Meta Platforms

Meta has blocked Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's Facebook page and his campaign advertisements, according to reports circulating two weeks ahead of Brazil's election. The move, if confirmed, would cut a sitting president off a major campaign channel at a critical moment. Reactions online are focused on the timing and on questions of platform power over political speech during an election period.

A German court has ruled that Meta can be held liable for fraudulent advertisements that ran on Facebook and Instagram, a decision with potentially far-reaching consequences for platform accountability across Europe. Commentators are weighing whether the ruling obliges platforms to screen advertiser identities and how it may interact with obligations under the EU's Digital Services Act.

YouTube, TikTok and Meta have all rejected paid advertising for Alex Gibney's documentary 'Musk', which Bleecker Street releases on October 9. The platforms cited policies against 'political' content, while X has declined to respond to the distributor's inquiries at all. Bleecker Street is appealing the rejections. The refusal to promote a film about Elon Musk across the major platforms, including the one he owns, has drawn attention to questions about platform gatekeeping.

Meta has blocked Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's Facebook page and his campaign's paid advertising, with the action coming just two weeks before Brazil's election. The move affects the sitting president's ability to reach voters on one of the country's largest social platforms. Details on Meta's stated reason for the suspension have not been made broadly available, and reaction is still developing ahead of the vote.

YouTube and Meta have reversed their earlier decisions and will now accept advertising for the 'Musk' trailer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The shift means promotional material for the film can run on both major digital platforms, and the reversal is drawing attention as a notable about-face by two of the biggest players in online advertising.

Meta says it will now accept advertisements for a documentary about Elon Musk, reversing an earlier refusal. The decision, reported by TechCrunch, matters because ad rejections involving Musk draw scrutiny of Meta's content moderation and platform policies. Critics and supporters of the company are weighing in on whether the reversal reflects public pressure or an internal policy correction.

Meta is presenting artificial intelligence as a way to address a long-standing trust problem with its platforms, arguing that public concerns about the company are often misunderstood. The move comes as scrutiny of social media companies' handling of misinformation, privacy and content moderation remains intense.

The Saudi Central Bank has increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The disclosure that a major sovereign institution is adding to its position in the US tech giant is drawing attention from investors tracking Gulf state involvement in American equities and broader institutional interest in Big Tech stocks.

Meta and YouTube have reversed course and will now run advertising for the documentary about Elon Musk, according to a report by TechCrunch. The platforms had previously declined to carry ads promoting the film, a decision that drew criticism from the filmmakers and their supporters. The update was shared by Flipboard's Culture Desk, and discussion has centred on whether the earlier refusals amounted to censorship of a documentary about one of tech's most polarising figures.

Amazon has blocked Meta's Muse AI shopping agent, preventing the tool from accessing Amazon's shopping platform. The move signals a standoff between two tech giants over whether third-party AI agents should be allowed to browse, compare and purchase goods on Amazon's behalf. It raises questions about who controls customer access to major retail sites as AI shopping assistants multiply.

Investors and analysts are weighing whether AI-driven commerce could significantly alter Meta's business model. The discussion, picked up in financial coverage, focuses on how artificial intelligence might change the way Meta monetizes its platforms beyond digital advertising, its core revenue source. No concrete company announcement accompanies the debate, so the scale and timing of any shift remain speculative.

A report from The Verge suggests that Googlebooks may be the real deal, drawing attention across tech circles. The item touches on themes spanning Google's book platform alongside Meta Ray-Ban audio control, Resonant and the Microsoft Surface mouse, hinting at a broader discussion about audio control technology. Engagement so far is modest, but the technology-focused audience is taking note of the claim.