Frances Haugen
Meta, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter dodge questions on social media and national security
Executives from four of the biggest social media companies testified before the Senate Homeland Security Committee Wednesday, defending their platforms and their respective safety, privacy and moderation failures in recent…
Instagram now defaults new users under 16 to most restrictive content setting, adds prompts for existing teens
In December, just ahead of Instagram head Adam Mosseri’s testimony before the U.S. Senate over the impacts of its app on teen users, the company announced plans to roll out…
Facebook is losing its grip as a ‘Top 10’ app as BeReal and TikTok grow
Facebook this year has been struggling to maintain its position among the Top 10 apps on the U.S. App Store, according to an analysis of iPhone App Store data. As…
The Oversight Board’s annual report tracks how often Meta follows its advice
The advisory group reviewing Facebook and Instagram’s content moderation decisions issued its first annual report Wednesday, capping off its first year in operation. The Oversight Board apparently received over one…
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There are no laws protecting kids from being exploited on YouTube — one teen wants to change that
At just 17, Chris McCarty is taking matters into their own hands to protect children from being exploited for cash in family vlogs. As part of their project for the Girl Scouts Gold Award, the highest honor in the program, the Seattle teenager spent months researching child influencers: Kids who rake in serious cash for…
State attorneys want TikTok and Snap to support third-party parental control apps
TikTok and Snapchat need more parental controls, a letter signed by 44 attorneys general stated. Yesterday, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) sent a series of concerns to the…
TikTok’s affect on teens will be investigated by state attorneys
A group of state attorneys general announced today that they will investigate TikTok’s connection with negative mental and physical health outcomes among children and teens. This investigation will analyze how…
Instagram quietly limits ‘daily time limit’ option
RIP Mark Zuckerberg’s “time well spent“? In a move that appears to coincide with Facebook/Meta reporting slowing growth, photo-sharing app Instagram appears to have quietly removed the ability for mobile…
Senators propose the Kids Online Safety Act after five hearings with tech execs
Last year, former Facebook employee Frances Haugen leaked a trove of internal company documents, which illuminated just how harmful apps like Instagram can be for teens. These bombshell revelations sparked…
Over 30 civil society organizations, pro-privacy tech businesses and European startups are making a last-ditch pitch to try to convince EU lawmakers to put stricter limits on surveillance advertising as…
Fact-checkers write open letter urging YouTube to get serious about COVID misinformation
A group of more than 80 prominent fact-checking organizations around the world is pressing YouTube to take action against COVID misinformation, which still prevails on the platform now two years…
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Cheugiest tech moments of 2021
Technology has come a long way in 2021. There are widespread mRNA vaccines! An asteroid-deflecting space mission! A very powerful laptop with a very controversial notch! But it’s unfortunately easier to think about the cringiest moments of the year than it is to remember times when we marveled at indoor farming robots. So hop aboard the…
Nonprofits have the answers to improve social media: Big Tech has the resources to make it happen
There is potential for social media giants to team up with other organizations and nonprofits to make social media a safer place for all people.
UK lawmakers push for Online Safety Bill to have a tighter focus on illegal content
A U.K. parliamentary committee that’s spent almost half a year scrutinizing the government’s populist yet controversial plan to regulate internet services by applying a child safety-focused framing to content moderation…
Instagram’s Adam Mosseri defends the app’s teen safety track record to Congress
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri testified before Congress for the first time Wednesday, defending the app’s impacts on teens and its aspirations to bring younger children formally into the fold.…
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri says teen accounts created on the web don’t default to private
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, is testifying before the Senate today about the impact of Instagram on teens’ mental health. His first appearance before the Senate, this is just one…
Ireland-led GDPR inquiry into Instagram’s use of kids’ data inches on
Ireland’s embattled data protection regulator, the DPC, has announced the submission of a draft decision sent to other EU DPAs Friday in relation to a General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)…
Instagram announces plans for parental controls and other safety features ahead of congressional hearing
On Wednesday, Instagram head Adam Mosseri is set to testify before the Senate for the first time on the issue of how the app is impacting teens’ mental health, following…
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will talk Section 230 reform with Congress this week
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will go before Congress again this week, this time offering her unique perspective on the company’s moderation and policy failures as they relate to Section 230…
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri will testify before the Senate on teen mental health
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri will testify before the Senate for the first time as part of a series of hearings about online safety for children and teens. Per The…
Facebook to delay full E2EE rollout until ‘sometime in 2023’
The company formerly known as Facebook is delaying a rollout of end-to-end encryption across all its services until “sometime in 2023”, according to Meta’s global head of safety, Antigone Davis,…
Facebook tests News Feed controls that let people see less from groups and pages
Facebook announced Thursday that it’s running a test to give users a sliver more control over what they see on the platform. The test will go live on Facebook’s app…
Apple, Google questioned by ICO over app age ratings after UK child safety charity raises concerns
The U.K.’s data protection watchdog has written to Apple and Google seeking details of how they assess apps to determine the age ratings they apply following concerns raised by an…
Facebook accused of continuing to surveil teens for ad targeting
The adtech giant formerly known as Facebook is still tracking teens for ad targeting on its social media platforms, according to new research by Fairplay, Global Action Plan and Reset…
Facebook will no longer allow advertisers to target political beliefs, religion, sexual orientation
Facebook announced today that it will no longer allow advertisers to target users based on potentially “sensitive” topics like health, sexual orientation, or religious and political beliefs. “Lung cancer awareness,”…
Europe’s digital rules reboot could tame Facebook, whistleblower Frances Haugen tells EU Parliament
In her latest turn in front of a phalanx of lawmakers, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen gave a polished testimony to the European Parliament on Monday — following similar sessions in…
UK warns Facebook to focus on safety as minister eyes faster criminal sanctions for tech CEOs
The U.K.’s recently appointed secretary of state for digital, Nadine Dorries, has signalled she wants to take a tougher line on social media platforms than her predecessor — telling a…
Online platforms have a responsibility to protect children from harm
We must arm children and teens with tools and technology to understand whether someone they meet online has a record of bad behavior.
Why Facebook’s angry emoji should interest the US SEC
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission must thoroughly investigate Facebook and enforce our laws.
Facebook changes its corporate branding to Meta
Well, it’s official. After 17 years of being called Facebook, the social networking parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus has a new name. Facebook’s corporate entity is now…
