The internet was down across most of Iraq on Thursday, the third day of protests called for on social media, with a monitor saying "intentional restrictions" by major providers caused the near-blackout.

Facebook on Wednesday was dealt a major blow in the EU's top court, which ruled that national courts in Europe can order online platforms to remove defamatory content worldwide.

Several features on Twitter were down Wednesday, the platform said, with users from Japan to the USA reporting they were unable to log in, use the mobile app or see direct messages.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to "go to the mat" to fight a government attempt to break up the social media giant, according to a report Tuesday based on a leaked audio recording.

Facebook has begun hiding the number of "likes" for posts in Australia, it said Friday, a trial designed to ease social pressure that could be rolled out worldwide. 

Google will not pay French news companies to show excerpts of their articles, pictures or videos in search results, a top executive said Wednesday, though it will not display the excerpts without their approval.

Google is not required to apply an EU "right to be forgotten" to its search engine domains outside Europe, the EU's top court ruled Tuesday in a landmark decision.

Facebook on Monday said it had made a deal to buy a startup working on ways to command computers or other devices using thought instead of taps, swipes, or keystrokes.

In the face of criticism that Facebook is not doing enough to combat extremist messaging, the company likes to say that its automated systems remove the vast majority of prohibited content glorifying the Islamic State group and al-Qaida before it's reported.

But a whistleblower's complaint shows that Facebook itself has inadvertently provided the two extremist groups with a networking and recruitment tool by producing dozens of pages in their names.

Original reporting will be highlighted in Google's search results, the company said as it announced changes to its algorithm.