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By Armina Ligaya, The Canadian Press
Facebook will use Canada as a testing ground as it rolls out new ad transparency features and increases scrutiny of political advertising.
The social media giant said that starting next month Canadian users will be able click “View Ads” on a Facebook page to view what ads it is running on the main platform, as well as Messenger and Instagram.
An educational assistant at a school in Leaf Rapids has been charged with sexual assault following inappropriate Facebook messages sent to two youths.
RCMP were notified on Monday by a concerned mother regarding messages sent to her daughter through the site. Police say Brayley had inappropriate personal interaction with two youths under the age of 14.
The same day, police arrested Douglas Brayley, 22, of Leaf Rapids. He has been charged with sexual assault and sexual interference.
By Sarah Klein
A 17-year-old Brandon girl is facing charges after allegedly threatening to kill a 14-year-old girl on Facebook.
Police say the suspect threatened the victim on the social networking website over a disput regarding some property.
The teen was arrested on January 5 and has been charged with threatening to cause death or injury, and breach of probation.
She was released on a promise to appear in court on March 12.
Canadian Facebook users have been chosen to test drive the social network’s ability to place free phone calls via its mobile app.
The company announced Friday its new Messenger app for iOS-enabled devices will support Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone calls. The calls will use data as opposed to wireless minutes on a user’s mobile plan.
The new app will work on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad with iOS 4.3 or higher and also allow for voice-messaging.
Canada is the first country where the service is being rolled out, with additional markets to follow.
Facebook doesn’t plan to add either VoIP or voice-messaging to its web version.
— Staff
Manitoba law enforcement agencies will begin using Facebook as a way of communicating information on missing or abducted children.
With Amber Alert Manitoba, authorities are hoping to get the news of an Amber Alert out faster and farther than ever before. The agencies want as many people as possible to subscribe or ‘like’ the Facebook page so they will receive a notification as soon as it is sent out.
“When a child goes missing, we need to use every tool at our disposal, and social media can immediately reach thousands of Manitobans who can assist in the search,” said Manitoba Justice Minister Andrew Swan. “The faster we get the word out that a child is missing, the better the chance that child can be found, and we are enthusiastic about the partnerships that have gotten us to this point.”
The first Amber Alert was issued in the province in July 2010 at the request of police in Saskatchewan. The alert resulted in the safe recovery of an abducted child and the arrest of a suspect.
An Amber Alert may be initiated in Manitoba if:
Facebook has added a feature for Canadian users that lets them state they’re organ donors on their timelines.
Transplant Manitoba applauded the addition on Wednesday, saying it compliments its own website, which allows Manitobans to register to become organ donors.
“Since launching SignUpForLife.ca in April we’ve seen that much of the site’s success can be attributed to people spreading the word on Facebook that they have signed up,” said Dr. Brendan McCarthy, Transplant Manitoba — Gift of Life medical director. “Not only does this encourage others to register, but it also helps Manitobans share with their loved ones their organ donation wishes. The addition of this tool can only enhance this success.”
The Facebook tool first went live in the U.S. and U.K. in May, and has recorded more than 250,000 people registered as donors.
— Staff
A tip from Facebook led Winnipeg police to arrest a 25-year-old man for alleged Internet luring and other offences.
Police say between July 14 and July 30, 2012, the man made contact with a 13-year-old girl over the social networking site and engaged in a sexual conversation. The two agreed to meet, at which time the youth was sexually assaulted.
Facebook Law Enforcement Relations contacted police in July regarding inappropriate activity involving two accounts.
The 25-year-old suspect is charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, and luring. He was released on a promise to appear.
— Staff
On Wednesday, Facebook surprised many brand page administrators with a notification that the new Timeline format would be made mandatory in about a month. Never ones to shy away from change, we decided to enable the new layout immediately and start playing around with it.
Facebook users in general have had a similar layout on their personal profiles for several months, and while the rollout of Timeline continues across the network for all users, pages were still displayed in the traditional view.
One of the biggest changes with Timeline is the way information is displayed. Stories are split down the page and into columns on the left and right side of the screen in a hierarchical way. However, the biggest and most noticeable change is the ability to upload a cover photo. The 850px x 315px image is the first thing readers see when viewing a page. For us, we felt it was fitting to display a familiar Winnipeg scene and decided to use a wide angle shot taken at Assiniboine Park by photographer Marc Evans. We’ll change the cover photo every couple of weeks to keep things fresh.
For companies, one of the other benefits is the ability to pin a post to the wall, such as a popular story or video that we want to provide exposure for. We’ll also be testing this out to see how it boosts user interaction among the 800+ fans who currently “like” us.
In the meantime, we encourage you to like ChrisD.ca on Facebook and join in on the conversation.
