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This is part of CNET's "Tech Enabled" series about the role technology plays in helping the disability community. Imagine being excluded from an inside joke shared among all your best friends simply because you can't see the photo they're laughing at. It's a scenario Facebook engineer Matt King understands all too well. "Even the smallest and most trite of conversations can make you feel like you're not part of it," King said in a briefing at the company's London headquarters. King, who went blind while he was a student at the University of Notre Dame, was keen to improve the accessibility of the world's largest social network. Specifically, he was keen to give blind and visually impaired people a better experience of images. Two billion photos are uploaded to Facebook every single day, contributing to the very visual way users communicate with one another -- but as a form of communication, they don't speak to everyone. "They may be worth a thousand words to you, but … [Read more...] about How Apple and Facebook bring tech accessibility to the masses

What happens to someone's Facebook account when they die? Well, if they had the foresight to designate a legacy contact prior to passing away, Facebook will hand the reins of their account over to their designated contact upon proof of their death. But what if your loved one -- like the majority of young, invincible social media users -- never got around to getting their social media affairs in order? If one of your Facebook friends has passed away and their account is still active, here are your options.Legacy contacts Legacy contacts are named by the account holder prior to their death -- a family member or a friend who will be able to manage the person's memorialized account when they die. Legacy contacts can post a pinned post at the top of the deceased user's Timeline, respond to new friend requests, and update the person's profile picture and cover photo. They can also, with the deceased user's permission, download an archive of the user's photos, Timeline posts, and profile … [Read more...] about How to memorialize someone’s Facebook account

Facebook hopes to stop foreigners from meddling in future US elections by verifying their location via postcard.The postcards will contain a specific code required if a campaign mentions a specific candidate running for office. It won't be required for issues-based campaigns. Once the buyer receives the postcard, they'll be able to use the code to verify their ad campaign on Facebook.The plan was announced by a senior company executive on Saturday as part of a wider programme to make its ad policy more transparent.Facebook was singled out for criticism by Robert Mueller's indictment of 13 Russian nationals accused of meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. Although it didn't accuse Facebook of any wrongdoing, the indictment detailed the ways it was critical to the trolls' efforts to disrupt the election. "It won't solve everything," Facebook's global director of policy programs Katie Harbath told Reuters. But Facebook has confirmed to CNET that it considers this the most … [Read more...] about Facebook looks to snail mail to confirm ad buyers are American