Category Archives: Social media

Social media campaign linked to Chinese government spreading disinformation about Australian politics, thinktank says

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Posts amplify content about sexual assault and misconduct allegations in Parliament House to undermine trust in political system, researchers say

A coordinated foreign influence campaign linked to the Chinese government is using social media to undermine confidence in Australia’s democratic system, according to researchers at a Canberra-based defence thinktank.

The researchers believe the network is operating from within China and is either spreading disinformation about Australian politics or amplifying concerns about political scandals. They reference rape allegations made by the former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and against the former attorney general Christian Porter, which he strongly denies.

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Dating apps must share information about threatening behaviour, says Australia’s eSafety watchdog

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Rise in online abuse a concern for regulator, who says investigators will be on the lookout for racist behaviour during voice to parliament referendum

Dating apps must cooperate to share information about “bad actors” using their services to abuse and harass other users, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner said, as new data shows three-quarters of Australian adults reported at least one negative online experience in the last year.

Julie Inman Grant said her agency may soon issue legal notices to online dating services, compelling them to report on how they are responding to violence and threats – and also said the agency’s investigators would be actively looking out for misinformation and abuse of First Nations people during the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum.

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Stop UK mobile and broadband firms ‘lining their pockets’, urge consumer experts

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Companies facing backlash amid warning of mid-contract price rises of up to 17% during cost of living crisis

Britain’s telecoms regulator is being urged to intervene over concerns that mobile and broadband operators are “lining their pockets” with £2.2bn of above-inflation price rises during the cost of living crisis.

While ministers have urged employees to show pay restraint, the mobile phone and broadband firms are facing a consumer backlash as they announce record price increases.

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Scams: FCA blocks more than 10,000 ads from Instagram, Facebook and YouTube

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Financial watchdog warns over rise of ‘fin-fluencers’ targeting younger people on social media

More than 10,000 misleading financial promotions and scams aimed at consumers via social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok have been identified and targeted by the financial watchdog during the past year.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the use of social media marketing channels and the rise of so-called “fin-fluencers” – particularly directing investment products at younger age groups – exploded last year, resulting in a record number of takedown notices and alerts.

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‘Storm the house’: Queensland care home receives threats after being wrongly identified as halfway house

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Online posts urge violence against residents in care home after it was described as a place for ‘youth offenders’

Children living in a Queensland residential care home were the subject of death threats on social media – including calls for neighbours to “storm the house” and “hang whoever is inside” – after media reports incorrectly claimed the premises was a halfway house for young criminals.

The head of the Queensland family and child commission, Scott Twyford, said last week he was “deeply concerned” at public sentiment which called for more punitive responses to youth crime in the face of clear evidence that “tough” approaches don’t work.

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TikTok CEO to testify before US Congress next month over data privacy

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Shou Zi Chew will face legislators amid concerns over the social media app’s alleged collusion with Beijing in accessing user data

As the US legislative battle over TikTok continues to escalate, Shou Zi Chew, the chief executive of the video-sharing app, will make his first appearance before Congress to testify next month.

Chew will testify before the House energy and commerce committee on 23 March, Republican representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers confirmed in a statement on Monday, as scrutiny of the Chinese-owned app over data privacy concerns grows.

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Social platforms set advertising rules on Indigenous voice for Australia’s first referendum in digital age

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Warren Mundine, a leading critic of voice to parliament, is concerned advertising from main referendum campaigns may be removed by platforms

Major online platforms are setting their transparency and misinformation rules for Australia’s first referendum in the digital age, as Warren Mundine, a prominent member of the no campaign, calls for advertising about the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum to run unrestricted.

Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat will require all paid ads for the voice referendum to carry authorisation messages like those at elections, and will fact-check ads and remove those rated as false.

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‘English flirting’: Dimoldenberg v Garfield is real magic

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The brief encounters between an actor and an interviewer have been compared to Austen’s novels and Hollywood’s golden age

He’s a Hollywood A-lister, recently named a man of the year and routinely included among the sexiest alive. She is an awkward art-school graduate who has his shirtless photo as the wallpaper on her phone. And they just can’t seem to stop running into each other.

The television personality Amelia Dimoldenberg and the actor Andrew Garfield have been hailed as a real-life romcom in the making for their brief but memorable – and, now, heavily hyped – encounters at awards shows.

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Consumer watchdog calls on public to report social media influencers failing to disclose posts as ads

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Influencers who are in breach of the Australian Consumer Law can face penalties of up to $2.5m

Australia’s consumer watchdog is embarking on a dob-in-an-influencer campaign targeting social media stars who fail to declare their posts as advertisements.

This week the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) put out a call on social media, asking the public to send in examples of influencers who appeared to be promoting a brand or product online without disclosing it was an ad.

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Scottish government to challenge Westminster decision to block gender recognition bill in court – UK politics live

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Nicola Sturgeon says her government will be ‘vigorously defending’ democracy as well as the bill passed in Scotland

I am sorry the comments are closed at the moment. There has been an update this morning that has created a glitch with the system, but the developers are trying to fix it as quickly as possible.

Labour has been anxious to avoid taking sides on the Scottish gender recognition reform bill. Although Keir Starmer has criticised aspects of the bill, and argued it might have an impact on UK equality laws, he has accused both the UK and Scottish governments of politicising the issues and implied that Labour would adopt a more consensual approach.

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Tech bosses face jail if children not kept safe online after UK parliament deal

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Rebel Tories drop amendment after ministers agree to make managers criminally liable for persistent breaches of duty of care

Tech executives whose platforms persistently fail to protect children from online harm will face criminal charges after ministers reached a deal with Conservative backbenchers.

Rishi Sunak was facing the prospect of defeat in a Commons vote on Tuesday after a rebel amendment to the online safety bill won opposition support. However, supporters have now withdrawn the amendment after the government agreed to change the legislation.

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Saudi prosecutors seek death penalty for academic over social media use

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Court documents reveal reasons for Awad Al-Qarni’s arrest – even though rulers are major investors in social media platforms

A prominent pro-reform law professor in Saudi Arabia is facing the death penalty for alleged crimes including having a Twitter account and using WhatsApp to share news considered “hostile” to the kingdom, according to court documents seen by the Guardian.

The arrest of Awad Al-Qarni, 65, in September 2017 represented the start of a crackdown against dissent by the then newly named crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

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Seattle public schools sue social media platforms for youth ‘mental health crisis’

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Lawsuit accuses companies behind TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube of harming young people’s mental health

Seattle’s public schools district has filed a lawsuit in the US against multiple major social media companies, accusing them of harming young people’s mental health across the country.

The lawsuit which was filed on Friday with a US district court accused the social media companies behind TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube of creating a “mental health crisis among America’s youth”.

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‘Urgent need’ to understand link between teens self-diagnosing disorders and social media use, experts say

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Sufferers may be driven online because of the difficulty in accessing affordable GP appointments, professor says

There is an “urgent need” to investigate the increasing number of children and teenagers self-diagnosing with neurological conditions, mental illnesses, and personality disorders, a trend being driven by social media and difficulty accessing healthcare, psychiatrists and paediatricians say.

A paper published in January in the journal Comprehensive Psychiatry describes how prolonged social media use, especially on video-sharing platforms like TikTok, is exposing young people to a growing number of content creators making videos about their self-described tics, Tourette syndrome and other self-diagnosed disorders.

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Six journalists arrested over footage of South Sudan president wetting himself

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State broadcaster’s staff held on suspicion of disseminating the clip of Salva Kiir at official event

Six journalists have been detained by South Sudan security forces over viral footage of the country’s president apparently urinating on himself, a press freedom watchdog has reported.

The clip, filmed during an official event, shows South Sudanese leader Salva Kiir standing for the national anthem, initially oblivious as a stain spreads on his trousers and a pool forms at his feet. The camera abruptly turns away after Kiir and his entourage appear to notice what is happening.

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Andrew Tate arrest: Romanian authorities seize four more luxury cars

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Fresh haul follows 11 cars already taken in investigation into social media influencer, who is due in court next week

Romanian authorities have seized four more luxury cars as part of an investigation into the controversial online influencer and misogynist Andrew Tate before a court appearance next week.

The 36-year-old former professional kickboxer, who has been banned from a number of social media platforms for misogynistic comments and hate speech, was detained along with his brother Tristan in the country last week as part of a human trafficking and rape investigation.

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Voice to parliament: no campaign targets older Australians as yes group goes after young

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Facebook defends decision to delete a small number of advertisements from the no side that independent fact-checkers deemed ‘false’

A stark schism is already emerging in the voice to parliament referendum in how the respective sides are campaigning for support, with the leading yes group overwhelmingly appealing to younger voters while the main no organisation is strongly targeting older Australians.

It comes as Facebook defends its decision to delete a small number of advertisements from the no side that independent fact-checkers deemed “false”. The social media giant maintains it will reject other referendum ads that breach policies – except those from politicians.

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Meta dealt blow by EU ruling that could result in data use ‘opt-in’

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Irish regulator fines Facebook owner €390m after EU rejects argument for use of data to drive personalised ads

The business model of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta empire has been dealt a blow following a ruling that its legal justification for targeting users with personalised ads broke EU data laws.

Campaigners said the move could force the Facebook and Instagram owner to ask users to “opt in” to having their data used for targeted ads.

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Transgender woman sues female-only app Giggle for Girls for alleged discrimination

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Roxanne Tickle claims she was unlawfully barred from using the app after the firm and its CEO said she was a man

An Australian transgender woman who says she was barred from using the female-only platform Giggle for Girls has sued the social media site for alleged discrimination.

In a federal court lawsuit filed on 22 December, Roxanne Tickle claims she was unlawfully barred from using Giggle in September 2021 after the firm and its CEO, Sally “Sall” Grover, said she was a man.

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Complaints about gambling ads almost double, Australian media regulator says

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Acma calls for more power to restrict advertisements on Facebook, YouTube and Google

The number of complaints about gambling advertisements almost doubled last financial year, prompting Australia’s media regulator to warn current restrictions are failing to meet community expectations.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority called for more power to restrict unlicensed gambling advertisements on Facebook, YouTube and Google to better protect children and vulnerable Australians.

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