Kalakshar US

Threads is sometimes criticized for not prioritizing real-time content in its recommendations. Now, Meta is adding status indicators that can show when a particular user is online in an apparent effort to address that need.

The optional feature, called “activity status,” will display a green bubble alongside someone’s profile photo when they’re online. The indicator is meant to help users find “others to engage with in real-time,” according to an update from Instagram boss Adam Mosseri. “We hope that knowing when your people are online makes it easier to have conversations.”

It’s an interesting choice for a platform that still doesn’t have direct messaging capabilities. Such indicators are more common in chat apps like Discord (Instagram, which does have robust DM capabilities, also has a similar feature). But Meta has said repeatedly it doesn’t want to bring in-app messaging to Threads, with the app’s head of product recently telling Business Insider there are no plans to add DMs to the app.

The feature also doesn’t exactly address many users’ desire for a feed that’s more oriented to real-time information and conversations. Instead, Meta is offering the status indicators as a way to seek out users who are currently active on the service as a way of encouraging conversations that are more likely to get timely replies. But without a clear way of finding people who have that green bubble alongside their profile photo, it’s unclear how easy this will actually be.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/threads-can-now-show-when-people-are-online-and-using-the-app-194041928.html?src=rss 

One of the nation’s largest newspapers is targeting another AI firm for reusing its content without its permission. The Wall Street Journal reported that the New York Times sent a cease and desist letter to Perplexity, the AI startup funded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The letter states that Perplexity’s use of the New York Times’ content to create answers and summaries with its AI portal violates copyright law. The letter states that Perplexity and its backers “have been unjustly enriched by using, without authorizations, The Times’ expressive, carefully written and researched, and edited journalism without a license” and gave the startup until October 30 to respond before taking legal action.

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas told the Journal that they aren’t ignoring the notice. He added they are “very much interested in working with every single publisher, including the New York Times.”

This isn’t the first time an AI company has earned the wrath of the New York Times’ legal team. The newspaper took OpenAI and Microsoft to court over claims that both used articles from its pages to train its AI software. The suit alleges both companies used more than 66 million records across its archives to train its AI modes representing “almost a century’s worth of copyrighted content.”

Amazon Web Services’ cloud division also started an investigation over the summer into Perplexity AI. Wired reported that a machine hosted on Amazon Web Services and operated by Perplexity visited hundreds of Condé Nast publications and properties hundreds of times to scan for content to use in its response and data collections.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-new-york-times-tells-perplexity-to-stop-using-its-content-175853131.html?src=rss 

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it will open a renewed investigation into broadband data caps and how they impact both consumer experience and company competition. The FCC is soliciting stories from consumers about their experiences with capped broadband service. The agency also opened a formal Notice of Inquiry to collect public comment that will further inform its actions around broadband data caps.

“Restricting consumers’ data can cut off small businesses from their customers, slap fees on low-income families and prevent people with disabilities from using the tools they rely on to communicate,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. “As the nation’s leading agency on communications, it’s our duty to dig deeper into these practices and make sure that consumers are put first.”

This topic has been a hot one of late, and the FCC launched another notice of inquiry about the practice of capping Internet access last year. In April 2024, the agency successfully required that ISPs offer clear information labels on their service plans, detailing additional fees, discounts, and upload and download speeds. Data caps could also come under additional fire as the FCC attempts to restore net neutrality rules, which classify broadband as an essential service. Returning net neutrality has not been a simple journey, however, as the agency faces legal challenges from broadband providers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/fcc-launches-a-formal-inquiry-into-why-broadband-data-caps-are-terrible-182129773.html?src=rss