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The German chancellor said the secrecy around the algorithms used by online platforms threatened open debate.

Without greater scrutiny, many people could get a distorted or censored view of events, she said.

Google and Facebook told German paper Der Spiegel they gave the public a lot of information about how they worked.

Mrs Merkel's call for action follows work by German politicians to investigate how the software works.

'Informed citizens'

"We are already in an age where incredible amounts of people's personal data is online and that is rapidly increasing," says Joe Westby, a technology researcher for the human rights group.

Snapchat and Skype were much lower down the list and Westby warns that "there won't be any privacy in the future".

Part of the research looked at how open companies are to requests for data from governments.

Bereft of one, while it may win the military battle, it will ultimately lose the strategic war.

On Tuesday, the company introduced an endorsement feature, which means that users can now go to the Facebook page of any political official or candidate and endorse them.

This posts the endorsement on a user's profile page (as well as on the candidate's page if a user's account is fully public). People can opt to add an explanation about why they're making that endorsement.

No, Facebook hasn't changed its privacy settings.

No, what you post doesn't belong to Facebook now.

A note is doing the Facebook rounds, claiming -- yet again -- that you need to post a legal gobbledygook to your status or you'll lose copyright control of your pictures and other content you share with your family and friends.

Here's part of what you're supposed to post:

This first issue came into the limelight when Facebook promoted a false story about Megyn Kelly. Since then, very less has changed.

Both companies are blocked in mainland China. But they're plowing money into an 8,000-mile ultrafast link between Los Angeles and Hong Kong, a special Chinese territory where their services can be viewed and that serves as a key network hub for Asia.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said Chicago-based Geofeedia had allowed police to "sneak in through a side door" to monitor protests.

Geofeedia said it was committed to the principles of personal privacy.

It comes amid growing concern about government access to social media.

It is a big increase on the £4,327 paid in 2014, which prompted an outcry from campaigners who argued it had paid too little.

However, critics may also be riled by the fact that the company will receive a tax credit of £11m, which can be used to offset tax bills at a later date.

The firm said it was "proud" to have grown its business in the UK.

The new mode ensures only the two people involved in a chat can see the text.

In fact, even the government or Facebook (FB, Tech30) itself won't have access to conversations in secret mode, according to the social network.