Facebook will soon allow people on the social media platform to send direct messages to Instagram users and vice versa, the social media giant said in a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/new-messaging-features-for-instagram/" target="_blank">blog post</a>, signaling the first step in the company’s plan to unify messaging systems across all of its platforms, which also includes WhatsApp.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



Instagram’s inbuilt instant messenger will also be updated to include a few additions including selfie stickers, custom backgrounds, and disappearing messages.



The feature will be open to all users by default but Instagram users who may want to keep their chats separate from Facebook may choose to opt-out of the update altogether, although this means they will also not receive all the other new features.



It is unclear as to when the cross-platform messaging will become available to all users, but CNN&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/30/tech/instagram-messenger-messaging/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;that the feature is presently being “tested in select markets and will expand globally in the coming months.”



The cross-platform integration presently excludes Facebook-owned messaging behemoth WhatsApp which has over 2 billion users worldwide.



Unlike Facebook Messenger and Instagram’s direct messages, WhatsApp features end-to-end encryption that prevents third parties including government and law enforcement from peering into messages in transit.



In 2019, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had&nbsp;<a href="http://facebook.com/notes/mark-zuckerberg/a-privacy-focused-vision-for-social-networking/10156700570096634/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outlined</a>&nbsp;a plan that would see his company pivot away from public communications to focus on encrypted private messaging.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



Responding to a question on WhatsApp integration on Twitter, Facebook’s EMEA Technology Communications Manager Alexandru Voica&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/alexvoica/status/1311287329701724170" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a>, “Right now, we are focused on cross-app communications Messenger and Instagram. We are still determining how cross-app communications will work with WhatsApp. WhatsApp will continue to remain a separate, end-to-end encrypted app at this time.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CHIEF CRITIC</h4>



After Zuckerberg announced his company’s intention to integrate its service, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/opinion/sunday/chris-hughes-facebook-zuckerberg.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a>&nbsp;for the&nbsp;New York Times, calling for Facebook to be broken up. Arguing that Facebook has become a monopoly which in turn has limited competition and held back innovation, Hughes wrote, “Mark’s influence is staggering, far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government. He controls three core communications platforms — Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — that billions of people use every day.” He then called on the government to move quickly to split Facebook from Instagram and WhatsApp adding, “Until recently, WhatsApp and Instagram were administered as independent platforms inside the parent company, so that should make the process easier. But time is of the essence: Facebook is working quickly to integrate the three, which would make it harder for the F.T.C. to split them up.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h4>



On Tuesday, Facebook&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/privacy-matters-accounts-center/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;that it was testing a unified ‘Accounts Centre’ that would control login and other activity on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger from a single platform. Once operational this will allow users to log into all three of the apps from a single platform and cross-post content. “Whether you want to share a story to Instagram and Facebook at the same time, or use your Facebook account to log into Instagram, setting up your Accounts Center will allow you to control connected experiences that work across our apps,” Facebook said in its blog post.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



Lawmakers around the world have <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/29/facebooks-plan-to-merge-messaging-services-could-be-barred-in-the-eu.html" target="_blank">expressed concern</a> over Facebook’s plan to integrate its messaging platforms. The company is presently facing antitrust scrutiny in both the U.S. and the European Union. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://medium.com/@teamwarren/heres-how-we-can-break-up-big-tech-9ad9e0da324c" target="_blank">called</a> for the breaking up of big tech companies including Facebook. The Democratic presidential candidate <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://nypost.com/2019/05/13/joe-biden-says-hes-open-to-breaking-up-facebook/" target="_blank">Joe Biden</a> and his running mate <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://gizmodo.com/kamala-harris-says-we-need-to-seriously-take-a-look-at-1834706259" target="_blank">Kamala Harris</a> have both said that the issue of breaking up Facebook is something that needs to be given a serious look. However, breaking the company up may become difficult if Facebook manages to merge all its services under a single umbrella.



-By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

INDIA-US-INTERNET-FACEBOOK

Facebook, Instagram Users Will Soon Be Able To Send Each Other Direct Messages

U.S. Supreme Court: Behind the Scenes

From Sheryl Sandberg To Tory Burch: Power Women Pay Tribute To Ruth Bader Ginsburg

As TikTok and Oracle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/oracle" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ORCL</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/oracle">-0.3%</a>&nbsp;work out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/08/27/walmart-joins-microsofts-bid-to-acquire-tiktoks-us-business/">an acquisition deal</a>, the social media company is also thinking about who will be its next CEO after its last chief, Kevin Mayer,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/08/27/tiktok-ceo-kevin-mayer-exits-as-company-faces-threat-of-ban-in-us/#794266db114c">departed&nbsp;</a>after only a few months.



One of the people in the running for the job is Instagram billionaire Kevin Systrom, who left Facebook in 2018,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/technology/tiktok-deal-revisions-trump-review.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a>&nbsp;a&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/new-york-times" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NYT</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/new-york-times">-1.2%</a>&nbsp;story. The discussions between Systrom and Tiktok are only in the early stages, the&nbsp;Times&nbsp;reports. TikTok could not be reached to comment for this story. A spokesperson for Systrom declined to comment.



TikTok’s divestiture from its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance very much remains a work in progress.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-17/oracle-bytedance-said-to-accept-new-treasury-terms-on-tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg&nbsp;</a>reported this afternoon that the U.S. Treasury department has tentatively approved a deal that would leave TikTok’s U.S. operations largely in the hands of American stakeholders, including Oracle. ByteDance still needs to get approval from President Trump by Sunday, the day when a Trump-issued executive order goes into effect that would effectively ban TikTok in the U.S.



Mayer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/05/20/inside-the-hunt-for-tiktoks-new-ceo-and-whats-next-for-the-worlds-hottest-app/#711472b5abb4">was seen</a>&nbsp;as a strong choice when his hiring was announced in May. He had spent years at Disney&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/walt-disney" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DIS</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/walt-disney">-0.1%</a>&nbsp;overseeing its M&amp;A deals and working on the launch of its streaming service, Disney+. But Mayer unexpectedly departed last month, saying he had not expected to be caught up in tensions between the U.S. government and China. Vanessa Pappas, TikTok’s general manager, has been serving as TikTok’s interim chief.



In Systrom, TikTok would get someone who has already created one social media giant—and someone immensely familiar with one of TikTok’s main rivals: Mark Zuckerberg. Systrom sold Instagram to Zuckerberg and Facebook in 2012 for almost $1 billion and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenchaykowski/2016/08/01/instagram-the-50-billion-grand-slam-driving-facebooks-future-the-forbes-cover-story/#3fdf40ee278f">then built it up</a>&nbsp;to over a half-billion users before leaving.



Zuckerberg and Facebook clearly see TikTok as a threat already. Instagram has rolled out a number of new features that copy TikTok, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/08/05/instagram-intensifies-battle-with-tiktok-as-influencers-ponder-their-options/">a short-form-video editing tool</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/08/19/instagram-reaches-for-more-of-tiktoks-magic-with-a-change-to-its-main-feed/">changed its main feed</a>&nbsp;to make it more like TikTok. In Washington, Zuckerberg&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-stoked-washingtons-fears-about-tiktok-11598223133" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;stressed to politicians that TikTok was a threat to American users; Trump and other Republicans have expressed worry that TikTok may mishandle user data to satisfy the Chinese government.



Add Systrom to the mix, and the battle between TikTok and Facebook becomes one of the most intriguing rivalries in the corporate world.



By Abram Brown,Forbes Staff

2019 SXSW Conference And Festival – Day 4

TikTok Reportedly Considering Instagram Billionaire Kevin Systrom For Vacant CEO Role

Facebook <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/introducing-facebook-campus/" target="_blank">launched</a> a new ‘Facebook Campus’ feature Thursday that aims to connect college students with their campus communities, returning the social network to its initial college-only roots as students across the country contend with virtual learning and decreased opportunities for face-to-face socializing amid the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h5>



Facebook Campus will be a dedicated section within the regular Facebook app, in which students can have separate Campus profiles from their regular Facebook profile and join school-specific groups and events, as well as access a campus directory and special chat rooms.



Students will need to use their college email as verification in order to join their school’s page.



The feature is rolling out to only 30 schools to begin with, including Brown University, California Institute of Technology, Duke University, Georgia State University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, Tufts University and the University of Pennsylvania.



Facebook was originally developed for college students — its name comes from the directories with headshots that some schools distributed to help students get to know each other — before the platform opened up to the general public in 2006.



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/introducing-facebook-campus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">post</a>&nbsp;announcing the new feature, Facebook specifically tied Facebook Campus’ launch to the rise of virtual learning amid the pandemic, noting that students being away from their colleges make it now “more important than ever” to “stay connected to college life.”



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h5>



994. That’s the number of U.S. colleges whose fall semesters are confirmed to be fully or primarily online, according to Davidson College’s&nbsp;<a href="https://collegecrisis.shinyapps.io/dashboard/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">College Crisis Initiative</a>, as compared with only 69 that are fully in person and 567 that are primarily in person.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h5>



School and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/09/07/reckless-and-reprehensible-frat-party-linked-to-coronavirus-outbreak-at-unh-here-are-the-latest-college-coronavirus-updates/#480c1c7bb3a0">university reopenings</a>&nbsp;have been a major issue as the Covid-19 pandemic has stretched into the fall, with schools either remaining virtual or facing the possibility of coronavirus outbreaks if they resume in-person classes. More than 40,000 cases of Covid-19 have already been reported among students, faculty and staff at colleges and universities in all 50 states, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/10/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html?utm_term=link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=2020-09-10T14%3A10%3A03&amp;utm_source=twCNN" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNN</a>, and some schools have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2020-08-19/universities-wave-the-white-flag-in-the-face-of-campus-coronavirus-outbreaks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">returned</a>&nbsp;to virtual learning amid new outbreaks. Decreased socialization among students has been an issue even when they’ve been allowed to return to campus, with schools&nbsp;<a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/08/21/colleges-point-fingers-students-partying-spreading-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">discouraging partying</a>—which has already been linked to Covid-19 outbreaks—and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nyu-suspends-over-20-students-for-violating-covid-rules/2604047/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suspending</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/uconn-students-evicted-dorms-holding-pandemic-party-schools-grapple-covid-n1237311" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evicting</a>&nbsp;students for holding or taking part in gatherings.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h5>



Facebook has typically been viewed as less popular among Generation Z compared with other social networks like Instagram and Snapchat; a 2019 Business Insider&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-loves-snapchat-instagram-and-youtube-social-media-2019-6#:~:text=It's%20no%20surprise%20that%20Gen%20Z%20likes%20to%20use%20social%20media.&amp;text=In%20a%20Business%20Insider%20survey,they%20use%20it%20every%20day." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">poll</a>&nbsp;found that only 34% of 13-21 year olds check Facebook daily, as compared with 65% who check Instagram (which is also owned by Facebook) and 51% who check Snapchat.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h5>



<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/introducing-facebook-campus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Introducing Facebook Campus</a>&nbsp;(Facebook Newsroom)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/09/07/reckless-and-reprehensible-frat-party-linked-to-coronavirus-outbreak-at-unh-here-are-the-latest-college-coronavirus-updates/#480c1c7bb3a0">‘Reckless’ And ‘Reprehensible’ Frat Party Linked To Coronavirus Outbreak At UNH: Here Are The Latest College Coronavirus Updates</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/08/17/outbreaks-hit-fraternities-sororities-and-dorms-as-college-parties-resume/#45cc58c12050">Outbreaks Hit Fraternities, Sororities And Dorms As College Parties Resume</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/heres-a-list-of-colleges-plans-for-reopening-in-the-fall/?bc_nonce=yrepzcfjygqcjbx59rhdtn&amp;cid=reg_wall_signup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Here’s Our List of Colleges’ Reopening Models</a>&nbsp;(Chronicle of Higher Education)



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/10/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html?utm_term=link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=2020-09-10T14%3A10%3A03&amp;utm_source=twCNN" target="_blank">Colleges in all 50 states report coronavirus cases as clusters linked to social gatherings grow</a> (CNN)



By Alison Durkee,Forbes Staff

Young business woman wearing a mask

Facebook Announces New Campus Pages To Connect College Students Amid Coronavirus

THE CHANGING FORTUNES OF THE WORLD’S RICHEST



After briefly becoming the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2020/08/31/elon-musk-100-billion-net-worth/#7d8e258880ed">fifth centibillionaire in the world</a> on Monday, August 31, Tesla CEO Elon Musk ended the week down $9.9 billion as tech companies — and their founders’ fortunes — took a hit.



While tech companies have largely been driving the stock market’s surge during the pandemic, heavyweights like Facebook and Amazon took a spill on Thursday and Friday during what some observers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/bd5804ef-94d0-45b4-9c2b-8fb7996ec5f6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">are calling a correction</a>. The S&amp;P 500 was down 2.3% for the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Index fell 1.8%. Tesla stock started to falter on Wednesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/02/teslas-largest-outside-shareholder-reduces-holding-citing-portfolio-restrictions.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">after news broke that</a>&nbsp;its largest outside shareholder, Scottish investment firm Ballie Gifford, reduced its stake in the company. The stock ended the week down 5.5%.&nbsp;



Even with the decline, Musk is four times wealthier than he was a year ago, with a net worth of $87.9 billion. He is currently the fifth richest person in the world, $5.5 billion ahead of Warren Buffett.



The richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, hit a milestone last week when he became the first person tracked by Forbes with a fortune that exceeded $200 billion. With Amazon shares worth 3% less than a week ago at the market close on Friday, Bezos’ fortune dropped  $5.8 billion to $193.5 billion. His ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott (net worth: $62.4 billion), is $2 billion poorer this week.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="425" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gettyimages-1148401100-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-46514" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gettyimages-1148401100-594x594-1.jpg 594w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gettyimages-1148401100-594x594-1-300x215.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 6, 2019. (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune fell $4 billion as Facebook shares dropped 3.7% in the past week. He’s been more vocal than ever before about political misinformation on the social media platform and announced steps to mitigate the problem. On Wednesday, he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, announced a&nbsp;<a href="https://gizmodo.com/zuckerberg-drops-300-million-to-support-u-s-elections-1844921516" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$300 million donation</a>&nbsp;to support voting infrastructure, such as protective equipment for poll workers and polling place rentals. On Thursday, he said that Facebook would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/09/03/facebook-will-block-new-political-ads-in-the-week-leading-up-to-election-day/#30873f0b7950">block new political ads</a>&nbsp;during the week before Election Day, and flag posts in which a candidate tries to claim a premature victory.&nbsp;



Quicken Loans cofounder Dan Gilbert had a chaotic week as shares of the online mortgage lender’s parent company, Rocket Companies, soared midweek ahead of the company’s first earnings report since it went public in August. Although <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.thestreet.com/investing/rocket-rkt-earnings-mortgage-initial-public-offering" target="_blank">it reported strong profits</a>, the stock corrected itself and ended the week down more than 13%. As of Friday, September 4, Gilbert is worth $51 billion — $7.3 billion less than last week, but nearly eight times richer than he was a year ago.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



HERE ARE THE BILLIONAIRES WHOSE FORTUNES FELL THE MOST THIS WEEK.



The net worth change is from close of markets Friday, August 28, to Friday, September 4.



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">1 | ELON MUSK</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$87.9 BILLION, DOWN $9.9 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH |&nbsp;TESLA



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">2 | DAN GILBERT</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$51 BILLION, DOWN $7.3 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | QUICKEN LOANS



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">3 | JEFF BEZOS</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$193.5 BILLION, DOWN&nbsp;$5.8 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES﻿



SOURCE OF WEALTH | AMAZON



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">4 |  STEVE BALLMER</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$72.9 BILLION, DOWN $4.1 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | MICROSOFT



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">5 | MARK ZUCKERBERG</h4>



NET WORTH | &nbsp;$103.8 BILLION, DOWN $4 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | FACEBOOK



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">6 | LARRY ELLISON</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$74.2 BILLION, DOWN $2.7 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | ORACLE



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">7 | AMANCIO ORTEGA</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$65.3 BILLION, DOWN $2.5 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;SPAIN



SOURCE OF WEALTH | ZARA



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">8 | MA HUATENG</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$57.5 BILLION, DOWN $2.3 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;CHINA



SOURCE OF WEALTH | TENCENT



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">9 | LARRY PAGE</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$70.6 BILLION, DOWN $2.2 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | GOOGLE



<h4 class="has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading">10 | SERGEY BRIN</h4>



NET WORTH |&nbsp;$68.7 BILLION, DOWN $2.1 BILLION



COUNTRY |&nbsp;UNITED STATES



SOURCE OF WEALTH | GOOGLE



-Ariel Shapiro, Forbes Staff

Key Speakers At The Satellite 2020 Conference

Elon Musk Down Nearly $10 Billion In One Week As Tech Stocks Plunge

Nearly a decade ago, Zuck’s college roommate became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire by moving fast and breaking things. Now Moskovitz is set to take his radically chiller cloud standout Asana — a software success story powered by patience and the pandemic — public.



At the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, upbeat synth music announces the arrival of Dustin Moskovitz. Clad in an untucked dark gray button-down, jeans and white sneakers, his beard closely cropped, he strides onstage with a microphone and presentation clicker before plunging into a rapid-fire overview of the new look and feel of Asana, his work-collaboration app.



The calendar says July 16, but Moskovitz isn’t at the museum that day. Conducted in the middle of a resurgence of the coronavirus in California, his keynote address, pretaped in an empty auditorium and streamed on YouTube, lasts all of five minutes. No matter: If anything, the lack of an audience is welcome to the low-key, low-profile CEO, who matter-of-factly lays out his vision of the future of work, Asana-style.



Moskovitz, 36, who is worth $14.2 billion, is best known as cofounder of Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg. He was the world’s youngest billionaire for a few years starting in 2011. But for the past dozen years since he left the high-flying social network, Moskovitz and his Asana cofounder, Justin Rosenstein, 37, have been lying low, quietly toiling behind the scenes to solve an age-old problem: how much effort we waste in the meta-work around work.



“We were just kind of shocked and frustrated at how much of our collective time was going toward trying to establish clarity and getting everyone on the same page,” Moskovitz says in a recent video call.



Today Asana’s software is used by employees at more than 75,000 companies including AT&amp;T, Google and NASA to help them take back control of their days by managing everything from writing a memo to planning an event. (Soon its AI-powered app will even set agendas and suggest ways to make workdays more efficient.)



Moskovitz took back his own control by steadfastly rejecting Silicon Valley’s hard-charging style. Once knee-deep in Facebook’s “move fast and break things” culture, Moskovitz has been careful to craft Asana in a more deliberate way. Wary of being another flash-in-the-pan unicorn, Asana has focused on long-term viability, with a decade-old rule not to boost its head count by more than double in any year.



Valued at $1.5 billion in November 2018, Asana operates without hype or splashy fundraises. That’s in stark contrast to its competition, which includes monday.com, a New York– and Tel Aviv–based team-management business recently valued at $2.7 billion, and Notion, a next-gen note-taking app worth $2 billion. Part of that is due to its self-described introverted CEO. Moskovitz admits he has agreed to speak at length with Forbes only because his PR execs promised he wouldn’t have to do any more interviews for the rest of the year.



“It takes time to build the snowball,” he says, refuting the notion that he was deliberately growing the business slowly. “The goal was to be fast, but fast in the long run, not fast in the short run. Now we’re getting to reap the rewards that we sowed.”



Asana is indeed picking up speed. All evidence points to a record year, thanks in part to Covid-19 and the way workplaces are changing. (The company declined to comment on any financials because it’s in a quiet period prior to an IPO, likely to happen this fall.) Traffic to its website is up an estimated 24% since February. In August, Asana disclosed revenue of $142.6 million for fiscal 2020, up 86% year-to-year, in a regulatory filing. Revenue for its most recent quarter ended April 30 was $47.7 million, up 70%. It’s enough to put Asana at No. 17 on this year’s Cloud 100, our annual ranking of the world’s top private cloud-computing companies, up from No. 41 a year ago.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-953899616-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47456" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-953899616-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-953899616-scaled-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-953899616-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-953899616-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-953899616-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-953899616-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Justin Rosenstein, Co-Founder, Asana on stage during day two of Collision 2018 at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Moskovitz was just 19 in 2004 when he helped start Facebook with his roommate, Zuckerberg, in their Harvard dorm. A year and a half later, he dropped out and moved to Silicon Valley with Zuck. He was a jaded 23 when, as head of engineering at one of the fastest-growing tech companies ever, he met Rosenstein, a hotshot one year older whom Facebook had poached from Google in early 2007. The son of a small-town Florida psychiatrist and teacher, Moskovitz was known at Facebook for feats of marathon coding, but otherwise preferred to hang in the background. A Bay Area native and Stanford graduate, Rosenstein was his perfect foil: a gregarious, artistic product whiz who had helped build Gmail’s popular chat service.&nbsp;



At the time, Moskovitz was spending his weekends and nights building a simple task manager for Facebook’s product team to track their projects, and Rosenstein revealed that he had tinkered on a similar internal tool at Google. Joining forces, they spent the next few months working full-time on Tasks, which spread across Facebook to include agendas, product management and even a bit of office equipment inventory tracking. Soon, they became certain that to properly build the tools they wanted, they needed to leave the Facebook nest. “We were pretty convinced that there would be something like Asana in the future, even if we weren’t the ones to build it,” Moskovitz says.&nbsp;



It wasn’t buzzy like a social network, or conceptually ambitious like rockets or artificial intelligence. But even hotshot space companies and disease-fighting nonprofits need to coordinate staff. Asana, which the avid yoga enthusiasts named for a Sanskrit word meaning&nbsp;alignment,&nbsp;could help them all. “It felt like an opportunity we couldn’t say no to,” Rosenstein says.&nbsp;



From a dingy office in the eastern part of San Francisco’s Mission district, Moskovitz and Rosenstein raised seed funding from a who’s-who of the Bay Area tech elite, including Facebook veterans Zuckerberg, Sean Parker and Peter Thiel. But privately, many were skeptical, says Moskovitz’s friend Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup. “It just didn’t seem like it was going to be big.” 



Freed from a startup’s typical fundraising pressures, Moskovitz and Rosenstein spent months coding and talking to potential customers before&nbsp;<a href="https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/11/facebook-co-founder-dustin-moskovitz-unveils-new-company-.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shipping</a>&nbsp;the first version of their product in November 2011. When they did, they kept it free for the first six months. The idea: Get users hooked, then upsell a premium version—the “freemium” playbook used to great effect by Dropbox and Zoom.&nbsp;



Asana introduced a paid version of its product in 2012 (it now charges $10.99 a month per person) but resisted hiring a large sales team, instead preferring to find customers largely through cheap search-engine optimization tactics and word of mouth. At Chicago-based online software marketplace G2, Asana got a toehold when a new chief marketing officer wanted to track his team’s traffic and revenue targets, then spread to its more than 250 employees worldwide. At the German heating-and-cooling company Viessmann, now one of its largest customers, Asana’s tools are used by more than 2,500 staffers, alongside Google’s suite of products. Corporate leadership uses it to map product launches. Such flexibility has been key to Asana’s success.&nbsp;



Internally, Moskovitz and Rosenstein took their time crafting their idealized corporate culture. They interviewed experts, brought in executive coaches and tapped a diversity-and-inclusion officer and a “head of people” over the years to get it just right. Moskovitz, who spent years studying Buddhism and leadership strategies, set up a company org chart with himself at the bottom, to represent the trunk of the company tree. Asana eschews traditional executive titles and instead makes people heads of a particular topic or business outcome. Moskovitz says it’s only right that a company focused on better teamwork invest in it as well: “We want to practice what we preach, figure out what’s best and export that.”&nbsp;



Along the way, Moskovitz leveled up as a leader, too. Known for his temper as a twenty-something at Facebook, he says he has learned not to agonize so much over setbacks. He invokes a saying from mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn: “You can’t stop the waves from coming, but you can learn to surf.” 



“We had a conversation five or six years ago about the idea that everyone has an internal age they’ve always been their whole life,” says Scott Phoenix, founder of Vicarious, an artificial general intelligence startup and Moskovitz’s only investment for which he serves as a board director. “I asked Dustin what his internal age was, and he said it was probably like 112.”&nbsp;



Moskovitz passed another test in 2019, when Rosenstein left day-to-day operations for a part-time role on the board of directors. Into that vacuum stepped Moskovitz, now not just the CEO but the sole face of Asana, too. His next big step is finally taking his company public. Asana filed its public S-1 on August 24; Moskovitz is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/asana-weeks-away-from-a-listing-projects-annual-revenue-growth-of-66" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;preparing for an investor roadshow as soon as the first week of September. Those close to Moskovitz say his plan to take it public is motivated by a desire to benefit employees and validate not his ego but Asana’s model of company building. It’s not as though Moskovitz needs the money. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard them speak about profits,” says Diana Chapman, a leadership coach who advises not just Moskovitz and his leadership team but also his mother, as well as his wife, Cari Tuna. (A former&nbsp;Wall Street Journal&nbsp;reporter, Tuna oversees philanthropic efforts for the couple, who have signed the Giving Pledge.) “With the wealth Dustin has gained, he takes [his responsibility to others] like a sacred task to do everything he can.”&nbsp;



Moskovitz says he finds it easier to get motivated to go to work these days, with many customers looking to Asana for support, than when the business was a fledgling startup a decade ago.



“If this problem wasn’t worth solving or wasn’t a viable business, I’d just stop,” he says. “Our mission is really well-suited for this moment, and we’re energized by the opportunity.”



-Alex Konrad, Forbes Staff

PORTUGAL-TECHNOLOGY-WEB-SUMMIT

The Anti-Facebook: 12 Years In, Facebook Cofounder Dustin Moskovitz’s Slow-Burn Second Act Asana Finally Has Its Moment

Facebook on Friday became the latest major tech company to criticize Apple for taking a 30% cut of app purchases, adding to growing criticism over what companies say are Apple’s unfair and anti-competitive App Store policies that amount to a “shakedown” of competitors.



KEY FACTS



Apple&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apple.com/ios/app-store/principles-practices/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">takes</a>&nbsp;a 30% cut of all app purchases and requires developers use Apple’s payments systems so it can also charge a fee for in-app purchases and subscriptions.



Facebook said Friday it asked Apple to reduce the 30% fee for a new feature letting small businesses charge users for online Facebook events, but Apple “dismissed” their requests and as a result small businesses will only be paid 70% from transactions on iPhones, the company said.



Facebook’s rebuke comes a day after Fortnite owner Epic Games sued both Apple and Google over the 30% fee and launched a public relations blitz against the tech giants with the hashtag #FreeFortnite, arguing the “tax” forces companies to increase prices in order to pay for the fee.



Music streaming service Spotifty last year&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.spotify.com/2019-03-13/consumers-and-innovators-win-on-a-level-playing-field/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed</a>&nbsp;a complaint with the European Union’s Antitrust Commission over what it called the “Apple Tax,” arguing that it can’t compete with Apple Music—which isn’t subject to the fee—if it has to raise prices to cover the charge.



Though Airbnb and ClassPass don’t normally have to pay the fee because the fee doesn’t apply to physical services outside their apps, they did have to start paying when they began offering virtual classes and information sessions during the pandemic,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/technology/apple-app-store-airbnb-classpass.html?action=click&amp;module=Top%20Stories&amp;pgtype=Homepage" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the&nbsp;New York Times, drawing complaints from both companies.&nbsp;



In June, Basecamp founder David Heinemeier Hansson called Apple’s fee a “shakedown” and a “ransom” after the company’s email app was rejected from the App Store because it used a different payments system,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/dhh/status/1273019513538314245?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">adding</a>&nbsp;that “Apple&#8217;s abusive behavior with the App Store has been an open secret in the developer community for years.”



CHIEF CRITIC



Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from&nbsp;Forbes, but CEO Tim Cook defended the company’s App Store practices at a House Antitrust Subcommittee hearing last month. “For the vast majority of the apps on the App Store, developers keep 100% of the money they make,” he said. “&#8230;Commissions are comparable to or lower than commissions charged by the majority of our competitors. And they are vastly lower than the 50-70% that software developers paid to distribute their work before we launched the App Store.”



KEY BACKGROUND



Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) asked Cook during the hearing if continuing to charge companies a 30% fee as they move their services online during the pandemic amounts to “pandemic profiteering.” Cook responded by saying Apple “would never do that,” and acknowledged he was working with companies to find a solution. But even as Cook said the fee applies to all developers and apps equally, emails released during the hearing show that Apple&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2020/07/29/apple-offered-to-reduce-its-fee-to-get-amazon-prime-video-on-devices-emails-show/#58889c313eae">offered</a>&nbsp;to lower its fee in order to get Amazon Prime Video on devices in 2017.



TANGENT



Google also charges a 30% fee for apps on the Google Play Store, but much of the focus has been on Apple, which is usually more lucrative for developers than Google.



-Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff

Allen & Co. Holds Its Annual Sun Valley Conference In Idaho

Spotify, Epic Games, Facebook: Major Companies Take Aim At Apple’s App Store Fee

The headwinds of Covid-19’s economic impact in the second quarter were strong enough to slow down even the ad-funded tech giants.



In its second-quarter results released on July 30, Facebook reported $18.7 billion in revenue, an increase of 11% despite the slowdown of advertising spend as marketers navigate the ongoing crisis. The results included $18.3 billion in ad revenue, a 10% year-over-year increase. Revenue from other operations totaled $366 million, up 40% from second-quarter 2019.



While Facebook maintained growth during the second quarter, its advertising rival Google did not. Around the same time that Facebook released its results, Google’s parent company Alphabet reported a rare decline in revenue, falling 2% year-over-year to $38.3 billion. Revenue from Google Search and other areas totaled $21.3 billion, down from $23.6 billion in second-quarter 2019. However, ad revenue on YouTube increased 6% to $3.8 billion, which the company said was driven by direct-response advertising.



In a statement, Ruth Porat, chief financial officer of Alphabet and Google, said revenues were “driven by gradual improvement in our ads business and strong growth in Google Cloud and Other Revenues.”



“We continue to navigate through a difficult global economic environment,” she said.



Both Facebook and Google have been known for their steady and massive quarterly growth despite concerns from advertisers, consumers and regulators around issues such as data privacy and content moderation. In 2019, Facebook reported revenue growth of 28% in the second quarter, 28% in the third quarter, and 25% in the fourth quarter. Revenue then grew just 17% in the first quarter of 2020 during the final three months before the pandemic prompted many advertisers to either pause or slow spending on various digital and traditional platforms.



Google’s growth story has been somewhat similar. Year-over-year revenue grew 17% in the first quarter of 2019, 19% in the second quarter, 20% in the third quarter, 17% in the fourth quarter before slowing to 13% in the first quarter of 2020.



On an earnings call today with analysts, Porat said advertising revenue “gradually improved” through the quarter with a “modest” improvement already in July.



“We do believe it’s premature to say we’re out of the woods, given the fragile nature of the economic environment,” she said.



The results come at a time of turmoil for the ad industry during the pandemic. In late June, marketing research firm eMarketer said it expected U.S. digital ad investment to increase just 1.7% this year—or $2.2 billion—compared to the previous growth estimate of 17%, or $22 billion. However, the slowed spending should be no surprise. In fact, during the early weeks of the crisis back in March, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/martyswant/2020/03/27/marketers-think-covid-19-will-be-worse-for-advertising-than-the-2008-financial-crisis/#5cb3315b537f">survey of 400 media buyers</a>&nbsp;found that 74% thought the pandemic would have a larger impact on ad spend than the 2008 financial crisis.



Facebook and Alphabet—along with other tech giants like Amazon and Apple—also have been under increased scrutiny by lawmakers. On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai along with the CEOs of Apple and Amazon spent the entire afternoon testifying to members of Congress. While the hearing was meant to focus on issues of antitrust, the four executives also touched on other issues ranging including data privacy, content moderation, and political influence.



While ad revenues were slower over the past three months, engagement was not. According to Facebook, engage on Facebook’s properties in terms of daily active users (DAUs) and monthly active users (MAUs) also increased in the second quarter, with DAUs increasing 12% year-over-year to 1.79 billion and MAUs increasing 12% to 2.7 billion. Across its “family” of apps—which includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp—DAUs totaled an average of 2.47 billion for June 2020, an increase of 15% over the same period last year. The family monthly average was 3.14 billion in June—up 14% year-over-year.



According to a Facebook statement about its results, the growth in usage reflects “increased engagement as people around the world sheltered in place and used our products to connect with the people and organizations they care about.” However, the company said it’s recently seen “signs of normalization” as lockdown measures around the world have eased.&nbsp;Meanwhile, total ad impressions in the second quarter increased 40% although the average ad price decreased.



“Our business has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and, like all companies, we are facing a period of unprecedented uncertainty in our business outlook,” Facebook said in a statement about its quarterly results. “We expect our business performance will be impacted by issues beyond our control, including the duration and efficacy of shelter-in-place orders, the effectiveness of economic stimuli around the world, and the fluctuations of currencies relative to the U.S. dollar.”



In July, Facebook has also dealt with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/martyswant/2020/06/19/as-civil-rights-groups-ask-marketers-to-boycott-facebook-outdoor-brands-pause-spending/#72bc990c6a39">boycott</a>&nbsp;over its practices and policies around moderating hate speech on the platform. The boycott—organized by civil rights groups including the NAACP and Anti-Defamation League—has been joined by hundreds of larger and smaller advertisers. Addressing the boycott on an earnings call with analysts, Zuckerberg said the company has agreed to an audit by the Media Ratings Council, and added that he’s “often troubled by the calls to go after internet advertising, especially during a time of such economic turmoil like we face today with Covid.”



“Some still seem to wrongly assume that our business is dependent on a few large advertisers, and while we value every single one of the businesses that use our platforms, the biggest part of our business is serving small businesses,” he said. “Our advertising is one of the most effective tools that businesses have to find customers to growth their businesses and create jobs.”



When an analyst on the call later asked how the boycott might be resolved, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said the company is still talking with civil rights groups and advertising trade organizations such as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media. She added that Facebook is “going to keep working hard at this, not because of advertiser pressure but because it’s the right thing to do.”



“It’s an interesting situation we find ourselves in because I think often times when companies are boycotted, it’s because they don’t agree with what the boycotters want,” she said. “And that’s not true at all here. We completely agree that we don’t want hate on our platforms and we stand firmly against it. We don’t benefit from hate speech. We never have. Users don’t want to see it, advertisers don’t want to be associated with it.&#8221;



By Marty Swant, Forbes Staff

Facebook Reports Slower Q2 Advertising Growth While Google Reveals A Rare Revenue Decline

TOPLINE Dozens of Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout on Monday, in an escalation of protests against CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s failure to act on President Trump’s “When the looting starts, the shooting starts” post.



KEY FACTS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Staff members flocked to rival platform Twitter for a second day, to denounce Zuckerberg’s “do-nothing” approach to Trump’s post that threatened violence toward George Floyd protesters.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>One employee, Owen Anderson, announced in a&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/OwenResistor/status/1267568422327447552?s=20" target="_blank">tweet</a>&nbsp;that he had quit the company.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>“To be clear, this was in the works for a while.&nbsp;But after last week, I am happy to no longer support policies and values I vehemently disagree with,” he wrote.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Employees have also been circulating messages internally, with one staffer writing on a staff message board: “The hateful rhetoric advocating violence against black demonstrators by the U.S. President does not warrant defense under the guise of freedom of expression,” the&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/technology/facebook-employee-protest-trump.html" target="_blank">reported</a>. Others urged Zuckerberg to take down Trump’s post.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Facebook spokesman Andy Stone said employees will not have the protest days taken out of their vacation allowance, Reuters&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-trump-employee-criticism/facebook-staffers-walk-out-saying-trumps-posts-should-be-reined-in-idUKKBN2382D0" target="_blank">reported</a>.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The walkout, staged virtually as all Facebook employees are working remotely in the pandemic,was triggered by Facebook&#8217;s refusal to take action over Trump&#8217;s inflammatory posts, while Twitter took the unprecedented step of flagging his comment for “glorifying violence.”</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Zuckerberg has reportedly pushed the company’s weekly employee Q &amp; A session from Friday to Tuesday.</li></ul>



CRUCIAL COMMENT



In a joint statement, a number of the virtual demonstrators tweeted: “Facebook’s recent decision to not act on posts that incite violence ignores other options to keep our community safe. We implore the Facebook leadership to #TakeAction.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/dan_abramov/status/1267544361929256966?s=20
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TANGENT



Online therapy company Talkspace has cut ties with Facebook over the issue. CEO Oren Frank&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/orenfrank/status/1267504648275005440?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;on Monday: “We at Talkspace discontinued our partnership discussions with Facebook today. We will not support a platform that incites violence, racism, and lies. #BlackLivesMatter.”



NEWS PEG



President Trump has driven a wedge between Facebook staff and the social network&#8217;s founder. Facebook&#8217;s no-leak culture, and the largely united front between management and staff had largely weathered previous storms in its march to &#8220;connect the world.” That accord was shattered in a flood of tweets condemning Zuckerberg&#8217;s decision to keep Trump&#8217;s post on the site. Before the walkout, several senior employees blasted Zuckerberg’s defence of keeping the post on the site. Design manager Jason Stirman tweeted on Monday: “I‘m a FB employee that completely disagrees with Mark’s decision to do nothing about Trump’s recent posts, which clearly incite violence. I’m not alone inside of FB. There isn’t a neutral position on racism.”



In a post on Monday, Zuckerberg said Trump’s post and use of the historically racially charged phrase did not breach Facebook policies. “Our position is that we should enable as much expression as possible unless it will cause imminent risk of specific harms or dangers spelled out in clear policies,” he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10111961824369871" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>.



KEY BACKGROUND



The death of George Floyd after white policeman Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes last Monday sparked outrage across the U.S. and subsequent protests in more than 75 cities. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/06/01/corporate-donations-tracker-here-are-the-companies-giving-millions-to-anti-racism-efforts/#701eab0037dc">Companies</a>, facing public pressure to speak out, have released statements pledging support to the black community, including Amazon, Netflix, Twitter and Peloton. On Monday, Zuckerberg<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/06/01/facebook-pledges-10-million-to-racial-justice-campaigns/#2c2f71374250"> announced</a> Facebook is donating $10 million to groups campaigning for racial justice.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/">Isabel Togoh</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

gettyimages-1176382466-594×594

Facebook Employees Stage Virtual Revolt Against Zuckerberg’s Inaction On Trump’s ‘Shooting’ Post

The coronavirus pandemic has continued to take a catastrophic toll on America’s small businesses. According to Facebook’s State of Small Business&nbsp;<a href="https://dataforgood.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SMBReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a>, 31% of small businesses and 52% of personal businesses have stopped operating as a result of the crisis.&nbsp;



“What we know today is pretty sobering,” says Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. “We’re in a really hard economic situation that is hitting all businesses, but particularly, small businesses really hard. We also know how critical small businesses are for jobs—long before coronavirus,” she says. “Two thirds of new jobs in this country happen because of small businesses and so that means what’s happening with small businesses has always been important, but it’s more important than ever.”



Especially concerning is that only 45% of business owners and managers plan to rehire the same number of workers when their businesses reopen. That number is just 32% for personal businesses. 



“If these businesses are letting people go, it’s not that they don’t want to rehire them,” Sandberg says. “It’s because they don’t think they’re going to be able to. That’s a pretty serious thing for us to be facing.”



Businesses that have been able to maintain operations still face significant hurdles, namely access to capital and customers. Some 28% of businesses surveyed say their biggest challenge over the next few months will be cash flow, while 20% say it will be lack of demand. 



The report, conducted in partnership with the Small Business Roundtable, was based on a survey of 86,000 owners, managers and workers at U.S. companies with fewer than 500 employees. It is also a part of the company’s broader data collection initiative with the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on the Future of Business.



“We were already in the process of developing this report before the coronavirus pandemic hit,” Sandberg says. “We expected it to be a pretty rosy tale back then of low unemployment, flourishing entrepreneurship, and jobs growing all over the world. Fast forward to today and we’re in a very different position.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="960" height="540" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/facebook.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45576" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/facebook.jpg 960w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/facebook-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/facebook-600x338.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/facebook-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption>An example of Facebook&#8217;s new Shops feature, which creates digital &#8220;storefronts&#8221; for businesses.   FACEBOOK</figcaption></figure>



Now, the company is launching&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/05/introducing-facebook-shops/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook Shops</a>, an ecommerce product that allows businesses to set up online “storefronts” on Facebook and Instagram. Businesses can customize their digital shops, using cover images to showcase their brands and catalogs to highlight their products. And just as customers can ask for help when shopping in physical stores, they can message business owners directly via WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct to ask questions, track deliveries and more. “Our goal is to make shopping seamless and empower anyone from a small business owner to a global brand to use our apps to connect with customers,” wrote Facebook cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10111927602176421" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">post</a>&nbsp;announcing the new product. As was the case with the survey, the rollout was planned prior to the pandemic, but was accelerated as businesses have turned to online tools to adapt in the face of the ongoing crisis. According to the survey, 51% of small business owners have&nbsp; increased their online interactions with customers, and 36% of operational businesses are now conducting all sales online.&nbsp;



“One of the things I find so amazing is how much of the activity has migrated online and that we’re doing things we never thought were possible,” says Sandberg. “If I had asked you or you had asked me, could I work entirely from home? Can my whole company go home? I would have said ‘No way.’ But we did it. Small businesses have even more entrepreneurial spirit.”



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Sheryl Sandberg On The Pandemic&#039;s Threat To Small Business And Facebook&#039;s Latest Product | Forbes" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U4FKBcEScWU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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There are more than 30 million small businesses in the U.S., many of which are struggling to stay afloat amid forced closures and are still hoping to receive financial relief from the government. According to a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000-small-businesses/US/infographic-small-business-relief/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">survey</a>&nbsp;by Goldman Sachs, 71% of Paycheck Protection Program applicants are still waiting for loans and 64% don’t have enough cash to survive the next three months. As of April 19, more than 175,000 businesses have shut down—temporarily or permanently—with closure rates rising 200% or more in hard-hit metropolitan cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, according to Yelp’s Q1 Economic Average&nbsp;<a href="https://www.yelpeconomicaverage.com/yea-q1-2020.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a>.



Employees of these businesses are disproportionately affected, with 74% and 70% reporting not having access to paid sick leave and paid time off, according to Facebook’s survey. For hotel, cafe and restaurant employees, those figures are over 90%.



Facebook, which relies heavily on small businesses for advertising revenue, was among the first major tech companies to provide much-needed aid. On March 17, the company announced $100 million in grants for small businesses, the majority of which will be distributed in cash, with some ad credits for business services. Of those funds, $40 million will be distributed across 34 American cities, with 50% being reserved for women, minority and veteran-owned businesses. The other $60 million will be distributed to small business owners throughout the world. In addition to financial assistance, the company also rolled out various product offerings including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/business" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">digital gift cards</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/fundraisers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fundraisers</a>&nbsp;and easier ways for businesses to communicate service changes to their customers.&nbsp;



Small businesses are resilient, even during times of crisis. According to the report, 57% of businesses are optimistic or extremely optimistic about the future, with only 11% of operating businesses expecting to fail in the next three months, should current conditions persist.&nbsp;



“The report raises awareness about the struggles small businesses face from the Covid-19 pandemic,” says Rhett Buttle, founder of Public Private Strategies and co-executive director of the Small Business Roundtable. “But small businesses have brought us out of previous economic downturns and they will do so again.”



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maneetahuja/">Maneet Ahuja</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs">Entrepreneurs</a>

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31% Of Small Businesses Have Stopped Operating Amid Coronavirus: Sheryl Sandberg Shares How Facebook’s Latest Product Aims To Help

TOPLINE Former Facebook moderators will receive at least $1,000 each after Facebook agreed to pay $52 million to settle a lawsuit over allegedly failing to protect moderators being exposed to harmful content online.



KEY FACTS



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Moderators were exposed to the worst types of content online including terrorism, pedophilia and animal abuse. They were hired by Facebook through third-party firms.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The settlement covers more than 11,000 current and former moderators across California, Arizona, Texas and Florida. It was filed at San Mateo County Superior Court on Friday.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Plaintiffs who have been diagnosed with a mental illness, including PTSD, qualify for additional compensation of up to $50,000.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The social media giant says it will change its policies in response to the case, and introduce compulsory group counseling sessions for moderators, while third-party firms will be required to step up support for moderators’ mental health.</li></ul>



CRUCIAL COMMENT



Lawyer Steve Williams, representing the plaintiffs, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/may/12/facebook-settlement-mental-health-moderators" target="_blank">told</a> The Guardian: “The harm that can be suffered from this work is real and severe. So the fact that we got some real, meaningful relief going forward just feels really good.”



KEY BACKGROUND



Facebook was sued in September 2018 by former content moderator Selena Scola, who developed PTSD after nine months in the job, thanks to regular exposure to images of rape and murder. The scale of the mental toll on moderators was exposed by The Verge last year. The outlet <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18229714/cognizant-facebook-content-moderator-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizona" target="_blank">reported</a> that some Facebook content moderators working for IT firm Cognizant <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/cognizant" target="_blank">CTSH</a> in Arizona had developed fringe views after exposure to extreme right-wing and conspiracy theorist content, while some had developed PTSD. To cope, some moderators at the firm smoked weed to numb their emotions, while being paid just $28,800 a year. A Guardian report last year found that moderators for Facebook based in Berlin were becoming <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/17/revealed-catastrophic-effects-working-facebook-moderator" target="_blank">addicted</a> to extreme content, were overworked and paid little. 



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Thank you and the team for all of your diligent efforts, work, and support on this case for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/content?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#content</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/moderators?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#moderators</a> at <a href="https://twitter.com/facebook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/instagram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/lydiaannewright?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lydiaannewright</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/d_charest_law?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@d_charest_law</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MentalHealthMatters?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MentalHealthMatters</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MentalHealthAwareness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MentalHealthAwareness</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MentalHealthMonth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MentalHealthMonth</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PTSD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PTSD</a> <a href="https://t.co/fXhq7UyS8n">https://t.co/fXhq7UyS8n</a>&mdash; Selena Scola (@selena_scola) <a href="https://twitter.com/selena_scola/status/1260321806633721858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/">Isabel Togoh</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

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Facebook Will Pay Out $52 Million After Failing To Protect Moderators From Dangers Of Extreme Content

Sheryl Sandberg has the weight of the world on her shoulders. The chief operating officer of Facebook isn’t just responsible for helping to lead one of the world’s most polarizing companies through a global pandemic, but for the 2.26 billion people who visit its platforms every day. With about one third of the global population at her fingertips, the World Health Organization is counting on the social media giant to help in the fight against COVID-19.



“This crisis is unprecedented,” says Sandberg. “I take my responsibility really seriously.” Just last week, Facebook&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/04/coronavirus/#coronavirus-info-center" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a>&nbsp;its coronavirus information center, a module at the top of users’ news feeds with real-time updates from the WHO, and on April 9, the organizations partnered on WhatsApp health alerts that will answer frequently asked questions about coronavirus.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Facebook’s recent failures to protect users from data breaches and misinformation are not lost on the tech executive. These missteps, she says, have prepared the company for this very situation. “We have been working towards not just regaining trust but doing the right thing all the way through,” Sandberg says. “We now know what misinformation is and how to find it. We know how to take it down—and we also know we need to rely on other people [like the WHO and CDC], because we can’t get this right ourselves.”



Sandberg also believes that the strength she’s gained through her personal hardships, namely, the death of her husband Dave Goldberg five years ago, have better equipped her to lead through this crisis. “The biggest challenge I ever faced, which dwarfs anything else I ever went through, was losing my husband and losing him very suddenly,” she says. “And that is a totally different thing than what is going on with coronavirus. But there are some similarities in anything that happens suddenly and is a negative event. The work I did for my book,&nbsp;<a href="https://optionb.org/book" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Option B</a>, was all about figuring out what we do in these negative events and how we grow from them,” she explains.&nbsp;



Sandberg says that she, like many Americans, has been inspired by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who in a recent daily briefing, mentioned finding joy in the face of hardship. “Everyone has heard about post traumatic stress disorder,” she says. “But more people actually experience post traumatic growth than PTSD, even though no one has heard of it,” Sandberg adds. The thinking is that traumatic events help us learn and grow. “The surprising conclusion in this is that we can actually improve our lives through the things that are hardest,” says Sandberg. “I learned so much from Dave dying. But my life is very different, and in many ways, there’s really big things I learned, like to find the good and find the community and that through real hardship, you develop strength. If I could give all that learning back to have Dave back, I would—very much, but I can’t.” She adds that even in the darkest of times there are lessons to be learned. “Even in the face of losing my husband, can you find moments of joy? Absolutely. You can and you should. And that is the way we recover and learn from these types of events.”



So far, those lessons seem to have served her well. Facebook, which relies heavily on small businesses for advertising revenue, was among the first of the major tech companies to provide aid. “We talk to small businesses all the time and what they told us they needed [most] was just financial help,” Sandberg says. On March 17, the company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maneetahuja/2020/03/17/facebook-announces-100-million-grant-for-small-businesses-being-impacted-by-coronavirus/#1d8b21524d4c">announced</a>&nbsp;$100 million in grants for small businesses. As of Saturday April 11, the company had already received over half a million emails of interest in the program. Of the $100 million, $40 million will be allocated to 10,000 small businesses in the U.S. across 34 cities, with 50% being reserved for women, minority and veteran-owned businesses.&nbsp;The other $60 million will be distributed to small business owners throughout the world.



“Everyone is concerned about the effects of coronavirus, but women and women of color are much more disproportionately affected,” Sandberg says, citing new&nbsp;<a href="https://leanin.org/article/the-coronavirus-is-a-financial-crisis-for-women" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a>&nbsp;by her Lean In initiative, which finds employed women are nearly twice as likely as their male counterparts to not be able to pay for necessities for more than a month if they lost their personal income. “It’s like everything else, women are the backbone of our families and communities and women get hit hardest.”



The company is also working with the U.S. Small Business Administration to send notifications encouraging an estimated 30 million small business owners around the nation to apply for relief loans. While one third of U.S. small businesses don’t have a website, most have Facebook pages, putting the platform in a unique position to get the word out.&nbsp;



“Small business&nbsp;is&nbsp;our business,” Sandberg says. “We have 140 million small businesses around the world that use our products every single day and our goal is to help them get through this.”&nbsp;To that end, the tech behemoth has rolled out various tools to support small businesses during this unique time, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/business" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">digital gift cards</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/fundraisers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fundraisers</a>&nbsp;and easier ways for businesses to communicate service changes to their customers.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5e95b21301879f0006d28805/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Sheryl Sandberg meets with small business owners in London earlier this year. "/><figcaption>Sheryl Sandberg meets with small business owners in London earlier this year.&nbsp;FACEBOOK</figcaption></figure>



According to a recent <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000-small-businesses/US/no-time-to-waste/" target="_blank">survey</a> by Goldman Sachs, 96% of small business owners report having been impacted by COVID-19, while more than half say they will not be able to operate their business beyond three months. Sandberg believes social media can help. “We’re seeing amazing things happen because businesses can’t do business the way they normally do,” Sandberg says. “So on the one hand, some businesses need to shut but on the other hand, some businesses can pivot.” 



<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Leanne.MagicArtsStudio/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Magic Arts Studio</a>, for example, a Morrisville, Pennsylvania, arts and crafts business, has embraced online learning, with its teachers offering free classes via Facebook Live. Sandberg’s favorite example is Bristol, England-based&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thismumruns.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This Mum Runs</a>, an e-commerce business that started as a Facebook group for running enthusiasts that has recruited more than 250 volunteers to make grocery and pharmacy deliveries for those in need.&nbsp;“This Mum Runs is an organization that has community and purpose baked into its DNA,&#8221; says Mel Bound, founder and CEO of This Mum Runs. &#8220;These are the things that have enabled us to respond quickly and in a meaningful way to the crisis affecting us all—to support those most in need whilst keeping our community safe and active.&#8221; As small businesses around the world face an uncertain path forward, businesses like these may serve as inspiration for others to find innovative ways to operate in this new normal.&nbsp;“This is people rejuvenating their own businesses, shifting their businesses online and reaching people in a different way,” Sandberg says. “And so I do think there’s very much a new Main Street happening right now.”



Small businesses are not the only ones Facebook is trying to actively support. Last month, Facebook launched its Business Resource Hub, featuring resources and recommendations to help all businesses stay connected and on track, as well as direct access to credible information about COVID-19 to help them stay informed. This past week, the company launched a series of “vertical playbooks”, or resiliency guides for businesses like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/boost/resource/restaurants?lead_source=business-resource-hub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">restaurants and cafes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/boost/resource/retail?lead_source=business-resource-hub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">retail</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/boost/resource/salonandspa?lead_source=business-resource-hub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">salons and spas</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/boost/resource/fitness?lead_source=business-resource-hub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fitness and recreation centers</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/boost/resource/partners?lead_source=business-resource-hub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">partners and agencies</a>&nbsp;and even&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/solutions/coronavirus-resources" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">media and publishers</a>.&nbsp;



Whether or not Facebook’s efforts will make a difference for small businesses, only time will tell. The same can be said for the company’s attempts to earn back people’s trust. “I’m not saying people have always understood this but we’ve actually been trying to do the right thing all along,” explains Sandberg. “When the mistakes happened, we certainly didn’t do them on purpose and we looked to fix them as quickly as possible. And I think we did act responsibly, all the way through. Now it may be that people are able to see things differently because the world has shifted so dramatically. But our approach is to always do the right thing and to make sure we address the problems and look to prevent the next one,” Sandberg says. “And that’s the same approach we’ve had all along.”



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maneetahuja/">Maneet Ahuja</a>, Forbes Staff.

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Exclusive: Sheryl Sandberg On Leading Through Crisis And Facebook’s Efforts To Save American Businesses

In the two days since he advertised&nbsp; “unprocessed toilet paper” for sale on Facebook Marketplace next to a photo of logs, David Traichel says the response has been better than expected. No actual buyers, just hundreds of views, laughs, and “you made my day” from other users browsing through the online classifieds.



“So many people are so freaked out about the idea of not having toilet paper,” says Traichel, 39. The aerospace technician and welder from Northford, Connecticut generally uses Facebook Marketplace to sell vintage car and bicycle parts. He decided to offer his oak and cedar woodpile (price, $1) to jog users out of their shopping panic. “Maybe those people would see the ad and think, ‘OK, maybe I’m overreacting.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Homebound Americans have turned to scavenging on ecommerce sites like Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace for the boring household goods that have become hot items during the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/coronavirus/#18de6a4120dd">coronavirus pandemic</a>. The shortages have inspired some mercenary sellers to excessive pricing (say, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/03/04/149-for-purell-the-coronavirus-sparked-wild-price-hikes-and-amazon-and-others-are-cracking-down/">hand sanitizer for $149</a>) and prompted the tech companies to crack down on price gougers. The hoarding frenzy has also been catnip for armchair humorists, who have found an unlikely platform to yuk it up in the free classifieds of Facebook Marketplace. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="960" height="679" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/960x0.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-43777" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/960x0.jpg 960w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/960x0-300x212.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/960x0-600x424.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/960x0-768x543.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption> You snooze, you lose. KIM MARIE/FACEBOOK </figcaption></figure>



 On the social network’s 800 million-user shopping site, one Internet standup is offering “toilet paper, extra long roll” for $69,4202—it’s a CVS receipt wound around the toilet paper dispenser. Another wants to sell you the “last roll of toilet paper in the world,” marked at $10,000. As a last resort, yet another smart aleck is advertising $90 toilet paper alongside a photo of sandpaper. “Don’t go without during this crisis,” it reads. 



In reality, there’s no toilet paper crisis. Unlike imports such as iPhones and flat-screen TVs, most U.S. toilet paper comes from domestic factories, buffering supplies from a drop in production in China, where the viral outbreak started. Georgia-Pacific, maker of AngelSoft and Quilted Northern, is boosting its U.S. production. Proctor &amp; Gamble, which makes Charmin brand toilet paper, Bounty paper towels and Puffs facial tissue, says production at its U.S. plants is at record highs. “Demand continues to outpace supply, but we are working diligently to get product to our retailers as fast as humanly possible,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2020/03/16/the-national-toilet-paper-scare-why-our-supplies-are-safe/#7309524869a4">says P&amp;G spokeswoman Loren Fanroy</a>.&nbsp;



Which makes it all the more absurd that <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2020/03/05/the-economics-of-panic-buying/">anxious shoppers stripped supermarket shelves</a> of every last double-ply roll. Relishing the irony, Kim Marie, a 42-year-old naturopathic practitioner from Manorville, New York, decided this week to flog “vintage toilet paper” on Facebook Marketplace. For just $55,990, she’s showcasing a water-damaged and rotting roll mounted on a rustic wall, closing with the Craigslist battlecry of overpriced junker listings, “no low ballers, I know what I got.” Marie, who regularly sells vintage housewares on the site,  says she has received no serious inquiries. Just as well, since the item listed isn’t actually in Marie’s possession— it was a funny photo texted to her by her husband. She threw it up on Marketplace “to lighten the mood.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="960" height="909" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/960x0-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-43778" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/960x0-1.jpg 960w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/960x0-1-300x284.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/960x0-1-600x568.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/960x0-1-768x727.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption> See more of Liz Stoppiello&#8217;s work on her Facbook page, @Stitchizbyliz.   LIZ STOPPIELLO/@STITCHIZBYLIZ </figcaption></figure>



It was the “organic toilet paper,” a $10 baggie of leaves listed on Facebook Marketplace by her brother’s girlfriend, that inspired&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/lizzie80892/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Liz Stoppiello</a>, 27. The stay-at-home mom usually sells items like car seats and books on Facebook Marketplace. This week she’s offering “washable crochet toilet paper! Been used only a cpl times”&nbsp; for a cool $100. The advertised off-white crochet squares, wrapped around a cardboard tube, look worthy of an Etsy storefront. It took about 30 minutes to make. She just wanted to “get a good laugh” from people and to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/lizzie80892/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">promote her crochet-oriented Facebook page</a>. “You never know if anyone will start to desperately need handmade items in the near future lol,” she said via email.&nbsp;



Her fellow Marketplace posters might be in on the joke, but Facebook’s bots are not. The social network, which uses artificial intelligence to help monitor content and warned Monday that its systems may have removed some<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/03/17/facebook-deleting-coronavirus-posts-leading-to-charges-of-censorship/#77ec53e05962">&nbsp;COVID-19-related posts in error</a>, had flagged&nbsp;Traichel’s toilet paper ad for unprocessed wood as “under review.”



Facebook “must be so flooded they don’t know what to do,” Traichel emailed, adding an “lol.” He isn’t interested in making a profit, at least not on his firewood. “If people really need toilet paper, I’ll give ‘em a roll.”



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/helenpopkin/">Helen A. S. Popkin</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/innovation">Innovation</a>

Panic buying and stockpiling toilet rolls…

‘Toilet Paper, Gently Used.’ How Facebook Marketplace Has Become An Unlikely Platform For Comedy

Topline: Facebook will begin taking down any ads that promise a cure for the coronavirus, as the platform battles the rapid spread of conspiracy theories and fake cures—including drinking bleach to cure the disease—that have erupted in panic and confusion over the epidemic on social media.



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>A Facebook spokesperson&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/facebook-cracking-ads-guarantee-coronavirus-cure/story?id=69232010" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told&nbsp;</a>Forbes&nbsp;it will remove ads for products “that refer to the coronavirus and create a sense of urgency, like implying a limited supply, or guaranteeing a cure or prevention.”</li><li>The spokesperson added that, for example, “ads with claims like face masks that are 100% guaranteed to prevent the spread of the virus will not be allowed.”</li><li>Health experts warn the spread of misinformation, fake cures and conspiracy theories about coronavirus can actively cause harm and undermine trust in government institutions. “We need a vaccine against misinformation,” said Mike Ryan, head of the WHO health emergencies program, in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/transcripts/who-audio-emergencies-coronavirus-full-press-conference-13feb2020-final.pdf?sfvrsn=b5435aa2_2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meeting&nbsp;</a>this month.</li><li>&nbsp;A number of false cures have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2020/02/fake-coronavirus-cures-part-1-mms-is-industrial-bleach/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spread&nbsp;</a>on Facebook in the past few months, including one claiming that drinking bleach can cure the virus, according to FactCheck.org.</li><li>Facebook already said in January it will outright remove posts flagged by global health organizations and local health authorities with potentially harmful false cures or prevention methods for the coronavirus.</li><li>But the company also said last month it won’t remove other false claims about the virus, opting instead to fact-check, demote them in the news feed and point users to reliable information from the World Health Organization.</li></ul>



Key background: Facebook has struggled to contain disinformation since the 2016 election and has faced criticism for not removing ads from politicians that contain lies. But misleading or untrue medical claims have been a particularly thorny issue for the platform. Facebook banned misleading ads about vaccines last year, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/facebook-anti-vaxxers-pushed-mom-not-give-her-son-tamiflu-n1131936" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">private Facebook groups</a>&nbsp;have become hotbeds of medical misinformation, and some ads expressing skepticism about vaccines haven’t been<a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolinehaskins1/facebook-running-anti-vax-ads-despite-ban-anti" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;taken down</a>. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly said that Facebook shouldn’t be an arbiter of truth, and company policy is to be usually&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2019/05/28/you-can-still-watch-that-doctored-pelosi-video-on-facebook-watch-without-any-warning/#5e57f13976e8">reluctant&nbsp;</a>to remove posts and ads at all.&nbsp;



News peg: More than 81,000 people globally have been infected with the virus as of Wednesday, and more 2,700 have died. The World Health Organization hasn’t declared the virus a pandemic, but Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. are preparing for an outbreak as cases outside China continue to surge. 



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/">Rachel Sandler</a>, Forbes Staff , Breaking News

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Facebook Bans Ads Promising A Cure To The Coronavirus

Facebook said late Tuesday that roughly 100 developers may have improperly accessed user data, which includes the names and profile pictures of individuals in certain Facebook Groups.



The company&nbsp;<a href="https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2019/11/05/changes-groups-api-access/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">explained in a blog post</a>&nbsp;that developers primarily of social media management and video-streaming apps retained the ability to access Facebook Group member information longer than the company intended.



The company did not detail the type of data that was improperly accessed beyond names and photos, and it did not disclose the number of users affected by the leak.



Facebook restricted its developer APIs—which provide a way for apps to interface with Facebook data—in April 2018, after the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke the month before. The goal was to reduce the way in which developers could gather large swaths of data from Facebook users.



But the company’s sweeping changes have been relatively ineffective. More than a year after the company restricted API access, the company continues to announce newly discovered data leaks.



“Although we’ve seen no evidence of abuse, we will ask them to delete any member data they may have retained and we will conduct audits to confirm that it has been deleted,” Facebook said in a statement.



The social media giant says in its announcement that it reached out to 100 developer partners who may have improperly accessed user data and says that at least 11 developer partners accessed the user data within the last 60 days.



Facebook has been reviewing the ways that companies are able to collect information and personal data about its users since the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/technology/mark-zuckerberg-testify-congress.html" target="_blank">New York Times reported</a> that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica harvested data of millions of users. Facebook later said the firm connected to the Trump campaign may have improperly accessed data on 87 million users.



The Federal Trade Commission slapped Facebook with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mnunez/2019/07/24/ftcs-unprecedented-slap-fines-facebook-5-billion-forces-new-privacy-controls/#13f0183c5668" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$5 billion fine</a>&nbsp;as a result of the breach. As part of the 20-year agreement both parties reached, Facebook now faces new guidelines for how it handles privacy leaks.



“The new framework under our agreement with the FTC means more accountability and transparency into how we build and maintain products,” Facebook’s director of platform partnerships, Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=678106196&amp;story_fbid=10157721394281197" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook post</a>.



“As we work through this process we expect to find examples like the Groups API of where we can improve; rest assured we are committed to this work and supporting the people on our platform.”



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mnunez/">Michael Nuñez</a>

Tag: Facebook

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