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Bereaved families call for inquiry into UK failure to act on pro-suicide forum
Report found coroners raised concerns over suicide forums at least 65 times to three government departments since 2019 Bereaved families and survivors of a pro-suicide forum have called for a public inquiry into the government’s failure to prevent harm linked to the online platform. The calls came as a report found that coroners had raised…
Hack of age verification firm may have exposed 70,000 Discord users’ ID photos
Names, email addresses and other contact details of users from around the world could also have been taken Government ID photos of about 70,000 global users of Discord, a popular messaging and chat platform among video gamers, may have been exposed after hackers compromised a company contracted to carry out age verification checks. Some users’…
‘It made my day more meaningful’: the Japanese gen Zers attempting a two-hour limit on smartphone use
Authorities in Japan are taking action against excessive phone time – but what is it like to restrict scrolling to 120 minutes a day? Despite working full-time for a company in Tokyo, Shoki Moriyama manages to eke out eight hours a day to devote to his smartphone. “I need my phone to navigate my way…
TikTok ‘directs child accounts to pornographic content within a few clicks’
Despite platform’s limits on adult content, study finds it not only accessible but often suggested TikTok has directed children’s accounts to pornographic content within a small number of clicks, according to a report by a campaign group. Global Witness set up fake accounts using a 13-year-old’s birth date and turned on the video app’s “restricted…
Abu Dhabi royal family to take stake in TikTok US under Trump deal
MGX, chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will take 15% stake, with social media firm valued at $14bn Trump signs executive order to transfer TikTok to US owners The Abu Dhabi royal family is to take a stake in TikTok’s US business after Donald Trump signed an executive order brokering a deal valuing…
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…
Elon Musk’s X calls for delay in Australia’s child social media ban citing ‘serious concerns’ about policy’s lawfulness
Platform’s submission to age verification inquiry argues for a grace period for enforcement of laws it claims could infringe on human rights treaties Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Elon Musk’s X has called for a delay in Australia’s under-16s social…
Australia may have to choose between a Chinese TikTok and one owned by Trump’s billionaire backers
Expert raises concerns about what US TikTok deal could mean for News Corp’s ‘worrying dominance’ in Australian media Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Would you rather a Chinese-owned TikTok or one run by a consortium of Trump-supporting billionaires? That’s the…
How memes, gaming and internet culture all relate to the Charlie Kirk shooting
Kirk’s rise to fame was largely bolstered by being extremely online – and it seems the suspect has that in common Hello, and welcome to TechScape. Dara Kerr here, filling in for Blake Montgomery, who promises he’ll come back from vacation. Meanwhile, I’m looking at the memes, gaming and internet culture behind the shooting of…
Snapchat allows drug dealers to operate openly on platform, finds Danish study
Social media platform accused of failing to filter out obvious usernames such as ‘coke’, ‘weed’ and ‘molly’ Snapchat has been accused by a Danish research organisation of leaving an “overwhelming number” of drug dealers to openly operate on Snapchat, making it easy for children to buy substances including cocaine, opioids and MDMA. The social media…