Social Media Giants Face Thousands of Lawsuits Over Claims Their Platforms Addict Young Users
A U.S. federal appeals court has allowed more than 3,000 lawsuits against some of the world’s largest social media companies to move forward, delivering a significant legal setback to the technology industry. The cases accuse Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap of deliberately designing their platforms to encourage compulsive use among children and teenagers, allegedly contributing […]
US plans to order foreign tourists to disclose social media histories
The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to order visa-exempt foreign tourists to disclose their social media histories from the last five years before entering the country, according to an official notice. The proposal laid out in a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register would apply to visitors from 42 countries, including Britain, […]
China has banned the highest number of social media platforms worldwide
Facebook, with over 3 billion users, is the most widely banned major app worldwide, being blocked in seven countries, including North Korea and Russia. Across social media platforms, China is the most frequent country imposing bans, restricting access to popular apps like WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, and Google. Internet censorship affects over 3.8 billion people worldwide, with […]
YouTube to reinstate creators banned over misinformation
YouTube is set to reinstate creators previously banned for promoting Covid-19 misinformation and false election-related content, according to a letter sent Tuesday by parent company Alphabet to a Republican lawmaker. The policy reversal marks a victory for the conservative allies of US President Donald Trump, who have long accused tech platforms and professional fact-checkers of […]
EU chief backs calls to keep children off social media
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday threw her support behind growing calls to ban social media use for children, promising to weigh action at the European level in coming months. “Many member states believe the time has come for a ‘digital majority age’ for access to social media,” the European Commission head told […]
French lawmakers urge social media ban for under-15s
French lawmakers urged a social media ban for under-15s and “digital curfew” for older minors Thursday, with massively popular short video platform TikTok the focus of renewed harsh government scrutiny. Imposing the ban and a 10 pm to 8 am curfew for 15- to 18-year-olds would “send a signal both to children and parents” that […]
Australia says social media ban will not age test all users
Australia will not require social media giants to verify the ages of all users under its ban on under-16s using the platforms, Canberra said Tuesday. But platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube are expected to take “reasonable steps” to stop children from accessing the apps, it said. Australia has been a leader in global […]
Major social media sites back online in Nepal after deadly protests
Nepal rolled back its social media ban on Tuesday, a day after at least 19 people were killed in protests demanding that the government lift its restrictions and tackle corruption. All major social media apps were working, an AFP reporter in Kathmandu said, as the government ordered a probe into the violence that saw police […]
Vatican embraces social media ‘digital missionaries’
Sister Albertine, a youthful French Catholic nun, stood outside the Vatican, phone in hand, ready to shoot more videos for her hundreds of thousands of followers online. The 29-year-old nun, whose secular name is Albertine Debacker, is one of hundreds of Catholic influencers in Rome for a Vatican-organised social media summit this week. The Vatican […]
Majority on Brazil court in favor of tougher social media rules
Brazil’s Supreme Court reached a majority Wednesday in favor of toughening social media regulation, in a groundbreaking case for Latin America on the spread of fake news and hate speech. The South American country’s highest court is seeking to determine to what extent companies such as X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook are responsible for removing […]
