Facebook wants to know why teens are using group video app Houseparty

The social giant issued a survey earlier this year trying to figure out why teens use group video apps. Could it clone the app?

 

Are you a teenager who uses the group video chat app, Houseparty? Facebook wants to know!

At least Facebook did want to know back in February, and was willing to pay people for their thoughts on the app, which lets users jump in and out of video conversations with friends (or friends of friends).

Screenshots from Facebook’s survey earlier this year.

Facebook

Facebook circulated a survey a few months back that asked, among other things, for responders to share their “most recent experience” using Houseparty or Fam, a separate app which self-describes as “group Facetime” for iPhone users.

Facebook issued the survey to find teenagers who would come to Facebook headquarters to participate in a study about “texting and messaging apps,” including Houseparty. They offered participants $275 in Amazon gift cards to participate.

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the survey was legit, and was part of the company’s “ongoing effort to better understand how different groups of people use different technology products, including video messaging.” Facebook runs these studies “all the time,” she added.

The survey was issued just a few months after reports that Houseparty raised $50 million in new venture funding.

Facebook

While it’s clear Facebook is taking an interest in group video apps, it’s unclear what they plan to do about it. Facebook has a history of copying trends that seem to be on the rise, especially among teenagers.

You may remember it tried to copy Snapchat’s disappearing messages concept on multiple occasions back when the app was still young, and when anonymous messaging apps like Secret and Whisper were on the rise, Facebook rolled out an anonymous chat app of its own called Rooms.

The folks behind Houseparty know this well. Before Houseparty existed, the company’s main product was a live video streaming app called Meerkat.

CEO Ben Rubin basically threw in the towel on live video broadcasting in part because Facebook’s live video efforts were starting to pick up and Twitter had recently bought a rival service, Periscope.

So it’s possible that a survey like this means Facebook is preparing to get into group video calls — it already offers group video on Messenger, but not in the same jump-in, jump-out kind of way that Houseparty allows.

It’s also possible that Facebook could look to make an acquisition in this space, though the company tends to start with a build versus buy mentality when it comes to new consumer features.

It’s even possible this survey means little, and that Facebook learned that it doesn’t care about group video chats after all. (If you know more about this, please reach out!)

When we asked Houseparty about the survey, a spokesperson thanked Facebook for doing the research and said, “We’re looking forward to seeing the results!”

We also asked Houseparty if they’ve met with Facebook, and the same spokesperson replied the two companies have “had a few friendly chats about the future of live video,” though didn’t elaborate further.

Facebook, on the other hand, says it doesn’t plan to share any of the results from its study and declined to say whether or not it was still ongoing or if the results were influencing Facebook’s products.

Facebook didn’t immediately get back to a question about meeting with Houseparty, though it’s common for big tech companies to bring in startups to both vet them, but also just learn what they’re building.

Thailand backs down on threat to ban Facebook

The government of Thailand has backed down on a threat to ban Facebook if it did not block content deemed to be illegal in the country.

The ruling military junta last week said it would ban the U.S. social network if it did not disable Thailand-based users from being able to access a selection of 131 “illicit” posts, including content that violates lese majeste laws that prevent criticism of the royal family. The government set a deadline of 10:00 am on May 16 for the pages to be blocked, but TechCrunch has verified that the social network remains accessible in the country while Facebook has not censored the pages, according to media reports.
Facebook provided the following statement:

“When governments believe that something on the Internet violates their laws, they may contact companies like Facebook and ask us to restrict access to that content. When we receive such a request, it is scrutinized to determine if the specified content does indeed violate local laws. If we determine that it does, then we make it unavailable in the relevant country or territory and notify people who try to access it why it is restricted.”

A Thai court initially drew up a list of 309 web pages to be censored. A government spokesperson told the Bangkok Post that Facebook had removed 178 of them as of last week.
Facebook isn’t alone in being pushed to censor its pages. Google and YouTube deleted at least 469 web pages in response to recent government requests, according a report from The Nation. Google did not reply to a request for confirmation or comment.
While Thailand hasn’t enforced a ban on Facebook at this time, it did temporarily block the social network in May 2014, one week after the military seized control of the country via a coup. Speaking at the time, it claimed the issue was down to a glitch, however mobile operator DTAC later revealed that it had acted on an order to block the social network.
Facebook opened an office in Thailand in September 2015, and its audience measure tools suggest it has up to 45 million monthly users. That makes it the largest social network in the country by some margin. Rather than risk a public backlash from a full-out block, Thailand has instead pursued a policy of censoring specific pieces of content within the social network.
This year, it has geo-blocked articles that fall within the lese majeste law and it even making it illegal to exchange information with three prominent critics of the regime who are based overseas. Facebook’s own data shows that the firm restricted access to 50 pieces of content in Thailand during 2016.
In its most recent annual report, Freedom House, a U.S.-based think tank that monitors global web freedom, noted that Thailand’s internet and media are “not free.” The organization cited the jailing of citizens for interacting with Facebook posts and plans for a single national internet gateway to facilitate censorship among its key concerns.

Thai govt ultimatum has passed

Thai govt ultimatum has passed, but Facebook is reportedly not backing down

 

 

Thailand's Internet Service Provider Association (Tispa), under pressure from the government to block access to Facebook, said the social media giant will not remove illicit content until it receives proper court warrants, local media reported.
The government had given Facebook a Tuesday 10 a.m. local time deadline to remove the content or face legal action, the Bangkok Post reported Tuesday.
The report added that Tispa and internet gateway providers sent an email to the managing director of Facebook Thailand on Friday with the request and reportedly said 131 URLs had been deemed inappropriate have yet to be removed.
After the ultimatum passed, Tispa president Morakot Kulthamyothin told Khaosod English that Facebook stands by its policy.
"They [Facebook] said the request to block 131 URLs lacked court orders in the documents, and they said that if the documents are completed, they will proceed with the requests," she told the Thai media.
A Facebook spokesperson told CNBC that the company will review requests such as that by the Thai government and remove content that violates the law.
"When governments believe that something on the Internet violates their laws, they may contact companies like Facebook and ask us to restrict access to that content. When we receive such a request, we review it to determine if it puts us on notice of unlawful content. If we determine that it does, then we make it unavailable in the relevant country or territory and notify people who try to access it why it is restricted."
Last week, Reuters reported that Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission said Facebook had failed to remove 131 of 309 web addresses on the platform that were deemed a threat to national security or violated "lese majeste" laws that make it a crime to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen heir to the throne or regent.

IT Expert who saved the World

IT expert who saved the world from WannaCry cyber attack fears for his safety
The British IT expert who slowed the spread of the WannaCry global cyber attack now fears for his safety.
The security researcher, named in reports as Marcus Hutchins, 22, was hailed an ‘accidental hero’ for his discovery of the virus’s kill switch.
However he has said he is now concerned that ‘terrible things’ may be done in retaliation for his efforts.
An international operation is under way to find the perpetrators behind the unprecedented attack that has infected 200,000 machines in 150 countries since Friday.
Speaking to MailOnline, the cyber specialist, known as MalwareTech, said: ‘In future someone might want to retaliate – they could find my identity within seconds.
‘If they know where I live, they could really do anything.’

The workstation where he is believed to have slowed the spread of WannaCry

He referred to the case of another security blogger who was subject to intimidation, including death threats, after his identity was leaked online.
‘I’ve seen posts about the terrible things people have done to him and for me in future it could be the same things,’ MalwareTech said.
Writing on his Twitter account, he said journalists had already tracked down a friend, whose photograph was published in the press and turned up at her house, saying: ‘Please if you want an interview that badly, DM me.’
The online community pleaded for his identity not to be outed online – a research process known as ‘doxing’ – to protect him.
MalwareTech himself wrote: ‘I always thought I’d be doxed by skids (people in hacking forums), but turns out Journalists are 100x better at doxing.’

(Picture: PA)

Theresa May praises NHS staff in wake of cyber attackLoaded: 0%Progress: 0%
But he added: ‘I guess the upside is now I can be a selfie queen and livestream because I’ve got no opsec (operations security) left.’
The keen surfer, who reportedly lives in Devon, was praised by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) for his part in tackling the ransomware’s propagation around the world.
He became an international sensation after he prevented hundreds of thousands of computers from being infected by the virus that wreaked havoc across the NHS.
The blogger said he was ‘jumping around a room with the excitement’ after he discovered that activating a specific web domain could disable the worm.
MalwareTech said he had also been providing the NCSC with data to help notify infected companies, warning that computers which had not had their security brought up to date will be vulnerable to further attack.

(Picture: EPA)