Social Media Apps

Australia to enforce social media age limit with fines up to $33 mn

Social media platforms must report monthly how many children's accounts they close once Australia begins enforcing its 16-year age limit next week, a minister said Wednesday. Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube would face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) from Dec. 10 if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove accounts of Australian children younger than 16. Livestreaming service Twitch was added to the list of age-restricted platforms less than two weeks ago. The Australian eSafety Commissioner will send the 10 platforms notices on Dec. 11 demanding information about the numbers of accounts removed. Monthly notices would follow for six months. The government recognizes that age assurance may require several days or weeks to complete fairly and accurately, Communications Minister Anika Wells told the National Press Club of Australia. However, if eSafety identifies systemic breaches of the law, the platforms will

Australia begins global drive to restrict social media access for children

While figures on the number of under-16s on social media globally are scarce, research firm EMarketer says about one in ten US users are under 18

Meta introduces India-focused features for IG Reels, Edits app: What's new

Meta is rolling out expanded AI translations for Instagram Reels and new Indian-language fonts on the Edits app, giving creators more ways to localise and customise their content

X's new location feature exposes many US political accounts as foreign-run

They go by names like @TRUMP_ARMY or @MAGANationX, and their verified accounts proudly display portraits of President Donald Trump, voter rallies and American flags. And they're constantly posting about US politics to their followers, sounding like diehard fans of the president. But after a weekend update to the social media platform X, it's now clear that the owners of these accounts, and many others, are located in regions such as South Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Elon Musk's X unveiled a feature Saturday that lets users see where an account is based. Online sleuths and experts quickly found that many popular accounts, often but not limited to posting in support of the MAGA movement to thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers, are based outside the United States raising concerns about foreign influence on US politics. Researchers at NewsGuard, a firm that tracks online misinformation, identified several popular accounts purportedly run by Americans interested in .

Malaysia joins list of countries to limit teen social media use: Details

Many believe raising the minimum age for social media access will give children more time to develop important skills such as digital literacy, impulse control, and critical thinking

Meta alerts young Australians to download data before social media ban

Technology giant Meta on Thursday began sending thousands of young Australians a two-week warning to download their digital histories and delete their accounts from Facebook, Instagram and Threads before a world-first social media ban on accounts of children younger than 16 takes effect. The Australian government announced two weeks ago that the three Meta platforms plus Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube must take reasonable steps to exclude Australian account holders younger than 16, beginning Dec. 10. California-based Meta on Thursday became the first of the targeted tech companies to outline how it will comply with the law. Meta contacted thousands of young account holders via SMS and email to warn that suspected children will start to be denied access to the platforms from Dec. 4. We will start notifying impacted teens today to give them the opportunity to save their contacts and memories, Meta said in a statement. Meta said young users could also use the notice period to update

X Corp challenges legality of 'Sahyog' portal takedown in Karnataka HC

Social media giant 'X' Corp has informed the Karnataka High Court that it received 29,118 government requests to remove content between January and June 2025, complying with 26,641 of them, a 91.49 per cent compliance rate. The company argued that these figures contradict a single judge's September 24 finding that the platform intends to defy Indian law. The data was furnished as part of X's writ appeal against the order upholding the Union government's 'Sahyog' portal, the online system used to issue takedown directions to intermediaries. In its recent appeal, X Corp contended that government agencies are unlawfully using Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, along with Rule 3(1)(d) of the 2021 IT Rules, to issue content removal orders. This, the company said, creates a parallel and unconstitutional mechanism that bypasses Section 69A of the IT Act, the only statutory process for blocking online content in India. The Supreme Court, in Shreya Singhal versus Unio

AI content norms unimplementable: Social media intermediaries to Meity

Internet intermediaries have told Meity that proposed rules to label synthetically generated information are vague, duplicative, and technologically unviable

Meta, ByteDance, Google, Snap to face trial over youth addiction claims

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl late Wednesday ruled against the companies on their last chance to avoid trial

Australia expands under-16 social media ban to include Reddit: Key details

The government had earlier said Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube would fall under the law, noting that other unspecified platforms could also be covered

Instagram may soon let you fine-tune app's algorithm for customising feed

Instagram is testing a feature that lets users add or remove topics to adjust what appears in their Reels and Explore feeds, giving them more control over suggestions

Instagram adds YouTube-like watch history option for Reels: How to access

Instagram has launched a new watch history feature that lets users revisit Reels they've watched in the past 30 days, with sorting and filtering options by date, account, or recency

Only joint secretaries, DIGs can now issue notices to social media firms

Meity amends IT Rules 2021; from November 1, only senior officers can flag unlawful content to intermediaries, with orders subject to monthly review at top level

Instagram rolls out app icon customisation for teen users: What's new

Instagram now lets teen users customise their app icon with six new designs, including fire, floral, and cosmic themes, to reflect their personal style

ShareChat reduces losses by 72%, revenue rises slightly to ₹723 crore

Homegrown social media firm turns cash positive, eyes ₹1,000 crore annualised revenue as it expands into micro drama and ad-supported content formats

Instagram adds Diwali cheer to stories, videos with AI filters: How to use

Instagram launches Diwali-themed Restyle effects powered by Meta AI, letting users add fireworks, diyas, and rangoli visuals to Stories, videos, and videos processed through its Edits app

Safeguarding teens by limiting them to PG-13 content, says Instagram

Teenagers on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and will not be able to change their settings without a parent's permission, Meta announced on Tuesday. This means kids using teen-specific accounts will see photos and videos on Instagram that are similar to what they would see in a PG-13 movie -- no sex, drugs or dangerous stunts, among others. "This includes hiding or not recommending posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, and additional content that could encourage potentially harmful behaviours, such as posts showing marijuana paraphernalia," Meta said in a blog post on Tuesday, calling the update the most significant since it introduced teen accounts last year. Anyone under 18 who signs up for Instagram is automatically placed into restrictive teen accounts unless a parent or guardian gives them permission to opt out. The teen accounts are private by default, have usage restrictions on them and already filter out more "sensitive" content --

SC rejects plea on rules for suspension, blocking of social media accounts

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea seeking pan-India guidelines for governing social media intermediaries with respect to suspension and blocking of accounts. The apex court allowed the two petitioners to withdraw the plea and told them that they were free to seek any other remedy available in law before an appropriate forum. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was told by the counsel appearing for the petitioners that their WhatsApp, which they used to communicate with the customers, was blocked. "There are other communication applications, you can use that," the bench observed and asked why WhatsApp of the petitioners was blocked. The petitioners' counsel said no reason was given to them. "What is your fundamental right to have access to WhatsApp?" the bench. It asked the petitioners why they approached the apex court directly with a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. The counsel said the petitioners, who have a clinic and a ...

Instagram's Map feature debuts in India: What is it, how it works, and more

Instagram has introduced its Map feature in India, adding new privacy indicators, clearer location-sharing controls, and tools for exploring local content

Helping kids stay safe online: How parents can help tackle cyberbullying

With cyberbullying cases on the rise, creating a safe space for open conversations and building digital resilience are key steps to protecting children in today's connected world