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Online Safety Bill passes in the UK w/o iMessage impact, but government not giving up

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The British government’s hugely controversial Online Safety Bill has today passed in the second chamber of Parliament, and after six years of debate is now set to become law.

While Apple’s iMessage and other end-to-end encrypted messaging apps were saved from being outlawed by the bill, the government hasn’t yet given up the fight …

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Facebook Messenger parental controls expanded to teens; new TikTok half-measure

Facebook Messenger parental controls | Six teenagers using smartphones

Facebook Messenger parental controls have long been available for Messenger Kids – the special version of the chat app designed for children below 13 years of age – but not for teens. This has now changed, with parental controls coming to the main Messenger app when used by teens aged 13 to 18.

Separately, TikTok is integrating two existing filtering features after continuing concerns about showing inappropriate content to children – though as always, in a very weak way …

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Messaging interoperability would be a nightmare for tech giants, but a dream for consumers

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Messaging interoperability – in which it would be possible to send a message to someone without knowing or caring which chat service they use – finally made it into the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.

It was one of the most controversial elements of the upcoming legislation, with some arguing that it would be a technological nightmare to implement, and others that it would benefit both startups and consumers …

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App privacy labels show stark contrasts among messaging apps

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Apple’s new app privacy labels went live in the App Store last month, giving users the chance to see what data is collected by each. We then explained how to view them.

All apps are required to show what data is used to track you, and what data is linked to your identity. Looking at that more comprehensive category reveals some stark differences between four popular messaging apps…

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Facebook again copies Snapchat with new ‘Vanish Mode’ messages in Messenger and Instagram

Snapchat features continue to roll into the messaging apps on Facebook and Instagram. The latest is dubbed “Vanish Mode” and as the name suggests, offers users the ability to send texts, photos, emoji, voice messages, and more that disappear after being seen. It’s starting to roll out first to Facebook Messenger and also coming to Instagram chats.

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Facebook argues Apple should let its apps like Messenger be default on iPhone

Can't sign up for Facebook Messenger without a Facebook account

With iOS 14, Apple has opened up its mobile platform more than ever before with the ability to set third-party apps as defaults for mail and browser. Riding on that change, Facebook is criticizing Apple for not opening up messaging on iOS to do the same. All told, Facebook is trying to pressure Apple to make messaging on iOS the same as it is on Android.

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