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EU accuses Meta of failing to tackle mental health risks of ‘addictive design’
Regulators say Facebook and Instagram features such as autoplay and infinite scroll contribute to ‘compulsive use’ EU regulators have accused Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, of failing to tackle the risks of its “addictive design” on the physical and mental health of users. In an official charge sheet against Meta released on Friday,…
Meta pauses employee tracker for AI training amid privacy concerns
About 1,600 workers signed petition against tool that tracked staff keystrokes, mouse clicks and computer screen content Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has paused a program that tracked employees’ computer activity amid data privacy concerns and a staff backlash. The owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp had introduced a tool that tracked staff keystrokes, mouse clicks and…
UK ministers lobby Trump to avert backlash against social media ban
No 10 is worried about retaliation from White House over restrictions on under-16s’ internet use Ministers have embarked on a concerted lobbying operation to prevent a backlash from the Trump administration to the under-16s social media ban announced by Keir Starmer. Officials said they had spent weeks trying to reassure senior Trump officials and the…
Silicon Valley including Meta has embraced Maga politics, says Nick Clegg
Meta’s former head of global affairs says executives pivoted right in some cases for ‘rather more self-interested’ reasons Silicon Valley companies including Meta have decided to embrace Maga politics, some for “rather more self-interested” reasons, the former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has said. Clegg, who spent nearly seven years at Meta as the…
Hackers trick Meta AI support bot to infiltrate Obama White House Instagram account
Breach of high-profile accounts raises concerns about reliance on AI for security measures such as passwords Hackers used Meta’s AI-powered support chatbot to infiltrate high-profile Instagram accounts, the company has confirmed, saying it resolved the problem after researchers exposed it. The targets ranged from Barack Obama’s White House account to the beauty retailer Sephora and…
Who’s behind the Facebook page posting hateful AI slop about the UK? The answer might lie in south Asia | Niamh McIntyre
Our research has uncovered young entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka and Pakistan using AI tools to make deeply objectionable content – and money Niamh McIntyre is a senior reporter at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism Scroll through any Facebook feed in Britain and, between the baby announcements and petty neighbourhood beefs, you’re likely to come across…
‘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…
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)…
Meta, Tiktok and Google under investigation for allegedly disobeying Australia’s social media ban
Nearly 70% of under-16s with accounts on Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok had maintained access, survey finds The Australian government has accused big tech firms like Meta, TikTok and Google of disobeying the landmark ban on under-16s using social media, after the country’s online safety office warned many children had accounts. A survey of 900 Australian…
‘IG is a drug’: jury to deliberate as US trial over social media addiction wraps up
Meta and YouTube accused of creating harmful products in trial seen as a bellwether for attitudes towards social media The first-ever jury trial over the potential harms of social media wrapped up on Thursday. Lawyers for Meta and YouTube have argued their platforms are safe for the vast majority of young people, while lawyers for…