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Meta is ramping up its efforts to fight sextortion on Instagram with the launch of new features that are designed to help prevent young users from getting blackmailed into sharing nude photos. Starting Thursday, Instagram will automatically block follow requests sent to teenage users from accounts that display certain “scammy behaviors,” according to Meta. At a Senate online child safety hearing in January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to parents who said Instagram contributed to their children’s suicides or exploitation. Last month, Meta announced it will begin automatically placing all users under 18 into “teen accounts” with stricter privacy settings. “If they really want to promote meaningful change and online safety for kids and teens, they can stop opposing federal solutions like the Kids Online Safety Act,” Hinkle said.

Persons: sextortion, Instagram, Antigone Davis, Meta’s, —, we’ve, ”, Mark Zuckerberg, Haley Hinkle, “, ” Hinkle, they’re, Davis, Hinkle Organizations: Meta, FBI, NBC News, Kids, Senate Locations: Fairplay, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia

☆ Popular app banned from hosting young teens in a groundbreaking settlement
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The regulators wrote that the app billed itself as a “safe space” for teens but, in reality, preyed on them. The app, known as NGL, had been downloaded millions of times, according to the complaint. NGL deceptively hooked teens into subscribing to its premium service by sending them fake, anonymous messages and then promising to reveal the sender after they paid, said the complaint. Highlighting the groundbreaking nature of the NGL settlement, FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson described Tuesday’s action as a “novel” use of the agency’s legal powers. But, he argued, the public should not interpret the lawsuit to mean that it is illegal in general to market any anonymous messaging app to teens.

Persons: ”, Lina Khan, ” NGL, NGL, Joao Figueiredo, ” Figueiredo, “ I’ve, Figueiredo, Khan, Andrew Ferguson, ” Ferguson, Kristin Bride, Bride, Carson, Fairplay Organizations: Washington CNN, Federal Trade Commission, Los Angeles, Attorney’s, US, Court, Central, Central District of, FTC, Meta, Epic Games, Facebook Locations: Central District, Central District of California, New York, Arkansas, Florida , Louisiana

☆ Sia has given over $1 million to her favorite 'Survivor' contestants. She's stopping after 8 years and no one knows why.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Ayomikun Adekaiyero | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Since 2016, Sia has been handing out money to her favorite "Survivor" contestants as an unofficial prize for the hit reality show. "It's the end of one of the most unique eras in the history of 'Survivor,'" Probst wrote. "After eight years, 14 seasons, 19 players and over $1,000,000 awarded, 'Survivor' is officially bringing the Sia Prize to a triumphant end!" If they also win Sia's unofficial prize, contestants stand to make a lot of money from the show. Neither Probst nor Sia have commented on whether contestants from the most recent season will receive money from the singer.

Persons: —, Sia, Jeff Probst, Probst, Tai Trang, Jonny Fairplay, Tai, Evan Agostini, I'm, She's, Topps Organizations: Service, Business, CBS, TMZ, Survivor, Fame

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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