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How to Save the Internet by Nick Clegg review – spinning Silicon Valley
Instead of recognising that social media harms mental health and democracy, the former deputy PM and Meta executive repeats company talking points Nick Clegg chooses difficult jobs. He was the UK’s deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2015, a position from which he was surely pulled in multiple directions as he attempted to bridge the…
How TikTok harms boys and girls differently – video
What happens when a teenager signs up to TikTok? Within seconds, studies find, they are shown harmful content about issues from eating disorders to toxic subcultures, which keeps them scrolling and TikTok profiting from the ads. Neelam Tailor puts TikTok’s algorithm to the test. Creating accounts for two fake children, a 14-year-old boy, Rami, and…
Elon Musk and X reach tentative settlement with laid-off Twitter staff
Ex-workers said Musk failed to honor severance plan when he fired them after acquiring social media platform in 2022 Elon Musk and his social media platform, X, reached a tentative settlement on Wednesday with former Twitter employees after a years-long legal battle over severance pay. Former staff had sought $500m in a proposed class action…
Hundreds of TikTok UK moderator jobs at risk despite new online safety rules
Cuts in trust and safety team part of switch towards artificial intelligence by social media app firm TikTok has put hundreds of UK content moderators’ jobs at risk, even as tighter rules come into effect to stop the spread of harmful material online. The viral video app said several hundred jobs in its trust and…
Australian livestreaming platform Kick broadcast a man’s death – could it face repercussions from regulators?
Twitch rival says it does not permit violent content after French man died during live stream, but eSafety commissioner says platforms need to better enforce their own guidelines The death of a man in France that was livestreamed on online platform Kick has sparked a police investigation and calls for regulators to examine what happened…
Social media still pushing suicide-related content to teens despite new UK safety laws
Researchers who set up dummy accounts as 15-year-old girl were bombarded with self-harm and depression posts Social media platforms are still pushing depression, suicide and self-harm-related content to teenagers, despite new online safety laws intended to protect children. The Molly Rose Foundation opened dummy accounts posing as a 15-year-old girl, and then engaged with suicide,…
Rayner says Farage ‘failing young women’ with plan to scrap Online Safety Act
Deputy PM says move would cause rise in ‘revenge porn’, as Labour launches attack ads against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is “failing a generation of young women” with his plans to scrap the Online Safety Act, Angela Rayner has said, arguing the move would cause an increase in the prevalence of “revenge porn”. The…
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,…
We’re being deafened by digital noise. Pause it and you hear the sound of democracy in crisis | Rafael Behr
Politics is struggling to cope with the pace of technological change – and that is affecting every single one of us Returning from holiday, asked where I have been, I want to say “offline”. The more precise answer is France, where the internet is available. But I tried not to use it compulsively because there…
Social media battles and barbs on both sides of Atlantic over UK Online Safety Act
Farage accuses government of being ‘so below the belt’ as right wing doubles down on censorship claims The UK’s Online Safety Act has been greatly anticipated. Amid mounting concerns about the ease of accessing harmful content online, rules were drawn up to force social platforms to protect children from posts and videos that incite hatred…