Jury rules against Meta, orders $375 million fine in major child safety trial

A jury in New Mexico has found Meta liable for violating the state's consumer protection laws in a high-profile civil trial over child exploitation and other safety issues. One day after closing [...]

Australia’s teen social media ban works on paper, less so in practice

A law is only as strong as the door it actually closes, and Australia’s ban on social media for under-16s appears to have left a window open. On 26 June, six months after the world-first measure too [...]

LinkedIn quietly removed references to deadnaming and misgendering from its hateful content policy

LinkedIn quietly changed the language of its hateful content policy this week. The update, the company's first change in three years according to the site's own changelog, removed a line tha [...]

Australia will consider requiring app stores to block AI services without age verification

Australia's government may take a strict stance on ensuring younger users cannot access AI chatbots. Reuters reports that Australian regulators may require app storefronts to block AI services th [...]

The White House now has a TikTok account

The White House has joined TikTok, the social media app that President Trump wanted to ban during his first term. Its first post shows clips of Trump in various events with Kendrick Lamar's track [...]

New Zealand rules out a VPN ban after a fierce privacy backlash

The New Zealand government has ruled out restricting or banning VPNs as part of its planned under-16 social media ban. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford both moved [...]

Are VPNs legal?

VPNs have a mixed reputation, primarily because you can use the technology to hide your location and identity on the internet. Even the best VPNs can be used to conceal crimes and make the perpetrator [...]

Meta rolls out teen accounts for Facebook and Messenger across the world

Meta is starting to move more teens on Facebook and Messenger into dedicated "teen accounts" that have added parental controls and other protections for younger users. The expansion comes as [...]

Snapchat gives parents more info on who their kids are talking to

Snapchat is updating its parental control features to give parents more detailed information about who their kids are connecting with in the app and which features they use the most. The app's Fa [...]