Discussion platform takes fifth place in rankings and is the fastest growing large social media platform in the UK
Reddit, the American online discussion platform, has overtaken X to become the fifth most popular social media platform in the UK, according to the communications watchdog.
Ofcom said Reddit, where users post on discussion threads within topic-based communities, was visited by 22.9 million UK adults in May this year, compared with 22.1 million on X.
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Does the delay on gambling ad restrictions have anything to do with the demands of lobbyists?
Clare O’Neil said it wasn’t about lobbying, but “about making sure that we get this right”.
And the minister has pointed to previous attempts to scale back gambling advertising that have actually resulted in more gambling advertising. This is a delicate area, and we’ve got to get the balance right, and that’s what the minister is seeking to do.
These complicated matters, they just are. You know, if this was a really simple problem to fix, then it would have been fixed a long time ago.
I would say our government deserves credit for stepping up and saying we’re going to take action on this, and the minister [Michelle Rowland] is doing what is appropriate, which is diligently working through what the proposals will look like.
The minister is working with people, experts, stakeholders, others who will be affected by this legislation, and the government has said will come forward with … proposals early next year.
Continue reading...Heritage minister says Facebook made ‘room for misinformation’ after turning news off in 2023 as Australia mulls actions that could lead to Meta doing the same
Twelve months on from Canada’s worst-ever wildfire season unfolding during a news blackout on Facebook, the nation has warned Australia about Meta’s “reckless” behaviour during “need-to-know situations”.
An early start to Australia’s bushfire season is looming for swaths of the country, with large parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory, the south-west of Victoria and south-east corner of South Australia facing higher risk, according to an official assessment in September.
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Continue reading...Strike with US-made missiles has prompted fears of Russian reprisal that would broaden the scope of a frontline
A Ukrainian strike using American-made missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia using American-made weaponry, has prompted renewed fears of reprisal through “hybrid warfare” – a chaotic tool of conflict that muddies borders and broadens the scope of a frontline.
Over recent years, European nations have witnessed a spate of incidents – cyber-attacks, arson, incendiary devices, sabotage and even murder plots. The aim of such episodes, security officials believe, is to sow chaos, exacerbate social tensions among Ukraine’s allies and disrupt military supplies to Kyiv.
Continue reading...Force says Telegraph writer accused of inciting racial hatred, rather than committing a non-crime hate incident as she had claimed
Essex police have defended their decision to investigate the Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson over a social media post, saying she is accused of “inciting racial hatred” not of committing a “non-crime hate incident”, as she had claimed.
The row over Pearson’s tweet has been splashed across the front pages of the Times, Telegraph and Mail this week. Leading figures on the right, including the new leader of the Conservative party, Kemi Badenoch, and the former prime minister Boris Johnson, have leapt to her defence.
Continue reading...Saltburn actor tells Louis Theroux podcast about his difficult childhood and decision to keep his child offline
Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan has hit back at “disgusting” online trolls who he claimed use his relationship with his son as “ammunition” against him.
The 32-year-old Irish actor, who is dating US singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter, has a two-year-old son, Brando, with his former partner.
Continue reading...Lawsuit alleges TikTok’s algorithm exposed teenagers to videos promoting suicide, self-harm and eating disorders
Seven French families have filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the platform of exposing their adolescent children to harmful content that led to two of them taking their own lives at 15, their lawyer said.
The lawsuit alleges TikTok’s algorithm exposed the seven teenagers to videos promoting suicide, self-harm and eating disorders, lawyer Laure Boutron-Marmion told broadcaster Franceinfo on Monday.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...Company beats financial predictions but does not increase daily users as much as Wall Street thought it might
Meta’s blowout year continues after the company reported another stellar financial quarter on Wednesday. Shares fell in after-hours trading.
Wall Street analysts had high expectations for the Instagram and WhatsApp parent company, projecting an 18% jump in sales year over year. The company reported $40.6bn in sales, a 19% increase year over year that outpaced investor expectations of $40.19bn. Meta, which saw a 25% jump in its share price over the past two months, reported $6.03 in earnings per share (EPS), surpassing Wall Street’s expectations of an EPS of $5.29.
Continue reading...Prime minister wants young people to be shielded from ‘power of the algorithm’
Norway is to enforce a strict minimum age limit on social media of 15 as the government ramped up its campaign against tech companies it says are “pitted against small children’s brains”.
The Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, conceded it would be “an uphill battle” but said politicians must intervene to protect children from the “power of the algorithms”.
Continue reading...Watchdog issues warning over misinformation after trouble that flared following killing of three girls on Merseyside
Social media algorithms must be adjusted to prevent misinformation from spreading, the chief executive of Ofcom has warned, responding to the rioting that broke out after the killing of three girls in Southport this summer.
Misinformation about the Southport killings proliferated despite tech firms and social media platforms’ “uneven” attempts to stop it, wrote the Ofcom chief executive, Melanie Dawes, in a letter to the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, Peter Kyle.
Continue reading...Social media company tells parliamentary committee Facebook and Instagram bring value to news outlets
Social media company Meta has accused a federal parliamentary committee of ignoring “the realities of how our platforms work” and the value Facebook and Instagram bring to news outlets, as a fight reignites over the news media bargaining code and funding of media publishers.
The Albanese government has also given its strongest indication yet it will look to reshape the code or replace the framework entirely, voicing concern that Meta is trying to simply “sidestep obligations to pay for news”.
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Continue reading...In the age of influencer therapists and mental health apps, experts say the public need to be better informed
From influencer therapists on social media to psychotherapy platforms advertising on TV and radio, going to see a therapist is increasingly mainstream – yet many people know little about who they are seeing and what they are getting.
Experts said more information and awareness among the public of how therapy works was desperately needed, to minimise the risks of making their mental health worse.
Continue reading...Race organisers apologise after posting edited images of two runners where their Asics and Puma branding was obscured
The Nike-sponsored Melbourne Marathon festival has apologised for posting an edited image of a winning runner with the logo of a sports apparel rival obscured.
The image depicted Leanne Pompeani with her arms outstretched after she won the half-marathon but the Asics logo on her running singlet was rubbed out.
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Continue reading...Communications minister Michelle Rowland says ‘likely’ changes to Online Safety Act ‘will place onus on platforms, not parents or young people’
Social media companies could escape the Albanese government’s proposed age ban if they can demonstrate a “low risk of harm to children”, the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, has said.
Rowland will announce on Friday that the “likely” amendments to the Online Safety Act banning children from social media will “place the onus on platforms, not parents or young people” to enforce the ban.
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Continue reading...Former BBC host, with millions of social media followers, was arrested in Australia following alleged attack on woman in Perth hotel room
The British rapper, YouTuber and television personality Yung Filly has been arrested in Australia and charged with rape and assault.
The 29-year-old, born Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos, who was on tour in the country, was arrested in Brisbane and taken to Perth where the alleged incidents occurred.
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The opposition communications spokesperson, David Coleman, is speaking to ABC radio RN, criticising the government’s legislation designed to keep the NBN in public hands.
He is having trouble saying whether the opposition will support the bill, or whether a future Coalition government would want to sell the NBN.
We’re not going to just sort of immediately jump at some silly theatrical statement from the government. The adults in the room will review this in a normal way.
We’ve got no intention of changing the ownership structure of the NBN. Nobody does. And frankly, because the NBN is going so badly, there’s not exactly a lineup of people [wanting to buy it].
Parents are crying out for a degree of certainty, they’re crying out for government guidance, a lot more rule that people can follow. That doesn’t mean there won’t be challenging but at least provides a starting point for parents. It gives them a tool about how to address this and parents who have gone through all this and all the pain that social media can place upon their children, they’re the ones I think are the most powerful advocates for this reform.
Continue reading...States and District of Columbia allege platform’s ‘dopamine-inducing’ algorithm can lead to anxiety and depression
More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia have filed lawsuits against TikTok on Tuesday, alleging the popular short-form video app is harming youth mental health by designing its platform to be addictive to kids.
The lawsuits stem from a national investigation into TikTok, which was launched in March 2022 by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from many states, including California, Kentucky and New Jersey. All of the complaints were filed in state courts.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Andrew Barr says it ‘doesn’t make sense’ for existing users to be banned for a year or two before regaining access
It “doesn’t make sense” to remove existing teen users of social media from the platforms just a year or two before they regain access, Andrew Barr says.
The ACT chief minister’s comments point to the possibility that existing users could be grandfathered by the proposed social media ban so that they keep their accounts or are temporarily moved on to teen-friendly versions, such as that recently introduced for Instagram by Meta.
Continue reading...Almost half of girls aged 11 to 21 in Girlguiding survey say sexism and misogyny makes them feel less safe
Girls and young women are seeing more unwanted sexual images and suffering more cyberstalking online, but still don’t want to take a break from social media because of a fear of missing out, a survey for Girlguiding has found.
“Fomo” is keeping more than half of 11- to 21-year-olds on apps such as TikTok, Snapchat and WhatsApp despite nearly one in five saying they have been being stalked online and more than a third saying they are seeing sexual images they didn’t wish to see, the survey of more than 2,000 girls and young women found.
Continue reading...COO Andrew Northwall last month left the company that now owes almost 800,000 shares to an investor
The chief operating officer of Truth Social’s parent company has resigned, and the company must hand over almost 800,000 shares to one of its investors as part of a court ruling, according to a regulatory filing.
Andrew Northwall, the former COO, resigned from Trump Media & Technology Group Corp late last month, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, adding that the company plans to “transition his duties internally”.
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