SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook is ending its Deals program, which offered the site’s 750 million users discounts similar to those offered by daily deals site Groupon.

Facebook said in a statement Friday it decided to end Deals after four months of testing. The service will wind down in coming weeks. It was available only in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco.

Facebook says it remains committed to serving local businesses through ads, pages and other products. And it will continue to offer “check-in deals.” These lets businesses like restaurants and stores offer deals to customers who “check in” through Facebook to let their friends know where they are.

Facebook and Twitter have received failing grades from Digital Society, a “digital think tank,” that created an “Online Services Security Report Card” ranking “which websites protect your account and which don’t.” Read More

By DAVID STRINGER, Associated Press David Stringer, Associated Press – Sun Nov 7, 6:12 pm ET
LONDON – Queen Elizabeth II is now on Facebook — but she’s not going to be your friend.

Britain’s queen has launched a series of official pages offering the website’s 500 million users daily updates on her engagements, the royal household said Sunday. Read More