The IRS sues Facebook for $9 billion
This one’s gonna hurt! The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has filed a lawsuit against Facebook for $9 billion, which it claims the social network owes in unpaid taxes. At the heart of the case is a 2010 deal between Facebook and an Irish subsidiary, during which the IRS alleges that Facebook undervalued the intellectual property it sold to the subsidiary – dodging billions in taxes.
Workplace from Facebook gets an upgrade
Facebook has added some shiny new insights tools to the administrator panel of its enterprise platform, Workplace from Facebook. Admins on the platform will now have access to five tabs – People, Content, Groups, Posts, and Connections – to help them better understand how employees are using the platform across their organisation. Facebook has also opened The Workplace Academy, a new training hub (in eight languages) for all Workplace users.
Twitter lets you add new Tweets to old Threads
Twitter has introduced a feature that will allow you to add new Tweets to old Threads in just a few clicks. It’s not quite the edit button that Twitter fans have been crying out for, but it’s something at least.
Twitter acquires Chroma Labs
In a move that could see Stories-style content come to Twitter, the social network has acquired Chroma Labs – the owners of Chroma Stories, which provides stylish templates and frames for Stories content. While the exact details of the deal have yet to be revealed, Twitter has confirmed that it will be shutting down Chroma Stories and that several members of the Chroma Labs team will be joining its product, design and engineering teams.
TikTok rolls out Parent Safety Mode TikTok confirmed that it is rolling out a Parent Safety Mode which will allow parents to control how long their children can spend on the platform. The new controls will also give parents the option to restrict or turn off the direct message functionality and select the type of content children can see while using the app. Family Safety Mode is currently available in the UK, but it will roll out to other markets in the coming weeks.
Bank of England launches new £20 note with Snapchat AR Lens
For the launch of the design for the new polymer £20 note, the Bank of England has teamed up with Snapchat, The National Gallery and Tate Britain to create an AR Lens that brings JMW Turner’s famous paintings to life. Once activated, both images that appear on the note – Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire and his self-portrait – will come to life in full colour. The activation is being supported by instillations at both The National Gallery and Tate Britain.
