Gothard Christiansen, the CEO of AesirX, a consultancy which helps businesses comply with data privacy laws. "$5,900 in damages for one visitor adds up quickly if you have tens of thousands of visitors, or even millions."

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Investing.com: _Meta's newly formed superintelligence lab is discussing potential changes to the company's artificial intelligence strategy that could represent a major shift for the social media giant. A small group of top members of the lab, including 28-year-old Alexandr Wang, Meta's new chief A.I. officer, talked last week about [abandoning the company's most powerful open source A.I. model, called Behemoth](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meta-superintelligence-lab-considers-shift-191103485.html), in favor of developing a closed model, according to a report in the [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/technology/meta-superintelligence-lab-ai.html), citing people familiar with the matter._ _Meta has traditionally open sourced its A.I. models, making the computer code public for other developers to build upon, and any shift toward a closed A.I. model would mark a significant philosophical change for Meta. Meta had completed training its Behemoth model by feeding in data to improve it, but delayed its release due to poor internal performance. After the company announced the formation of the superintelligence lab last month, teams working on the Behemoth model, which is considered a "frontier" model, stopped conducting new tests on it. The discussions within the superintelligence lab remain preliminary, and no decisions have been finalized. Any potential changes would require approval from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg._