Social Media Watch

EU announces plan to restrict social media access for children– www.bbc.co.uk

pgnewser September 17, 2026 0

EU announces plan to restrict social media access for children– www.bbc.co.uk
News Source
EXCERPT:

The EU has announced plans to restrict social media access for under-15s across its member states, in a bid to increase wellbeing and tackle online safety.

Under the plans, there would be a gradual approach to children using social media which would include banning under 13s from accessing platforms.

Those aged 13 to 15 would only be able to access platforms for an hour per day via “mini accounts” set up through their parent or guardian’s social media account.

The European Commission said social media companies would need to prove platforms were safe by design or face fines of up to 6% of their global sales. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the move would “put parents back in the driving seat”.

She added the legislation – called the EU Kids Act – would give parents “the tools to help their children navigate a safer world”.

The restrictions would not just affect well-known apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat but also YouTube and other video sharing platforms as well as AI chatbots and online games.

“Too many children are being exposed too early to an online world they are not ready to navigate – an environment where bullying can follow you home, where every mistake can be recorded forever,” von der Leyen said.

Social Media Bans for Kids: Do They Work? | American Enterprise Institute– www.aei.org

pgnewser September 17, 2026 0

Social Media Bans for Kids: Do They Work? | American Enterprise Institute– www.aei.org
News Source
EXCERPT:

Governments are increasingly turning to social media bans to keep minors safe online. But what does early evidence from these legislative changes tell us about how effective they actually are? What would it look like to focus on age-appropriate online spaces and safer design instead? And with AI now being introduced to the conversation, should chatbots face similar regulations?

Josh Tabish joins us for an episode of Explain to Shane to help answer these questions. Josh is currently the senior director for Canada at the Chamber of Progress. He previously served as the director of policy and advocacy at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority and as a Ford Foundation / Media Democracy Fund Technology Exchange Fellow for Fight for the Future. Throughout his career, he has covered domestic and international technology policy issues.

Below is a lightly edited and abridged transcript of our discussion. You can listen to this and other episodes of Explain to Shane on AEI.org and subscribe via your preferred listening platform. If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review, and tell your friends and colleagues to tune in.

Australian Social Media Ban Flops Badly, as Teens Are Returning to TikTok ‘En Masse’ * The Gateway Pundit * by Paul Serran– www.thegatewaypundit.com

pgnewser August 27, 2026 0

Australian Social Media Ban Flops Badly, as Teens Are Returning to TikTok ‘En Masse’ * The Gateway Pundit * by Paul Serran– www.thegatewaypundit.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Albanese’s tricks have misfired.

There’s perhaps no more pristine example of a Globalist leader than Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: the guy checks all the boxes.

He is obsessed with Net-zero and Paris-aligned climate targets, of course.

During the COVID crisis, we saw him angling to cede health-policy control to an unelected international body – and in fact, he seems to want to give up sovereignty altogether in favor of a ‘UN-centric multilateralism’.

Albanese has maintained a sustained high level of migration, and is big on ‘identity politics’.

And then, we come to his online-control ideas, which, of course, center around the nefarious ‘Digital-ID’, and have, as a first experiment, his ‘groundbreaking’ under-16 social-media ban.

We all understand Albanese’s online plans to be nothing but attempts at back-door surveillance, and a revival of the rejected and dropped ‘misinformation laws’.

The good news is that the ban is turning out to be a total flop.

Business Insider reported:

“According to a report by parental-control tool company Qustodio, the Australian social media ban has been impressively ineffective.

[…] Some 26% of children between the ages of 13 and 15 were on TikTok as of last month, just one percentage point below the rate prior to Australia’s groundbreaking rules coming into effect, the parental control software maker said. The rate for children between the ages of 10 and 12 is higher now than before the ban, according to the data.

What Qustodio found across Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat use, there was a distinct drop in use among 10-12 year olds and 13-15 year olds for a few weeks right when the ban started in December 2025. But after a few months, kids steadily got back on, nearing or matching pre-ban levels.”

Even Australia’s own eSafety commission found that ‘the amo

Meta Secures a $16.7 Billion Child Addiction Lawsuit

pgnewser August 26, 2026 0

A Federal lawsuit against social media giant Meta has been settled. Meta has agreed to pay $16.7 billion in an agreement with multiple states Attorney Generals. California is one of the states, but Texas and other large states are not. The lawsuit charged Meta with facilitating childhood social media addiction.

California State AG Rob Bonta said of the settlement, “Today, we have secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families,” Bonta said in a statement. “Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months.”

Meta settles social media addiction case for $16.7 billion– www.cnbc.com
News Source

EXCERPT:

Meta and a coalition of state attorneys general have settled a major federal case centering on allegations that the social media giant misrepresented the extent of child-related mental health harms caused by apps like Facebook and Instagram.

The settlement was revealed in a court filing released Wednesday that details several requirements Meta must make to its apps as part of a proposed “consent judgement.”

Those changes include daily usage limits and “nighttime blocks” for teenagers that use the company’s apps like Facebook and Instagram, “enhanced age assurance measures” that would prevent children from using the apps, and the creation of additional tools for parents and guardians.

New Zealand becomes latest country to propose social media ban for children– www.independent.co.uk

pgnewser August 26, 2026 0

New Zealand becomes latest country to propose social media ban for children– www.independent.co.uk
News Source
EXCERPT:

New Zealand was set to introduce legislation proposing a ban on social media for children under the age of 16, prime minister Christopher Luxon announced on Monday.

Under the plan, tech firms face penalties of up to 10 per cent of their global revenues if they fail to comply.

The proposed law would mandate that platforms implement reasonable age-verification measures, utilising digital identity documents, facial technology, and existing account data.

Meta Secures a $16.7 Billion Child Addiction Settlement

pgnewser August 26, 2026 0

A Federal lawsuit against social media giant Meta has been settled. Meta has agreed to pay $16.7 billion in an agreement with multiple states Attorney Generals. California is one of the states, but Texas and other large states are not. The lawsuit charged Meta with facilitating childhood social media addiction.

California State AG Rob Bonta said of the settlement, “Today, we have secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families,” Bonta said in a statement. “Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months.”

Meta settles social media addiction case for $16.7 billion– www.cnbc.com
News Source

EXCERPT:

Meta and a coalition of state attorneys general have settled a major federal case centering on allegations that the social media giant misrepresented the extent of child-related mental health harms caused by apps like Facebook and Instagram.

The settlement was revealed in a court filing released Wednesday that details several requirements Meta must make to its apps as part of a proposed “consent judgement.”

Those changes include daily usage limits and “nighttime blocks” for teenagers that use the company’s apps like Facebook and Instagram, “enhanced age assurance measures” that would prevent children from using the apps, and the creation of additional tools for parents and guardians.

New Zealand becomes latest country to propose social media ban for children– www.independent.co.uk

pgnewser August 26, 2026 0

New Zealand becomes latest country to propose social media ban for children– www.independent.co.uk
News Source
EXCERPT:

New Zealand was set to introduce legislation proposing a ban on social media for children under the age of 16, prime minister Christopher Luxon announced on Monday.

Under the plan, tech firms face penalties of up to 10 per cent of their global revenues if they fail to comply.

The proposed law would mandate that platforms implement reasonable age-verification measures, utilising digital identity documents, facial technology, and existing account data.

Australia Wants to be the World’s Internet Cop

pgnewser August 4, 2026 0

The Australian government is considering legislation that appears to give Australia jurisdiction over all social media companies worldwide that run afoul of their national laws. The legislation would grant Australia the power to retrieve any data from any person or company affiliated with a social media company.

X protested the bill, claiming it would “compel any person outside Australia to provide information and documents merely because they are affiliated with a company.” X claimed the bill gave no “due regard to procedural fairness, privacy, the broader impacts on online services, and Australia’s digital economy.” Elon Musk called it a “backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians.”

Australian Government Moves to Censor Americans with Global Free Speech Crackdown– slaynews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Elon Musk’s X is sounding the alarm over a sweeping new Australian censorship proposal that could allow government regulators to demand documents and personal information from people outside the country, including Americans.

In a formal submission to the Australian Senate, X warned that the legislation would dramatically expand the power of Australia’s eSafety Commissioner and reach far beyond the nation’s borders.

Under the proposal, a person would not need to live in Australia or operate an Australian company to be targeted.

They would only need to be considered “affiliated” with an online platform.

Russia charges Telegram founder with aiding terrorism and puts him on wanted list– abcnews.com

pgnewser July 30, 2026 0

Russia charges Telegram founder with aiding terrorism and puts him on wanted list– abcnews.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Russia’s main domestic security agency said Wednesday that Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging app Telegram, has been charged with “aiding terrorism” and put on an international wanted list.

Telegram’s administration has not removed “numerous channels, chats and bots” that are “actively used by Ukrainian intelligence agencies, terrorist, and extremist organizations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass murder, and cyberfraud” in Russia, the agency said in a statement Wednesday,

The Federal Security Service is also known as the FSB,

Charges against Durov come as Russia restricts Telegram, one of the most popular messaging apps in the country. Durov earlier this year announced that the Russian authorities opened a criminal investigation against him and accused them of fabricating pretexts to restrict access to Telegram as part of an attempt to “suppress the right to privacy and free speech.”

 

Teenager drops social media addiction lawsuit against Meta– www.bbc.co.uk

pgnewser July 28, 2026 0

Teenager drops social media addiction lawsuit against Meta– www.bbc.co.uk
News Source
EXCERPT:

A Florida teenager who sued Meta claiming that he was addicted to and harmed by his use of platforms, such as Instagram, has dropped his case.

The 15-year-old plaintiff, known by the initials R.K.C., had in recent weeks settled the same claims against TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube, all of which have been accused in a large lawsuit of creating addictive platforms harmful to children.

R.K.C.’s claims were to go before a Los Angeles jury next week as part of court proceedings that have seen Meta and YouTube lose once already.

A Meta spokeswoman told the BBC: “The claims never held up, and this outcome makes clear that we will not back away from defending ourselves against baseless lawsuits.”

Lawyers for R.K.C., Emily Jeffcott and Rahul Ravipudi, told the BBC that the young plaintiff “came into this process wanting to hold social media companies accountable and push for changes to protect young people like himself”.

“He did that,” they added.

Trump Media Company Unveils Insider Trading Service– www.truthdig.com

pgnewser July 28, 2026 0

Trump Media Company Unveils Insider Trading Service– www.truthdig.com
News Source
EXCERPT:

Starting August 1, Trump Media and Technology Group will launch a new data feed aimed at high-frequency trading firms whose profits are made by making trades a fraction of a second faster than everyone else.

It will provide “licensed, real-time access to posts from the highest-ranking Truth Social accounts.” In other words, the feed will let you know what Trump has said before anyone else knows, meaning it’s well worth the tab that Truth Social will charge to see Trump’s posts before the rest of the public sees them — up to $100,000 per month.

That’s a pittance relative to what could be made, because Trump’s words on Truth Social — about his war in Iran, about his latest tariffs, about the Fed — have caused the stock market to soar or drop. So, if you’re a trader on Wall Street, you’ll make millions if you know what he’s posting a fraction of a second before everyone else knows. Perhaps more to the point, if you’re behind on that news, “you’ll get crushed,” as one hedge-fund executive told the Financial Times.

The feed will let you know what Trump has said before anyone else knows.

No wonder Trump Media’s interim CEO Kevin McGurn is gloating that the feed will “become a meaningful, ongoing source of revenue for the company, creating lasting value for shareholders.” Trump Media has been unprofitable until now.

Trump, of course, is the company’s largest shareholder.