Hashtag Trending: Apple cuts deal with a movie maker; Facebook seeks spike in government demand; Facebook’s’ Sandberg responds to latest expose

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Up first on LinkedIn: Apple is dipping its toes into filmmaking and has partnered with the movie studio A24 to make original, feature-length films. The entertainment company got three Academy Awards last year. It plans to make films for Apple after signing the multi-year agreement. Facebook marks the third tech giant to venture into the filmmaking business following Amazon and Netflix.

Trending on Reddit: Facebook reported that it saw a spike in government demand for data by 26 per cent year-over-year, from 82,341 requests to 103,815 requests. At the same time, it published details of 13 historical national security letters it has received from the government for more information regarding users. The letters published were dated between 2014 and 2017 and said the letters were basically subpoenas issued by the FBI to gain access to several Facebook and Instagram users. The news was dropped a day after The New York Times published a very critical report revealing some of the company’s tactics to try and deflect attention from various scandals.

Trending also on Reddit: Speaking of that very critical expose, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg has officially responded to the New York Times article. In a Facebook post, Sandberg said she was not aware that Facebook had hired Definers Public Affairs firm to disseminate research to journalists linking billionaire George Soros to anti-Facebook movements. She was joined by CEO Mark Zuckerberg who said someone on Facebook’s communications team “must have hired them.” Another article from the Times revealed that the public affairs firm was also hired on to push negative press about Facebook’s critics.

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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Shruti Shekar
Shruti Shekar
Shruti Shekar is a video producer and reporter for IT World Canada. She was formerly a political reporter at The Hill Times and was based in Ottawa. Her beats included political culture, lobbying, telecom and technology, and the diplomatic community. She was also was the editor of The Lobby Monitor, and a reporter at The Wire Report; two trade publications that are part of The Hill Times. She received a MA in journalism from Western University and a double BA honours in communication studies and human rights from Carleton University. She was born in India, grew up mostly in Singapore and currently resides in Canada.

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