Internet news

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Snapchat blocks 415,000 underage accounts in Australia

Snapchat has blocked 415,000 accounts under Australia's social media ban for under-16s, the company said Monday, but warned some youngsters may be bypassing age verification technology.

Internet

One Tech Tip: Escape the AI junk crowding your social media and music streams

AI slop seems to be everywhere. Low-quality digital content made with artificial intelligence has flooded our feeds, screens and speakers. Is there anything we can do about it?

Internet

Sweden plans to ban mobile phones in schools

Sweden plans to ban mobile phones from primary and middle schools in order to ensure that children can focus on learning in the classroom, the government said on Wednesday.

Internet

French lawmakers pass bill banning social media for under-15s

French lawmakers have passed a bill that would ban social media use by under-15s, a move championed by President Emmanuel Macron as a way to protect children from excessive screen time.

Internet

EU says WhatsApp to face stricter content rules

WhatsApp is set to face greater EU scrutiny after the European Commission on Monday added the platform to its list of digital firms big enough to face stricter content rules.

Internet

Making blockchain fast enough for IoT networks

The vision of a fully connected world is rapidly becoming a reality through the Internet of Things (IoT)—a growing network of physical devices that collect and share data over the Internet, including everything from small ...

Internet

YouTube to match OpenAI with AI likeness feature

YouTube announced plans on Wednesday to allow its users this year to create AI versions of themselves for video sharing, matching a feature from Sora, the video-creation app from ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

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Cyberattacks can trigger societal crises, scientists warn

Cyberattacks can wreak havoc on the systems they target, yet their impact often spreads far beyond technical failures, potentially triggering crises that engulf entire communities, a new study argues.

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UK, France mull social media bans for youth as debate rages

Countries including France and Britain are considering following Australia's lead by banning children and some teenagers from using social media, but experts are still locked in a debate over the effectiveness of the move.

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OpenAI introducing ads to ChatGPT

OpenAI announced Friday it will begin testing advertisements on ChatGPT in the coming weeks, as the wildly popular artificial intelligence chatbot seeks to increase revenue to cover its soaring costs.

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Elon Musk's Twitter drops government-funded media labels

Twitter has removed labels describing global media organizations as government-funded or state-affiliated, a move that comes after the Elon Musk-owned platform started stripping blue verification checkmarks from accounts ...

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Twitter removes policy against deadnaming transgender people

Twitter has quietly removed a policy against the "targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals," raising concerns that the Elon Musk-owned platform is becoming less safe for marginalized groups.

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Sweden public radio exits Twitter, says audience already has

Sweden's public radio said Tuesday that it would stop being active on Twitter, but it did not blame new labels that Elon Musk 's social media platform has slapped on public broadcasters, leading some major North American ...

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TikTok ban gets final approval by Montana's GOP legislature

Montana's House gave final passage Friday to a bill banning the social media app TikTok from operating in the state, a move that's bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America ...

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Russian court fines Wikipedia for article about Ukraine war

A Moscow court on Thursday again fined Wikipedia for a Russian-language article it refused to remove about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the latest in a series of government moves to silence objective reporting or criticism ...

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Montana close to becoming 1st state to completely ban TikTok

Montana lawmakers moved one step closer Thursday to passing a bill to ban TikTok from operating in the state, a move that's bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that ...

Internet

Discord, a prime ground for online 'rebels'... and leaks?

It is perhaps no accident that a trove of sensitive US documents reportedly ended up in a chat room on Discord, one of a small group of platforms that are widely seen by experts as natural haunts for online renegades.