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Meta found in breach of EU law over ‘ineffective’ complaints system for flagging illegal content
European Commission initial finding says Facebook and Instagram introduced unnecessary steps for users to submit reports Instagram and Facebook have breached EU law by failing to provide users with simple ways to complain or flag illegal content, including child sexual abuse material and terrorist content, the European Commission has said. In a preliminary finding on…
Instagram keeps flubbing on teen safety. Will its new ‘PG-13’ guidelines make a difference? | Tayo Bero
The content guardrails introduced this week feel like hollow posturing after the failure of past promises For months, Instagram has been struggling to convince parents, advocates and officials that it’s a safe place for kids, even though there’s a mountain of evidence to show quite the opposite. Now, the company is introducing yet another set…
Parents will be able to block Meta bots from talking to their children under new safeguards
Measures come amid concern generative AI characters are having inappropriate conversations with under-18s Parents will be able to block their children’s interactions with Meta’s AI character chatbots, as the tech company addresses concerns over inappropriate conversations. The social media company is adding new safeguards to its “teen accounts”, which are a default setting for under-18…
Facebook and Instagram to charge UK users £3.99 a month for ad-free version
Subscription service is Meta’s response to regulatory warnings over crunching users’ data to serve targeted ads Facebook and Instagram users in the UK are to be offered advert-free versions of the social networks for up to £3.99 a month. Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has responded to regulatory warnings over personalised adverts, in which users’ data is…
Instagram still poses risk to children despite new safety tools, says Meta whistleblower
Meta rejects review findings, which claim two-thirds of new features designed to protect young people are ‘woefully ineffective’ Children and teenagers are still at risk from online harm on Instagram despite the rollout of “woefully ineffective” safety tools, according to research led by a Meta whistleblower. Two-thirds (64%) of new safety tools on Instagram were…
Parents outraged as Meta uses photos of schoolgirls in ads targeting man
Exclusive: Instagram pictures of girls as young as 13 were posted to promote Threads site ‘as bait’, campaigner says Meta has used back-to-school pictures of schoolgirls to advertise one of its social media platforms to a 37-year-old man, in a move parents described as “outrageous” and “upsetting”. The man noticed that posts encouraging him to…
‘If I felt Zuckerberg and Sandberg were monsters, I wouldn’t have worked at Meta’: Nick Clegg on tech bros, AI and Starmer’s half measures
When Britain’s former deputy PM took a job at Meta, nothing could have prepared him for the ‘cloying conformity’ of the tech world. So why does he still think social media is a force for good? • Read an exclusive extract from Nick Clegg’s new book here The rain is just starting to fall from…
FBI and NSPCC alarmed at ‘shocking’ rise in online sextortion of children
Snapchat logged about 20,000 cases last year of adults grooming children online, more than other social media platforms combined Tech companies including Snapchat and Facebook reported more than 9,600 cases of adults grooming children online in the UK in just six months last year – the equivalent of about 400 a week. Law enforcement agencies,…
How will Australia’s under-16s social media ban be enforced, and which platforms will be exempt?
No prescribed avenue for social media companies to check users’ ages, but options include facial estimation technology and matching photos with ID Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australians using a range of social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and X will need to have their age checked…
Zuckerberg claims ‘superintelligence is now in sight’ as Meta lavishes billions on AI
In advance of Meta’s quarterly earnings report, CEO says his company aims to bring powerful AI into the lives of millions Whether it’s poaching top talent away from competitors, acquiring AI startups or proclaiming that it will build data centers the size of Manhattan, Meta has been on a spending spree to boost its artificial…