When a young person searches about suicide or self-harm, empowering a parent to step in can be extremely important. The fact that Meta has now built this in is a meaningful step forward and is the kind of change that child safety experts have been pushing for.
I am sceptical about whether a ban will work, but I am sure we will end up backing a ban, not least because that is the way the politics is heading. In a way it doesn't necessarily matter whether it is universally adhered to or not – a ban is the clearest signal to the industry that we want them to do more to protect young people online.
Lauren Goodger, 39, Yazmin Oukhellou, 31, Rebecca Gormley, 27, Biggs Chris, 33, Jamie Clayton, 34, Scott Timlin, and Eva Zapico, 27, have all admitted breaking the law when acting as so-called finfluencers. They urged their Instagram followers to sign up to an account offering FX trading tips, Southwark Crown Court heard, despite having no qualifications or authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pledges to end impunity' of platforms X, Meta and TikTok in promoting harmful content. The Spanish government has ordered prosecutors to investigate social media platforms X, Meta and TikTok for allegedly spreading AI-generated child sexual abuse material, the prime minister has said. These platforms are undermining the mental health, dignity, and rights of our children, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez posted on his X account on Tuesday. The state cannot allow this. The impunity of these giants must end.
Some people simply say just get all under-16s off social media, and that's the end of it. NSPCC, obviously an organisation very concerned with children's protection, says no, it'll push children to even darker places. Others I was with young people this morning, 15- and 16-year-olds who are actually going to be affected by this they said to me, look we get our news from social media, we don't read the papers, and therefore you'll stop us accessing the news.
Maher had a lot to say about the current president's recent attacks on climate change. "He thinks it's just some bullshit that people made up out of nothing to get rich. You know, like crypto," Maher said. He went on to say that the EPA's recent decision to stop regulating climate change was arguably "the biggest dick move in American history."
Over the years, a loud, well-funded movement has been built up trying to persuade the public that regulation is always a bad thing. A quick look at how much safer cars have become makes it clear that this is nonsense. The purpose of civilization isn't to support capitalism, the purpose of capitalism is to support civilization. And when it doesn't, it's our job to regulate it so it does.
Schools should be phone-free throughout the entire day, the education secretary has told headteachers in England, stressing that pupils should not use the devices even as calculators or for research. Bridget Phillipson wrote to schools to underline updated guidance issued by the government last week, according to the BBC. Schools should make sure those policies are applied consistently across classes, and at all times and we want parents to back these policies too, Phillipson said.
Common advice like limiting individual youth access to screens, or asking parents to keep tabs on their children's every digital movement is not only impossible, but for adolescents in particular, potentially invasive, Schleider said. Instead, the AAP is putting more emphasis on the structural responsibility of companies and society, Schleider said. Their statement recommends regulations that limit overt, sexualized, commercialised, or harmful content to youth, including algorithms that send teens and children down rabbit holes with damaging themes.
Each year group in each school will then be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: either the app will simply record students' social media use, or the app will curtail students' social media use by limiting their access to the apps for TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Reddit, YouTube and Snapchat to one hour a day, as well as imposing a curfew from 9pm to 7am.
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting has backed calls for a debate on banning under 16-year-olds from social media. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said the government had to "get the balance right" and "protect young people from the harm". In December, Australia introduced a law requiring social media platforms to block under-16s from having accounts with their sites and privately, many Labour MPs and officials have said they expect that the UK government to follow their example.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.
It's not just courts telling these lawmakers they are wrong. EFF has spent the past year filing friend-of-the-court briefs in courts across the country explaining how these laws violate young people's First Amendment rights to speak and get information online. In the process, these laws also burden adults' rights, and jeopardize everyone's privacy and data security.
The AFP news agency said it had seen a draft law, backed by President Emmanuel Macron, which cites numerous studies showing the risks to young people from excessive use of digital screens. French media said the law could be submitted for legal scrutiny in early January, while AFP said the ban could take effect as early as September. Le Monde newspaper said Macron may announce the plans in his live New Year's Eve address on Wednesday.
France intends to follow Australia and ban social media platforms for children from the start of the 2026 academic year. A draft bill preventing under-15s from using social media will be submitted for legal checks and is expected to be debated in parliament early in the new year. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has made it clear in recent weeks that he wants France to swiftly follow Australia's world-first ban on social media platforms for under-16s, which came into force in December.
The Warning Labels for Addictive Social Media Platforms Act, passed by the state legislature in June, targets platforms with specific "predatory features" designed to maximize engagement, such as infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmic feeds, like counts, and push notifications. The state commissioner of mental health "will be responsible for designing warning labels based on peer-reviewed research about the potential negative impacts of social media on mental health, including links to anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, and disrupted sleep patterns," the legislation says.
