Latest posts

  • Hackers trick Meta AI support bot to infiltrate Obama White House Instagram account

    Breach of high-profile accounts raises concerns about reliance on AI for security measures such as passwords Hackers used Meta’s AI-powered support chatbot to infiltrate high-profile Instagram accounts, the company has confirmed, saying it resolved the problem after researchers exposed it. The targets ranged from Barack Obama’s White House account to the beauty retailer Sephora and…

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  • Mother of boy who may have died in TikTok challenge urges No 10 to ban social media

    Ellen Roome, whose son, Jools Sweeney, was 14 when he died, wants a ban put in place for under-16s The mother of a teenager who believes he died in a TikTok challenge gone wrong has said Downing Street has been too slow to move towards a social media ban for under-16s, and accused the government…

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  • Limit social media ban for under-16s to unsafe apps, Starmer urged

    Campaigners warn against blanket restrictions and say focus should be on blocking teenagers from platforms with ‘risky’ features Online safety campaigners have urged Keir Starmer to block under-16s from accessing social media apps that do not meet strict safety standards, instead of implementing a broader Australia-style ban. The NSPCC, Molly Rose Foundation and Smartphone Free…

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  • X to block UK access to accounts linked to terrorist groups in Ofcom agreement

    Media regulator announces commitments by Elon Musk’s platform to crack down on terrorist and hate content Elon Musk’s X platform has promised to block UK access to accounts linked to banned terrorist groups under an agreement with the communications regulator to crack down on terrorist and hate content. X will also review suspected illegal terrorist…

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  • ‘There are no rules’: spotlight on Gossip Goblin as AI film-making enters new era

    Defying criticisms of ‘slop’ and ‘theft’, the growing culture of AI-powered creativity is attracting interest from Hollywood In a former hemstitching workshop where artisans sewed pleats for Stockholm’s 19th-century bourgeoisie, a distinctly 21st-century craft is taking root: AI film-making. One day last week, an actor, director and composer squeezed into a tiny studio booth to…

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  • ‘Superhighways for child sexual abuse’: California lawmakers seek tougher rules for big tech

    Online exploitation ‘inflicting profound trauma on a staggering number of children’, Democrats say Frustrated with what they describe as a lack of accountability from social media companies, two California state lawmakers have introduced a bill that would clear a legal pathway for them to face lawsuits in the state for failing to detect or remove…

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  • Criminal gangs profiting as child sexual abuse websites double, experts say

    Analyst who worked on Internet Watch Foundation report says content exists ‘across all social media platforms’ and is ‘very easy’ to find The number of commercial child sexual abuse websites has doubled in a year as experts say that criminal gangs are making “huge profits” from online sexual exploitation. According to data collected by the…

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  • ‘An element of exploitation’: the world of TikTok child skincare influencers

    Experts say regulation of child influencers sits in a legal grey area as children promote products on social media #ToddlerSkincare: the ‘dark and exploitative’ world of children’s beauty videos on TikTok In a TikTok video a young girl – her age anywhere between 10 and 15 – sits unboxing package after package of products she…

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  • Elon Musk snubs Paris legal summons over alleged child abuse images on X

    Billionaire owner elects not to attend voluntary interview as part of investigation by French cybercrime unit Elon Musk did not appear on Monday for a voluntary interview with lawyers in Paris, who had summoned the American tech billionaire over an investigation into his social media platform X and AI chatbot Grok. The prosecutors told AFP…

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  • Starmer tells social media firms in No 10 meeting ‘things can’t go on like this’

    PM summons senior figures from Meta, TikTok, Google and X and says social media is ‘putting our children at risk’ Keir Starmer has told social media bosses “things can’t go on like this” in a Downing Street meeting over internet safety. The prime minister summoned senior figures at Meta, TikTok, Google and X to No…

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