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Here are some tips on staying safe, communicating and setting limits on social media — for kids as well as their parents. “There is not necessarily a magical age,” said Christine Elgersma, a social media expert at the nonprofit Common Sense Media. Some tech executives, celebrities such as Jennifer Garner and parents from all walks of life have resorted to banning their kids from social media altogether. Watch a documentary like “The Social Dilemma” that explores algorithms, dark patterns and dopamine feedback cycles of social media. Social media platforms that cater to children have added an ever-growing array of parental controls as they face increasing scrutiny over child safety.

Persons: it’s, —, ’, ”, Christine Elgersma, Elgersma, Jennifer Garner, Jean Rogers, “ That’s, ” Rogers, Rogers, “, Meta, Instagram, Vivek Murthy Organizations: Republican, Democratic, IF, LAW, Companies, “, Facebook, U.S

☆ Kids aren’t safe on social media, lawmakers say. Tech CEOs are back in DC this week to pledge (again) that they’ll handle it
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Brian Fung | Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Until now, the social platforms have largely had the same response: We’ll help teens and families make smart decisions themselves. But now, with growing claims that social media can hurt young users, including worries that it risks driving them to depression or even suicide, online safety advocates say that response falls far short. This month Meta announced a proposed blueprint for federal legislation calling for app stores, not social media companies, to verify users’ ages and enforce an age minimum. Safety action beyond CongressAs efforts to rein in tech platforms have ground to a standstill on Capitol Hill, much of the momentum for regulating social media has picked up outside the halls of Congress. Elsewhere, state-backed and consumer lawsuits against the companies are ramping up pressure to regulate tech platforms as the litigation reveals more about their inner workings.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Linda Yaccarino, Evan Spiegel, Jason Citron, ”, Jeff Chester, TikTok, ’, Meta, ’ Instagram, Frances Haugen, Josh Golin, Zamaan Qureshi, Qureshi, Elon Musk, X, ” Golin Organizations: CNN, —, Center for Digital Democracy, Meta, Center, ” Locations: —, Arkansas , Louisiana , Ohio , Utah, Austin , Texas

The newly-formed Sustainable Media Center is intent on stopping companies from using algorithms to push damaging information to vulnerable youths, dark things like suicide methods. Political Cartoons View All 1199 ImagesThe Sustainable Media Center is not alone in this effort. Waituntil8th.org urges parents to not give children smartphones until they reach the eighth grade, and to keep them off social media until they're at least 16. He said he hoped the group could take some dramatic action to give the social media issue greater visibility. The Sustainable Media Center is working with Columbia University to do a comprehensive review of research on the issue, Rosenbaum said.

Persons: Bradley Tusk, Steven Rosenbaum, ” Rosenbaum, Vivek Murthy, Waituntil8th.org, Josh Golin, Fairplay, ” Golin, Tusk, Leo Hindery Jr, Roger McNamee, “, Eric Gertler, David Hornik, Rosenbaum, Emma Lembke, Zamaan Qureshi, Aidan Kohn, Murphy, Sen, Cory Booker, Booker, ” Tusk, he's, Gen, Golin, it's, ” Organizations: Sustainable Media, Venture, MTV, NYC Media, U.S, Sustainable Media Center, YES, Facebook, U.S . News, New, New Jersey Democrat, Columbia University Locations: U.S, New Jersey

After a research report last week found that YouTube’s advertising practices had the potential to undercut the privacy of children watching children’s videos, the company said it limited the collection of viewer data and did not serve targeted ads on such videos. Under a federal privacy law, however, children’s online services must obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from users under 13 to target them with ads — a commitment YouTube extended to anyone watching a children’s video. Now Fairplay, a prominent children’s group, is challenging the company’s privacy statements. The group said it had used advertising placement tools from YouTube’s parent company, Google, to run a $10 ad campaign this month targeted at different groups of adults, exclusively on children’s video channels. In total, the group’s ads were placed 1,446 times on YouTube children’s video channels.

Persons: ”, Tom ”, Fairplay Organizations: Google, YouTube

☆ Amazon saved children's voices recorded by Alexa even after parents asked for it to be deleted. Now it's paying a $25 million fine.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon has agreed to change how it handles children's data recorded by Alexa. Under a settlement, the company will now delete all data, including voice recordings, when requested. Amazon will also have to flag the settlement on its "Parent Dashboard," where adults can set limits on children's use of Amazon services. The division is also now responsible for Amazon having to pay the US Treasury Department a $25 million civil penalty. "For too long, Amazon has treated children's sensitive data as its own property," Golin said in a statement provided to Insider.

Persons: Tessa M, Gorman, Josh Golin, Golin, Biden, Lina M, Khan, Suzanne Bernstein, Bernstein Organizations: Amazon, Alexa, Federal Trade Commission, COPPA, US Treasury Department, FTC, Department of Justice, Trump, Privacy, Big Tech Locations: Washington

☆ Pornhub asks users, Big Tech for help as states adopt age verification laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Washington CNN —In the two-minute video, adult performer Cherie Deville stares into the camera and intones soberly to viewers, for the second time in a month, that policymakers are coming for their porn. It’s unclear how much Pornhub expects to achieve, as the laws have already been passed and signed. Pornhub’s simultaneous appeals to users and to Big Tech highlight the challenging position the company now finds itself in amid a wave of state legislation. Now, Pornhub’s fight could prove to be a bellwether for the growing push to enforce age verification for social media. Device-based age verification, Tiwari said, could have “very serious privacy connotations, because you now have the largest tech companies in the world having your government ID and all the information present in them linked to individual devices.

Persons: Cherie Deville, soberly, ” Deville, Pornhub, CNN it’s “, Pornhub —, —, ECP, Solomon Friedman, Friedman, ” Friedman, “, Porn, Pornhub’s, Josh Golin, ” Golin, India McKinney, ” McKinney, Udbhav Tiwari, Tiwari, ” Organizations: Washington CNN —, CNN, Ethical Capital Partners, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Big Tech, Android, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mozilla, Twitter, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Pornhub, Utah, Arkansas , Mississippi, Virginia, India

☆ Teachers are on the front lines of a battle to change how teens use social media
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Each school year, the 10th graders in her class at Scarsdale High School in New York watch “The Social Dilemma,” a 2020 documentary about the harms of social media. Ron DeSantis signed an education bill that prohibits students from accessing certain social media platforms on school Wi-Fi and requires instruction on the negative impacts of social media. These efforts come amid heightened bipartisan pressure from lawmakers for social media companies to do more to protect their youngest users. Teachers openly remind students how their social media history lives on and how it can be perceived among colleges and employers, English said. “Many students don’t even understand most of these dangers,” said Marc Berkman, director of The Organization for Social Media Safety.

Persons: hasn’t, Jennifer Rosenzweig, ”, Rosenzweig, “, ” Rosenzweig, Vivek Murthy’s, ” Jennifer Rosenzweig, Ron DeSantis, Chris English, sexting, don’t, Marc Berkman, Devorah Heitner, “ Screenwise, ’, Berkman, he’s, it’s, Gillian Feldman, ” Feldman, Sabine Polack, Polack Organizations: CNN, Scarsdale High School, Florida Gov, Roycemore, Teachers, Social Media Safety, The Organization, Brawerman Elementary School, Organization of Social Media Safety, Scarsdale, Scarsdale High, Scarsdale School District Locations: New York, Florida, Evanston , Illinois, Los Angeles, Scarsdale

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Companies Apple Inc FollowJan 20 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday affirmed a decision to throw out a $308.5 million jury verdict against Apple Inc (AAPL.O) for allegedly infringing a patent related to digital rights management. PMC, a patent licensing company, first sued Apple for infringing several patents in 2015. He said PMC's patent was unenforceable because the company had used a "deliberate strategy of delay" in applying for the patent, representing a "conscious and egregious misuse of the statutory patent system." The Federal Circuit affirmed Gilstrap in a 2-1 ruling, finding that PMC's "inequitable scheme to extend its patent rights" had prejudiced Apple. Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington Editing by David Bario and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India asks Google to stop displaying online betting ads - Mint
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Dec 7 (Reuters) - India has asked Google not to display surrogate ads of overseas betting companies, Mint newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing a person aware of the development in the ministry of information and broadcasting. The letter sent last week to Alphabet Inc's Google India (GOOGL.O) asked the company to immediately drop all advertising, direct or surrogate, from betting platforms like Fairplay, PariMatch, Betway in search results and YouTube, the report said. “After our last advisory on 3 October, TV channels and OTT (Over-the-top) players stopped showing surrogate ads of online betting firms, but it was brought to our notice that many such ads are running on YouTube and Google. We have asked Google to stop this immediately," said a senior ministry official to Mint. read moreReporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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