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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…
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…
‘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…
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…
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…
Meta‘s AI glasses and the dawn of wearable tech – podcast
Elle Hunt on her month wearing Meta’s smart glasses and the privacy concerns around the technology According to Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s AI-powered glasses are “personal super intelligence” that “let you stay present in the moment”. Journalist Elle Hunt reports on her time wearing them for a month. Elle tells Nosheen Iqbal about the highs and…
Reform UK voters least likely to see social media posts from family and friends, study finds
Thinktank says algorithms are fuelling isolation and division after analysing posts shown to social media users Reform UK voters are the least likely to see posts from friends and family on social media and most likely to see content from brands and news organisations, a study has found. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)…
Children in UK report online sextortion attempts in record numbers
Exclusive: Call for nudity-detection tech on phones as number of under-18s reporting blackmail attempts rises by 34% • ‘I felt ashamed and scared’: how an online friendship became a sextortion nightmare Children are reporting online sextortion attempts in record numbers in the UK, as campaigners urge tech companies to do more to stamp out the…
UK social media users less active on tech platforms due to rise of video apps
Ofcom research shows people also concerned old posts could affect personal or professional life Social media users in the UK are becoming less active on tech platforms due to the rise of video apps and fears that posts could come back to haunt them, according to the communications watchdog. Ofcom said just under half of…
Keir Starmer says UK will ‘have to act’ to curb addictive features of social media
In his strongest intervention yet, PM says some features ‘shouldn’t be permitted’, while education secretary says things ‘are going to change’ Keir Starmer has backed banning addictive social media features in his strongest intervention yet on curbs that could be placed on tech companies, saying the features “shouldn’t be permitted”. The prime minister said the…