Page 17 - Social Media Apps

US Justice Dept sues TikTok, accusing it of illegally collecting kids' data

The Justice Department sued TikTok on Friday, accusing the company of violating children's online privacy law and running afoul of a settlement it had reached with another federal agency. The complaint, filed together with the Federal Trade Commission in a California federal court, comes as the US and the prominent social media company are embroiled in yet another legal battle that will determine if or how TikTok will continue to operate in the country. The latest lawsuit focuses on allegations that TikTok, a trend-setting platform popular among young users, and its China-based parent company ByteDance violated a federal law that requires kid-oriented apps and websites to get parental consent before collecting personal information of children under 13. It also says the companies failed to honour requests from parents who wanted their children's accounts deleted, and chose not to delete accounts even when the firms knew they belonged to kids under 13. This action is necessary to ..

TikTok collected data on issues like abortion, gun control: US Justice Dept

In a fresh broadside against one of the world's most popular technology companies, the Justice Department late Friday accused TikTok of harnessing the capability to gather bulk information on users based on views on divisive social issues like gun control, abortion and religion. Government lawyers wrote in a brief filed to the federal appeals court in Washington that TikTok and its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance used an internal web-suite system called Lark to enable TikTok employees to speak directly with ByteDance engineers in China. TikTok employees used Lark to send sensitive data about US users, information that has wound up being stored on Chinese servers and accessible to ByteDance employees in China, federal officials said. One of Lark's internal search tools, the filing states, permits ByteDance and TikTok employees in the US and China to gather information on users' content or expressions, including views on sensitive topics, such as abortion or religion. Last year

TikTok's survival at stake in all-out fight against potential US ban

Outside Washington, the video-sharing platform is waging a parallel battle for public opinion

Lawyers, attorney, money: Inside TikTok's plan to dodge potential US ban

Outside Washington, the video-sharing platform is waging a parallel battle for public opinion

News updates: Microsoft says about 8.5 million of its devices affected by CrowdStrike-related outage

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IT ministry asks tech firms to find age verification methods under data law

They have to 'figure out' how they want to implement age-gating requirement, says source

Instagram's new audio feature to let users add up to 20 tracks to a reel

Multi-audio Tracks on Reels will also let users align text, stickers and clips while editing in the app. The feature is available to users in India starting today

Instagram to prioritise short-form content to connect users with friends

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said that the platform will prioritise short-form content over long-form videos as connecting people with friends is part of the core identity of the platform

HC orders social media platforms to ban accounts misusing Razorpay's name

The Delhi High Court's order includes measures such as suspension of access to domain names operated by unknown entities involved in these scams

Pakistan PM Sharif to decide fate of social media platforms during Muharram

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would decide the fate of social media platforms such as YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok during the Muharram festival as the Punjab government sought a ban on them, citing the need to control hate material. Shiite Muslims hold large gatherings during the festival to observe the martyrdom of the grandson of the prophet of Islam. The Muslims generally observe his martyrdom as a symbol of resistance to tyranny, and the Shiite Muslims take out rallies during the first ten days of Muharram which culminate into huge processions on the 9th and 10th of the month. The Sunni Muslims have a historic theological rivalry with the Shiites, and extremist Sunni groups brand them as heretics and target them through bombings, with Pakistan witnessing numerous such attacks in the past. To disrupt communication among the militants, governments in Pakistan traditionally undertake elaborate security measures during Muharram, including suspension of

Pak to ban social media platforms for 6 days to control hate during Ramadan

After successfully blocking X, formerly Twitter, for over four months, the Pakistan government is now set to ban all social media platforms -- YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok -- for six days from July 13 to 18, citing the need to control "hate material" during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's cabinet committee on law and order has recommended banning of all social media platforms -- YouTube, X, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, among others --during 6 to 11 Muharram (July 13-18) in Punjab, a province of over 120 million people, to "control hate material, misinformation to avoid sectarian violence", according to a Punjab government notification issued here late Thursday night. The Punjab government of Maryam Nawaz has requested her uncle Shehbaz Sharif's government at the Centre to notify the suspension of all social media platforms on internet for six days (July 13-18). Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir has already declared soci

No more cooing: India's own Twitter alternative Koo calls it quits

Indian alternative to X (formerly Twitter) has officially shut down, with founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka citing financial struggles as the main cause

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

The company has been criticized for years over its handling of content involving the West Asia

WhatsApp tests native in-app dialler in beta version for Android: Details

The in-app dialler in WhatsApp will allow users to make calls without saving the contact to address book first. It is currently being tested with select beta users and may roll out to everyone soon

Snapchat announces new safety features with a focus on teenage users

The company on Tuesday introduced the features on the platform with the aim of making it difficult for strangers to contact people randomly

Soon, only premium subscribers will be allowed to live stream on X: Details

The announcement was made via a post by the official (at)Live profile on X. There is no clear timeline announced about when the change will get implemented

Instagram introduces 'Close Friends on Live': What is it and how it works

Announced on June 20, Instagram's close friends on live feature is being rolled out globally. It will give the users an option to limit viewers to their live broadcast

New York guv signs bill to limit 'addictive' social media feeds for kids

New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed a bill that would allow parents to block their children from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm, a move to limit feeds critics argue are addictive. Under the legislation, feeds on apps like TikTok and Instagram would be limited for people under age 18 to posts from accounts they follow, rather than content suggested by an automated algorithm. It would also block platforms from sending minors notifications on suggested posts between midnight and 6 am. Both provisions could be turned off if a minor gets what the bill defines as verifiable parental consent. The law does not take effect immediately. State Attorney General Letitia James is now tasked with crafting rules to determine mechanisms for verifying a user's age and parental consent. After the rules are finalised, social media companies will have 180 days to implement the regulations. We can protect our kids. We can tell the companies that you are not

Why does the American Surgeon General want warning labels on social media?

Banning phones in schools to limited screen times at home: Vivek Murthy is advocating for proactive steps by all to safeguard mental health of the youth on social media platforms

WhatsApp will soon let you share quality media through default setting

Users will no longer have to manually change the resolution of photos and videos to HD quality every time they share it. The feature is available in latest version of WhatsApp