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Most Americans are wary of social media companies and their role in politics and the future of the country, according to a new survey of U.S. adults. The Pew Research Center has published findings from a study looking at social media’s impact on politics and the country, political censorship and bias, and the government regulation of technology companies. Since 2020, more Americans now believe social media companies wield too much political power, with Democrats heavily falling into the ‘too much’ category. “Roughly eight-in-ten Americans (78%) say these companies have too much power and influence in politics today,” according to the su...... Read Full article on HadNews

UK technology firms have been told to ‘tame toxic algorithms’ and implement practical steps for children’s safety online. This all comes under Ofcom’s new measures titled ‘Children’s Safety Codes of Practice,’ which must be followed by social media sites, apps, and search engines. Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for broadcasting, telecommunications, and postal industries within the United Kingdom. One of the first elements listed is age checks, with “much greater use of highly-effective age-assurance” needed. Anything that promotes suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, or pornography is classed as ...... Read Full article on HadNews

If you’ve spent time on Facebook over the past six months, you may have noticed photorealistic images that are too good to be true: children holding paintings that look like the work of professional artists, or majestic log cabin interiors that are the stuff of Airbnb dreams. Others, such as renderings of Jesus made out of crustaceans, are just bizarre. Like the AI image of the pope in a puffer jacket that went viral in May 2023, these AI-generated images are increasingly prevalent – and popular – on social media platforms. Even as many of them border on the surreal, they’re often used to bait engagement from ordinary users. Our team of re...... Read Full article on HadNews

If you’ve spent time on Facebook over the past six months, you may have noticed photorealistic images that are too good to be true: children holding paintings that look like the work of professional artists, or majestic log cabin interiors that are the stuff of Airbnb dreams. Others, such as renderings of Jesus made out of crustaceans, are just bizarre. Like the AI image of the pope in a puffer jacket that went viral in May 2023, these AI-generated images are increasingly prevalent – and popular – on social media platforms. Even as many of them border on the surreal, they’re often used to bait engagement from ordinary users. Our tea...... Read Full article on HadNews

Meta’s decision to lower the minimum age to use its WhatsApp messaging service is drawing fire from children’s advocates in the UK and EU. The move lowers ages from 16 to 13 in both territories; it went into effect as of April 11. Leading the charge on pushback against Meta, which is also the parent of Facebook and Instagram, is UK-based Smartphone Free Childhood. “WhatsApp are putting shareholder profits first and children’s safety second,” Daisy Greenwell, the group’s co-founder, said in a statement. Government officials also weighed in. Vicky Ford, a Conservative member of Parliament, told Sky News the age-limit reduction was “highl...... Read Full article on HadNews

Instagram is taking significant steps to stop the receiving and sending of nude images to teens by announcing plans to automatically detect and blur explicit photos through its DM (direct messaging) service. The function is expected to be tested in the coming weeks to be rolled out across the globe in the next few months, reports the Wall Street Journal. It’s the latest move from parent company Meta to fight harmful content on its platforms directed at minors. In January the social media giant behind Facebook and Instagram, implemented DM restrictions to curtail adults being able to message under 18s. The latest plan aims to discourage ...... Read Full article on HadNews

Our digital world is bigger and more connected than ever. Social media isn’t just a daily habit – with more than 5 billion users globally, it’s woven into the very fabric of our existence. These platforms offer entertainment, connection, information and support, but they’re also battlegrounds for misinformation and online harassment. Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok vie for our attention, each boasting user counts in the billions. But what do these numbers actually tell us, and should we care? What is an active user or a unique user? Behind the impressive statistics lies a complex reality. While global social ...... Read Full article on HadNews

Australia’s eSafety commissioner has sent legal notices to Google, Meta, Telegram, WhatsApp, Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) asking them to show what they’re doing to protect Australians from online extremism. The six companies have 49 days to respond. The notice comes at a time when governments are increasingly cracking down on major tech companies to address online harms like child sexual abuse material or bullying. Combating online extremism presents unique challenges different from other content moderation problems. Regulators wanting to establish effective and meaningful change must take into account what research has shown us ab...... Read Full article on HadNews

Meta has announced that the Facebook News tab will be removed for U.S. and Australian users. The section was already shut down last year in the UK, France, and Germany as the company shifted its focus towards providing content that people “want to see more of on the platform.” The section had provided news content since 2019, as a way to “bring people closer to the stories that affect their lives.” However, following the rise of TikTok, the company has shifted its resources toward short-form video content through its Reels feature. “As a company, we have to focus our time and resources on things people tell us they want to see more of ...... Read Full article on HadNews

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has announced it will stop paying for news content in Australia when the current deals it has expire. Meta will also cease news aggregation on the site. Three years ago, the company signed deals with Australian news outlets after the government introduced laws requiring tech companies to pay for the news on their platforms. The law only comes into effect if no commercial deal is struck. Meta has now decided that the cost of providing news in Australia is too high. Its reason for the change is to “better align our investments to our products and services people value the most”. That is, it saves money....... Read Full article on HadNews

Meta has removed several Facebook accounts that posed as US military families. The fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram were aimed at US audiences and were all located in China, according to Meta’s security researchers. Meta’s report stated that accounts mainly posted about ‘military themes’, including US air carriers; as well as critiquing the ‘US foreign policy towards Taiwan and Israel and its support os Ukraine’. The group responsible also held accounts on YouTube and Medium and shared a petition online that claimed to be written by Americans – which was critical of the US support for Taiwan. The Meta security team traced the gr...... Read Full article on HadNews

Meta has announced that it is preparing to launch stricter safety tools to block children from receiving and sending nude images, the social media giant said in a blog post on Thursday. The tool, which will be available to all users but mainly aimed towards women and teenagers, will be an optional setting on both Facebook and Instagram and will also be active in encrypted messages. This follows criticism from the government and police after Meta decided to encrypt Messenger chats by default. It is a feature, Meta says, which is solely designed to protect users from either being sent or pressured into sending nude images, while an addit...... Read Full article on HadNews