Like many parents of Gen Zers and Alphas, I have been pretty permissive about letting my kids get involved in online engagement. Coming from a highly restrictive upbringing with a high-control religious background, I have always felt that prohibition only leads to problems. Many of the most troubled kids I knew growing up came from...Read More

The Florida Attorney General has launched an investigation into the messaging app Discord over child safety concerns. The platform, which has hundreds of millions of users, has been subpoenaed by the state of Florida to provide information on marketing materials, age-verification features and more. “Many of our criminal investigations into internet child predators lead to...Read More

From the myth of Europeans’ “healthy drinking culture” to the surprising harm of some common family traditions, science is overturning old beliefs around alcohol and young people. I turned 18 the day before I left home for university, conveniently passing the UK’s age threshold for buying alcohol just in time to explore student pubs and...Read More

A New Mexico jury found Meta liable for child exploitation on its platforms. (NurPhoto via Getty Images) A New Mexico jury found Meta liable Tuesday for misleading users about child safety on its platforms, ordering the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties. The verdict is the end result of a 2023 investigation by...Read More

In today’s digital age, it’s become much more common for children to interact with smartphones, social media and online platforms at a much earlier age than older generations who never had access to such technology. But with a universal level of access comes greater responsibility and a whole new set of risks related to stranger...Read More

The Trump administration on Friday laid out a legislative framework for a singular policy for AI in the United States. The framework would centralize power in Washington by preempting state AI laws, potentially undercutting the recent surge of efforts from states to regulate the use and development of the technology. “This framework can only succeed...Read More

Leaked documents from inside TikTok suggest the social media giant intentionally endangers kids to benefit its bottom line. A group of 13 states and the District of Columbia filed individual suits against the Chinese-owned company earlier this month, alleging: TikTok’s underlying business model focuses on maximizing young users’ time on the platform so the company...Read More

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A jury began deliberations Monday in a landmark trial in New Mexico where social media conglomerate Meta is accused of misleading its users about how safe its platforms are for children. Meta’s attorneys dispute the claims and say the company provides built-in protections for teenagers and weeds out harmful content...Read More

Character.AI could also update chatbots to protect kids further, the lawsuit said. For one, the chatbots could be designed to stop insisting that they are real people or licensed therapists. But instead of these updates, the lawsuit warned that Character.AI in June added a new feature that only heightens risks for kids. Part of what...Read More

SANTA FE, N.M. — A New Mexico jury determined Tuesday that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its social media platforms, a verdict that signals a changing tide against tech companies and the government’s willingness to crack down. The landmark decision comes after a nearly...Read More