Meta insists it has a long history of protecting its youngest customers as it defends itself against a swath of lawsuits alleging its social media empire harms children. In the latest such instance, the social media giant is fighting allegations in a California federal court that it contributes to the youth mental health crisis by...Read More

The lawsuit alleges that Meta designed and monetised Facebook & Instagram to encourage compulsive use among young people (representative image) Meta is facing a landmark legal challenge in the US that could have far-reaching implications for how Facebook and Instagram are designed and operated, after 29 states accused the company of deliberately creating products that...Read More

A cybersecurity practitioner has called for mandatory child-safety controls on digital platforms and devices, arguing that banning individual apps will not address the wider online ecosystem that can expose minors to violent content, grooming, and radicalization. In a revised policy white paper, cybersecurity professional Albert “Abet” Dela Cruz proposed a national digital safety framework requiring...Read More

Of the thousands of lawsuits Meta faces over child safety on its platforms, none may be more consequential than one going to trial this week in California. States are seeking extensive financial damages that could, in theory, total as much as $1.4 trillion, plus changes to how the company operates Facebook and Instagram. The lawsuit accuses the...Read More

TikTok, the company behind the namesake popular short-form video app, has agreed to pay $400 million to settle a U.S. government lawsuit alleging it violated the country’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The Justice Department announced the settlement with TikTok and China-based ByteDance on Friday. Under the terms of the agreement, TikTok will pay...Read More

Meta is back in court, but this time the stakes are different. A landmark child safety case is threatening to force the social media giant to fundamentally redesign core features across Facebook and Instagram. According to reporting from Wired, the legal challenge represents the most serious regulatory threat yet to Meta’s platform architecture, with potential...Read More

By BARBARA ORTUTAY and KAITLYN HUAMANI, AP Technology Writers OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Meta is once again on trial over dangers its platforms may pose to children. It is once again arguing that it works tirelessly to keep them safe. A pivotal trial for the parent company of Instagram and Facebook kicked off in a California federal...Read More

CHICAGO (AP) — Meta insists it has a long history of protecting its youngest customers as it defends itself against a swath of lawsuits alleging its social media empire harms children. In the latest such instance, the social media giant is fighting allegations in a California federal court that it contributes to the youth mental...Read More

PHOENIX, Ariz. (KVOA) – Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the Alec and Lydia Act into law Thursday, overhauling how Arizona courts handle child custody and domestic violence cases. The bipartisan legislation aims to prioritize child safety in custody decisions involving parents with a history of domestic violence. For far too long, child custody decisions have not...Read More

In a 2024 lawsuit, the Department of Justice claimed TikTok violated a federal law protecting children under 13 from accessing the social media app. (CN) — ByteDance, the Beijing-based global parent company of social media platform TikTok, settled a lawsuit brought by the Department in Justice for $400 million on Friday after the government questioned...Read More