minors

The European Union will investigate whether TikTok breached online content rules, revealed Reuters. The social media, owned by ByteDance, may have failed to protect children and ensure transparent advertising and might have to pay a fine of up to 6% of its global turnover. According to Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, the decision was taken after he analyzed the short video app's risk assessment report and its replies to requests for information. Today we open an investigation into…

The European Commission opened a formal investigation to review whether the social media app TikTok violated new rules in place that aim to protect minors online, it announced Monday.   The investigation will review if TikTok, owned by the Chinese-based parent company ByteDance, breached the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU’s new online children protection rule that went into effect Saturday, by its platform design and privacy settings.   If the commission establishes a breach of the DSA, it could impose…

TikTok is in the EU's crosshairs over potential Digital Services Act (DSA) breaches around the safety of minors and other matters. The formal proceedings will focus on addictive algorithms, the "rabbit hole effect," age verification issues and default privacy settings. The European Commission is also probing ad transparency and data access for researchers, it said in a press release.The probe is focusing on the privacy and safety of minors. The Commission will look at the potentially negative aspects of TikTok's design…

Tech giant Meta has just announced it will be imposing stricter message settings for minors on Instagram and Facebook. In a recent news post on its site, Meta talked about teen safety on its social media platforms. The new changes will promise to not only protect teens but also allow guardians more control. Unsolicited contact with minors on social media has been a societal plague for years. These new restrictions aim to combat this social contagion, as well as giving parents greater peace of mind. Meta’s proposed…

Meta has been accused of running corporate ads next to content that sexualizes underage users. The allegations by Walmart, along with Tinder’s parent company Match Group, have been made public as part of a lawsuit filed by the New Mexico attorney general’s office last month.Why we care. Placing ads alongside illegal content poses a serious threat to brand safety. The potential fallout not only includes reputational damage but also significantly diminishes the chances of an ad reaching its intended audience, likely…

Social media companies collectively made over $11 billion in U.S. advertising revenue from minors last year, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published on Wednesday. The researchers say the findings show a need for government regulation of social media since the companies that stand to make money from children who use their platforms have failed to meaningfully self-regulate. They note such regulations, as well as greater transparency from tech companies, could help alleviate harms…

A trade group that represents TikTok and other major tech companies sued Utah on Monday over its first-in-the-nation laws requiring children and teens to obtain parental consent to use social media apps.Two laws signed in March by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox will prohibit minors from using social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. unless authorized by a parent — and require age verification to open and maintain a social media account in the state. The restrictions are designed to protect children from…

A trade group that represents TikTok and other major tech companies sued Utah on Monday over its first-in-the-nation laws requiring children and teens to obtain parental consent to use social media apps.Two laws signed in March by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox will prohibit minors from using social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. unless authorized by a parent - and require age verification to open and maintain a social media account in the state.Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill…

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez (D) is suing Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg over allegations the company’s platforms — Facebook and Instagram — promoted underage accounts to purported child predators. The state attorney general’s office says its undercover investigation found Meta allowed its platforms to “become a marketplace for predators in search of children upon whom they prey.” The investigation involved creating decoy accounts pretending to be children 14 years and younger. The lawsuit, filed…

Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Wednesday banning practices aimed at “curing” the sexual orientation or gender identity of minors On Wednesday, Michigan became the 22nd state to ban conversion therapy, a form of unproven pseudoscientific “therapy” aimed at “curing” LGBTQ+ individuals of their sexual or gender identity.  “As a mom of a member of the community and a proud, lifelong ally, I’m grateful that today we’re banning the horrific practice of conversion therapy in…