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Social media firms hit back as Starmer announces ban for under-16s in UK
June 15, 2026
Meta, YouTube and Snapchat say ban, which would stop children using their platforms, will drive them to ‘less safe services’ UK politics live – latest updates How will the ban work? UK parents: how do you feel about the ban? Britain’s plans to ban social media for under-16s will push teenagers towards more harmful platforms,…
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‘We can stitch together our past’: the AI-generated time-travellers vlogging from history
May 26, 2026
The content creators behind channels like Chloe VS History are using AI tools to ‘bring history to life in a really visceral way’ “I have just arrived in Tudor London, 1536,” a young woman in a green puffer jacket tells the camera. “I’m going to check in at my room in the inn, get into…
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‘There are no rules’: spotlight on Gossip Goblin as AI film-making enters new era
May 14, 2026
Defying criticisms of ‘slop’ and ‘theft’, the growing culture of AI-powered creativity is attracting interest from Hollywood In a former hemstitching workshop where artisans sewed pleats for Stockholm’s 19th-century bourgeoisie, a distinctly 21st-century craft is taking root: AI film-making. One day last week, an actor, director and composer squeezed into a tiny studio booth to…
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Facing AI and a tough job market, gen Z turns to entrepreneurship: ‘I have to prove myself’
April 26, 2026
As AI erases the bottom rungs of the corporate ladder, some gen Z workers skip the entry level to become their own CEOs When Ashley Terrell graduated from the University of Hawaii in 2024, she planned to find a job in marketing, maybe for a tech company. She had a bachelor’s degree in business administration…
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‘Superhighways for child sexual abuse’: California lawmakers seek tougher rules for big tech
April 25, 2026
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…
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‘The era of invincibility is over’: the week big tech was brought to heel
March 28, 2026
Ruling that Meta and YouTube deliberately designed addictive products marks possible watershed moment for social media The young woman at the heart of what has been called the tech industry’s “big tobacco” moment was on YouTube at six and Instagram by nine. More than a decade later, she says, she still can’t live without the…
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‘Accountability has arrived’: dual US court losses show shifting tide against Meta and co
March 27, 2026
With two unprecedented trial defeats, big tech firms face crisis akin to that faced by cigarette makers in the 1990s In the span of just two days, the most powerful social media company in the world faced a more severe public reckoning than it has in years. Jurors in California and New Mexico gave back-to-back…
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Meta and YouTube designed addictive products that harmed young people, jury finds
March 26, 2026
Jury in Los Angeles awards plaintiff damages of $6m, with Meta to pay 70% and YouTube the remainder Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Meta and YouTube have been found liable for deliberately designing addictive products that hooked a young user and led to her being…
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‘IG is a drug’: jury to deliberate as US trial over social media addiction wraps up
March 13, 2026
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…
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TV set is most popular way to watch YouTube in UK, study finds
February 19, 2026
Television outranks laptops, tablets and smartphones across all age groups, according to audience review The television has replaced laptops, tablets and smartphones as the most common device for UK viewers to watch YouTube at home, according to data confirming the platform’s place as a living room mainstay. More than half of all YouTube viewing through…
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