Updated August 19, 2026 at 8:40 AM EDT Sign up for alerts on breaking news and exclusive reporting from NPR OAKLAND, Calif. – A landmark trial got underway on Tuesday pitting Meta Platforms against a consortium of states accusing the company of designing its platforms to hook young users and misleading the public about it....Read More
By Kenrick Cai, Diana Novak Jones and Jonathan Stempel OAKLAND, California, Aug 19 (Reuters) – A former engineering director at Meta Platforms testified on Wednesday that CEO Mark Zuckerberg fostered a culture that treated child safety as secondary to growth and engagement on Facebook and Instagram. Arturo Bejar, a vocal Meta critic, made the allegation...Read More
A federal judge rejected a second bid from the social media companies to block enforcement of a California law aimed at protecting kids. (CN) — TikTok, Meta and YouTube must comply with California’s crackdown on addictive algorithmic feeds for kids while their appeals play out, a federal judge ruled, rejecting the platforms’ bid to keep...Read More
National alone on social media ban for under-16s The prime minister and education minister’s announcement the government has introduced a bill to ban social media for under-16s has caused two of the three parties in government to distance themselves from it, while it also appears to have caught Labour on the hop. National is progressing...Read More
Abi Sarabia M., Philippine Canadian InquirerAugust 24, 2026 Photo courtesy: Erwin Tulfo Fb Page/PNA Senator Erwin Tulfo has called on parents and guardians across the Philippines to strengthen communication with their children, warning that reliance on technology alone is not enough to protect young people from violence. The senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on...Read More
ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – As students head back to class, AAA has some tips to help them stay safe. Encourage your students to leave valuable possessions at home instead of taking them on campus. Morgan Dean, spokesperson with AAA, says to remind them to lock their dorm and car doors. He says you can also...Read More
Australia has moved to strengthen Roblox child safety procedures after the country’s online safety regulator discovered gaps that could permit strangers to contact kids and view parts of their profiles without parental consent. Now Roblox has three months to strengthen its safeguards for Australian users. The company must restrict adult-to-child contact, make children’s accounts private...Read More
OAKLAND, Calif. (TNND) — Meta is defending its record of protecting children and teenagers online as the technology giant faces a federal trial over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to keep young people hooked despite risks to their mental health. Opening arguments kicked off on Tuesday in Oakland, where California, Colorado, Kentucky,...Read More
WOODFORD COUNTY (25News Now) – Woodford County authorities said they have spent the past month rounding up alleged sexual predators, all of whom have been released before trial under terms of Illinois’ SAFE-T-Act. The suspects allegedly participated in online sexual conversations or traveled to have sex with a minor, according to a sheriff’s office news...Read More
By Lisa Dittmer, Amnesty International’s Children’s Digital Rights Researcher, and Paloma Candia and Ahmed Dhman both Amnesty International’s Digital Rights Champions, a global network of child and youth human rights defenders. This article was first published in TechPolicy.Press Children’s online safety has become a leading political issue as concerns about Big Tech harms have moved from...Read More
