Page 2 - Social Media Apps

France may follow Australia in banning social media for children under 15

The proposal follows a French parliamentary investigation that found platforms were deliberately exposing minors to harmful content, prompting calls for stricter online safeguards

User-generated content has no direct impact on brand engagement: Study

User-generated social media content quality does not show a direct influence on engagement for brands, a new study by the Goa Institute of Management (GIM) has pointed out. The study conducted in collaboration with the Goa University, Taleigao, has addressed a key gap in marketing literature by examining how social media content quality and source credibility from brands and firms and users translate into brand equity and online engagement. The research published in the prestigious "Journal of Promotion Management", provides insights on "which type of content, Firm-Generated Content (FGC) or User-Generated Content (UGC), actually drives brand engagement and builds brand equity". According to officials, various research on related topics has been conducted in the past but has provided contradictory findings, making it unclear for real-world scenarios whether social media investment generates measurable brand outcomes or not. "The study attempts to bring clarity to this ongoing debat

Bring law to regulate internet use by children: Madurai HC tells Centre

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has observed that the Centre could consider framing a legislation to regulate the use of internet by kids, similar to a law in Australia. Until such a legislation is in place, the state and national commission for protection of child rights could draft an action plan to create awareness among children on child rights and safe use of the internet, the court said. The framework suggested by the court aims at restricting children below 16 years from having social media accounts, amidst apprehensions over the minors' exposure to harmful online content. A division bench comprising Justices G Jayachandran and K K Ramakrishnan made the remarks recently after counsel K P S Palanivel Rajan, representing the petitioner S Vijayakumar, cited a new Australian law which banned social media usage by children under 16, and said India could consider introducing similar legislation. Vijayakumar had filed the public interest litigation praying for a directio

Snapchat rolls out 'Quick Cut' to speed up video creation from Memories

Snapchat launches Quick Cut, a new tool that turns Memories into beat-synced videos in seconds, making video creation directly within the app

Meta moves to single age-check system as global child safety rules tighten

Meta aims to roll out one age-check system for Facebook and Instagram as global child safety laws grow and pressure on tech firms increases

Instagram comes to big-screen, will let you binge Reels on Amazon fire TV

Instagram for TV supports up to five accounts, personalised feeds and channel-based Reels, turning short videos into big-screen viewing experience at home

Threads expands communities to 200+ topics, tests badges for active users

Meta's Threads expands its communities feature to over 200 topics and tests flairs and badges to encourage more focused discussions and reward active members on the platform

Why big tech bosses are keeping their kids off social media platforms

From YouTube CEO Neal Mohan to Bill Gates, top tech leaders are limiting their children's screen time as studies link social media to teen anxiety and governments move towards age bans

Gavaskar personality rights: HC tells social platforms to act within 7 days

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed social media intermediaries to act within seven days on former cricketer and commentator Sunil Gavaskar's plea seeking protection of his personality rights. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora asked Gavaskar's counsel to first approach the social media intermediaries with his grievances. The high court directed the social media intermediaries to treat Gavaskar's suit as a complaint under the Information and Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 and take the necessary steps within seven days. The court said in case the social media intermediaries have any reservations to any weblink given by Gavaskar, they should inform him. It directed the plaintiff to provide within 24 hours the URLs in respect of which take down is sought to the social media intermediaries. Gavaskar approached the high court seeking to prevent the unauthorised use of his name, images, persona and likeness by social media platforms

Pak govt may ban social media platforms if they don't 'cooperate': Minister

A Pakistan minister has warned that the government may consider banning social media platforms if they do not cooperate with authorities. Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik made these remarks on Thursday, according to a Dawn report. The social media platform X, which around 4.5 million people in Pakistan use, was blocked in February 2024, around 10 days after the general elections. Speaking on Dawn News programme, Barrister Malik, responding to a question about a possible ban on incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan's X account, said investigations are ongoing. He added that while the government has contacted X, the platform has shown the least cooperation compared to other social media networks. Criticising X, the minister said the platform should not operate with double standards. Posts related to Palestine are removed, and accounts blocked, within 24 hours. Here, we are talking about a matter of terrorism, he said. He further noted that the government h

Reddit challenges Australia's law banning under-16s from social media

Global online forum Reddit on Friday filed a court challenge to Australia's world-first law that bans Australian children younger than 16 from holding accounts on the world's most popular social media platforms. California-based Reddit Inc's suit filed in the High Court follows a case filed last month by Sydney-based rights group Digital Freedom Project. Both suits claim the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on Australia's implied freedom of political communication. "We believe there are more effective ways for the Australian government to accomplish our shared goal of protecting youth, and the SMMA (Social Media Minimum Age) law carries some serious privacy and political expression issues for everyone on the internet," Reddit said in a statement. "While we agree with the importance of protecting people under 16, this law has the unfortunate effect of forcing intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes on adults as well as minors, isolating teens from the .

Instagram's new 'Your Algorithm' tool lets users personalise Reels feed

Instagram has added a new 'Your Algorithm' tool that lets users review their top interests, adjust topics they want more or less of and personalise their Reels feed in real time

Australia enforces world-first ban on social media access for teens

Meanwhile chat app Discord Inc., which isn't subject to the ban, said Tuesday it is enhancing safety features for users in Australia

By banning social media, we're giving children a childhood: Australian PM

Highlighting the challenges faced by both parents and children from the impact of social media, Albanese said it was a step towards peace of mind for parents, children

Australia rolls out world's 1st teen social media ban amid safety concerns

The law, passed last year, mandates services such as ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok and Meta Platforms Inc.'s Instagram keep under-16s off their platforms or face fines

Meta rolls out unified support hub for Facebook, Instagram: What's new

Meta rolls out a central support hub with AI search, better recovery options, and enhanced security protections for Facebook and Instagram

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 .