Cyberbullying is knocking South African teenagers’ confidence, focus and marks, and experts say schools need to start tackling it differently depending on a pupil’s age, gender and favourite app. A new study by Stellenbosch University’s Prof Daniel le Roux and Camryn Twaddle of Artefact South Africa found that nearly two-thirds (63.9%) of teenagers surveyed had...Read More

Your support helps us to tell the story 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...Read More

California kids could soon find social media less addictive under a pair of bills targeting features designed to keep them scrolling. The proposals, AB 1709 and AB 2, cleared the State Senate Appropriations Committee this week and could reach Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk before the legislative session ends Aug. 31, reported KCRA. AB 1709 would...Read More

New Mexico Court, USA: In a two-phase proceeding involving consumer protection and public nuisance claims against Meta Platforms, Inc., Bryan Biedscheid, Chief District Judge, considered whether Meta’s operation of Facebook and Instagram contributed to a state-wide youth mental health crisis and created a public nuisance under New Mexico law. The Court held that Meta’s platforms...Read More

Monte Mann, a partner at Armstrong Teasdale, discusses the social media addiction case brought against Meta by state attorneys general. Social media giant Meta is heading to court in a case brought by a group of state attorneys general who claim the company designed its social media platforms to be addictive and misled the public...Read More

Meta is kicking off a court battle with some of the highest stakes yet. But it is far from the only litigation facing the social media giant and its competitors. In a federal trial beginning Tuesday in Oakland, California, the Instagram and Facebook parent company is fighting claims that it has contributed to the youth...Read More

More than half of the states in the US have joined together in a sizable fight against Meta, the parent of Instagram and Facebook. Their landmark legal challenge goes to trial Tuesday. An unprecedented lawsuit, first filed by 29 state attorneys general in 2023, accuses the social media company of deliberately designing addictive products that...Read More

MGN HARRISBURG, Pa. –Rep. Zach Mako (R-Lehigh/Northampton) Monday announced more than $1.4 million in School Safety and Mental Health grants will be awarded to five school districts within the 183rd Legislative District. According to a news release from Mako, the funding will be used to support physical security enhancements and/or mental health initiatives. It was...Read More

A car crash that claimed the lives of five teenagers in Ireland early Sunday (Aug 16) has raised police concerns about the role social media plays in dangerous driving incidents in the country. The teenage boys were driving in a car on the wrong side of a motorway outside Dublin when they collided head-on with...Read More

The Tell Someone: Child Safety Small Grants Program provides funding for Tasmanian community organisations to develop projects that prevent child sexual abuse, grooming, and harmful sexual behaviours while strengthening child-safe practices. The programme offers grants from $500 to $10,000 (GST exclusive) to support organisations at different stages of their child safety development journey. Eligible applicants...Read More