Twitter on Thursday posted better than expected quarterly revenue, a surge that comes as the social network tries to distinguish itself by banning political ads. It was Twitter’s first billion-dollar quarter. The company also continues to attract new users. In the fourth quarter, the number of monetizable daily active users — people who log into …

Facebook, already dealing with criticism about misinformation and protection of user privacy, has a new problem to worry about: slipping profits. The social media giant, which makes most of its money from selling ads, on Wednesday beat Wall Street’s expectations for earnings and revenue in the fourth quarter. But for the full year, the company’s profit shrank due to rising …

This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon. It’s tough to get noticed at CES. So Nissan set up a mini golf course with a feature the Japanese car giant thought would be social media catnip: a guaranteed hole-in-one. Standing at the carmaker’s exhibit, I putted a golf ball …

This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon. Twitter executives said Wednesday the social network plans to experiment this year with a new feature that would give users more control over who can reply to a tweet, a move that could help combat online abuse on the site. But …

This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon. CES, the annual tech show that kicks off in Las Vegas on Jan. 7, isn’t just about showing off the coolest laptops, TVs and gadgets. It’s also a time for Facebook and Twitter to make some noise of their own. Social …

Facebook is exploring building its own operating system as it pushes forward with the creation of augmented reality glasses, a move that would make the company less reliant on operating systems run by Apple and Google. “We’re looking at all options right now, which include partnering with other companies and building a custom operating (system) designed for augmented reality,” a …

Facebook said Tuesday that it’s hiring community reviewers to help shorten the time it takes to identify a false post, as part of a new pilot program that could help the social network crack down on misinformation.  The new steps show how the world’s largest social network is responding to criticism that it doesn’t do enough to combat false claims …

Facebook said Tuesday it’s expanding its efforts to prevent advertisers from discriminating against some groups, a move the social media giant hopes will fend off criticism its ad-targeting can be used to exclude minorities and older people, among others. The company also said it would include housing ads in a searchable public database on the social network. In March, Facebook …

Facebook said Monday that it’s giving users more ways to communicate and share real-time information during a disaster or attack. The world’s social network has a hub called Crisis Response that lets users learn about critical events happening around the world, as well as request or offer help during a fire, mass shooting, earthquake or other crisis. You can also …

Facebook’s online dating service will let you add ephemeral photos and videos from the social network and Instagram, a feature that could help set the company’s service apart from Tinder, Hinge and other competitors.  The introduction of short-lived content into its dating service illustrates how Facebook continues to bet on online dating, an already crowded market, even as it faces …