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☆ Nex Benedict: Death of Oklahoma teen after fight in school has LGBTQ+ advocates seeking answers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Andy Rose | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A 16-year-old student died following a fight at an Oklahoma high school – and as an investigation into the cause of death continues, advocates point to a heightened and hostile climate against the LGBTQ+ community. Nex Benedict, whose family says identified as nonbinary, died February 8, one day after they told their family they and a transgender student were involved in a fight with others at Owasso High School. It is not clear if or how the fight contributed to Nex’s death. An Owasso school resource officer went to Bailey Medical Center, where Nex was examined, and interviewed both Nex and their parent about the incident. Nex’s death comes after advocates have strongly criticized Oklahoma officials for actions perceived as targeting LGBTQ+ residents.

Persons: Nex Benedict, Nex, ”, Sue Benedict, Benedict, ” “, ‘ You’ve, don’t, ’ ” Benedict, “ Nex, ” Benedict, “, I’m, Kevin Stitt, Ryan Walters, ” Walters, CNN’s Whitney Wild, Taylor Romine, Caroll Alvarado Organizations: CNN, Owasso High School . Police, Police, Independent, High School West, Bailey Medical, Owasso Fire, KOKI, Oklahoma, Gov, Public Schools, Lambda Legal, ACLU Locations: Oklahoma, Owasso, ”, Nex

☆ Utah legislature passes a bill that makes company NDAs on sexual assault and harassment unenforceable
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Utah legislature approved a bill on NDAs related to sexual assault and harassment. The bill also says attempts to enforce a confidentiality clause could result in liability for costs. AdvertisementThe Utah state legislature passed a bill on Friday that makes confidentiality clauses related to sexual assault and sexual harassment unenforceable. "In most sexual harassment cases, a company is fully equipped with lawyers at their beck and call," Bernhardt said. When individuals report sexual harassment, a lot of them don't have attorneys.

Persons: —, Kera Birkeland, they've, Kimberly Bernhardt, Bernhardt, there's, doesn't, NDAs, Susan Madsen, they're Organizations: Service, Rep, Nationwide, state's, Utah Women, Leadership, Utah State University Locations: Utah, Utah's House

☆ Labour opposition deals another historic blow to UK PM Rishi Sunak with by-election defeats
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Winning candidate Gen Kitchen said the result was a "stunning victory for the Labour Party and must send a message from Northamptonshire to Downing Street." LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's ruling Conservative Party suffered another double by-election defeat on Thursday, as the opposition Labour Party's momentum shows no sign of slowing. The double defeat of Thursday was the latest in a string of unfavorable by-election results for the ruling party in what were previously considered safe seats. "I was very pleased last night to see that we were clearly getting Tory switchers, in other words people who hadn't voted for the Labour Party before, coming out last night and voting for the Labour Party in a by-election." The Labour Party maintains a lead of more than 20 points over the Conservatives in all national polling, with a general election due no later than January 2025.

Persons: Kitchen, Peter Bone, —, Rishi Sunak's, Helen Harrison, Gen Kitchen, Chris Skidmore, Damien Egan, Keir Starmer, Tory switchers, hadn't, Boris Johnson, Robert Ford Organizations: Labour, Labour Party, Downing, Conservative, Conservatives, LONDON, Conservative Party, Kettering Leisure Village, Tamworth, Liberal Democrats, BBC, University of Manchester, CNBC Locations: Northamptonshire, Wellingborough , Northamptonshire, KETTERING, England, Wellingborough, Kettering, Kettering , England, Kingswood , South Gloucestershire, North, Kingswood, Mid Bedfordshire, West Midlands, Selby, Ainsty, Somerton, Frome

LONDON (AP) — Voters in two districts in England delivered new blows to beleaguered Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, electing opposition-party lawmakers in seats that Sunak’s Conservatives had held for years. Labour Party candidate Damien Egan won the House of Commons seats of Kingswood in southwest England, and Labour's Gen Kitchen took Wellingborough in the country’s center, results announced Friday showed. The Conservatives won both by large margins at the last national election in 2019 but saw support collapse in Thursday's special elections. The hard-right Reform party — formerly known as the Brexit Party — came third, putting more pressure on the Conservatives. The Conservatives pointed to the low turnout — less than 40% of eligible voters cast ballots — as a sign British electors are not enthusiastic about Labour.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Damien Egan, Kitchen, —, Brexit Party —, Keir Starmer, Chris Skidmore, Peter Bone, Sunak, Liz Truss, Brexit, Boris Johnson, John Curtice, ” “, ” Organizations: —, Labour Party, Wellingborough, Conservatives, Brexit Party, Labour, Conservative, European Union, University of Strathclyde, BBC Locations: England, Kingswood, Wellingborough

☆ Utah School Board Member Is Censured After Questioning Student’s Gender
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Jenny Gross | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Utah State Board of Education member was stripped of her committee assignments and asked to resign this week after she questioned the gender of a high school basketball player in a Facebook post. Natalie Cline, the board member, posted a flyer for a high school basketball team in Salt Lake County on Feb. 6 with the caption “Girls’ basketball,” suggesting that one of the girls featured in the image was not female. The post, which was reported on by KSL TV, a television channel in Salt Lake City, has since been deleted. The board said Wednesday that, after an investigation, it had decided to censure Ms. Cline, request her resignation and ban her from attending board committee meetings for failing to respect the privacy of students, including portraying them publicly in a negative light. The Utah Legislature passed a resolution on Thursday against Ms. Cline for her “abhorrent actions” that had led to “relentless harassment and bullying, including threats of violence” of a student.

Persons: Natalie Cline, Cline, Rachel van der Beek, ” Organizations: Utah State Board of Education, KSL TV, Utah Legislature, Salt Lake Tribune Locations: Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt

☆ TikTok is pissing everyone off right now. Here's how its brute-force tactics could pay off — or backfire.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Dan Whateley | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. The move was an about-face for the president, whose administration had spent years calling it a national security risk. AdvertisementIt’s been deep in a public spat over music licensing with one of its most important partners, Universal Music Group. Some users have said it’s ruining the app by promoting shopping over the funny skits and dancing videos that first made TikTok popular. For leaders at ByteDance, who often have the final say over product decisions at TikTok, copying ideas from Douyin to TikTok is part of their playbook.

Persons: —, TikTok, Joe Biden, Biden, Brandon, TikTok isn’t, it's, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, UMG, ” TikTok, it’s, TikTok's, ByteDance, It’s, Meghana, Pissing, ” Michael Huppe, Katie Notopoulos, ” Dhar Organizations: Service, White, Business, Universal Music Group, Music, Black, Facebook, Google, Big Tech, ”, YouTube, Shopping Network Locations: TikTok, Washington, Meghana Dhar, China, ByteDance

☆ Opinion: Utah incident reveals this inherent threat in anti-trans efforts to ‘protect’ girls in sports
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Opinion Frankie De La Cretaz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

In 2022, the Utah legislature banned transgender girls from high school girls’ sports. In August 2022, a Utah judge granted a preliminary injunction allowing trans girls to compete on girls’ teams after the parents of two trans girls filed a lawsuit. But as long as transgender girls’ gender identities are policed, cisgender girls will continue to have theirs policed as well. “I avoided athletic activities out of terror, not disinterest,” one participant said (a new study published last month also found that trans girls are primarily avoiding sports out of fear of harassment). If cisgender girls avoid sports out of these fears as well, they stand to be similarly negatively impacted.

Persons: Frankie de la, “, Mary, CNN —, Natalie Cline, Delia M, Harrington, ” Gov, Spencer Cox, Deidre Henderson, “ unconscionable ”, Cline, What’s, Cox, Virginia Foxx, ludicrously, Megan Rapinoe, It’s, —, White, Jim Crow, Sarah Longwell, Melissa Gira Grant, Trevor, Trevor Project’s Organizations: National Women’s Football League, ”, The New York Times, Sports, CNN, Utah State Board of Education, Harrington The Utah State Board of Education, Facebook, Gov, GOP, US Women’s National, Berlin Olympics, Mental Health, Lifeline Locations: Utah, North Carolina, Idaho, California, Nazi Germany

Haley's hometown was her first stop as she barnstormed across the state in the closing days ahead of South Carolina's Feb. 24 primary, aiming to cut into Donald Trump's popularity in the state. Back in Bamberg, the city's mayor, Nancy Foster, introduced Haley, recalling the former governor's parents as “gracious and accommodating." Bamberg County is unlikely to go into either Haley or Trump's win column for the general election. There were none of those references on Tuesday, as Foster welcomed Haley back home. “Nikki, Bamberg is so very proud of you, and we wish you well in all your endeavors," Foster said Tuesday.

Persons: — Nikki Haley, “ It's, ” Haley, Donald Trump's, Haley, Trump, Nancy Foster, “ Nikki, ” Foster, Joe Biden, Jim Clyburn, ”, Foster, Meg Kinnard Organizations: South, Trump, Democrat, Congressional, House Democrat Locations: BAMBERG, S.C, Bamberg, South Carolina, North Charleston, Texas, Bluffton, Bamberg's

☆ Kate Winslet says becoming famous after 'Titanic' was 'horrible': 'My life was quite unpleasant'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Caralynn Matassa | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewKate Winslet skyrocketed to fame after starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in "Titanic." But the massive success of the 1997 blockbuster film wasn't without its downsides. In a new interview with Net-a-porter, Winslet reflected on becoming famous at a young age and her difficulties in handling an onslaught of media attention. "I felt like I had to look a certain way, or be a certain thing, and because media intrusion was so significant at that time, my life was quite unpleasant," Winslet said. "If I could turn back the clock I would have used my voice in a completely different way," Winslet said on the 2022 podcast.

Persons: —, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Winslet, James Cameron, it's, Rose DeWitt Bukater, Fox Winslet, Josh Horowitz, Rose, DiCaprio's Jack, Jack, Jack hadn't, Horowitz, Mia Threapleton, Mia, Elena Vernham Organizations: Service, Business, HBO

☆ AI might be reading your Slack messages: 'A lot of this becomes thought crime'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Aware's analytics tool — the one that monitors employee sentiment and toxicity — doesn't have the ability to flag individual employee names, according to Schumann. Speaking broadly about employee surveillance AI rather than Aware's technology specifically, Williams told CNBC: "A lot of this becomes thought crime." When including other types of content being shared, such as images and videos, Aware's analytics AI analyzes more than 100 million pieces of content every day. "It's always tracking real-time employee sentiment, and it's always tracking real-time toxicity," Schumann said of the analytics tool. Amba Kak, executive director of the AI Now Institute at New York University, worries about using AI to help determine what's considered risky behavior.

Persons: George Orwell, there's, Slack, Jeff Schumann, Schumann, Jutta Williams, Williams, chatbot, he's, Orwell, Rather, Amba Kak, Kak, they're Organizations: Istock, Microsoft, U.S, Walmart, Delta Air Lines, Mobile, Chevron, Starbucks, Nestle, AstraZeneca, CNBC didn't, Delta, CNBC, Humane Intelligence, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Nationwide, CBS, Meta, New York University, Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department, Opportunity Commission Locations: Columbus , Ohio, Chevron, United States, Slack

☆ Largest survey of transgender people in the US reveals key insights at a time when trans rights are under attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Chandelis Duster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Results from the largest survey of transgender people in the United States were released Wednesday, revealing key insights into their lives and experiences at a time when trans rights have increasingly come under attack. The 2022 US Transgender Survey Early Insights report, conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality, polled an “unprecedented” 92,329 binary and nonbinary transgender people ages 16 and older living in the US, its territories or military bases, according to the report. Respondents were surveyed on issues including their family life, health care, employment, education, housing and public accommodation. While many transgender people surveyed who have transitioned said they were satisfied with their lives, the report also noted transgender people continue to face disparities and discrimination across the country. The 2022 US Trans Survey is a follow up to the 2015 US Trans Survey, which included more than 27,700 respondents across the US, its territories and its military bases.

Persons: Rodrigo Heng, Lehtinen, NCTE, ” Heng, “, –, Scottie Andrew Organizations: CNN, National Center for Transgender Equality, Survey, Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, TransLatin@ Coalition Locations: United States, Florida, Virginia , Texas, North Carolina

☆ Elon Musk's X is paying for Gina Carano to sue Disney over her firing from 'Star Wars'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Gina Carano is suing Disney and Lucasfilm with Elon Musk's financial backing. The "Mandalorian" actor was fired from the show in 2021 after a string of social media controversies. Elon Musk's X Corporation is funding Carano's lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm, attorneys for the actor said in a Tuesday press release. AdvertisementIn a Tuesday post on X, Carano denied comparing Republicans to Jewish people. Attorneys for Carano said Tuesday that Musk's X Corporation is paying for her lawsuit.

Persons: Gina Carano, Carano, —, Disney, Elon, Cara Dune, mischaracterizing, lockdowns, Musk, Elon Musk, Carano's Organizations: Disney, Lucasfilm, Elon, Service, Elon Musk's X Corporation, Walt Disney Company, Carano, Business, Twitter, Corporation, Republicans Locations: California

☆ Opinion: The making of a Black conservative
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Opinion Coleman Hughes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

I had Black friends, White friends, Asian friends, Hispanic friends and mixed-race friends. But I didn’t think of them as “Black,” “White,” “Hispanic” and “mixed race.” I thought of them as Rodney, Stephen, Javier and Jordan. Where my White friends had the wind of White supremacy at their backs, I faced a headwind. I huddled with the Black kids in one corner of the room, and watched as the White kids, Hispanic kids and Asian kids awkwardly shuffled to their respective corners. Why were Black students in one of the most progressive, non-racist environments on Earth claiming to experience racism all the time?

Persons: Coleman Hughes, podcaster, CNN — I’ve, White, Rodney, Stephen, Javier, Jordan, Coleman Hughes Evan Mann, Martin Luther King Jr, ’, pimply White, Emmett Till, I’d Organizations: The New York Times, Street Journal, National, City Journal, CNN, Free Press, Forbes, Penguin Publishing, Newark Academy, Color Conference, Selma, Columbia University, Columbia, White, Ivy League Locations: Montclair , New Jersey, Montclair, Houston

☆ A CEO is facing backlash after an influencer said he used his company's Instagram account to attack her
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

AdvertisementA paper entrepreneur has faced backlash and seen his company's reviews tank after he left critical comments on an influencer's Instagram page using his official business account. "Must be a tough life living life on easy mode," it said. She then assumed it had been hacked, so she emailed the company's CEO, Brandon Howard, to let him know. #fypp ♬ Aesthetic - Tollan KimAccording to Sudan, Howard responded to her email, but not in the way she expected. Sudan told BI since her final video, Howard has tried to remediate the situation through her own workplace by reaching out to her boss.

Persons: influencer, —, she'd, Brandon Howard, Kim, Howard, I've Organizations: Service, Business, Company, BI Locations: Sudan, ParchmentPaper.com, California

☆ Bring Office Cubicles Back; Improve Employee Productivity, Hybrid Work
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Kelli María Korducki | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

In a memorable montage from the 1999 workplace satire "Office Space," Peter Gibbons, a fed-up office drone, decides to take a stand. For years, the office cubicle was the four-walled avatar of corporate disaffection. Late '90s films like "Office Space," "Fight Club," and "The Matrix" enshrined its detested status. The tech boom arrived, bringing with it open office plans and a Silicon Valley-led gloss of egalitarianism, epitomized by Google's high-profile headquarters redesign in 2005. The top comment on the "Office Space" cubicle clip on YouTube captures the irony of this shift: "I would have killed for a cubicle," the commenter wrote.

Persons: Peter Gibbons, Google's, weren't, Nikil Saval, Slack, hasn't, Joseph Country, Heather Chapman, Chapman, Sydney Baker, there's, Baker, Thomas Roulet, Roulet, somethings, it's, Kevin Kelley, Shook Kelley, Kelley, cubicles, hewing Organizations: Toyota Corolla, Porsche, Workers, YouTube, Research, Harvard Business School, Environmental Psychology, University of Cambridge Locations: Silicon, Michigan, Louisville , Kentucky, —, Charlotte , North Carolina

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

☆ The ‘Mean Girls’ Movie Is Nicer. Teens Are Not. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Jessica Bennett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

For a certain breed of millennial like me, Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls” was gospel — a movie turned cultural phenomenon that put names and labels to the kind of bullying that any woman who’d been to middle or high school would recognize. For a long time, researchers just thought girls didn’t bully as much as boys. Then in the early aughts, a handful of books brought the concept of girls’ “relational aggression” into the mainstream. But much has changed in the 20 years since the original “Mean Girls" movie came out. So when Ms. Fey returned last month with her musical movie “Mean Girls” — her latest twist on the original, starring Reneé Rapp — it was inevitable there would be some changes.

Persons: Tina Fey’s, who’d, Fey, Reneé Rapp, Carr, Jon Hamm, Janis Ian, “, Ms, Queen Bee, Regina George Organizations: Bees, North Shore, Plastics Locations: Regina

As of early Thursday, a vast roster of popular songs were disappearing from the social media platform's library. The complete removal of UMG-licensed music will likely take a few days — but chances are, avid TikTokers are already seeing the effects. Artists will also not be able to post the audio of their UMG-licensed songs on TikTok. “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters,” TikTok said. Mall stressed the overall consequences of pulling music from social media platforms like TikTok — particularly for younger developing artists.

Persons: —, Taylor Swift, Bunny, Drake —, TikTok, UMG, ”, Andrew Mall, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, ” UMG, ” TikTok, we're, “, UMG's Virgin EMI Records Ted Cockle, Cockle, Alexandra J, Roberts, SZA, Drake, Billie Eilish —, Jessica Henig, it's, Henig, Michelle Chapman Organizations: Universal, Group, Associated Press, “ Universal, Northeastern University, UMG, Universal Music, UMG's Virgin EMI Records, Music Management, ”, Associated, Virgin EMI, AP Locations: UMG, New York

☆ Taylor Swift songs removed from TikTok after her label UMG's spat with the app
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Taylor Swift performs onstage at Lumen Field in Seattle on July 22, 2023. Music by artists including Taylor Swift and Drake was no longer available on TikTok when CNBC checked on Thursday morning. A licensing agreement between UMG and TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, expired on Wednesday. UMG alleged TikTok proposed paying its artists and songwriters "at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay." The music label also alleged TikTok is allowing its platform to be "flooded with AI-generated recordings."

Persons: Taylor Swift, Lumen, Drake, UMG, TikTok Organizations: Universal Music Group, CNBC Locations: Seattle, UMG

Throughout her career, the South Carolina-born daughter of Indian immigrants has generally called out acts of individual prejudice and the people responsible. But Haley, now a Republican presidential candidate, has avoided denouncing society or groups of people as racist. Haley, who was Trump's U.N. ambassador, has described facing prejudice in her upbringing in rural Bamberg. “My parents never wanted us to think we lived in a racist country,” Haley told reporters recently. When asked by reporters whether Trump's criticisms of her are racist, Haley has instead portrayed him as “desperate to stop our momentum," using any means necessary to attack his opponents.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Haley, Glenn Beck, Donald Trump's, ”, Emanuel, “, ” Haley, Trump, Trump's U.N, Hajar, “ Nikki Haley, ” Yazdiha, “ She’s, Terry Holyfield, Haley’s, Holyfield, ” Holyfield, Sen, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Scott, Ramaswamy, Haley “ Nimbra ”, Nimarata Nikki Randhawa, “ Nikki, Trump's, Barack Obama, we’ve, Jake Tapper, ” Tapper, Holly Ramer, Noreen Nasir, ___ Meg Kinnard, Matt Brown Organizations: COLUMBIA, Washington Post, Republican, GOP, Methodist Episcopal Church, Southern, University of Southern, Confederate, ”, Trump, CNN, Associated Press Locations: South Carolina, Columbia, Charleston, Washington, United States, Bamberg, University of Southern California, North Charleston, U.S, Iowa, Mexico, New Hampshire, America, India, Indian, Hollis , New Hampshire, New York

Universal Music Group, which represents artists including Taylor Swift, Drake, Adele, Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, says that it will no longer allow its music on TikTok now that a licensing deal between the two parties has expired. The licensing agreement between UMG and TikTok is expired as of Wednesday. Political Cartoons View All 253 Images“Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music,” UMG said. “Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans,” TikTok said. Yet Universal Music also called new technology a potential threat to artists and said that TikTok is developing tools to enable, promote and encourage AI music creation.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Drake, Adele, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, UMG, ” UMG, TikTok, ” TikTok, ” Organizations: Universal Music Group, ByteDance, Universal Locations: UMG

One proposal to Mr. Zuckerberg for 45 new staff members was declined. It was rejected and he returned to Mr. Zuckerberg in November with a scaled-down proposal for 32 new hires. It is unclear what Mr. Zuckerberg decided. At the hearing, Mr. Zuckerberg plans to suggest that Apple bear the responsibility for verifying ages via its App Store, according to his prepared remarks. Mr. Zuckerberg has long positioned Meta — and the internet writ large — as a place for both good and ill.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Meta, Richard Blumenthal, Marsha Blackburn, Mr, Blumenthal, “ We’ve, Andy Stone, Sheryl Sandberg, Nick Clegg, Clegg, Zuckerberg’s, ”, “ Organizations: Meta, Facebook, Republican, Apple Locations: Connecticut, Tennessee

☆ Big Tech executives to appear at Senate hearing to defend social media’s impact on teens
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Brian Fung | Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Zuckerberg is expected to tout the company’s more than 30 safety controls, according to prepared testimony released ahead of the hearing. In recent weeks, Meta has also begun hiding more “age-inappropriate” content in teens’ feeds and restricting teens from receiving direct messages from people they don’t follow. Ideally, Clegg said, Zuckerberg would authorize as many as 124 new hires, but acknowledged that financial pressures could make it difficult. After months of radio silence from Zuckerberg, Clegg tried to follow up, this time with a slimmed-down proposal that envisioned either 25 new hires or, if even that was infeasible, just seven. “This would be the bare minimum needed to meet basic policymaker inquiries,” Clegg wrote to Zuckerberg on Nov. 10, 2021.

Persons: “ We’re, ” Connecticut Democratic Sen, Richard Blumenthal, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Evan Spiegel, Rosemarie Calvoni, Meta, Calvoni, ”, ” Calvoni, Arturo Béjar, ’, Tennessee Republican Sen, Marsha Blackburn, Sheryl Sandberg, Global Affairs Nick Clegg, Clegg —, —, Clegg, ” Clegg, Sandberg, “ Organizations: Washington CNN, Meta, Twitter, ” Connecticut Democratic, Facebook, Blumenthal, Tennessee Republican, Global Affairs Locations: ” Connecticut, Massachusetts

☆ Inside TikTok's fight against the most powerful music label in the industry and what could happen next
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Music licensing talks are heating up between TikTok and Universal Music Group as negotiations have left the conference room and entered the public sphere. "Their core mission is to generate as much money as they can from their recordings for their shareholders," David Herlihy, a copyright lawyer and music industry professor at Northeastern University, told BI. The company is in the process of launching a dedicated streaming app, TikTok Music, and has worked closely with artists on influencer listening parties, livestreams, and in-person events. But TikTok, as a global social giant, is an important product for music artists and labels. This is why the music industry is seeking to capture more value."

Persons: Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, TikTok, It's, David Herlihy, David, Goliath, UMG, Tatiana Cirisano, Jonny Kaps, MIDiA's Cirisano Organizations: TikTok, Universal Music Group, Business, Hollywood, Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Northeastern University, Music, MIDiA Research, YouTube, Universal, SiriusXM Locations: India, Australia

☆ Why was a revolting YouTube video of a purported decapitated head left online for hours?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A disturbing video of a man holding what he claimed was his father’s decapitated head circulated for hours on YouTube. The incident is one of countless examples of gruesome and often horrifying content that circulates on social media with no filter. The horrifying decapitation video was published hours before major tech CEOs are headed to Capitol Hill for a hearing on child safety and social media. Our teams are closely tracking to remove any re-uploads of the video.”But online platforms are having difficulty keeping up. Advocates say that tech platforms can no longer be left to self-regulate.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Sundar Pichai, Justin Mohn’s, they’re, Elon Musk, YouTube haven’t, they’ve, ”, Josh Golin, James Steyer, Steyer Organizations: New, New York CNN, Facebook, Capitol, YouTube, Elon, Amazon, Microsoft, Big Tech Locations: New York

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