Search results for "social media platform"

Instagram Launches Tool Urging Teens to Take a Break

Instagram on Tuesday launched a feature that urges teenagers to take breaks from the photo-sharing platform and announced other tools aimed at protecting young users from harmful content on the Facebook-owned service. The previously announced “Take A Break” feature encourages teens to stop scrolling if they have been on the social media platform for a […]

Meta uncovers global disinformation battle; Congress talks 230 reforms

As governmental entities abuse social media platforms’ influence on a universal scale, Facebook released on Wednesday a report highlighting its takedown on global disinformation networks promoting false information to manipulate the public’s opinion. One thing the January 6 Capitol riot uncovered is that social media platforms, especially Facebook, have an influential effect on shaping the […]

Congress to hold a hearing to amend Section 230

Facebook whistleblower France Haugen is once again asked to testify to Congress on December 1, as a subcommittee will uphold a hearing to address future “targeted reforms” and to amend Section 230 of The Communications Decency Act. The leading directive force of the hearings will be the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on communications and […]

Collins Dictionary picks NFT as word of the year 2021

Collins Dictionary has chosen the term NFT as its word of the year after surging interest in the digital tokens that can sell for millions of dollars brought it into the mainstream. NFT is short for non-fungible token. Collins defines it as “a unique digital certificate, registered in a blockchain, that is used to record […]

Coalition of States Examines Instagram’s Psychological Effect on Teens

A coalition of states attorneys general launched Thursday an investigation into Instagram’s ways of attracting and affecting the younger generation, especially younger girls, in their latest attempt to harshen regulatory scrutiny on Meta Platforms Inc, according to The Wall Street Journal. The examination into the social networking platform led by eight states, with Massachusetts and Nebraska […]

State attorneys general probing Instagram's effects on kids

A group of state attorneys general are investigating the photo-sharing platform Instagram and its effects on children and young adults, saying its parent company Facebook — now called Meta Platforms — ignored internal research about the physical and mental health dangers it posed to young people. The investigation is led by a bipartisan coalition of […]

Report: 'Whole of society' effort must fight misinformation

Misinformation is jeopardizing efforts to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges, be it climate change, COVID-19 or political polarization, according to a new report from the Aspen Institute that’s backed by prominent voices in media and cybersecurity. Recommendations in the 80-page analysis, published Monday, call for new regulations on social media platforms; stronger, more consistent […]

Prince Harry says he warned Twitter CEO of U.S. Capitol riot

Britain’s Prince Harry has sharply attacked the failure of social media companies to challenge hate online, revealing that he warned the chief executive of Twitter ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots that the site was being used to stage political unrest. Harry made the comments Tuesday in an online panel on misinformation in California. […]

Europe bolsters pioneering tech rules with help from Haugen

European lawmakers have pioneered efforts to rein in big technology companies and are working to strengthen those rules, putting them ahead of the United States and other parts of world that have been slower to regulate Facebook and other social media giants facing increasing blowback over misinformation and other harmful content that can proliferate on […]

Meta to deploy feature to remove ad targets of sensitive content

Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, announced Tuesday that it is looking to remove ad targets of sensitive content by prohibiting advertisers’ usage of detailed targeting options based on interaction with sensitive fields. In a blog post on the Meta for Business blog, the recently rebranded social media platform is seeking to diminish advertisers’ supremacy by blocking […]