California aims to protect kids with social media warning labels
A new bill introduced Monday, Dec. 9, in California’s Legislature, would, if passed, make it the first state to mandate mental health warning labels on social media sites. Supporters of the proposal say it is needed to protect children’s online safety and stop social media companies from viewing kids as a “commodity.”
Victoria Hinks, who says her 16-year-old daughter died by suicide after she was “led down dark rabbit holes” on social media that glorified eating disorders and promoted self-harm, supports the bill.
However, Big Tech is vowing to fight the measures, with industry officials arguing that the rule violates the First Amendment on the grounds it is “compelled speech.” They contend lawmakers should put their efforts toward online education and mental health resources.
State lawmakers have not given specifics on the bill but say the warnings could pop up once a week.
California’s past efforts to take on Big Tech involved the state suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook, in 2023 and TikTok in October. Both suits accused the companies of creating addictive features that keep children obsessed with their platforms.
Meta executive admits to over-moderating COVID-19, election content
Is Meta moderating its content too much? A top executive at the company shared regrets over removing posts about the pandemic.
Meta’s President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg admitted the company has wrongfully taken down posts across its apps, pointing to the height of COVID-19.
He told reporters Monday, Dec. 2, “No one during the pandemic knew how the pandemic was going to unfold, so this really is wisdom in hindsight. But with that hindsight, we feel that we overdid it a bit.”
Meta and other social media companies face increasing pressure to improve the safety of their platforms amid hateful or misleading information, while also making sure users have free speech online.
The moderation impacted political posts as well. Meta recently apologized after its systems suppressed photos of President-elect Donald Trump after his attempted assassination.
Clegg also commented on Meta’s election content in a blog post Tuesday, Dec. 3, “Too often harmless content gets taken down or restricted and too many people get penalized unfairly.“
He added the company has worked throughout the past year to update content policies fairly. He noted that no platform will ever strike this balance “100% of the time.”
Cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah holding so far
The cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah marks a step toward peace in the Middle East, but what happens now in Gaza where Israel is still at war with Hamas? And rain or shine — but not wind — revelers get ready to celebrate in New York City at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024.
Cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah holding so far
A cease-fire deal between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon is holding, so far.
President Joe Biden announced the deal — which the United States and France helped broker — on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Israel and Hezbollah have agreed on an initial 60-day cease-fire, which sets the stage for a lasting truce.
Already, long-displaced residents of parts of Lebanon have started returning to their homes, hopeful the tenuous agreement will be extended beyond two months. That’s despite the Israeli military warning people to stay away from previously evacuated areas.
Israel has said if Hezbollah breaks the cease-fire agreement, it will attack.
Following the directive of the political echelon, the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon took effect at 04:00 today, and the IDF has been operating accordingly. IDF troops are stationed at their positions in southern Lebanon.
Over the past hour, the IDF identified a vehicle with…
During the 60-day truce, Hezbollah fighters are to retreat at least 25 miles from the border with Israel and Israeli forces will withdraw from Lebanese territory.
The agreement does not address the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, another Iran-backed militant group, in Gaza. However, Hamas has said it is ready for a truce.
“So, now Hamas has a choice to make,” President Biden said on Tuesday. “Their only way out is to release the hostages, including American citizens, which they hold. In the process, bring an end to the fighting, which would make possible a surge of humanitarian relief. Over the coming days, the United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Biden told reporters he’s hopeful he’ll help achieve a cease-fire in Gaza before the end of his term in January. If not, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bring peace to the Middle East, though he has not yet said how.
Trump picks nominations for NIH, trade
President-elect Trump has kept busy this holiday week. On Tuesday night, he announced new picks to join his administration.
Among them, Trump nominated Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to serve as the director of the National Institutes of Health. As head of the NIH, the Stanford University professor would work alongside Trump’s pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Bhattacharya, who also has a doctorate in economics, became known for opposing lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 27, 2024
Trump also selected Jamieson Greer to lead the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Greer is no stranger to the department, having served as chief of staff to the trade representative during Trump’s first term — which saw tariffs imposed on Chinese goods and the signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement.
Greer served as a lawyer in the Air Force and is currently a partner in international trade at the law firm King and Spalding.
Both of these nominations will need Senate confirmation.
Australia’s House passes bill to ban kids under 16 from social media
The bill would make platforms such as Tiktok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to $50 million ($33 million USD) for failing to prevent young children from holding accounts.
Australia’s communications minister Michelle Rowland introduced a world-first law into Parliament on Thursday that would ban children younger than 16 from social media, saying online safety was one of parents’ toughest challenges. pic.twitter.com/K0zui1wHLv
The legislation passed 102-13 in Australia’s House of Representatives and now moves on to the Senate. If the bill becomes law, social media companies would have one year to figure out how to implement the age restrictions before they are enforced.
More than 3,000 fake name-brand electric guitars seized in California
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it seized more than 3,000 fake electric guitars in Southern California. CBP said the knockoffs were destined for the e-commerce market, just in time for holiday gift shopping.
CBP said if the guitars were real, they would be worth about $18 million. Most of the fakes look like Gibson brand guitars, but some were supposedly from other well-known companies such as Fender.
Federal authorities would not release any details about suspects in the investigation or where the counterfeit guitars came from.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to go on, rain or shine
A Macy’s spokesperson told the New York Post the parade will proceed regardless of wet weather — good news for the expected 3.5 million people who will be along the parade route and the estimated 30 million watching at home. However, wind could pose a problem.
The spokesperson told the Post, “Based on the city’s guidelines, no giant character balloon will be operated when there are sustained wind conditions exceeding 23 miles per hour and wind gusts greater than 34 miles per hour on the parade route.”
So far, according to weather reports, the winds should not be a problem, and all 32 balloons should be able to fly. New ones this year include Minnie Mouse and Spider-Man, which is marking its return to the parade for the first time in a decade.
Happy Thanksgiving from Straight Arrow News
With Thursday being Thanksgiving, as you get ready to gather around the table with your family, we wanted to take this time for you to get to know ours a little better. In the video above, members of our Straight Arrow News team have special messages about what they’re thankful for this holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!
Australian Parliament considers law banning kids under 16 from social media
Australia’s communications minister has officially introduced a law that would ban children under 16 from social media. If passed, the law would be the first of its kind in the world.
The communications minister said government research shows 95% of Australian caregivers say online safety is one of their “toughest parenting challenges.”
When introducing the bill, she also told Parliament almost two-thirds of Australian teens 14 to 17 years old have viewed “extremely harmful content” online, including posts involving drug abuse, suicide or self-harm and violence. She added a quarter have been exposed to content promoting unsafe eating habits.
The bill has wide political support and is expected to become law. Social media companies would have one year to figure out how to implement the age restriction, if passed.
The platforms would also face fines of up to AU$50 million if they misuse the personal information users give them for age verification purposes.
The age restriction law wouldn’t apply to messaging services, online games or platforms that “substantially support the health and education of users.”
A government statement added Australia is looking for ways to prevent children under 18 from accessing online pornography.
Instagram testing algorithm reset feature to improve teen safety
Instagram is testing a new feature that’s allowing users to reset their algorithm. Meta, Instagram’s parent company, said the update was launched specifically with the safety of teens in mind.
“We want to make sure everyone on Instagram, especially teens, has safe, positive, age-appropriate experiences and feels the time they’re spending on Instagram is valuable,” a company blog post Tuesday, Nov. 19, said.
This comes as multiple studies have shown the harmful effects social media can have on teens. That includes research by the Journal of the American Medical Association that found teens who spend more than three hours a day on those platforms can double their risk of depression and anxiety.
Instagram said the new feature will allow users to be able to clear the recommended content across their explore, reels and feed tabs with a manual reset.
The app will then start suggesting more personalized topics that may be different from what users usually see.
It will also help users improve the algorithm recommendations by offering an “interested” and “not interested” feature.
While the algorithm reset is only in a testing phase now, Instagram plans to roll it out globally.
It’s not clear exactly when the company will implement the feature.
1 in 5 Americans get their news from social media influencers
While it’s no secret more and more people have been getting their news from social media in recent years, a new study shows just how many people regularly forgo traditional journalism. According to the Pew Research Center, 21% of American adults say they prefer to get their news from social media “news influencers” first.
That’s especially true for people 18 to 29 years old; 37% of them said they do.
Pew classifies news influencers as people who regularly post about current events and civic issues on social media and have at least 100,000 followers.
The study found when it comes to their followers, there’s no real distinction between Democrats and Republicans, with 22% of Democrats and 21% of Republicans favoring news influencers.
When it comes to who Americans choose to get their news from, about two out of three news influencers are male. And about half of all influencers don’t express any clear political orientation.
Meta must face FTC antitrust trial over purchasing Instagram and WhatsApp
After several years of back and forth, Meta will face trial in the antitrust case brought on by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the company’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. A federal judge denied Meta’s request Wednesday, Nov. 13, to drop the FTC’s case, which accuses Meta of buying the two social media platforms to crush emerging competition in social media.
Meta has argued the entire case should be dismissed on grounds that the company faces competition from apps like TikTok.
“We are confident that the evidence at trial will show that the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have been good for competition and consumers,” the spokesperson said.
A hearing to discuss a trial date is set for later this month.
Australia proposes ‘world-leading’ social media ban for kids 16 and under
Australia’s government introduced a proposal that would ban children under 16 from social media. The country’s Prime Minister called it “world-leading” legislation.
“Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. “I want Australian parents and families to know that the government has your back.”
The proposed law will go to Australia’s parliament next week.
It would be a contrast from the ban France proposed last year for kids 15 and under. That ban allowed them to avoid the ban with parental consent.
Australia’s proposal wouldn’t allow parental consent and the ban would still be implemented to accounts that already exist.
Apps like X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook would also be penalized for violating the age limit, but the children and their parents wouldn’t.
Meta’s head of safety, Antigone Davis said the company would respect the age limitations.
“What’s missing is a deeper discussion on how we can implement protections, otherwise we risk making ourselves feel better like we have taken action, but teens and parents will not find themselves in a better place,” Davis added.
He said that stronger tools and operating systems for parents to control what apps their children use would be a good solution.
Jackie Hallan, a director at the youth mental health service ReachOut opposes the ban citing that 73% of young people across Australia use social media for mental health support.
Some child psychologists think 12 or 13 may be a more realistic age for the ban.
Prime Minister Albanese said there would be exclusions and exemptions in circumstances such as a need to continue access to educational services.
The legislation would go into effect 12 months after it passes.
President Trump has been elected, so when do the political ads end?
Political ads have been everywhere this election cycle and now that the election results are wrapping up, many may be wondering, ‘When will the political messages stop?’ Well, it depends on the platform.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it would expand its block on new election ads that started on Tuesday, Oct. 29, to a few days after the final polls closed on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Meta’s policy restricts “new social issues, electoral, and political ads” from being displayed during the final week of the U.S. general election in an effort to fight voter disinformation. The extension of the block is because of votes still being counted.
However, for those watching television or listening to radio, they may not be able to escape the political ads.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has no rules on when political advertising has to stop airing, meaning an individual could be hearing or seeing issue or campaign ads for a while.
Officials say campaign ads usually fall off post-election but advertisements focusing on issues typically continue throughout the year.
The only things the FCC has control over when it comes to political ads are rules governing fairness for political ads and candidates, not how often or how long an ad can run for.
Social media famous squirrel seized, euthanized by New York officials
A squirrel named P’Nut who found social media fame was recently seized an euthanized by New York state officials last week. The animal had amassed more than a million followers across platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where his owner, Mark Longo, shared videos of the squirrel’s daily antics.
“They just took my best friend for the last seven years,” Longo told TMZ. “The firefight has just begun. This needs to be used as an example of how this state uses their resources and their power.”
Longo had raised P’Nut since rescuing the animal after its mother was hit by a car in a busy downtown Manhattan street.
Longo said attempts to release P’Nut into the wild were unsuccessful due to repeated attacks from other animals. That led to Longo keeping the squirrel in his home, where he filmed P’Nut’s daily activities and shared them online.
The squirrel was put down following a raid by New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). According to Longo, the DEC carried this out with a full search warrant. Officers seized both P’Nut and a pet raccoon named Fred, which was also euthanized.
“They got a search warrant, signed off on a squirrel and a raccoon, and then they took them and killed them,” Longo said. “DEC officers raided my house as if I was a drug dealer. I was sat outside my house for five hours. I had to get a police escort to my bathroom.”
The agency claimed the raid was prompted by concerns voiced to them by other citizens. They claimed P’Nut was ultimately euthanized in order to test the animal for rabies after it allegedly bit one of the state officials involved in the raid.
“Following multiple reports from the public about the potentially unsafe housing of wildlife that could carry rabies and the illegal keeping of wildlife as pets, DEC conducted an investigation,” the agency said in a statement. “DEC’s investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”
However, despite the statement, Longo said he doesn’t believe this to be the true reason P’nut was taken from his home. He alleges that officials targeted him due to his and his wife’s involvement in adult content on OnlyFans.
They believe this was the case since no citation or other violation of law has been issued since the raid was carried out.
“I think there’s an ulterior motive here, and it seems it has to do with my spicy social media presence,” Longo said. “Especially since other than taking the animals, they took no action against me.”
Revenue from the animal’s social media helped fund P’Nut’s Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary. The sanctuary is a nonprofit animal rescue organization Longo founded.
He described P’Nut as the “cornerstone” of the organization. Longo also expressing uncertainty over how the sanctuary will continue without the funding generated from P’Nut’s online presence. He did confirm that potential legal action may follow.
“You just put the entire organization in jeopardy,” Longo said. “You came to a case that had animals in good possession, and you took them and killed them. I don’t know how we’re going to fund this organization anymore without P’Nut’s social media. I haven’t a clue.”