ByTechVista

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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…

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  • Parents will be able to block Meta bots from talking to their children under new safeguards

    Measures come amid concern generative AI characters are having inappropriate conversations with under-18s Parents will be able to block their children’s interactions with Meta’s AI character chatbots, as the tech company addresses concerns over inappropriate conversations. The social media company is adding new safeguards to its “teen accounts”, which are a default setting for under-18…

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  • ‘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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • Parents could get alerts if children show acute distress while using ChatGPT

    OpenAI to roll out new protection measures after facing a law suit on behalf of teenager who took his own life Parents could be alerted if their teenagers show acute distress while talking with ChatGPT, amid child safety concerns as more young people turn to AI chatbots for support and advice. The alerts are part…

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  • Teen killed himself after ‘months of encouragement from ChatGPT’, lawsuit claims

    Open AI to change way it responds to users in mental distress as parents of Adam Raine allege bot not safe The makers of ChatGPT are changing the way it responds to users who show mental and emotional distress after legal action from the family of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who killed himself after months of…

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  • UK traffic to popular porn sites slumps after age checks introduced

    Figures from digital data company show effect of strict rules brought in last month under Online Safety Act British visits to popular pornography sites have slumped following the introduction of strict age checks last month, data shows. Daily visits to Pornhub, the UK’s most used porn site, fell from 3.6m on 24 July, the day…

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  • Far-right extremists using games platforms to radicalise teenagers, report warns

    Parents advised to be vigilant over summer holidays to risk of offenders using in-game live chats to target their children Far-right extremists are using livestream gaming platforms to target and radicalise teenage players, a report has warned. The new research, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, reveals how a range of extremist groups and…

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