Facebook admits flaw in Messenger Kids that allowed children to chat with strangers

Agencies
July 23, 2019

Facebook has admitted a design flaw in its Messenger Kids Service that exposed thousands of children on group chats with unauthorised users.

According to a report in The Verge on Tuesday, the design flaw "allowed users to sidestep that protection through the group chat system, thereby letting children to enter group chats with unapproved strangers".

The social networking platform introduced Messenger Kids in 2017 and is aimed at kids under 13 years of age. Despite call for withdrawal by experts, Facebook said a "technical error" was behind the problem in group chat. Facebook sent notification to parents, saying it has disabled the group chats in cases where the flaw was detected.

"We recently notified some parents of Messenger Kids account users about a technical error that we detected affecting a small number of group chats," a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying.

"We turned off the affected chats and provided parents with additional resources on Messenger Kids and online safety," the company added.

Messenger Kids is a video chat and messaging app designed for kids to communicate with family and close friends that parents or caregivers approve.

Parents set up and manage their child's Messenger Kids account through their own Facebook account.

It is unclear how long the bug was present in the app's group chat feature.

Last year, more than 100 child health experts wrote an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to discontinue the Messenger Kids app.

"At a time when there is mounting concern about how social media use affects the well being of adolescents, it is particularly irresponsible to encourage children as young as pre-schoolers to start using a Facebook product," the authors wrote.

Facing the flak from lawmakers and experts, Facebook in February this year decided not to build a new app called "LOL" to let children share and post humorous meme content. Instead, the social media giant said it would focus more on its Messenger Kids service.

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News Network
May 5,2024

Karwar, May 5: What commenced as a mere exchange of words between spouses swiftly transmuted into a calamitous ordeal, resulting in the heartbreaking loss of their innocent offspring. The heart-wrenching incident unfolded in the serene confines of Halamaddy village in the picturesque expanse of Dandeli, nestled within the idyllic expanse of Uttara Kannada district.

In the throes of a fervent dispute with her spouse, the aggrieved wife, succumbing to an overwhelming surge of emotions, callously propelled their tender six-year-old progeny into the somber depths of a nearby canal, thereafter alerting the local populace to her grievous act.

Promptly apprised of the distressing occurrence by concerned bystanders, the authorities were swiftly summoned to the scene to confront the harrowing aftermath.

Responding to the distress call, the diligent officers of Dandeli rural police swiftly converged upon the site where the innocent child had been cast into the unforgiving waters of the canal, subsequently effecting the retrieval of the child's lifeless form. 

Regrettably, it was discerned that a portion of the child's remains had been tragically claimed by the lurking jaws of a predatory crocodile.

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News Network
May 7,2024

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Udupi: Udupi became the second city on the Karnataka coast after Mangaluru to launch water rationing, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Commissioner of the Udupi City Municipal Corporation Rayappa said that the rationing system will come into force from Wednesday and will continue till the water in the reservoir reaches comfortable levels.

The dam built across the Swarna river at a place called Baje, which is the only source of water for Udupi city, recorded 3.25 meters of water as against the top level of 6.30 meters.

The decision of water rationing will be reviewed periodically until the reservoir regains its fullest levels, the official said.

The Mangaluru City Corporation resorted to water rationing on Saturday following declining water levels in the reservoir built across the Nethravati river at Thumbe. 

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News Network
May 17,2024

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New Delhi: In fresh claim, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that his government sent an envoy to Israel urging them to stop the airstrike in Gaza during Ramadan. He said that he urged Israel to maintain peace rather than engage in combat during the holy month.

In an interview with Aaj Tak, PM Modi said that his envoy told Israel they should not bomb Gaza, at least during the auspicious month of Ramadan.

"During the month of Ramadan, I sent my special envoy to Israel to meet and explain to Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) that he should not carry out bombings in Gaza during Ramadan. They made every effort to follow it, but in the end, there was a fight for 2-3 days," he said.

The Prime Minister said that he does not publicise such things even though people in India keep "cornering him on the Muslims issue".

PM Modi said that some other countries also tried to speak to Israel to halt the bombings and may have also achieved results.

"They may have got the results too. I also tried," he said.

During the interview, PM Modi also said that he made standalone visits to both Israel and Palestine, unlike earlier governments which used to display token secularism.

"There was a fashion earlier that if one has to go to Israel, a visit to Palestine is a must. Do secularism and come back. But I refused to do it," he said.

The Prime Minister also recounted an episode when he needed to travel to Palestine via Jordan.

"When the President of Jordan, who is a direct descendent of Prophet Muhammad, came to know that I am going to Palestine over (the airspace of Jordan), he told me 'Modi ji, you cannot go like this. You are my guest and will use my helicopter'," Modi claimed.

Describing the unique amalgamation of circumstances, he continued, "I went to his home for dinner, but the helicopter was of Jordan, the destination was Palestine, and I was escorted by Israeli flight attendants. All three are different but for Modi, all came together in the sky."

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