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Elon Musk’s posts on his social media platform X get far more attention when they cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process, an NBC News analysis has found. The difference in reach was vast: 5.2 times more likes, 4.2 times more comments and 9.1 times more reposts, when comparing the median election-doubting post to the median election post that didn’t cast doubt on the process. In addition to owning X, Musk is its biggest account, with more than 202 million followers, according to the app’s tally of his following. X has developed a clear tilt in favor of far-right users and posts since Musk bought it two years ago, according to researchers. Musk told an editor at The Atlantic in July that he would “of course” accept the results of the presidential election, according to the magazine.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, Musk’s, —, It’s, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, he’s, Musk, “ Organizations: NBC, SpaceX, Trump Locations: United States, U.S

☆ Why social media shouldn’t be your therapist
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( Kara Alaimo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Her book “Over the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls — And How We Can Take It Back” was recently published by Alcove Press. It’s easy to see why: There’s a shortage of mental health providers, and it’s often expensive and difficult to get an appointment, whereas social media is at everyone’s fingertips. But it’s generally not a good idea to try to diagnose your problems on social media. Misleading posts and misdiagnosesSelf-help posts on social media often serve up simple solutions to complex problems. That’s why experts said answers are likelier to be found on an old-fashioned therapist’s sofa than social media.

Persons: Kara Alaimo, ”, Thomas Milam, Iris Telehealth, Lindsay Liben, “, Milam, Liben, he’s, ” Milam, ” Liben Organizations: Fairleigh Dickinson University, Women, Press, CNN, Getty, Autism, Canadian, of Psychiatry, app’s, Virginia Tech’s Carilion, of Medicine, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, Centers for Disease Control, PBS Locations: TikTok, Virginia, New York City

America PAC has been tasked with much of the pro-Trump canvassing operation as his campaign focuses its efforts on a more limited effort targeting so-called low-propensity voters. “I know it’s been flagged for America PAC that this has been transpiring,” an operative formerly on the effort said. As some of that data spilled into public view last month, an operative close to the effort said: “All hell has broken loose” inside the PAC. Through late October, America PAC had spent upward of $54 million on Blitz’s services, according to Federal Election Commission filings — more than the PAC has on the three other vendors combined. America PAC ended its relationships this summer with two other prominent GOP-aligned canvassing firms that were knocking on doors as part of its effort.

Persons: they’re, Donald Trump’s, Trump, canvassers, ” Drew Ryun, Chris Turner, Jefferson Thomas, Josh Penry, Jon Seaton, ”, ‘ There’s, Ron DeSantis ’, Elon Musk, Phil Cox, “ isn’t, Turner, Thomas, Penry, Seaton, baselessly, ‘, ‘ Donald Trump, ’ ‘, it’s, Alysia McMillan, I’ve, “ We’re, we’ve, Helene, “, “ I’m, David Plouffe, Kamala Harris ’, “ Elon Musk, Elon Organizations: Republican, Elon, America PAC, NBC News, Trump, NBC, telltale, PAC, Patriot Grassroots, Synapse Group, Echo Canyon Consulting, Florida Gov, Musk’s, America, Patriot, Synapse, . America PAC, GOP, Blitz, The Guardian, Reuters, ”, CNN, Nelk Boys YouTube Locations: Nevada and Arizona, Florida, Nevada , Michigan, Arizona, North Carolina, . In Nevada, America, Nevada, ”, Wisconsin, Iredell County, Charlotte

☆ Elon Musk’s X is boosting election conspiracy theories with AI-powered trending topics
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-26 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

On Monday, Grok uncritically repeated debunked allegations of wrongdoing related to the voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems. It created a “story for you” repeating unfounded allegations by X users that she used cocaine in the White House, and it created a “story for you” repeating allegations by X users that she attended parties hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs, who’s facing federal sex-abuse charges. In recent weeks, dozens of X users have posted about “explore beta,” and the vast majority of the posts have been negative. Some X users who browse the app’s trending topics see only ranked lists of popular subjects, with no AI-generated text. It’s also not clear if X plans to expand the Grok summaries from a beta test to a standard feature.

Persons: Elon, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Musk, Grok, Grok uncritically, Grok’s, ”, Harris, Sean “ Diddy ” Combs, Combs, Misa Hylton, it’s, Joe Biden, Biden, It’s, X Organizations: NBC News, Voting Systems, Dominion, Fox News, Local, Democratic, Grok, SpaceX, Bloomberg, Trump, Trump voters, NBC, Dominion Voting Systems, Twitter, Associated Press, Reuters, soccer team Locations: Maricopa County , Arizona, Tarrant County , Texas, Pennsylvania

☆ Trump vs. Harris: The 2024 Election Has Taken Over TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Sapna Maheshwari | Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +11 min

Austin Nasso, a 29-year-old comedian in New York City, regularly posts impressions of both Mr. Trump and President Biden. Eight of the 10 most viewed TikTok videos about the September debate were from mainstream news sources, according to Zelf data. But Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump take decidedly different approaches to their content. @realdonaldtrump Mr. Trump also finds moments for levity, often on his separate campaign account, @TeamTrump, to keep viewers paying attention. @teamtrumpLike Mr. Trump, Ms. Harris and her campaign also have two distinct accounts, one with a more formal feel and a second, @KamalaHQ, where her campaign lets loose.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Donald J, Trump, Chappell Roan, Taylor Swift, she’ll, Harris, Republican Swifties, “, Donald Trump, JD Vance, Trump's, Swift, Austin Nasso, Biden, “ I’m, Mr, Nasso, ” Sam Wiles, Vance, hadn’t, Wiles, ”, Allison Reese, Ms, she’s, Reese, Hamilton ”, David Chalian, TikTok, “ Harris, Phil Harvey, Link Lauren, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, ’, Spehar, Ross, Jake, Logan Paul, Bryce Hall, Bryson DeChambeau, DeChambeau, “ Bro, Cori Bush, Vivek Ramaswamy, Lindsay Gorman Organizations: New York Times, Republican, Trump, Times, Hamilton Liberals, Broadway, The Daily Mail, CNN, NBC, cnn, Daily Mail, Obama, MSNBC, Fox News, YouTube, Missouri Democrat, German Marshall Fund Locations: New York City, Los Angeles, United States, TikTok, Plenty, San Francisco, ”, Missouri

☆ Gun YouTube creators are leaving the platform as the company cracks down on firearm videos
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-20 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

At least four large YouTube channels devoted to firearms have announced they’re quitting the platform and moving to rival services with looser rules. YouTube, which is owned by Google, has for years imposed rules on gun videos. YouTube says gun videos are only one part of its enormous app. Responsible firearms content is just one part of this vibrant mix of communities,” the company said in a statement. A successful YouTube gun channel can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in ad revenue and sponsorships, Bloomberg News reported this year.

Persons: they’re, they’ve, ” Jon Patton, ” Patton, it’s, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Donald Trump, Matt Carriker, Carriker, YouTube’s, ”, “, hasn’t, Alexander Reville, podcasters, “ You’ve, we’re, Guns.com, Joel Persinger, Chris Mijic, Persinger, “ GunTubers, ” Justin Wagner, Nick Fuentes, John Kinman, Greg, Greg Kinman, YouTube ”, we’ve Organizations: YouTube, Google, Bloomberg News, Gun Safety, Attorney, Trump, Firearms, NBC News, Safety Locations: Manhattan, California, Pennsylvania

☆ Daters increasingly seek shared political views. Popular dating apps are ready to meet the moment
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-17 | by ( Kaanita Iyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“It’s really about making sure (the app’s users) understand what is kind of at stake,” she added. Meanwhile, OkCupid has added a dozen new matching questions that focus on voter behavior and help show users more compatible profiles. While registered US voters are split near evenly between the two parties, according to Pew Research Center, daters on OkCupid tend to lean more liberal. Debono recognizes that political concerns are important to daters, especially ahead of a presidential election. “Political alignment is increasingly becoming a nonnegotiable factor for many people who are dating,” Debono said.

Persons: Tinder, “, ”, Stephanie Danzi, OkCupid, “ Trump, Michael Kaye, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, ” Kaye, Ashley Houghton, ’ ”, Houghton, daters, Lisa Wade, Wade, George Floyd’s, —, cautiousness, ” Wade, we’re, Casey Klofstad, ” Klofstad, Bumble, John McEntee, Raquel Debono, ” Debono, Debono Organizations: CNN, Tinder, Vote.org, OkCupid, Pew Research Center, “, Tulane University, University of Miami, ” CNN Locations: California

☆ Sealed TikTok court documents show time limit tool effectively did nothing to reduce teen usage — NPR
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-11 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A screen-time limit tool on TikTok doesn’t work in limiting teen usage, the company’s own analysis reportedly found, according to in unredacted documents accidentally revealed as part of a major lawsuit. One issue revolves around TikTok’s effects on teenagers scrolling on the app for several hours, which could be harmful to their mental health. Following public scrutiny about the app’s effects on vulnerable people, TikTok released time management tools for users under 18 years old. Friday’s report from NPR and KPR came after the Kentucky Attorney General’s office accidentally filed unredacted versions of its legal filing against TikTok. We provide robust safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched safety features.”

Persons: ”, TikTok, “, KPR, Alex Haurek, “ We’re Organizations: New, New York CNN, Kentucky Public, NPR, CNN, TikTok, Kentucky Attorney Locations: New York

☆ Xiaohongshu: How ‘China’s Instagram’ is transforming the travel industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-10 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —Tucked away in a residential neighborhood in the west of Hong Kong, the Kennedy Town Playground’s basketball courts aren’t particularly noteworthy. It’s because the courts, perched on the side of a hilly slope, offer great views of the Hong Kong skyline. Many of them are followers of Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), China’s answer to Instagram, which has also become their travel bible. The 26-year-old relied solely on Xiaohongshu to navigate Hong Kong with his wife during their recent trip to the city. A woman takes pictures at an iconic Xiaohongshu spot in Hong Kong.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, sipping lattes, Xiaohongshu, Hong Kong's, Noemi Cassanelli, CNN Kennedy, Jiao Le, Cassanelli, ” Jiao Le, Jay Chou, ”, Tokyo's, Zhizhao Wu, Giovanni Mereghetti, Mao Zedong, Charlwin Mao, Miranda Qu, it’s, Qian Gua, “, Xia Jiale, Joel Placeres, “ Will, Placeres, Jiao, Hung Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong's Kennedy, CNN, CNN Reading, Getty, Kennedy, CNN Travel, Lobos, “ Lobos, Hong Locations: Hong Kong, China, Seoul, Beijing, Asia, Copenhagen, Tivoli, Norrebro, Central, New York, Japan, Kamakura, Tokyo, Denmark, Xiaohongshu, Kennedy Town, Communist China, Shanghai, Luoyang, Europe, London, Paris, Hong, Noemi

☆ Ian Happ: Chicago Cubs player throws beer money to fans in left field stands
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Jamie Barton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

To show his appreciation for the Cubs faithful, left fielder Ian Happ chucked a ball wrapped in $100 bills to the left stands on Sunday. The gesture marked the team’s final game of the season, in which the Cincinnati Reds claimed a 3-0 shutout win over Chicago. Dominant starts from Caleb Kilian and Hunter Greene on the mound eventually led to extra innings being required at Wrigley Field with the score tied at 0-0. De La Cruz also stole two bases during the game, meaning he ends the regular season with an MLB-high 67. You don’t take them for granted,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said afterwards, according to MLB.com.

Persons: don’t, Ian Happ, Beers, Ian, ” Happ, ”, Caleb Kilian, Hunter Greene, Elly De La, Tyler Stephenson, De La Cruz, Craig Counsell, “, ‘, there’s Organizations: CNN, Chicago Cubs, Cubs, MLB, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago, Wrigley, Cincinnati, Reds, ” Cubs Locations: Chicago, Windy City, De La Cruz

☆ After CEO was arrested, Telegram says it will now turn some bad actors’ data over to law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-23 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The investigation sparked debate about free speech and criminal activity online, but the authorities’ concerns weren’t exactly a surprise. Now, Telegram is making some changes in an effort to reduce criminal activity on the platform, Durov said Monday in a post on the app. “If you still manage to find something unsafe or illegal on Telegram Search, please report it to us via @SearchReport,” Durov wrote. “Telegram Search is meant for finding friends and discovering news, not for promoting illegal goods,” Durov said. It’s unclear how the move to share some user data with law enforcement will impact the ongoing French investigation.

Persons: Pavel Durov, Durov, launderers, White supremacists, ” Durov, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Service Locations: New York, France, Israel, United Kingdom

☆ Australian police infiltrate encrypted messaging app Ghost and arrest dozens
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Australian police said Wednesday they have infiltrated Ghost, an encrypted global communications app developed for criminals, leading to dozens of arrests. In an undated photo provided by the Australian Federal Police, illicit drugs are found in a concealed compartment in a vehicle. Australian Federal Police/APPolice allege that Jung developed the app specifically for criminal use in 2017. Australian police technicians were able to modify software updates regularly pushed out by the administrator, McCartney said. The modified smartphones sold for 2,350 Australian dollars ($1,590) which included a six-month subscription to Ghost and tech support.

Persons: Jay Je Yoon Jung, Jung, Ian McCartney, “, ” McCartney, Kirsty Schofield, Col, Florian Manet, McCartney, ’ Organizations: CNN, Australian Federal Police, AP Police, Home Affairs Ministry, Command, Department, Australian, ’ Sydney Locations: Canada, Sweden, Ireland, Italy, Australia

☆ Telegram CEO says he was ‘surprised’ by his arrest and interrogation
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-05 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Durov was arrested at a Paris airport amid an investigation into suspected offenses related to criminal activity on Telegram, according to French prosecutors. Telegram, which Durov said had 950 million users, is used both as an everyday messaging tool and a way work around authoritative governments – but White supremacist groups and Isis also favor it. In the Telegram post Thursday, his first since his arrest, Durov acknowledged that the app’s “abrupt increase” in users caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse the platform. Durov noted the app refused to hand over “encryption keys” to Russia, resulting in a ban there. The app also was banned in Iran after the app refused to block channels used by protesters, he said.

Persons: Pavel Durov, Durov, Isis, We’ve, ” Durov, “, ’, ”, Francini, Emmanuel Miculita, Anna Chernova, Zahid Mahmood Organizations: New, New York CNN —, Prosecutors Locations: New York, Paris, Switzerland, Russia, Iran

☆ Trump-Musk live X event delayed by technical difficulties
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Is A Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s highly anticipated online event with former President Donald Trump was delayed Monday by technical difficulties as some users of Musk’s X app said they couldn’t access the discussion. Ron DeSantis launched his Republican presidential bid on X and was repeatedly disrupted because the site’s servers apparently couldn’t handle the surge in traffic. The event came as Trump has scaled back his in-person appearances after a would-be assassin shot at him at a July 13 rally in Pennsylvania. Some X users said they believed the problem was X’s technical capabilities, rather than an attack. Tim Walz, have also received a groundswell of social media support, with supporters posting a flurry of memes and videos.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Musk, ”, scammers, Elon Musk, Trump, Biden, Kamala Harris, Tim Walz Organizations: Tech, Florida Gov, Republican, Trump, Elon, Musk, Tesla, SpaceX, Minnesota Gov Locations: Pennsylvania, Palm Beach, Fla

☆ Very demure, very mindful: How TikTok’s latest catchphrase came to be
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Traditionally, women considered “demure” behave in a way that is modest, reserved and inoffensive to the point that they’re barely visible. “That’s the joke!”The satire is clearest in a clip in which she asserts that she’s going to behave in a demure, mindful way while going out on the Las Vegas Strip. (The Lincoln Project also made its own “demure” video making fun of Vance and his appearance.) “One thing you need to learn about being demurity, about being demure –– being demure is being mindful, and being mindful includes your f**king self,” she says. Be mindful, be demure and don’t ever let no b*tch dull your shine.”

Persons: Lebron, ”, Marge Simpson, Patty, Selma, “, who’s, she’ll, it’s, you’ve, She’s, Kamala Harris ’, Donald Trump, Ohio GOP Sen, JD Vance, Vance, dainty, “ Chase Organizations: CNN, ”, Texas, Las, Taco Bell, CVS Pharmacy, Lebron, Ohio GOP, Lincoln Locations: Ohio

☆ Cash App Users May Claim Up to $2,500 in Data Breach Settlement
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Christine Hauser | More About Christine Hauser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

People who have used Cash App accounts may be entitled to receive up to $2,500 each as part of a $15 million settlement related to a data breach involving the popular payments and investment platform, according to court documents and the company. The exposure of sensitive information for more than eight million users of Cash App Investing was revealed in a regulatory filing in 2022 by Block, its parent company. The data was exposed when a former employee downloaded corporate reports after leaving the company, according to the filing. A second breach involving more customers took place in 2023 with Cash App’s person-to-person payment services after the defendants failed to take security measures, according to a consolidated class-action complaint filed in February in United States District Court for the Northern District of California. It said that Block and Cash App were negligent in allowing unauthorized access to personal identification information, and that they mishandled complaints about the breaches and fraudulent transactions.

Persons: Cash Organizations: Block, United, Court, Northern, Northern District of Locations: United States, Northern District, Northern District of California

☆ Instagram just permanently zapped some people’s photos
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Some Instagram posters got a shocking notification from the app Wednesday: Certain photos have been permanently deleted from the app’s Stories archives, unable to be recovered. “We found and fixed a bug that caused some people’s Story highlights and archives to be deleted. Users can upload photos, videos or text posts that disappear in 24 hours. Instagram even shows “memories” in the archives tab, pulling up an old story from what the user did on that day from past years. For important memories, people should ensure they back up photos, videos and other media outside of an app, no matter how trustworthy the company may be.

Persons: Meta, Instagram, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Story Locations: New York

☆ ChatGPT is getting chattier with ‘advanced voice mode’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —OpenAI stunned users when it demonstrated an updated voice mode for the most advanced version of ChatGPT earlier this year. Far from the kind of robotic voice that people have come to associate with digital assistants like Alexa or Siri, the ChatGPT advanced voice mode sounds remarkably lifelike. Starting on Tuesday, advanced voice mode — which works with the most powerful version of the chatbot, ChatGPT-4o — will begin rolling out to paid users. Advanced voice mode will start rolling out to a small group of subscribers to the app’s “Plus” mode, with the aim of making it available to all Plus users in the fall. ChatGPT does have a less sophisticated voice mode already.

Persons: New York CNN — OpenAI, Siri, Scarlett Johansson, ChatGPT’s, OpenAI, “, won’t, —, Johansson, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Apple Locations: New York

☆ Justice Dept. Defends TikTok Law That Forces App’s Sale or Ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( David Mccabe | Sapna Maheshwari | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Justice Department argued in a court filing on Friday that TikTok should be required to sell its American operations to resolve national security concerns about its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. In the government’s first detailed response to TikTok’s lawsuit challenging a new U.S. law that could ban the social media app, the Justice Department said measures that TikTok previously offered to address those security concerns — including walling off U.S. user data domestically — were insufficient. The Chinese government could still collect sensitive data on Americans or spread propaganda, the agency argued, and it has incentive to misuse the app because of larger geopolitical goals. And while TikTok argued in its suit that the law violated the First Amendment rights of its 170 million U.S. users, the Justice Department contended that those users were free to turn to other social media sites if TikTok was banned or sold. Under the law, any challenges must begin in that court.

Persons: walling, TikTok Organizations: Justice Department, Department, U.S ., Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit Locations: United States, China

☆ Justice Department responds to TikTok lawsuit, argues algorithm could allow Chinese government to influence US elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | Evan Perez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Allowing TikTok to continue to be operated by its current parent company could allow the Chinese government to covertly influence US elections, the Justice Department said in a court filing late Friday. The filing is in response to a federal lawsuit TikTok brought against the US government in May in an attempt to block a law that could force a nationwide ban of the app. In their lawsuit, TikTok and Bytedance say that US law is unconstitutional because it runs afoul of free speech rights and prevents Americans from accessing lawful information. “TikTok application collects vast swaths of sensitive data from its 170 million U.S. users,” the DOJ filing reads. The Friday filing makes clear that law enforcement officials believe TikTok could – and has in some instances – taken direction from the Chinese government.

Persons: ”, TikTok, Joe Biden, Lisa Monaco, ” Monaco Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, The Justice Department, DOJ, Prosecutors Locations: United States, China, American, People’s Republic of China

☆ Harris Joins TikTok, Another Sign of the App’s Value in Reaching Young Voters
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Ken Bensinger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, is now officially on TikTok. Ever since President Biden announced on Sunday that he would no longer be running for re-election and instead endorsed his vice president for the job, the social media platform has been inundated with memes about coconut trees, Brat summer and other fawning content related to Ms. Harris. On Thursday night, Ms. Harris joined the party, launching her own account with a video in which she stated simply that she “thought I would get on here myself.”

Persons: Kamala Harris, Biden, Harris, ” Organizations: Democratic

At the same time, the social media industry has broadly retreated from efforts to clamp down on misinformation. The ease at which false rumors and conspiracy theories rapidly spread on social media threatens the public’s ability to sort truth from fiction. The deluge of disinformation surrounding the Trump shooting shows, once again, that this problem isn’t going away anytime soon. With less than four months until Election Day, the leading social media platforms appear resigned to let the status quo fester. Others get in on the act for social media clout – viral posts can translate into dollars for some online influencers.

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump, retrenchment, Trump, “, ”, Evan Vucci, Joe Biden, ” –, Biden, Elon Musk, Musk, Laura Edelson, ” Edelson, TikTok, Edelson, Don’t, ’, Sean Lyngaas Organizations: CNN, Trump, Service, Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, Associated, Republican, CIA, Social, Meta, YouTube, Facebook, Northeastern University, Democracy, Twitter, FBI Locations: America, Butler , Pennsylvania

☆ 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

☆ With ‘Strands,’ the New York Times has found its next hit game
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Following the success of Connections and Wordle, the pressure was on for the New York Times to find its next hit game. It “bubbled up as a version of a word search that was true to the New York Times’ games,” Knight said. The Times’ research of its subscribers found that Wordle players also solve word search games, making Strands a natural addition to its lineup. That’s another part of the game, Knight said, because it challenges some people not to use the hints. Times’ Games app lets people play some puzzles, like Wordle and Strands, for free.

Persons: ”, Jonathan Knight, “, ” Knight, Wordle — Tracy Bennett —, Knight, “ There’s, ” Brian Morrissey, ” Morrissey, Growth, “ We’ve, we’re Organizations: New, New York CNN, New York Times, Times ’, Times, CNN, The Times, The, LinkedIn, Hearst, “, ’ Locations: New York

☆ Snapchat is rolling out new safety tools aimed at protecting teens from sextortion
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The company on Tuesday announced a set of new safety features, including expanded warning pop-ups that appear when a teen receives a message from someone they don’t share mutual friends with or have in their contacts. And Snapchat will now prevent the delivery of friend requests for teens to or from an account that they don’t share mutual friends with that is also located in regions often associated with scammers. Meta in April also announced new features aimed at combating sextortion, including informing users when they’ve interacted with someone who engaged in financial sextortion. Now, when a user blocks another account, any new accounts created on the same device will also automatically be blocked. The updates build on Snapchat’s existing teen safety features, which include a “Family Center” where parents can supervise the behavior of 13- to 17-year-old users, and mechanisms for removing age-inappropriate content.

Persons: New York CNN —, aren’t, ” Snapchat, Jacqueline Beauchere, sextortion, they’ve Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, Meta, Prevention Locations: New York

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