Page 2 - Social Media Apps

Meta secures patent to let deceased users' accounts remain active: Report

Meta's patent reportedly details how AI could simulate a deceased user's online presence - though the company says it has no plans to launch it

UK PM Starmer seeks powers to regulate online access for child safety

Britain's government said last month it would consult on an Australian-style social media ban for children under 16

Facebook now lets you animate profile photos using Meta AI: What's new

Facebook rolls out Meta AI tools to animate profile photos, restyle Stories and Memories, and add animated backgrounds to text posts for a more creative feed experience

Threads introduces 'Dear Algo' AI feature to personalise feed: How it works

Threads introduces "Dear Algo," a new AI-powered feature that lets users publicly request more or less of certain posts and adjust their feed for three days

Instagram chief grilled in court over profit versus mental health concerns

The trial is a test for thousands of similar cases with billions of dollars at stake, as well as the prospect that social media companies could be forced to change how they interact with youths

Social media not clinically addictive, says Instagram chief during US trial

Adam Mosseri, the head of Meta's Instagram, testified during a landmark social media trial in Los Angeles that he disagrees with the idea that people can be clinically addicted to social media platforms. The question of addiction is a key pillar of the case, where plaintiffs seek to hold social media companies responsible for harms to children who use their platforms. Meta Platforms and Google's YouTube are the two remaining defendants in the case, which TikTok and Snap have settled. At the core of the Los Angeles case is a 20-year-old identified only by the initials "KGM", whose lawsuit could determine how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies would play out. She and two other plaintiffs have been selected for bellwether trials - essentially test cases for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury. Mosseri said on Wednesday that it's important to differentiate between clinical addiction and what he called problematic use. The plaintiff's ..

MeitY's amendments on fake content to up risks for social media platforms

Experts say MeitY's amendment to the IT Rules for AI-generated content, which cuts takedown timelines to three hours, will increase compliance costs and risks for platforms

Instagram head Mosseri to testify on app design's effect on young users

Instagram head Adam Mosseri will testify in a US court case alleging features such as endless scroll encourage compulsive use among minors, raising mental health concerns

YouTube lawyer sees no addiction from half hour of videos a day in trial

Kaley, from Chico, California, was presented by her lawyers at the start of the trial against Google and Meta Platforms Inc. as the face of a scourge that has allegedly poisoned millions of Americans

Govt toughens rules on AI content, mandates 3-hour takedown timeline

From February 20, social media and internet intermediaries must remove unlawful content within three hours and non-consensual intimate imagery within two hours under amended IT rules

Landmark US trial alleges Meta, YouTube 'engineered addiction' in children

Comparing social media platforms to casinos and addictive drugs, lawyer Mark Lanier delivered opening statements on Monday in a landmark trial in Los Angeles that seeks to hold Instagram owner Meta and Google's YouTube responsible for harms to children who use their products. Instagram's parent company, Meta and Google's YouTube face claims that their platforms addict children through deliberate design choices that keep kids glued to their screens. TikTok and Snap, which were originally named in the lawsuit, settled for undisclosed sums. Jurors got their first glimpse into what will be a lengthy trial characterised by duelling narratives from the plaintiffs and the two remaining defendants. Meta lawyer Paul Schmidt spoke of the disagreement within the scientific community over social media addiction, with some researchers believing it doesn't exist or that addiction is not the most appropriate way to describe heavy social media use. Lawyers representing YouTube will begin their ...

Snapchat brings Arrival Notifications option to Snap Map: How to set up

Snapchat has expanded its Home Safe feature with Arrival Notifications, allowing users to automatically alert friends or family when they reach places like classes, meetings, or travel stops

Social media's role must be assessed from lens of trust: Vaishnaw

The role of social media must be clearly evaluated from the lens of its impact on societal harmony and trust, that has been built and cemented over thousands of years, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said adding the latest Economic Survey has "rightly pointed out" issues around the online platforms. Noting that social media is now among the most important modes of information and outreach, the minister said while it offers benefits such as learning, its broader impact must be clearly assessed to ensure they add value to society, their content is trustworthy and the platforms do their due diligence. "We must make sure that our society remains a harmonious society and we should see the role of social media from that point of view. Is social media able to add to that trust or is it disrupting society? Is it adding value or is it creating friction in the society? That thing has to be very clearly evaluated," Vaishnaw said in a recent interview to PTI. He said social media has emerged a

Age limits for social media under review, govt to take a call: IT secy

The Economic Survey has made several suggestions on age-based access to online platforms, and the government will examine all the opinions and take a call on the issue, IT Secretary S Krishnan said on Thursday. Last week, the Economic Survey had said age-based access to online platforms should be considered while also cutting down online teaching to avoid digital addiction. The Survey, tabled in Parliament, had said online platforms should be made responsible for enforcing age verification, and simpler devices should be promoted for children to access educational content with safeguards to address the rising problem of digital addiction. It is pertinent to mention that the Ghaziabad triple suicide, where three minor sisters allegedly jumped to their deaths from a ninth-floor flat, has triggered an alarm over online gaming addiction and the Korean culture craze. "You have seen what the Economic Survey has to say. A number of views are being expressed. We will examine all the views a

Spanish govt plans to ban social media access for children under 16

Spain's move comes amid a broader European push to tighten regulations on children's online activity

Instagram could soon let users opt out of someone's Close Friends lists

Reportedly, Instagram is developing a feature that would let users remove themselves from Close Friends lists, as Meta also plans paid subscriptions with exclusive features

PM Modi's ally proposes bill to ban social media for children in India

India, the world's second-biggest smartphone market with 750 million devices and a billion internet users, is a key growth market for social media apps and does not set ‌a minimum age for access

Bluesky to bring better posting tools, improve discovery and live features

Bluesky has shared its 2026 roadmap, outlining updates focused on live events, custom feeds, better posting tools, improved discovery, and deeper support for third-party apps

TikTok faces app deletions, glitches in days after ownership change

Censorship claims, technical problems and a report of a surge in app deletions are just some of the challenges TikTok is facing as it adjusts to a new ownership structure in the United States that was finalized last week. The company said Monday it was experiencing a "major infrastructure issue triggered by a power outage" at one of its US data centre partner sites. The outage led to bugs such as creators temporarily seeing zero views on their videos even if people had looked at them, as well as slow load times and timeout requests when posting videos. On Tuesday, TikTok said it had made significant progress restoring services though users could still see glitches while using the popular video sharing app. At the same time, users were raising concerns that the company is "censoring" videos, including ones critical of President Donald Trump, ICE or mentions of Jeffrey Epstein. The complaints were enough for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to announce on X Monday that he is launching a .

TikTok settles social media addiction lawsuit ahead of court trial

TikTok agreed to settle a landmark social media addiction lawsuit just before the trial kicked off, the plaintiff's attorneys confirmed. The social video platform was one of three companies - along with Meta's Instagram and Google's YouTube - facing claims that their platforms deliberately addict and harm children. A fourth company named in the lawsuit, Snapchat parent company Snap Inc, settled the case last week for an undisclosed sum. Details of the settlement with TikTok were not disclosed, and the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At the core of the case is a 19-year-old identified only by the initials "KGM," whose case could determine how thousands of other, similar lawsuits against social media companies will play out. She and two other plaintiffs have been selected for bellwether trials - essentially test cases for both sides to see how their arguments play out before a jury and what damages, if any, may be awarded, said Clay Calvert, a nonresiden