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Bell introducing ‘advanced’ text messaging
telecom | 08/30/2017 3:37 pm EDT
BCE Inc. is launching an integrated advanced messaging function that allows subscribers to use features available on third party messaging apps.
“As the first integrated [rich communications services] product available in Canada, Bell Advanced Messaging takes the...
Facebook to penalize false news disseminators
Media | 08/29/2017 6:41 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. is escalating its war against false news by banning the purchase of advertisements by publishers who “repeatedly” share news that has been marked as false by third party fact-checking organizations.
The move represents another step in eliminating the...
Major boxing fight shows PPV target for piracy
Media | 08/28/2017 5:39 pm EDT
Nearly three million viewers around the world watched the much-anticipated boxing match between Floyd...
Facebook to introduce new video platform
Media | 08/10/2017 2:53 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. will launch a new feature for watching video on its social media site.
Called Watch, it...
SS7 protocol concerns intensifying: security expert
telecom | 08/08/2017 5:58 pm EDT
Despite recent calls to limit encryption by some government officials and intelligence heads worldwide,...
Canadian reps at tech companies’ anti-terror initiative
Media | 08/01/2017 5:17 pm EDT
The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, launched in June by Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube, held its first meeting in San Francisco,...
Transparency reporting in Canada: still opaque?
telecom | 07/31/2017 4:15 pm EDT
Without an Edward Snowden-like scandal, exposing inappropriate government access of citizens’ personal information, the current landscape may be as good as it gets for transparency reporting in Canada, a privacy expert says.
As of Monday, only two of the country’s...
Non-profit gives tech leg up to telecoms, smaller businesses
telecom | 07/28/2017 4:09 pm EDT
Canada’s big three wireless providers are now cooperating on a...
G20 heads call for lawful access cooperation in anti-terror statement
telecom | 07/12/2017 5:19 pm EDT
A joint statement from G20 leaders stemming from their two-day meeting last...
Growth of Canadians on social networks slowing: report
Media | 07/12/2017 5:02 pm EDT
Canada’s social network usage is projected to grow steadily over the next four years but growth will slow compared to previous years, according to a report by research company eMarketer Inc. The...
AI could help grow Canadian content: CMF
Media | 07/12/2017 4:30 pm EDT
The acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI) could contribute to the discovery and growth of Canadian content, according to a mid-year trend report by the Canada Media Fund (CMF). “The progress of AI could support this...
Civil society groups take aim at Five Eyes on encryption
Media | 06/30/2017 3:51 pm EDT
More than six dozen civil society organizations and individuals have come out to reiterate support for stronger data encryption in a letter addressed to a quintet of the world’s intelligence...
Five Eyes watching online terror content
Media | 06/28/2017 1:26 pm EDT
Representatives from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance have issued a statement lauding the creation of a coalition by some of the world’s biggest tech companies aimed at tackling terrorist content online. On...
Supreme Court’s Google search ban could have global implications
Media | 06/28/2017 10:07 am EDT
OTTAWA — In a landmark ruling, Canada’s top court dismissed an appeal...
Tech giants coordinating to tackle terror content
Media | 06/27/2017 6:05 pm EDT
Some of the world’s largest technology and social media companies are forming a coalition to counter terrorism. The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism is being formed with the help of Facebook Inc., Microsoft...
U.S. NAFTA consult targets CanCon, copyright, data rules
Media | 06/27/2017 4:11 pm EDT
American companies and organizations took aim at Canadian cultural protections, the country’s copyright regime and expressed concern over any potential rules requiring domestic storage of data, when given the chance to provide feedback to their government on priorities to...
SCC sets Canadian jurisdiction in Facebook privacy case
Media | 06/23/2017 4:50 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Canada’s Supreme Court has ruled that British Columbia has...
Privacy improvements in Bill C-59, but some concerns remain: experts
telecom | 06/22/2017 5:16 pm EDT
In their initial impressions of the government’s biggest attempt to...
Facebook no place for terrorists, company says
Media | 06/16/2017 4:14 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. said it wants to be a “hostile place” for terrorists, and outlined Thursday a series of steps it’s taking to counteract terrorism on its platforms. These actions include using artificial intelligence to...
‘Level playing field’ for foreign digital news services: committee
Media | 06/15/2017 4:52 pm EDT
OTTAWA — After a year of study and hearing from 131 witnesses, some of...
CBC, CRTC still viewed as keepers of Canadian identity: study
Media | 06/12/2017 3:04 pm EDT
Canadians rely heaviest on CBC/Radio-Canada and the CRTC to protect televised Canadian culture and identity, according to a new poll commissioned by the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.
When asked to score trust on a seven-point scale, 72 per cent of respondents gave CBC...
Joly could reconsider OTT regs over Quebec: Desjardins
Media | 05/23/2017 2:27 pm EDT
Pressure from Quebec could lead Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly to consider imposing taxes on foreign over-the-top (OTT) services, according to Desjardins Capital Markets analyst Maher Yaghi....
Facebook partners with MLB for U.S. live streams
Media | 05/19/2017 5:33 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. will live stream 20 Major League Baseball (MLB) games this season on its social media...
Gov’t info requests to Facebook fall in second half of 2016
Media | 04/28/2017 8:41 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. received 773 requests for customer information from Canadian law enforcement and government agencies in the second half of 2016, down from 1,004 requests in the...
Digital platforms open to cultural diversity message: Joly
Media | 04/28/2017 8:29 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said she found a receptive audience for her message of cultural diversity on digital platforms among the executives of the digital media giants she...
CRTC effectively bans most zero-rating in differential pricing decision
Media | 04/20/2017 8:04 pm EDT
As the CRTC banned most forms of differential pricing practices Thursday — including declaring that telecoms can’t pick and chose Internet content to zero-rate and...
Sandvine warns about zero-rating ‘fraud’
telecom | 04/19/2017 5:33 pm EDT
A new report from broadband equipment maker Sandvine Corp. says that some Internet users are avoiding data charges by disguising Internet traffic to look like zero-rated content. “Enticed by the potential of receiving...
Joly to discuss promoting CanCon with Google, Facebook
Media | 04/11/2017 8:41 pm EDT
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly will travel to California later this month to meet with representatives from Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc., her office has confirmed....
Quebec union ‘disappointed’ budgets didn’t address taxation imbalance
Media | 03/29/2017 8:58 pm EDT
A Quebec union representing communications sector employees said it is disappointed with both the federal and provincial budgets, saying that in “both cases, no action has been taken to counter...
Encrypted messaging apps no place to hide, says U.K. official after killings
Media | 03/27/2017 8:23 pm EDT
Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp messaging service should not be a place “for terrorists to hide,” according to U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who appeared on a Sunday BBC program and called for co-operation from communications companies in the wake of last week’s terror attack outside the British houses of parliament. “We need to make sure that organizations like WhatsApp — and there are plenty of others like that — don’t provide a secret...
Videotron launches recommendations chatbot
telecom | 03/22/2017 7:53 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron says it’s the first Canadian telecom to launch a chatbot on Facebook Inc.'s Messenger service, which it will use to give users viewing recommendations from its Illico video-on-demand (VOD) catalogue. Called Chillico, the chatbot “harnesses technology rooted in artificial intelligence to communicate...
Facebook beefs up lobbying squad
Media | 03/21/2017 3:04 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. is increasing its government relations presence in Ottawa, with three new registrations filed with the lobbying commissioner’s office last month. According to the federal lobbyists’...
Facebook says its data can’t be used for surveillance
Media | 03/14/2017 6:26 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. has updated its policies to state that developers cannot use data obtained from its social media networks “to provide tools that are used for surveillance.” While...
VoLTE to overtake OTT voice apps by 2021: Juniper
Media | 03/09/2017 8:53 pm EST
The number of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) subscribers on 4G LTE mobile connections is expected to increase significantly and overtake over-the-top (OTT) applications over the next four years, according to Juniper Research. The...
Imposing taxes on foreign OTT could bring in $1B: report
Media | 03/09/2017 4:37 pm EST
Taxing foreign digital services such as Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime service, Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube and Netflix Inc. could provide the federal government with up to $1 billion per year, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The recommendation was included in the progressive think tank’s alternative federal budget, released Thursday. The annual document “brings together 85 economists and sectoral experts to produce a detailed, fully costed progressive economic plan,” a CCAP press release said,...
Corus to sell cookie data to advertisers
Media | 03/06/2017 10:11 pm EST
Corus Entertainment Inc. is now selling to advertisers users’ cookie data to better target audience members, the company announced Monday. In a press release, Corus said it’s the “first major Canadian...
Joly sitting down with foreign digital companies
Media | 03/03/2017 4:05 pm EST
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly is meeting this week with digital platforms, telling a CBC morning radio show Friday that she was in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., region Thursday meeting...
Lack of national broadband strategy pulls down Canadian ‘Internet inclusion’ ranking: study
telecom | 03/01/2017 9:29 pm EST
Canada ranks first for Internet affordability, but closer to the middle of the pack when it comes to individuals’ capacity to use the Internet, according to a new study...
CBC ‘dimmer star’ in media landscape, conservative event hears
Media | 02/27/2017 6:15 pm EST
OTTAWA — When talking about CBC/Radio-Canada’s role in the media landscape, the public broadcaster is a “pygmy amongst giants,” and more focus should be aimed at large...
Facebook, Google not ‘arbiters of truth,’ committee hears
Media | 02/15/2017 12:24 am EST
OTTAWA — Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Canada told members of Parliament Tuesday they don’t see themselves as “arbiters of truth” in...
U.S. tech companies oppose Trump travel ban
Media | 02/06/2017 6:09 pm EST
Almost 100 tech companies in the United States have filed a brief in a court case against U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking entry of citizens from seven countries and all refugees into the United States....
Canadian court orders another worldwide search result takedown
Media | 02/03/2017 9:17 pm EST
A Federal Court judge on Monday ordered a foreign website to be taken down and some of the content it published removed from search engines internationally due to a violation of Canadian...
Tax deduction change would boost ad revenue $250-$450M: Friends
Media | 01/23/2017 9:24 pm EST
Removing tax deductions for advertising on non-Canadian online media outlets could help the beleaguered local media and news sectors, while saving the government money, according to a new paper from...
Data, new revenue sources to make up for OTT messaging impact: analysts
telecom | 01/13/2017 9:24 pm EST
The growth in popularity of over-the-top (OTT) messaging services will cost global mobile network operators over a hundred billion dollars this year, according to Juniper Research Ltd., but some Canadian analysts say the impact will be dampened by increased data usage and new sources of revenue, including uptake in Internet of Things devices (IoT). Released Monday, the white paper projects that the move by consumers to OTT messaging services and social media will cost network operators around the world “nearly $104 billion” in 2017, up 23 per cent from $84 billion last year, which they say is equivalent to 12 per cent of their service revenues. Mobile network operators...
Canada has areas to improve before it can benefit from IoT: report
Media | 01/05/2017 9:46 pm EST
Canada is in a good position to be an “early mover” of Internet of Things (IoT) adoption, but it’s still falling behind in key areas required for forward momentum, according to a new...
Facebook reports 1K gov’t info requests in first half of 2016
Media | 01/03/2017 10:35 pm EST
Canadian law enforcement and government agencies made over one thousand requests for customer information to Facebook Inc. in the first six months of 2016, four times more than the...
Social media networks team up to flag terrorism-related content
Media | 12/06/2016 9:53 pm EST
Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube will begin sharing information to help curb the spread of terrorism-related content....
Dismantle ‘bloated’ CBC, says CPC candidate Leitch
Media | 11/24/2016 8:01 pm EST
Conservative Party leadership candidate and Ontario MP Kellie Leitch said she has put CBC/Radio-Canada “on notice” and that if selected to lead her party and form government, she...
Facebook working on increasing monetization for news media: exec
Media | 11/23/2016 10:05 pm EST
MONTREAL — Facebook Inc. is increasing opportunities for the news media to monetize content, the company’s Canadian head of public policy said Wednesday, citing initiatives like Instant Articles and Facebook Live. Kevin Chan made the comments at a conference held by Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network (CANARIE), a week after newspaper publishers told parliamentarians that global companies like Facebook and Alphabet Inc. were hurting their ad revenue. “We do take our responsibility seriously here in trying to help,...
Ending CBC’s $25M in digital ads won’t help other media: Lacroix
Media | 11/22/2016 5:45 pm EST
CBC/Radio-Canada CEO Hubert Lacroix has responded to recent statements by the heads of some Canadian newspapers about the public broadcaster competing in the digital advertising space, writing...
CBC, Facebook digital ad sales hurting newspapers, committee hears
telecom | 11/18/2016 10:15 pm EST
OTTAWA — The Canadian government should review its mandate for CBC/Radio-Canada in light of the national broadcaster and foreign digital competitors taking away ad dollars...
CRTC chair OK with being ‘disruptive showman’
Media | 11/16/2016 11:21 pm EST
OTTAWA — With more than six months left in his term as CRTC chairman, Jean-Pierre Blais isn’t ready to start using the word “legacy” in relation to his term as head of the Canadian regulator, but in a...
Stephen Hampton joins Telus
telecom | 11/15/2016 7:16 pm EST
Telus Corp. has named Stephen Hampton its new senior project manager of government relations. Hampton told The Lobby Monitor in an interview the role would combine government relations and strategic affairs work “with a big focus on Telus Health.” Hampton worked as a consultant at...
Internet companies reach out to new U.S. leadership
Media | 11/14/2016 10:37 pm EST
An organization representing four-dozen major online-based companies has reached out to president-elect Donald Trump, congratulating him on his victory while proposing digital policy planks for his administration to consider....
Media companies looking to MCNs to reach younger audiences
Media | 11/11/2016 9:17 pm EST
Multi-channel networks (MCNs) have carved out a space in the online video ecosystem in recent years, leading traditional broadcasters to move into MCNs as a relatively low-risk way to reach younger...
No proven harm from differential pricing: Bell
Media | 11/01/2016 9:41 pm EDT
GATINEAU — The CRTC shouldn’t take the non-participation in this week’s hearing by content providers who might eventually benefit from zero-rating and other differential pricing practices as non-interest, a...
69% of anglophones use social networks: MTM
Media | 09/28/2016 8:43 pm EDT
Facebook Inc.’s platform is by far the dominant social network among Canadian anglophones, with almost all — 92 per cent — of social networkers using the site, according to a new report...
Privacy commish looking for transparency compliance ‘in coming months’
telecom | 09/27/2016 6:26 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Companies who are not already proactively complying with the federal government’s transparency reporting rules are running out of time before the Office of the Privacy Commissioner begins looking for ways to enforce the guidelines with legislation. “Going forward, we hope companies follow the guidelines and that we begin to see more consistent reporting,” said the office’s annual report, which was tabled in the House of Commons Tuesday morning....
Differing opinions on how to guide differential pricing, interventions show
telecom | 09/23/2016 8:09 pm EDT
Even among those who support differential pricing practices such as zero rating and sponsoring data, there isn’t a consensus as to how they should be regulated by CRTC, according to additional...
Early, authentic engagement key for young audiences, public broadcasters hear
Media | 09/16/2016 8:56 pm EDT
MONTREAL — The key to reaching young viewers is to have content made by them, not just for them, panellists at the Public Broadcasters International conference said Friday. “The...
CBC ‘can’t stand still,’ Lacroix says on shift to digital
Media | 09/15/2016 9:39 pm EDT
MONTREAL — As technological change accelerates, CBC/Radio-Canada has to keep pace, according to CEO Hubert Lacroix, who said Thursday “we can’t think of the...
Telecoms need to be ‘proactive’ with video development: report
Media | 08/30/2016 4:39 pm EDT
Telecom service providers should look towards improving video quality across their networks if they want to increase customer loyalty, according to a new joint report from Huawei Technologies Co....
WhatsApp sharing users’ phone numbers with Facebook
Media | 08/25/2016 4:27 pm EDT
Messaging service WhatsApp is entangling itself more closely with owner Facebook Inc. by giving the social media giant access to users' phone numbers. In a Thursday blog post on its website, WhatsApp said “by connecting your phone number with Facebook’s systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them.” Information about the last time someone used the WhatsApp service will also be shared with Facebook, WhatsApp said, but noted that encrypted messages will remain private. Those who already use WhatsApp have 30 days to opt-out of the information sharing with Facebook, noted the company’s outline of updates to its terms of service. WhatsApp will also...
Password disclosure law up for ‘public discussion’: Goodale
telecom | 08/17/2016 9:31 pm EDT
OTTAWA — The federal minister of public safety indicated Wednesday a willingness to engage with a freshly passed resolution from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) calling for a...
‘Aggressive’ handset subsidies helped boost wireless subscriptions: analysts
telecom | 08/12/2016 6:11 pm EDT
The significant number of new postpaid wireless customers reported by service providers in the second quarter of 2016 can partly be explained by the aggressive push toward handset subsidies as new phones enter the market and drive demand, according to analysts. Wireless providers reported...
Facebook desktop users lose ability to block ads
Media | 08/10/2016 8:36 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. said Tuesday that users of the desktop version of its social network will no longer be able to circumvent advertising through ad-blocking software. In a blog post from Andrew Bosworth, vice-president...
Pokémon Go not augmenting wireless data reality
Media | 07/18/2016 9:11 pm EDT
Though the success of Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s Pokémon Go mobile game could be the tip of the iceberg for augmented-reality applications, experts said they don’t expect wireless companies to make any major shifts in...
Facebook, AT&T defend differential pricing in CRTC review
Media | 06/30/2016 8:23 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. and AT&T Inc. have waded into the CRTC’s review of differential pricing practices, arguing that the commission should allow carriers to offer zero-rated services...
Telecom told it can’t name and shame subs with unpaid bills
telecom | 06/09/2016 8:25 pm EDT
The office of the privacy commissioner has forced a cable provider to censor the names of customers with overdue accounts it made public, according to an incident summary posted on its website...
SOCAN acquires MediaNet
Media | 05/16/2016 8:52 pm EDT
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) has purchased Seattle-based music technology company MediaNet. The organization said the move will improve its ability to match music to its right holder and help increase revenue for rights holders, especially those whose...
Effect of zero-rating on competition under debate
Media | 05/06/2016 8:21 pm EDT
OTTAWA — A panel discussion on net neutrality Friday dug into whether zero-rating can help or harm market competition, with Ted Woodhead, senior vice-president of regulatory affairs at Telus Corp. taking issue with the...
WhatsApp to encrypt all traffic
Media | 04/07/2016 5:31 pm EDT
Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp will automatically encrypt all communications going through its service, the company announced. “From now on when you and your contacts use the latest version of the app, every call you make, and every message, photo, video, file, and voice message you send, is end-to-end encrypted by default, including group chats,” it said in a blog post Tuesday. That means messages can only be read by recipients and no one else, including hackers, governments, or even the company itself, it added. “Recently there has been a lot of discussion about encrypted services and the work of law enforcement. While we recognize the important work of law enforcement in keeping people safe, efforts to weaken encryption risk exposing people's information to abuse from cybercriminals, hackers, and...
What inroads will virtual reality make in TV, communications?
Media | 03/29/2016 9:37 pm EDT
This week is a long-awaited one for virtual reality enthusiasts, as Facebook Inc. starts to ship its Oculus Rift headset to people who pre-ordered their $599 US devices as far in advance as early...
Apple gathers support in FBI dispute
telecom | 03/04/2016 9:14 pm EST
Major tech companies have filed documents with the U.S. courts in support of Apple Inc.'s position against creating a workaround for investigators to access encrypted information on an iPhone connected with the Dec. 2 attack...
WhatsApp won’t be available on BlackBerry by end of year
Media | 02/29/2016 10:32 pm EST
Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp will stop supporting its messenger app on most BlackBerry Inc. devices by the end of the year, the company said in a blog post Friday. Company...
CRTC won’t change course despite appeals, criticism: Blais
Media | 02/17/2016 11:05 pm EST
CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said Wednesday the CRTC will stick to the course of action it has set despite disapproval by those who feel the CRTC’s direction “upsets their entitlements...
Rogers customer care joins Facebook Messenger
Media | 12/11/2015 2:40 pm EST
Rogers Communications Inc. announced Friday that its customers will now have access to its customer care service on Facebook Inc.’s Messenger. It said in a press release that the service is available for all consumer products between 7 a.m. and midnight ET every day, and added that customers can access the chat by going to the Rogers Facebook page and clicking on the message button to start a chat with someone from Rogers. Customers will “benefit from a continuous chat tool that allows them to respond in their own time and keep track of the conversation,” the release said....
Netflix’s share of peak traffic hits 37% in North America: Sandvine
Media | 12/07/2015 4:50 pm EST
Audio and video traffic — or real-time entertainment — now accounts for more than 70 per cent of download traffic on fixed Internet networks during peak periods in North America, with Netflix Inc.'s share now 37.1 per cent, an increase from 36.5 per cent a year earlier, according to a report released Monday...
Facebook expands Free Basics
telecom | 11/16/2015 5:23 pm EST
Facebook Inc. said in a press release Monday that “more than 60 new services are available” on its Free Basics app in the 29 countries where citizens can access it. “Free Basics is now available to more than one...
VoLTE connections to reach 2 billion by 2020: Juniper
telecom | 11/02/2015 3:40 pm EST
Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) connections are anticipated to reach two billion by 2020, rising from about 123 million connections this year, according to a new report released Monday from Juniper Research Ltd. It said the opportunity...
Shomi to promote new show on Facebook
Media | 10/21/2015 5:10 pm EDT
Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc.’s Shomi announced Wednesday that it is partnering with Facebook Inc. to show the first episode of a three-part horror TV show on the social media site the same day it...
Mobile messaging grows, monetization remains the challenge
Media | 09/23/2015 8:50 pm EDT
Mobile-messaging through apps in Canada and globally is on the rise as it attracts users wanting a convenient interface that can help them be included in social circles, though the steep growth in...
Instagram users more tech savvy: MTM
Media | 08/24/2015 5:56 pm EDT
A new report released Monday from Media Technology Monitor (MTM) says 85 per cent of Canadian users of Facebook Inc.’s photo and video-sharing app, Instagram, are younger than 50 and most are prone to owning new technology....
Messaging traffic to grow 70% in next 4 years
Media | 07/07/2015 2:24 pm EDT
The volume of online and mobile messaging will increase 70 per cent over the next four years, Juniper Research Ltd. said Tuesday. The research group said the number of emails, instant messages, social media posts, and text...
‘Arbitrary’ limits in Industry Canada transparency guidelines: critics
telecom | 06/30/2015 8:49 pm EDT
Industry Canada’s new guidelines for transparency reports released by telecom companies put unnecessary limits on how information should be reported, according to two academics with expertise in...
CTV News partners with Facebook for election coverage
Media | 06/16/2015 6:37 pm EDT
BCE Inc.’s CTV News announced Tuesday it has partnered with Facebook Inc. for coverage of this year's federal election campaign. CTV said in a press release the partnership starts immediately and continues until the October election. Features of the new service will include access to Facebook’s experts, information on topics that are trending on the social network, how parties and candidates are using Facebook, and how well they are engaging with people on Facebook, the release said. “The 2015 Federal Election is sure to be the most ‘digital’ ever, and...
Shopify works with Facebook on ‘Buy’ button
Media | 06/10/2015 6:49 pm EDT
Shopify Inc. said Wednesday it is working with Facebook Inc. to allow Shopify's own clients to sell and advertise products using Facebook’s “Buy” button. Shopify said in a blog post: “For the last year, we've been working closely with the team at Facebook to create a solution for Shopify...
OTT messaging struggling to monetize: Juniper
Media | 06/09/2015 2:06 pm EDT
Over-the-top (OTT) messaging services are expected to see traffic levels triple globally by 2019 compared to last year's levels, but a lack of success in monetizing the product will lead to a decline in global revenue for the...
Facebook launches Amber Alerts in Canada
Media | 05/25/2015 3:35 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. said Monday that its users in Canada will receive Amber Alert notifications to help find missing children. Amber Alert notifications will be sent to residents living in the area where the child is missing, Facebook...
News agencies to start publishing directly to Facebook
Media | 05/13/2015 2:47 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. said Tuesday it has introduced a new feature to its mobile app that allows news and public affairs publishers to have content posted directly on Facebook feeds and appear 10 times faster...
Oculus Rift to start shipping early next year
Media | 05/06/2015 7:56 pm EDT
Oculus VR, the virtual-reality technology company bought by Facebook Inc. last year, said Wednesday that it will start shipping its Rift headset in the first quarter of next year, and pre-orders will be taken later this year. The company said in a blog post on its website that the component will be "a full ecosystem, and a fully-integrated hardware/software tech stack designed specifically for virtual reality. It’s a system designed by a team of extremely passionate gamers, developers, and engineers to reimagine what gaming can be." Oculus said more details would be...
Canadians should have digital identities: group
Media | 05/06/2015 7:15 pm EDT
The Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) has issued a report calling for the creation of an official digital identity for all Canadians, which would be accepted across the country, by government and the private...
Facebook adds video calling to Messenger
Media | 04/27/2015 6:56 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. said Monday it has updated its Messenger app to add video-calling capabilities. In a press release, the company said the app, which introduced voice calling in January 2013, now accounts for more than 10 per cent of...
Facebook adds Canadian apps to Messenger platform
telecom | 03/26/2015 2:41 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. announced Wednesday that its Messenger app is being opened up as a platform for other other apps, and at least two Canadian companies have signed on to provide their services. “Messenger Platform brings even...
Snapchat reportedly worth as much as $19B US
Media | 02/20/2015 4:43 pm EST
Snapchat Inc., the maker of mobile apps for picture and video sharing, is being valued at as much as $19 billion US in current talks to secure a new round of funding, Bloomberg reported this week. An article Tuesday said the...
Facebook’s Canadian impact worth $5B US: study
Media | 01/20/2015 4:02 pm EST
The Canadian economy saw an economic benefit of about $5 billion US last year thanks to Facebook, according to a new study by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. commissioned by Facebook Inc. That's out of a global impact from Facebook of $227 billion US, which "enabled" 4.5 million jobs around the world, the study said. It said about 80 were...
WhatsApp reports more than 700M users
Media | 01/07/2015 3:29 pm EST
WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum said on a Facebook post Tuesday that the service now has more than 700 million active monthly users, up from 450 million when Facebook Inc. announced its intention to purchase the mobile-messaging-app company...
Instagram begins advertising in Canada
Media | 11/10/2014 4:45 pm EST
Instagram, the photo-sharing app owned by Facebook Inc., on Monday launched its advertising program in Canada. The company said in a press release the first ads, or promoted posts, that show up in users’ feeds will be from...
Facebook reports more government info requests in Canada
Media | 11/04/2014 8:16 pm EST
Canadian law enforcement and government agencies asked Facebook Inc. for users’ data more times in the first six months of 2014 than in the same period last year, the social networking platform...
Facebook closes WhatsApp purchase
Media | 10/07/2014 6:42 pm EDT
Facebook Inc.'s purchase of instant messaging company WhatsApp Inc. closed Monday, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Details of the filing show the final value as $4.59 billion US in cash, plus 178 million shares and 46 million restricted stock units for WhatsApp employees. Based on Monday's opening value of Facebook stock, $77.19 US, the final value of the transaction is about $21.9 billion US, compared to $19 billion US when the deal was announced in February as Facebook's shares have risen by about $10 US over that time....