In a first-of-its-kind verdict, a jury in New Mexico found Meta hid what it knew about child exploitation on its social media platforms. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez explains how the company misled children and teenagers about the safety of Facebook and Instagram. Then, the Department of the Interior is paying a French energy...Read More

Over the past several months, many countries have announced plans to restrict social media access for children and teens. Australia became the first to implement such measures at the end of last year, setting a precedent that other countries are now closely watching.  Australia’s regulations, along with other countries’ proposals, aim to reduce the pressures...Read More

MADISON, Wis. — Changes to social media platforms are expected after a jury found YouTube and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, negligent for knowingly designing addictive products that harm the mental health of teens. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by a now 20-year-old woman and her mother. Meta and YouTube were ordered...Read More

Queensland’s Reforming Early Childhood Safety (RECS) Program signals a significant shift in how services build child-safe cultures, governance and workforce capability across the early childhood education and care sector.   The Queensland Government launched the Reforming Early Childhood Safety (RECS) Program, a targeted initiative designed to support services to understand and implement national child safety reforms....Read More

Analysis by Kara Alaimo, CNN Editor’s note: Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN’s Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being. (CNN) — On Wednesday, a California jury found what many parents probably already suspected: Two social media companies have been negligent in designing their platforms...Read More

The other night, my friend’s teenage daughter asked her if she could download a new app because “everyone has it.” She conspired with her mom friend group, and we all advised her to ask the usual questions: What is it? Who’s on it? Why do you want it? The teen’s answer was a familiar thing...Read More

In brief OpenAI published its “Child Safety Blueprint” addressing AI-enabled child sexual exploitation. The framework focuses on legal reforms, stronger reporting coordination, and guardrails built into AI systems. The proposal was developed with input from child safety groups, attorneys general, and nonprofit organizations. Aiming to address the rise of AI-enabled child sexual exploitation, OpenAI on...Read More

The Massachusetts House will vote on a bill (H.5295) that would prevent young children from using social media and limit older teens’ access to it. Lawmakers will vote on the proposal on Wednesday. The measure would prohibit children under 14 from creating or using social media accounts. Teenagers ages 14 and 15 could still use...Read More

Teens and young adults have complex and nuanced relationships with social media, Associate Professor of the Practice in Education Studies Rachel Besharat Mann found in a recent study. While their social feeds are shaped by algorithms, young people actively learn to shape the algorithms in return, strategically engaging with and resisting forms of targeting. Social...Read More

Opinion Self-reported age verification on apps and websites is a weak point, and app-by-app policies will never protect kids. The families of children who were victims of online exploitation and abuse hold up pictures at a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, where the chief executives of Meta, Snap, Discord, X and TikTok testified in 2024....Read More