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☆ France moves to block access to pornography sites for minors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Marine Strauss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - France will present this week a digital-certification mechanism to oblige pornography websites to effectively control the age of viewers on their sites from September, French digital minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday. Sites which do not comply will risk being banned from publishing in France. In 2023, it is the end of access to pornography websites for our children," Barrot said in an interview with French daily Le Parisien. Under current legislation in France and most European countries, users have to 18 to be able to access pornography. But there is no effective control mechanism and users can simply enter a fictional birth date on their screens.

☆ I'm a 17-year-old trans kid in Utah, and I'm uprooting my life because of a law that bans gender-affirming care
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Yelena Dzhanova | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Luka, a 17-year-old trans kid living in Utah, is moving to Portland to evade the ramifications. Then I learned I'm trans. They really, really helped me figure out who I am and helped me feel comfortable living as who I am. So I'm planning to leave Utah. So I'm making the decision to leave Utah as soon as I can.

☆ A Colombian judge used ChatGPT to help rule on a case about the medical rights of a child with autism, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Colombian judge used ChatGPT in ruling on a case about the medical rights of a child with autism. The case was about whether the child's insurance should cover the bills for his medical treatments. Padilla asked the chatbot a series of questions about the case, with court documents containing the questions subsequently published on Blu Radio's website. Padilla used ChatGPT in accordance with Law 2213 of 2022 in Colombia, which says that virtual tools can be used to aid a case on some occasions. The case has divided people across the country over the ethics of using ChatGPT in a legal setting.

☆ Nobel laureate Ebadi says Iran's 'revolutionary process' is irreversible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi answers a question during an interview at the Thomson Reuters office in London, Britain February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Suzanne PlunkettDUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi said the death in custody of a young Iranian Kurdish woman last year has sparked an irreversible "revolutionary process" that would eventually lead to the collapse of the Islamic Republic. Iran's clerical rulers have faced widespread unrest since Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the morality police on Sept. 16 after she was arrested for wearing "inappropriate attire". As they have done in the past in the face of protests in the past four decades, Iran's hardline rulers have cracked down hard. Like many critics of Iran's clerical rulers, Ebadi believes the current wave of protests has been the boldest challenge to the establishment's legitimacy yet.

☆ Italy bans U.S.-based AI chatbot Replika from using personal data
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Italy's Data Protection Agency said on Friday it was prohibiting artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot company Replika from using the personal data of Italian users, citing risks to minors and emotionally fragile people. Replika, a San Francisco startup launched in 2017, offers customers bespoke avatars that talk and listen to them. The 'virtual friend' is marketed as being able to improve the emotional well-being of the user. Replika breaches European Privacy Regulations and processes personal data unlawfully as it cannot be based, even implicitly, on a contract that a minor is unable to sign, the watchdog said. ($1 = 0.9176 euros)Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Writing by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Gavin Jones and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU lawmakers agree to tougher rules on targeted political ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 2 (Reuters) - EU lawmakers on Thursday agreed to tougher rules on targeted political advertising aimed at countering misinformation during elections, drawing support from Google's YouTube and civil rights activists and concerns from a tech lobbying group. The rules require U.S. tech giants to provide more data on their targeted political ads, with fines up to 4% of their global turnover for breaches. EU lawmakers toughened up some of the provisions in the Commission's draft and will now have to thrash out details with EU countries before the proposed regulation can become legislation. Lawmakers also backed a blanket ban on using minors' data and a ban on non-EU based entities from financing political advertisements in the EU. They proposed setting up an online repository for all online political ads and related data, and the possibility of periodic penalties for repeated violations.

☆ Jeffrey Epstein's estate says it's not responsible for Leon Black allegedly raping a woman at Epstein's apartment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ashley Collman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lawyers representing Jeffrey Epstein's estate want out of a sex assault lawsuit against Leon Black. Cheri Pierson claims Epstein set up a massage for Black, where Black raped her in 2002. Epstein's lawyers say there isn't enough evidence that Epstein was negligent. "Plaintiff does not even clearly allege that Epstein was at the townhouse when the alleged rape occurred," lawyers for Epstein's estate wrote. Pierson claims that Epstein knew Black had "sexual deviant needs," but the Epstein lawyers said that's too "vague" an assertion, and "does not establish that Epstein knew or should have known that Black was a rapist who would rape" her.

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A group of U.S. Senate Democrats will introduce legislation on Thursday directing the Federal Trade Commission to create rules banning the marketing of firearms to children, including the JR-15, which has become a target of gun control advocates. The planned legislation comes roughly a week after Democrats publicly called on the FTC to probe the marketing techniques of gun manufacturer Wee 1 Tactical, maker of the JR-15 .22 Long Rifle. The legislation, known as the Protecting Kids from Gun Marketing Act, would in practice give the FTC the tools to go after gun manufacturers. Neither the FTC nor Wee 1 Tactical immediately responded to a request for comment. The company has previously said its JR-15 rifle was designed to allow adults to safely introduce shooting and hunting sports to the next generation.

☆ Before Sending a Child on a Flight Alone, Read the Fine Print
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Dawn Gilbertson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Nina Simon’s 9-year-old daughter spent five extra days with her grandparents in Washington state. Annalee Hickman Pierson’s 7-year-old daughter missed her first Christmas with her baby sister in Utah, where matching pajamas and velvet dresses awaited. The children were flying solo as part of Southwest Airlines Co.’s service for unaccompanied minors. They were among the youngest travelers caught in the carrier’s holiday meltdown.

☆ Chicago Prosecutor Drops Sex Abuse Charges Against R. Kelly After Federal Convictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Talal Ansari | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

R. Kelly is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence and is awaiting sentencing in another trial. The Cook County, Ill., state’s attorney’s office said it will no longer pursue indictments against R&B singer R. Kelly after his convictions in other cases. Nearly four years ago, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said Mr. Kelly had been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four victims, three of whom were minors at the time.

☆ TikTok CEO to testify before U.S. Congress over security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The news comes as the House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to hold a vote next month on a bill aimed at blocking the use of TikTok in the United States over national security concerns. "ByteDance-owned TikTok has knowingly allowed the ability for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data," McMorris Rodgers said, adding that Americans deserve to know how these actions impact their privacy and data security. TikTok said on Friday "calls for total bans of TikTok take a piecemeal approach to national security and a piecemeal approach to broad industry issues like data security, privacy, and online harms". The U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a powerful national security body, in 2020 ordered ByteDance to divest TikTok because of fears that U.S. user data could be passed onto China’s government. CFIUS and TikTok have been in talks for more than two years aiming to reach a national security agreement to protect the data of U.S. TikTok users.

☆ How the Supreme Court could soon change free speech on the internet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +19 min

Musk's actions since closing the deal last year have illuminated how he sees the balance internet platforms must strike in protecting free expression versus user safety. The Supreme Court has yet to decide if or when to hear the cases, though many expect it will take them up at some point. The Age-Appropriate Design Code requires internet platforms that are likely to be accessed by kids to mitigate risks to those users. Google said such a change would also make the internet less safe and less hospitable to free expression. The Supreme Court of the United States building are seen in Washington D.C., United States on December 28, 2022.

☆ Utah is poised to be the first state to pass a gender-affirming care ban in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Utah is likely to become the first state to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors this year. The Utah Senate approved a bill Friday that would bar minors from receiving gender-affirming surgeries and place an indefinite moratorium on their access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Spencer Cox, who became the second Republican governor last year to veto a bill that bars transgender students from playing girls’ sports. Bri Martin, the editor of the student newspaper at West High School, described gender-affirming care as “nothing short of life-saving,” the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The bill also allows minors to sue medical providers for malpractice for gender-affirming medical care if the minor “later disaffirms consent” before they turn 25.

☆ Thai activist sentenced to 28 years for online posts about king
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The court in the northern province of Chiang Rai found that Mongkhon Thirakot violated the lese majeste law in 14 of 27 posts for which he was arrested last August. The 42-year total prison term was reduced by one third, to 28 years, because of Mongkhon’s cooperation with the court. Prosecutions under the lese majeste law have recently drawn increased public attention because of a prison hunger strike by two female activists charged with the offense. The opposition Move Forward Party, which has been offering support, has proposed amending the lese majeste law, but no action has been taken in Parliament. “The entire Thai justice system has a problem and so does the enforcement of the lese majeste law, which is also used as a political tool.

☆ Some of the most controversial beauty gurus are speaking out as a TikTok star's mascara review stirs up explosive drama on the app
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Andrew Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Controversial beauty gurus Jeffree Star and James Charles are among those weighing in on the drama. The video received over 47,800 comments, many of which doubted the end result of the product and accused Nogueira of wearing synthetic lashes. " On January 26 he posted a TikTok video with the caption, "An UNsponsored Loreal Telescopic Mascara review." Beauty guru Alissa Ashley posted a TikTok video accusing Nogueira of, as she phrased it, "allegedly putting on a false lash to promote a mascara." Beauty YouTuber Raw Beauty Kristi also weighed in with a TikTok saying, "I think it's our responsibility and duty as influencers to keep our authenticity.

☆ Mexico finds over 50 unaccompanied kids from Guatemala in migrant truck
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Mexican authorities on Thursday stopped a crowded truck transporting nearly 70 migrants from Guatemala, mostly unaccompanied children, the country's National Institute of Migration (INM) said in a statement. The INM said federal Mexican agents spotted the truck at a checkpoint in Mexico's northern Chihuahua state, which borders the United States. It said there were 67 migrants from Guatemala traveling in the truck, including 57 unaccompanied minors, mostly boys, aged between 14 and 17. The truck driver was referred to Mexico's Attorney General's Office, it added, while the family and unaccompanied kids will be handed over to state authorities for the protection of children and teenagers. Earlier in January, Mexican immigration agents found three unaccompanied Salvadoran children stranded on an islet on the Rio Grande, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border.

☆ Less than 10% of 2022’s anti-LGBTQ state bills became law, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

State legislators across the country proposed a record number of bills targeting LGBTQ rights last year, but less than 1 in 10 have become law, a report published Thursday by the Human Rights Campaign found. The LGBTQ advocacy group’s 2022 State Equality Index, an annual review of state legislation and policies that affects the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, found that state lawmakers introduced 315 bills that HRC described as “anti-equality.” Of those, just 29 became law. “I know they don’t see that, but these are not winning issues.”This year’s State Equality Index also found that state lawmakers introduced 156 “pro-equality” bills, of which 23, or just under 15%, became law. Seventeen states bar Medicaid from covering certain transgender medical care. In just the first few weeks of the year, state lawmakers have introduced nearly 150 such bills, with the majority continuing to target LGBTQ youth, according to an NBC News analysis.

☆ Nearly 70% of all reported sexual assaults on US cruises since 2010 happened on ships run by Royal Caribbean or Carnival
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Yelena Dzhanova | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Carnival Cruise Line has the most reported sexual assaults since 2010, DOT data shows. But Carnival, with a fraction of Royal's fleet size, has recorded nearly double the number of reported sexual assaults aboard its ships since 2010. On Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruises, an overwhelming majority, or 82%, of the reported sexual assaults were found to have been committed by passengers, data showed. DOT data revealed that the majority of reported sexual assaults on Princess Cruises were attributed to crew members. A 2013 congressional report found that up to a third of reported sexual assaults aboard cruise ships involved minors.

☆ In a resurfaced 2020 interview George Santos claimed he met Jeffrey Epstein, and entertained the idea that he could still be alive
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

George Santos claimed to have met Jeffrey Epstein in a resurfaced podcast interview from August 2020. "I met Epstein in a couple of private equity conferences," Santos said on the conservative podcast "The Rory Sauter Show" in August 2020. "I've never dealt with him personally, but I've met him, I've seen him." (At the time of his death, Epstein was awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking of minors.) Later in the podcast interview Santos entertained the implausible idea that Epstein could still be alive.

☆ Matt Gaetz tried playing kingmaker during the House speaker vote after spending 2 years as a political pariah. Republicans say the grandstanding is unlikely to stop.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz was a key player in the House speaker vote fight. "I don't think this guy's looking to be a policymaker," the GOP strategist told Insider. Doug Heye, a former House leadership aide turned GOP strategist, said the jury's still very much out on Gaetz's motivations and his endgame. Or, it could be as easy as believing that guy who donned a gas mask to ridicule a House vote on COVID-19 relief is committed to troublemaking. Not a workaholicA former House GOP leadership aide said Gaetz's reputation precedes him on Capitol HIll.

☆ A GOP-backed bill in Oklahoma would fine drag performers up to $20,000 and have them face up to 2 years in jail for performing in front of a minor
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An Oklahoma bill would make it a felony punishable by a $20,000 fine for drag artists to perform in front of minors. The bill by GOP Rep. Kevin West would also make it a misdemeanor for one to organize drag performances in public. At least ten states have proposed legislation that targets drag performances, including drag queen story hours. State GOP Rep. Kevin West, who filed House Bill 2186 on January 19, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. The bill is scheduled to have its first reading in the Oklahoma House on February 6, per the Oklahoma legislature's website.

☆ Under West Virginia bills, exposing minors to transgender people could be a crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Two West Virginia bills aim to protect minors from obscene performances and materials, which the bills define, in part, as anything that includes exposure to or performances by transgender people. People who violate the bill regulating venues and performances, SB 278, could face a misdemeanor, a fine of up to $1,000 and/or jail time. Advocates in the state say the bills declare transgender people’s existence as inherently sexual and harmful to children. In West Virginia, legislators have introduced at least 10. Another West Virginia bill would allow 15% of voters in a city to recall “any ordinance or city code provision previously enacted by the governance.” Schneider said this bill, though it doesn’t explicitly name LGBTQ issues or people, could be used to repeal local nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people, which have passed in 18 cities in West Virginia.

☆ An Alabama 'election denier' is leading efforts in the state to withdraw from a national organization that combats voter fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Alabama's top elections official is withdrawing the state from a nonprofit known as ERIC. Founded in 2012, ERIC began as a collaboration by election officials in seven states, four of them Republican. A powerful outlierOfficials, including Republicans, have credited the organization with helping clean up their voter lists and prevent fraudulent votes. A former state legislator, Allen was dubbed an "election denier" by the States United Democracy Center, a bipartisan group that promotes election integrity, over his support for overturning the results of the 2020 election. With or without Alabama, he said, ERIC will continue to focus on "improving the accuracy of America's voter rolls and increasing access to voter registration for all eligible citizens."

☆ Hormone therapy improves mental health for transgender youths, a new study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Transgender youths reported more life satisfaction and fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety after receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy for two years, according to a new study. However, medical associations such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among others, oppose efforts to restrict gender-affirming care for minors. In addition to the New England Journal of Medicine study, about half a dozen others have shown that access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy can improve mental health outcomes, including reducing suicidal ideation, among transgender youths. Three studies — two published in 2020 and another published in 2021 — found that earlier access to gender-affirming medical care is associated with better mental health. They also noted that improvement in mental health varied widely, and that some participants continued to report high levels of depression and anxiety and lower levels of positive emotions and life satisfaction.

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