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Leave big tech behind! How to replace Amazon, Google, X, Meta, Apple – and more
A handful of companies monopolise the web, with unprecedented access to our data. But there are many more ethical – and often distinctively European – alternatives There’s not much to love about big tech these days. So many ills can be laid at its door: social media harms, misinformation, polarisation, mining and misuse of personal…
Life after Molly: Ian Russell on big tech, his daughter’s death – and why a social media ban won’t work
Molly Russell was just 14 when she took her own life in 2017, and an inquest later found negative online content was a significant factor. With many people now pushing for teenagers to be kept off tech platforms, her father explains why he backs a different approach Ian Russell describes his life as being split…
‘Don’t pander to the tech giants!’ How a youth movement for digital justice is spreading across Europe
Gen Z are the first generation to have grown up with social media, they were the earliest adopters, and therefore the first to suffer its harms. Now they are fighting back Late one night in April 2020, towards the start of the Covid lockdowns, Shanley Clémot McLaren was scrolling on her phone when she noticed…
European parliament calls for social media ban on under-16s
MEPs pass resolution to help parents tackle growing dangers of addictive internet platforms Children under 16 should be banned from using social media unless their parents decide otherwise, the European parliament says. MEPs passed a resolution on age restrictions on Wednesday by a large majority. Although not legally binding, it raises pressure for European legislation…
Ofcom urges social media platforms to combat abuse and limit online ‘pile-ons’
New guidance from UK regulator aims to combat misogynist abuse and ‘revenge porn’ Social media platforms are being urged to limit internet “pile-ons” under new guidelines to protect women and girls online. The guidance from Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, to combat misogynist abuse, coercive control and the sharing of intimate images without consent comes…
Inside the everyday Facebook networks where far-right ideas grow
The Guardian spent a year studying an online community trading in anti-immigration sentiment and misinformation. Experts say such spaces can play a role in radicalisation Far-right Facebook groups are engine of radicalisation in UK, data investigation suggests Far-right ideas are gaining ground. They are thriving in online worlds which are not easily visible to large…
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…
Meta exposé author faces bankruptcy after ban on criticising company
Exclusive: Sarah Wynn-Williams faces $50,000 fine every time she breaches order banning her from criticising Meta A former Meta executive who wrote an explosive exposé making allegations about the social media company’s dealings with China and its treatment of teenagers is said to be “on the verge of bankruptcy” after publishing the book. An MP…
‘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,…