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TikTok could be forced to change app’s ‘addictive design’ by European Commission
Preliminary EU ruling says app shifts brains of users into ‘autopilot mode’, with concerns for children and vulnerable adults Business live – latest updates TikTok could be forced into changes to make the app less addictive to users after the EU indicated the platform had breached the bloc’s digital safety rules. The EU’s executive arm…
Pinterest sacks two engineers for creating software to identify fired workers
Digital pinboard business cutting 15% of workforce as it invests heavily in AI Pinterest has fired two engineers who created a software tool to identify which workers had lost their jobs in a recent round of cuts and then shared the information, according to reports. The digital pinboard business announced significant job cuts earlier this…
French headquarters of Elon Musk’s X raided by Paris cybercrime unit
Prosecutors’ announcement comes amid a hardening of European attitudes to social media firms Prosecutors have raided the French headquarters of Elon Musk’s social media platform X and summoned the tech billionaire and the company’s former chief executive for questioning as part of an investigation into alleged cybercrime. “A search is under way by the cybercrime…
Why TikTok’s first week of American ownership was a disaster
App endured a major outage and user backlash over perceived censorship. Now it’s facing an inquiry by the California governor and an ascendant competitor A little more than one week ago, TikTok stepped on to US shores as a naturalized citizen. Ever since, the video app has been fighting for its life. TikTok’s calamitous emigration…
How the left can win back the internet – and rise again | Robert Topinka
In the final part of this series, we look at how infighting has ripped the left apart online while the right has flourished – and how some progressives are turning the tide Robert Topinka is a reader in digital media and rhetoric at Birkbeck, University of London Part one: How liberals lost the internet Part…
Can you guess our screen time? A priest, pensioner, tech CEO and teenager reveal all
From the person who scrolls on the toilet to the one without any social media, what do their digital habits tell us? • Will Storr: we have lost so much of ourselves to smartphones – can we get it back? Dayeon, 16: the teenager who spends less than an hour a day on screens Continue…
‘This can’t be left to individual families’: how social media ban could affect under-16s
Parents, teachers and young people share their views on whether social media restrictions would work in the UK Pressure is mounting on the UK government to introduce a ban on social media for under-16s, after a decisive vote in House of Lords in favour of Australian-style restrictions. Peers backed a Tory-led amendment to the children’s…
Millions creating deepfake nudes on Telegram as AI tools drive global wave of digital abuse
Analysis finds at least 150 channels on messaging app that are distributing AI-generated images and video Millions of people around the world are creating and sharing deepfake nudes on the secure messaging app Telegram, a Guardian analysis has shown, as the spread of advanced AI tools industrialises the online abuse of women. The Guardian has…
UK study to examine effects of restricting social media for children
Trial involving 4,000 children will explore impact on mental health, sleep and time spent with friends and family A pioneering investigation into the impact of restricting social media access for children in the UK has been announced as politicians around the world consider action on the issue. In December, Australia became the first country to…
My analogue month: would ditching my smartphone make me healthier, happier – or more stressed?
When I swapped my iPhone for a Nokia, Walkman, film camera and physical map, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But my life soon started to change When two balaclava-clad men on a motorbike mounted the pavement to rob me, recently, I remained oblivious. My eyes were pinned to a text message on my phone,…