What happens when you report abuse on Facebook?

by Graham Cluley at Naked Security

If you encounter abusive content on Facebook, do you press the "Report abuse" button?

Facebook has lifted the veil on the processes it puts into action when one of its 900 million users reports abuse on the site, in a post the Facebook Safety Group published earlier this week on the site. 

By Tim Sprinkle | @ The Exchange – 23 hours ago

With nearly a billion users worldwide, Facebook (FB) is one of the hottest sites on the Internet and a defining force in online media.

But since going public on May 17, the ever popular social network has started to show a few kinks in its digital armor. First the stock price tanked. Then its domestic user growth slowed. And of course privacy concerns and data security remain ongoing issues for the company as it expands globally.

But for all the hype surrounding Facebook, the fact remains that it is an imperfect company with its fair share of internal and external struggles, like any firm. Consider these seven little-known facts about the world's largest social network.

1. It has a problem with fake accounts

According to a regulatory filing released earlier this week, Facebook itself estimates that as many as 8.7 percent of its 955 million worldwide active accounts are in fact duplicates or fakes, accounting for some 83 million "users." Of these, about 46 million are duplicate accounts (which anyone who has a "work" and a "personal" Facebook account can understand), 23 million are user-misclassified accounts (such as profiles assigned to pets or businesses) and about 14 million are pages set up for spamming or other untoward uses.

"These estimates are based on an internal review of a limited sample of accounts," the company said in its SEC filing, "and we apply significant judgment in making this determination, such as identifying names that appear to be fake or other behavior that appears inauthentic to the reviewers."

2. Bots may be gaming its advertising

A startup called Limited Run has stopped advertising on Facebook and recently went public about its experiences with the company, saying that as many as 80 percent of the clicks it received on its Facebook ads appeared to be from "bots" (web robots) and not real people. The allegation implies that Facebook is juicing its click rate to overcharge its advertising clients and give the appearance of increased traffic.

In response, Facebook told CNBC it is "currently investigating their claims."

By David Kravets Email Author April 30, 2012   3:20 pm 

United Kingdom internet service providers must block The Pirate Bay, that nation’s High Court said Monday.

Major record labels, including EMI and Sony, sued the country’s major ISPs claiming they must prevent access to the world’s most notorious file-sharing site because it was facilitating the infringement of its copyrights.

The development comes three months after Sweden’s Supreme Court upheld the prison sentences of the four founders of The Pirate Bay, which has been on Hollywood’s and the recording industry’s most-hated lists following its 2003 inception.

However, it’s not likely the latest blockade order will be effective. The Pirate Bay has been playing a game of cat and mouse with government orders to block access for years. It usually always preserveres and is one of the world’s most heavily trafficked sites, pointing users to free games, music, movies and software, including those uploaded intentionally by their own creators.

Even an order for a Swedish ISP to block access to the Swedish site proved futile.