Category Archives: Social media

YouTube fires back amid push to include platform in Australia’s under-16s social media ban

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Online video hosting service accuses the nation’s online safety boss Julie Inman Grant of ignoring parents and teachers

YouTube has criticised calls for it to be included in the under-16s social media ban, accusing the nation’s online safety boss of ignoring parents and teachers.

The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has urged the government to rethink its decision to carve out the video sharing platform from the minimum social media age which will apply to apps such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.

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Trial reveals flaws in tech intended to enforce Australian social media ban for under-16s

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Operators of trial insist age assurance ‘can be done’ but preliminary report finds age verification tools ‘not guaranteed to be effective’

Technology to check a person’s age and ban under 16s from using social media is not “guaranteed to be effective” and face-scanning tools have given incorrect results, concede the operators of a Australian government trial of the scheme.

The tools being trialled – some involving artificial intelligence analysing voices and faces – would be improved through verification of identity documents or connection to digital wallets, those running the scheme have suggested.

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NHS staff unsettled by patients filming care and posting videos on social media

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Radiographers voice concerns about being filmed without consent and say trend could violate other patients’ privacy

NHS staff have voiced concern about the growing numbers of patients who are filming themselves undergoing medical treatment and uploading it to TikTok and Instagram.

Radiographers, who take X-rays and scans, fear the trend could compromise the privacy of other patients being treated nearby and lead to staff having their work discussed online.

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How a Pentagon account on X became Pete Hegseth’s personal cheerleader

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Department’s rapid response team is weaponizing the social platform to champion defense secretary and attack rivals

While it’s true no president or political leader has ever used social media quite as prolifically as Donald Trump, no recent secretary of defense has ever weaponized X or any other platform, quite like former Fox & Friends weekend host, Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth is actively reshaping the Pentagon in his own image since taking over, prompting a social media policy that has taken a dramatic turn towards supporting Hegseth’s every move and public appearance.

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Frequent TikTok users in Taiwan more likely to agree with pro-China narratives, study finds

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Survey shows correlation between use of Chinese-owned platform and approval of unification with China

Taiwanese people who spend large amounts of time on TikTok are more likely to agree with some pro-China narratives, a survey has suggested.

The study, conducted by the Taiwan-based DoubleThink Lab, surveyed people across Taiwan in March, asking a series of questions about politics and democracy in Taiwan and China, and their views on unification of the two sides.

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Irish pro-Palestine activists embrace ‘Paddystinian’ term as badge of honour

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Believed to have originated as an insult by Israel supporters, neologism is now used to campaign against war in Gaza

The term was coined to disparage Ireland’s solidarity with Palestine but has been adopted as a badge of honour that now adorns T-shirts, hoodies, pins and social media bios: welcome to Paddystine, home of the Paddystinians.

Irish activists have embraced the neologism as a galvanising term to campaign against Israel’s war in Gaza and to pressure the Irish government to do more to end the conflict.

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Mexico demands compensation from YouTube star MrBeast after pyramid chocolate video

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Celebrity used trips to ancient Maya cities to advertise his own-brand snacks, drawing criticism from Mexico’s archaeology and history institute

Mexico is seeking compensation from YouTube celebrity MrBeast’s production company, accusing it of using images of the country’s ancient archaeological sites to advertise a chocolate brand.

A video of the social media star visiting Maya ruins has been viewed around 60m times since 10 May on YouTube, where he has 395 million subscribers.

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Sperm donor who claims he fathered more than 180 children loses custody battle

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UK judge rejects Robert Albon’s application for parental right of three-year-old girl he had with woman in Durham

An unregistered sperm donor who says he has fathered more than 180 children has failed to gain custody of a three-year-old child he had with a Durham woman, who said she was left “broken” and “suicidal” by their encounter.

Robert Albon, who goes by the pseudonym “Joe Donor” and has appeared on This Morning and in a Channel 4 documentary, applied to have the girl live with him after a court deemed her mother was unable to look after her.

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New Zealand’s prime minister proposes social media ban for under-16s

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The draft bill is modelled on Australian laws and would force digital platforms to verify the age of users or face heavy fines

New Zealand’s prime minister has proposed banning children under 16 years old from using social media, in an effort to protect young people from harms such as exposure to violent content and cyberbullying.

Christopher Luxonsaid on Tuesday the draft law would force social media companies to verify users were at least 16 before allowing them to create an account, or face fines of up to NZ$2m ($1.2m).

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Trump’s Truth Social posts make no sense – what do they say about his mentality?

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The president’s little used social media platform offers him a forum for his nonstop haranguing and score-settling

No political leader has used social media quite like Donald Trump. But his recent posts on Truth Social, the social media platform he founded in 2021, have become increasingly bizarre: the president using the lack of scrutiny afforded by the platform’s small user base to truly let loose.

In the hundreds of “Truths” since he took office, Trump has variously used Truth Social to reimagine himself as a king and to urge Americans to “BE COOL!” as the stock market tanked in the wake of his trade war, the president’s seemingly random use of capital letters, punctuation and inaccurate spelling consistent across the messages.

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What are the Ofcom measures to protect children online – and will they work?

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Communications regulator has brought in more than 40 new rules for tech firms designed to keep under-18s safe

Ofcom announces new rules for tech firms to keep children safe online

The UK communications watchdog has set out more than 40 measures to keep children safe online under a landmark piece of legislation.

The Online Safety Act has a strong focus on protecting under-18s from harmful content and the codes of practice published by Ofcom on Thursday are a significant moment for regulation of the internet.

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French minister reports #SkinnyTok to regulator over anorexia concerns

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Digital media minister Clara Chappaz says TikTok videos promoting extreme thinness ‘revolting and unacceptable’

The French government is seeking to take action against a TikTok group promoting extreme thinness among young women and girls.

France’s minister for digital media, Clara Chappaz, has reported #SkinnyTok to the country’s audiovisual and digital watchdog and the EU over concerns that the trend is body-shaming victims into anorexia and that algorithms are targeting the most vulnerable.

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TikTok trend for ‘Dubai chocolate’ causes international shortage of pistachios

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High-end bar with Middle East-style nut filling is rationed in shops as price of raw kernels surges

Product promotion on TikTok is now powerful enough to influence the vast agricultural economies of the US and Iran – at least when it comes to the consumption of high-end confectionery.

A chocolate bar stuffed with a creamy green pistachio filling has become incredibly popular after a series of video clips shared on the social media site. The first bit of footage praising the taste of the expensive so-called “Dubai chocolate” was posted at the end of 2023 and has now been viewed more than 120m times, to say nothing of the many follow-up videos.

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Brisbane Greens MP joins OnlyFans to ‘make people pay attention’ to HIV prevention drug policy

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Exclusive: Stephen Bates spruiks free PrEP and PEP proposal on subscription platform best known for adult content, as well as on dating app Grindr

The Greens MP Stephen Bates has joined OnlyFans – a first for an Australian politician – as the party pushes to make the HIV prevention drugs PrEP and PEP free.

It may normally be a career-ending move for a politician to be joining a site known for pornography, but Bates has joined the site with the first video on his free-to-subscribe page announcing the Greens’ push to make PrEP and PEP prescriptions free to anyone with a script.

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Toby Jones’s next campaign? Misinformation, and a huge immersive theatre show

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Meera Syal also to star in London production reflecting producer’s experience of censorship in Georgia

Hidden from view inside a south London warehouse, a new underground movement will be fighting the international blight of misinformation this summer.

The huge immersive event – half theatrical show, half social campaign – is to involve some of Britain’s leading acting talent, including Toby Jones and Meera Syal, and has been put together by a theatre company led by a woman who learned about misinformation the hard way, at the Georgian television station Imedi.

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UK police chiefs call for ban on social media for under-16s

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Four senior officers say more controls needed, amid claims platforms are ‘fuelling and enabling’ crime

Senior UK police officers have called for the government to ban children under 16 from social media, amid claims the platforms are “fuelling and enabling” crime.

In the most recent development in the moral panic that has gripped the media since Netflix’s Adolescence was released, four of the most senior policing figures in the country told the Times that further controls on social media platforms were necessary for public safety, national security and young people’s mental health.

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More than 90% of schools in England ban mobile phone use, survey shows

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Head of National Education Union calls for statutory ban on phones in schools and social media ban for under-16s

Almost all schools in England have banned mobile phone use by pupils, according to the first national survey conducted, as the leader of the largest teaching union called for a statutory ban owing to the “damaging impact” on young people.

The national survey, ordered by Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, showed that headteachers have swiftly instituted bans on smartphone use during school hours. The survey of more than 15,000 schools found that 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools have some form of ban.

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Australian government gave $2.7m to Elon Musk’s X for advertisements in billionaire’s first year as owner

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Exclusive: Spending came after the Albanese government paused ads for a week amid reports ads were appearing next to inappropriate content

The Australian government spent nearly $3m of taxpayer dollars advertising on Twitter/X in the first year after the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, took over the platform, despite warnings of brand reputation damage that caused the government to initially pause ads.

Data obtained by Guardian Australia, after a protracted freedom of information battle with the federal finance department, revealed $2.7m was spent between November 2022 and November 2023. Musk finalised his purchase of the platform on 28 October 2022.

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Blanket ban on teen smartphone use ‘potentially detrimental’, says academic

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Dr Amy Orben says there are no ‘one-size-fits-all answers’ given importance of access to online information

A leading academic tasked by the UK government with reviewing the effects of smartphones on teenagers has suggested blanket bans are “unrealistic and potentially detrimental”.

Amy Orben, from the University of Cambridge, will lead the work on children and smartphone use that has been commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) along with a team of other academics from a number of UK universities.

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Meta faces £1.8bn lawsuit over claims it inflamed violence in Ethiopia

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Son of murdered academic calls on Facebook owner to ‘radically change how it moderates dangerous content’

Meta faces a $2.4bn (£1.8bn) lawsuit accusing the Facebook owner of inflaming violence in Ethiopia after the Kenyan high court said a legal case against the US tech group could go ahead.

The case brought by two Ethiopian nationals calls on Facebook to alter its algorithm to stop promoting hateful material and incitement to violence, as well as hiring more content moderators in Africa. It is also seeking a $2.4bn “restitution fund” for victims of hate and violence incited on Facebook.

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