EU chief turns up heat on social media’s ‘addictive’ design

May 12, 2026 4:11 PM

EU chief turns up heat on social media’s ‘addictive’ design

The European Union is working on new rules to protect children from the addictive designs of social media such as TikTok, Meta and X, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday. "Sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, self-harm, addictive behaviour, cyberbullying, grooming, exploitation, suicide. Risks are multiplying fast," von der Leyen said in a speech in Copenhagen. "These risks are the reality of the digital world. They are not accidental. They are the result of busines...

Meta discontinues end‑to‑end encryption for Instagram

May 9, 2026 5:36 PM

Meta discontinues end‑to‑end encryption for Instagram

US tech giant Meta has officially switched off end-to-end encrypted direct messages on Instagram, discontinuing the privacy-focused feature for users globally. The tech company said users with existing encrypted chats are being notified inside the app and urged to download any important media or messages they wish to keep before the feature is fully discontinued. The move marks a reversal from Meta's earlier plans to make encrypted messaging a standard feature across its apps. End‑to‑end ...

Facebook and Instagram must do more to block under-13s, EU warns in Meta charges

April 29, 2026 3:36 PM

Facebook and Instagram must do more to block under-13s, EU warns in Meta charges

Meta Platforms' Facebook and Instagram were charged on Wednesday with breaching landmark EU tech rules and must do more to block children under 13 from accessing the social networks, EU regulators said. The charges or so-called preliminary findings under the Digital Services Act, which requires Big Tech to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content on their platforms, came after a two-year investigation by the European Commission. Meta, which said it disagreed with the preliminary findi...

From Australia to Europe, countries move to curb children’s social media access

April 8, 2026 3:23 PM

From Australia to Europe, countries move to curb children’s social media access

Australia in December became the world's first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking them from platforms including TikTok, Alphabet's YouTube and Meta's Instagram and Facebook. The ban comes amid mounting concerns over the impact of social media on children's health and safety. Below is a summary of what countries and companies are doing to regulate access to social media. AUSTRALIA A landmark law forced major social media platforms to block minors under 16 from Decembe...

Instagram chief defends youth mental health decisions at trial

February 12, 2026 10:29 AM

Instagram chief defends youth mental health decisions at trial

The top executive at Meta Platforms' Instagram defended the social media platform's choices around features that some company insiders called harmful to young users, at a trial on claims the app helped fuel a youth mental-health crisis. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, testified in Los Angeles as part of a trial on what plaintiffs call "social media addiction" in children and young adults. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is also expected to testify in the coming weeks. A California woman who bega...

Australia’s ban on social media access for under-16s takes effect

December 10, 2025 12:25 AM

Australia’s ban on social media access for under-16s takes effect

Australia has become the first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking access to platforms including TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook from midnight. Ten of the biggest platforms were ordered to block children from midnight on Wednesday (1300 GMT on Tuesday) or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($33 million) under the new law, which drew criticism from major technology companies and free speech advocates, but was welcomed by parents and child ...

Australia passes social media ban for children under 16

November 29, 2024 9:27 AM

Australia passes social media ban for children under 16

Australia approved on Thursday a social media ban for children aged under 16 after an emotive debate that has gripped the nation, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech. The law forces tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner Meta to TikTok to stop minors logging in or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million). A trial of methods to enforce it will start in January with the ban to take effect in a year. The Soc...

Meta must face Massachusetts social media addiction lawsuit, judge rules

October 18, 2024 11:37 PM

Meta must face Massachusetts social media addiction lawsuit, judge rules

A Massachusetts judge rejected Meta Platforms' bid to dismiss a lawsuit by the state alleging the social media company purposely deployed features on its Instagram platform to addict young users and deceived the public about the dangers its product posed to the mental health of teenagers. Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Peter Krupp in Boston, in a decision made public on Friday, rejected Meta's request to dismiss claims by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell that it violated ...

Meta oversight board tells company to clean up rules on AI-generated pornography

July 26, 2024 2:47 PM

Meta oversight board tells company to clean up rules on AI-generated pornography

Meta's Oversight Board on Thursday said the company's rules were "not sufficiently clear" in barring sexually explicit AI-generated depictions of real people and called for changes to stop such imagery from circulating on its platforms. The board, which is funded by the social media giant but operates independently, issued its ruling after reviewing two pornographic fakes of famous women created using artificial intelligence and posted on Meta's Facebook and Instagram. Meta said it would revie...

Meta to end ban on the word ‘shaheed’ on oversight board’s recommendations

July 3, 2024 12:29 PM

Meta to end ban on the word ‘shaheed’ on oversight board’s recommendations

Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it would lift its blanket ban on the word "shaheed", or "martyr" in English, after a year-long review by its oversight board found the social media giant's approach was "overbroad". The company has been criticized for years over its handling of content involving the Middle East, including in a 2021 study Meta itself commissioned that found its approach had an "adverse human rights impact" on Palestinians and other Arabic-speaking users of its services. Those crit...