Instagram

Instagram makes all teen accounts private, in a highly scrutinized push for child safety

8:02am September 17, 2024

The social media app unveiled a new product for young users of the app that is intended to make the service safer for teenagers. The tools include making all teen accounts private and allowing parents to supervise activity.

Facebook Covers Sign At Menlo Park Headquarters

Politics & Government

Meta shutters tool used to fight disinformation, despite outcry

7:00am August 14, 2024

by Dara Kerr

The social media company discontinues its CrowdTangle tool, which researchers have used to track misinformation. Amid fears of election interference, lawmakers have urged Meta to keep it running.

El Massry took this photo of a felucca sailing down the Nile in the south of Cairo on a morning in 2022. He digitally framed the image with a photo of a window in an old antique shop, and in his signature style, added a bird or two.

Arts

These dreamy photos of historical Cairo will transport you to another time

6:54am April 28, 2024

by Malaka Gharib

Photographer Nour El Massry captures ethereal images of Egyptian landscapes, interiors and architecture in one of the world's largest megacities.

Amid growing concern about children's use of social media, the United Kingdom implemented rules designed to keep kids safer and limit their screen time. The U.S. is weighing similar legislation.

Health & Safety

TikTok and others change platforms to protect kids. Advocates say it's just a start

2:37pm March 29, 2024

by Rhitu Chatterjee

A new report by Children and Screens rounds up the changes spurred by the U.K.'s Age Appropriate Design Code, which went into effect in 2020. Similar laws are being considered in the U.S.

Some TikTok creators have embraced the de-influencer movement, like Diana Wiebe, seen in a screenshot here, who goes by the TikTok handle @depressiondotgov and critiques social media influencing.

Arts

'This is garbage': Step aside, influencers — we're now in the era of de-influencing

5:00am March 25, 2024

by Brianna Scott

A new movement has emerged in recent years: de-influencing. What started as a backlash to advertising could now have a surprising and real-world impact on the environment.

Queue Listen Now

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the dangers of child sexual exploitation on social media, including Meta's Facebook and Instagram.

Politics & Government

'You have blood on your hands,' Senator tells Mark Zuckerberg for failing kids online

9:09pm January 31, 2024

by Dara Kerr

The top tech executives from Meta, X, TikTok, Snap and Discord get the fifth degree from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Queue Listen Now

Facebook and Instagram parent Meta is under fire for not doing enough to protect young users.

Politics & Government

Meta failed to address harm to teens, whistleblower testifies as Senators vow action

6:53pm November 07, 2023

by Dara Kerr

Former engineer Arturo Bejar says he repeatedly raised the alarm to company execs about Instagram's harm to teens and they failed to act. Senators vow to pass a social media law this year.

A large video monitor on the campus of Meta, Facebook's parent company, in Menlo Park, Calif. in February. New research about Facebook shows its impact on political polarization.

Politics & Government

New study shows just how Facebook's algorithm shapes conservative and liberal bubbles

5:43pm July 27, 2023

Research conducted at the height of the 2020 election reveals new details about how Facebook's algorithms handle political content. But it suggests there are no easy fixes to political polarization.

Queue Listen Now

More than 100 million people have signed up to Threads, Meta's rival to Twitter. Voting rights group say this popularity could make it a breeding ground for election disinformation.

Politics & Government

Meta's Threads needs a policy for election disinformation, voting groups say

1:47pm July 27, 2023

by Dara Kerr

Twelve voting rights organizations tell Meta its new social media site Threads needs a robust plan to ensure election disinformation doesn't go viral during the 2024 elections.

Queue Listen Now

The standoff in California is the latest scuffle between the tech giants and the news industry. Facebook and Google also resisted efforts in Australia and Canada that aimed to force the companies to cut deals with news publishers.

National

Facebook, Instagram to block news stories in California if bill passes

8:56pm May 31, 2023

by Bobby Allyn

From Australia to Canada, Big Tech has resisted lawmakers' efforts to force them to pay news publishers for carrying their articles. Now, that battle is playing out in California.