A study commissioned by Facebook found that the social network currently accounts for $227 billion in global economic impact and has helped create 4.5 million jobs. The company claims that its social network drives smartphone purchases and creates job in both tech and non-tech industries. However, independent economists believe those numbers may be overstated because Facebook and Deloitte, the company that prepared the report, may have used incorrect assumptions. Continue reading Economists Question Claims of Facebook Global Impact Study

A new website is building a dataset to help determine whether consumers are increasingly turning to piracy when movies are not made available legally via streaming, digital rental or digital purchase. The site — PiracyData.org — lists the top 10 most pirated movies on BitTorrent as reported by TorrentFreak each week, and researches the Can I Stream It? service to determine whether each title is available legally. The authors suggest that shorter windows would help counter piracy. Continue reading Do Movie Fans Turn to Piracy Due to a Lack of Legal Options?