20/05/2021: Cybersecurity & Tech News Roundup

WhatsApp’s new privacy policy has just kicked in

WhatsApp's changing privacy policy has sparked major backlash, since the update was announced at the beginning of the year. The app was criticised for sharing user data with its parent company: Facebook, something that was pretty unpopular with users across the board. Instead of changing this, though, WhatsApp just gave users an extended deadline to accept the changes, or the app will no longer work. Instead of a hard deadline, you can expect an increasing number of alerts telling you to accept the changes, as the service starts to degrade.

The Facebook-owned organisation had this to say: “For the last several weeks we've displayed a notification in WhatsApp providing more information about the update. After giving everyone time to review, we're continuing to remind those who haven’t had the chance to do so to review and accept. After a period of several weeks, the reminder people receive will eventually become persistent.” Read more here.

Virtual parents' evenings are probably here to stay

Although the pandemic has been devastating to many industries and organisations around the world, the nationwide lockdown that was enforced as a result has caused many groups to get creative with their communication - and some of that is here to stay. One of those examples is parents' evenings, which have been conducted via Zoom over the past year and a half.

Parents' evenings will likely never be the same again, after webcam appointments sped up the evening significantly, and made parents' attendance a lot easier and therefore more likely. Not only that, but logistically, virtual meetings put a stop to evening traffic jams and parking issues surrounding schools. Zoom conferences may not be everyone's cup of tea, but we predict at least some sort of hybrid situation replacing the previous IRL event. Read more here.

Is Facebook going to ban Donald Trump or not?

Facebook is still grappling with whether or not ex-president Donald Trump's suspension should become an all-out ban. Just yesterday, the social media giant published a full report on its latest community standards and enforcement efforts. What constitutes as "hate speech" or "fake news" on the app have always been murky waters, with many a bigot, conspiracy theory, and scammy advert managing to slip through Facebook's net. But what happens when the person facing a ban is a former US president? Read more here.

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