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Instead, companies are opting to report other metrics of growth.

Many consumers might not receive much in settlements, but the suits can be a tool for justice, experts say.

"In the past, we've studied social media ads as if they're just like a billboard or a print magazine ad when they're not," said advertising professor Matthew Pittman. "You're seeing an ad from any number of sources."

What started on Facebook evolved into a dysfunctional app and a fractured community, as chronicled by Wired contributor Vauhini Vara.

Meta and other tech companies have been hiring aggressively in recent years but have recently begun to let some of those workers go.

Several factors have pushed up the cost of ads during the pandemic. Even so, many small businesses don’t have much of a choice but to keep advertising.

Ireland is at loggerheads with the European Union over the best way to police American tech giants with European headquarters on Irish soil.

A complaint to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission alleges that these algorithms may be recreating hiring biases — unintentionally, in some cases, but still illegally.

Irish regulators fined the social media company about $275 million after an investigation found that it failed to prevent unauthorized access to half a billion Facebook users' personal information.

The bans follow Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Social media platforms have often resisted calls to restrict controversial content.