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Senate hearing on social media: Zuckerberg apologises to families; bizarre racism

Senate hearing on social media

The Senate hearing on social media saw Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologise to families who hold social media responsible for children who harmed themselves, including some who took their own lives.

It also saw some bizarre racism by one senator who apparently can’t tell the difference between Singapore and China …

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Social media CEOs testifying to congress on teen safety

Social media CEOs quizzed | Apps shown on iPhone

The timing of Meta’s announcement of new teen safety measures earlier this week likely wasn’t coincidental: Mark Zuckerberg and other social media CEOs are set to testify to Congress on the topic.

Facebook’s founder will be joined by the chief execs of TikTok, Snap, Discord and X as Congress seeks to determine whether the companies are doing enough to protect teens from harm …

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Adopting a sane approach to social media, and apps generally

A sane approach to social media | Sunrise reflecting on waves

The start of a new year is a time many of us use to take stock – of our goals, our habits, the ways in which we spend our time. For me, one significant change has been adopting a more sane approach to social media, and apps in general.

I’m a huge fan of technology, of course, but I also fully acknowledge that tech also has its downsides – and social media in particular has been a very mixed blessing …

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NY law would require kids to get parental permission to use TikTok, YouTube, more

Parental permission for social media | Teen using iPhone

A new bill being put forward in New York state would require kids to get parental permission to use apps with algorithmic feeds. This would include TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and more.

The bill is known as the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, and has the backing of the state’s governor and state attorney general …

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Federal TikTok ban – new law is tried; third US state sues [U]

Federal TikTok ban | App on two phones

Update: A third US state is suing TikTok for harming children “by intentionally keeping young users spending unhealthy amounts of time on the short-video sharing platform.”

There have been threats/promises of a federal TikTok ban since 2020, but little progress has been made in the past three years. The latest development is that there are now two completely separate potential laws competing for support …

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TikTok deepfakes: MrBeast, Tom Hanks, Gayle King; NYU professor calls for ban

TikTok deepfakes | Video editing image

A number of TikTok deepfakes have been called out by the celebrities whose likenesses have been stolen. These include MrBeast, Tom Hanks, and Gayle King.

The fake video of MrBeast claimed that viewers had been selected to receive an iPhone 15 Pro for just $2, leaving the YouTube star to question whether social media networks are prepared for deepfake scams …

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TikTok ban: 18 states back Montana, as company cites 1st Amendment

TikTok ban US state attorneys general | Close-up of app icon

While we’re still waiting to hear whether a federal TikTok ban will be imposed, some 18 state attorneys general are backing Montana’s state-level ban on the short video app. The ban is due to take effect on January 1, 2024.

TikTok is seeking to overturn the ban on the basis that it violates the free speech rights of its video creators, granted by the First Amendment. The app is one of the most popular in the world, used by around a third of the US population …

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US TikTok ban still subject of negotiation; app fined for misusing children’s data

US TikTok ban | App shown on iPhone

Although the previous White House incumbent threatened a US TikTok ban and then quietly dropped it, the idea never quite went away. A new report says that fresh meetings have taken place between Bytedance, the Chinese owner of the app, and US government officials.

Things kicked off back in the summer of 2020 when the previous administration said that it was considering the possibility of banning TikTok over unspecified security concerns that data could be used by the Chinese government. Since the app uses very little personal data, the nature of these fears was not explained

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After videos and photos, TikTok now lets users share texts with others

TikTok now lets users share texts with others

TikTok became known as a social network focused on short videos. However, the platform has expanded its capabilities over the years by adding support for photos and Stories. But this time, TikTok’s latest move was completely unexpected. The platform announced on Monday that users can now share text, which diverges from the main purpose of the social network.

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TikTok now wants to compete with Apple Music with a new streaming service

TikTok now wants to compete with Apple Music with a new streaming service

The music streaming market has a lot of competitors, but Apple Music and Spotify have pretty much become leaders in this segment. However, there’s a new player entering this game, and that’s TikTok. The owners of the popular social network now want to compete with Apple Music and Spotify with their new music streaming platform called TikTok Music.

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Facebook Messenger parental controls expanded to teens; new TikTok half-measure

Facebook Messenger parental controls | Six teenagers using smartphones

Facebook Messenger parental controls have long been available for Messenger Kids – the special version of the chat app designed for children below 13 years of age – but not for teens. This has now changed, with parental controls coming to the main Messenger app when used by teens aged 13 to 18.

Separately, TikTok is integrating two existing filtering features after continuing concerns about showing inappropriate content to children – though as always, in a very weak way …

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First US state officially bans TikTok, $10,000 fine per violation

Last month, lawmakers in Montana voted to approve a first-of-its-kind bill to ban TikTok across the state. The final hurdle for that bill was a signature from Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, and he has now officially given the bill his seal of approval. The bill includes a $10,000 fine per violation, though there are major questions on how the ban will be enforced.

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