Category Archives: Social media

Australia urged to impose big tech tax to fund trusted media and fight disinformation

Posted on by

Thinktank casts ‘deterioration of the information environment’ as a foreign policy priority and a threat to social cohesion

Australia has been urged to hit big tech companies with a new digital platform tax to fund trusted news media in order to confront the “rising tide of misinformation and disinformation”.

Australia’s defence budget “commits billions to buffer against military threats” but the country is “unprepared to fend off malicious actors looking for any chance to wage information warfare”, according to the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D) thinktank.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Iraqi TikTok star Om Fahad shot dead outside Baghdad home

Posted on by

Officials say unidentified man killed influencer who had previously been imprisoned over dancing videos

A man on a motorbike has shot dead a social media influencer known as Om Fahad outside her Baghdad home, Iraqi security officials have said.

The unidentified attacker shot Om Fahad in her car in the Zayouna district on Friday, a security official said, requesting anonymity because he was not cleared to speak to the media.

Continue reading...

Sarah Hanson-Young softens demand for inquiry into Murdoch media

Posted on by

Amid the threat of big tech, Greens senator says News titles are ‘trusted news providers’ and a royal commission should look at the whole industry

The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has watered down her demand for a royal commission examining the role of the Murdoch media in Australia, now describing it as a “trusted” news provider compared with unregulated social media platforms.

Hanson-Young says she still wants a royal commission but that she is no longer advocating for it to focus specifically on media outlets owned by News Corp.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

ByteDance would shut down TikTok in US rather than sell it, sources say

Posted on by

App’s ‘secret source’ algorithm reportedly core to operations of parent company, which sources say make a sale highly unlikely

ByteDance would prefer to shut down TikTok rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the US, four sources said.

The algorithms TikTok relies on for its operations are deemed core to ByteDance’s overall operations, which would make a sale of the app with algorithms highly unlikely, said the sources close to the parent.

Continue reading...

Australian prime minister labels Elon Musk ‘an arrogant billionaire who thinks he is above the law’

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese responds to X owner who criticised Australian authorities demanding videos of a Sydney church stabbing be removed

Australia’s prime minister has labelled X’s owner, Elon Musk, an “arrogant billionaire who thinks he is above the law” as the rift deepens between Australia and the tech platform over the removal of videos of a violent stabbing in a Sydney church.

On Monday evening in an urgent last-minute federal court hearing, the court ordered a two-day injunction against X to hide posts globally containing the footage of the alleged stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on 15 April. The eSafety commissioner had previously directed X to remove the posts, but X had only blocked them from access in Australia pending a legal challenge.

Continue reading...

EU threatens TikTok Lite with ban over reward-to-watch feature

Posted on by

App feature could be suspended unless child safety concerns addressed, in first use of sweeping new digital powers

The EU has said it will ban a new service launched by TikTok in Europe that it believes could be “as addictive as cigarettes” unless the company offers “compelling” fresh evidence that children are safeguarded.

If the ban goes ahead, it would be the first time the EU has used sweeping new powers to impose sanctions on social media companies since its landmark Digital Service Act (DSA) came into force last August.

Continue reading...

Australian court orders Elon Musk’s X to hide Sydney church stabbing posts from users globally

Posted on by

Judge makes interim order after eSafety commissioner orders social media outlet to remove footage of Wakeley stabbing

The Australian federal court has ordered Elon Musk’s X to hide posts containing videos of a stabbing at a Sydney church last week from users globally, after the eSafety commissioner launched an urgent court case on Monday evening seeking an injunction.

X, along with Meta, were ordered by the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, on Tuesday last week to remove material deemed to depict “gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail” within 24 hours or potentially face fines.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Bolsonaro supporters hit streets of Rio and hail new hero Elon Musk

Posted on by

Owner of X has used social media platform to bash judge in charge of investigations into former president

Thousands of diehard supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro have hit the streets of Rio to champion their embattled leader and celebrate the new hero of their far-right movement: Elon Musk.

The tech billionaire has spent recent weeks using his social network X to bash Bolsonaro’s arch-enemy, the supreme court judge Alexandre de Moraes. Moraes is responsible for several investigations into Bolsonaro that could land the ex-president in jail, including one examining the alleged coup plot that preceded the rightwing insurrection in Brasília on 8 January 2023.

Continue reading...

US House passes bill that could lead to total TikTok ban

Posted on by

Bill – with updated language that extends deadline to a year for ByteDance to divest of TikTok – to go before Senate next week

The House of Representatives voted 360 to 58 on the updated divest-or-ban bill that could lead to the first time ever that the US government has passed a law to shut down an entire social media platform.

The Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week and Joe Biden has said he will sign the legislation.

Continue reading...

Elon Musk and X to fight Australian eSafety order to remove content relating to Sydney stabbing

Posted on by

Company says it complied with directive over posts about stabbing of Sydney bishop but will challenge ‘unlawful and dangerous approach’ in court

Elon Musk and his social media company X have accused Australia’s eSafety commissioner of censorship and say they will challenge in court an order to remove content on the site relating to Monday’s Sydney church stabbing.

On Tuesday the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said that X and Meta were issued with a notice to remove material within 24 hours that depicted “gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail”, with the companies facing potential fines if they failed to comply.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Exclusive: Georgia lawmaker runs secret election-conspiracy Telegram channel

Posted on by

Bridget Thorne, a Republican elected in Fulton county in 2022, has spread election fraud lies and accused county employees of crimes

A Fulton county commissioner in Georgia has been operating a private Telegram channel for years, propagating debunked claims about the 2020 election, and spreading accusations of crimes by county employees, including Ruby Freeman, an election worker defamed by Rudy Giuliani in the wake of Donald Trump’s 2020 loss.

Bridget Thorne, a Republican representing the relatively conservative cities of Fulton county north of Atlanta, indirectly identifies herself as the creator and administrator of the Fulton County Elections channel on Telegram, a mobile messaging platform, in multiple posts to its page. The channel uses the official logo of the Fulton county board of registration and elections.

Continue reading...

High-ranking Queensland police officers under scrutiny over offensive social media activity

Posted on by

Exclusive: Ethical standards command launches internal review as Guardian Australia unearths Facebook posts dating back years

Queensland police’s ethical standards command is conducting a review after high-ranking members of the service appeared to publicly share and comment on lewd social media posts over a number of years, including one about a sexual assault.

From 2017 to 2022, Det Supt Benjamin Fadian publicly tagged a number of officers in dozens of Facebook posts about subjects including pornography, masturbation and dildos.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Sydney church stabbing: social media pages ‘infamous’ for spreading misinformation taken down

Posted on by

Premier Chris Minns is alarmed at the ‘wildfire’ of rumour and graphic content online after Wakeley and Bondi stabbings

Social media pages “infamous” for spreading misinformation have been taken down after the Wakeley church stabbing attack, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said on Thursday, while expressing alarm at the “wildfire” of rumour and graphic content still proliferating on tech platforms.

On Monday night YouTube was live broadcasting Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel’s service at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church. After the stabbing occurred, video clips spread through WhatsApp groups before police had arrived on scene.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

eSafety commissioner orders X and Meta to remove violent videos following Sydney church stabbing

Posted on by

Julie Inman Grant issues notices compelling companies to remove offending material within 24 hours

Facebook’s parent company Meta and X/Twitter have been told to remove violent and distressing videos and imagery of the stabbing of a prominent Orthodox Christian leader in Sydney’s west on Monday evening.

The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, told reporters on Tuesday that X and Meta had been issued with notices to remove material within 24 hours that depicted “gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail”, with the companies facing potential fines if they fail to comply.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Licence to trill: Molly the magpie returned to Queensland carers after special wildlife permit granted

Posted on by

Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen are allowed to keep the bird, which had become Instagram famous with their staffy, Peggy, but are forbidden from monetising it

Molly the magpie has been returned to its Gold Coast carers – but they are no longer allowed to make money from its 837,000 Instagram followers.

The department of environment, science and innovation approved a special licence for Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen, who have cared for it since it fell from the nest in 2020.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Use TikTok to combat misinformation, MPs tell government

Posted on by

Cross-party committee urges creation of strategy engage with new platforms that appeal to young

The government needs a TikTok strategy to help combat misinformation directed at young people, MPs have said.

Members of the cross-party culture, media and sport committee said the government needed to adapt to new apps and platforms that appeal to young people who are increasingly turning away from traditional sources of news.

Continue reading...

Instagram ads in UK promoting ‘butt lifts’ in Turkey as part of holidays in potential breach of rules

Posted on by

Watchdog warns cosmetic surgery providers abroad as analysis reveals thousands of Facebook adverts

A post on Instagram shows the back of a woman in tight blue leggings, her lower body taking up most of the frame. The words “Temptingly sexy curves ahead … Ready to turn heads and break hearts?” are written in the caption. It is from a company offering Britons the chance to get a Brazilian butt lift while enjoying a luxury holiday abroad.

The advert is one of thousands on social media promoting cosmetic surgery tourism by companies in Turkey to UK residents, including gastric band operations, hair transplants and Brazilian butt lifts (BBL) – a process that involves fat taken from elsewhere on the body being injected into the buttocks – in a trend that has triggered safety concerns among doctors in Britain.

Continue reading...

‘I will not dance’: Olaf Scholz joins TikTok with a promise

Posted on by

German chancellor follows in the footsteps of Joe Biden and other leaders on social media platform

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has opened a TikTok account, promising he will not be seen dancing on the social media platform popular with young people.

The newest official government channel “increases the information offer to citizens, who increasingly inform themselves and discuss politics on TikTok”, Scholz’s spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Elon Musk faces Brazil inquiry after defying X court order

Posted on by

Multibillionaire called for resignation of judge who ordered platform to block far-right users

Elon Musk faces a legal investigation in Brazil after becoming embroiled in a public row with a supreme court judge over an order requiring the social network X to take down some far-right accounts.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes had issued a court order forcing the site formerly known as Twitter to block several users as part of his investigation into the former president Jair Bolsonaro’s attempts to stay in power after his 2022 election defeat.

Continue reading...

‘First time?’ Californians poke fun at New Yorkers’ frantic earthquake posts

Posted on by

Although one Bay Area reporter found the side-eye inappropriate, New York earthquake Twitter proved delightful for Angelenos

For many people in Los Angeles, earthquakes are just another trend that New Yorkers have discovered years after the real cool kids did.

As Angelenos awoke to the news that the east coast had endured a 4.8-magnitude earthquake centered in New Jersey, “First time?” memes filled Los Angeles social media channels.

Continue reading...