Page 9 - Social Media Apps

US Supreme Court upholds Mississippi social media age verification law

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused for now to block enforcement of a Mississippi law aimed at regulating the use of social media by children, an issue of growing national concern. The justices rejected an emergency appeal from a tech industry group, NetChoice, that is challenging laws passed in Mississippi and other states that require social media users to verify their ages. The court had been asked to keep the law on hold while a lawsuit plays out. There were no noted dissents from the brief, unsigned order. But Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote to say that NetChoice could eventually succeed in showing that the law is indeed unconstitutional. Kavanaugh said he nevertheless agreed with the court's decision because the tech group had not shown it would suffer legal harm if the measure went into effect as the lawsuit unfolded. NetChoice argues that the Mississippi law threatens privacy rights and unconstitutionally restricts the free expression of users of all ages. A federal judge

Here's why Musk's Grok AI was briefly suspended on X before being restored

Elon Musk's Grok AI was briefly suspended on X, prompting speculation after the bot claimed it was punished for Gaza genocide remarks; X restored the account within minutes

Instagram's Map: How to share location, explore posts, and adjust settings

Instagram recently added Map to let users share their location with friends or explore posts and Reels based on tagged places, with full control over settings

xAI makes Grok's AI image and video generation free for all users: Details

Elon Musk's xAI has made Grok Imagine's AI-powered text-to-image and video generation free for all users, though NSFW 'Spicy Mode' could remain behind a paywall

Instagram rolls out reposts, friends tab, location map features: What's new

Instagram adds reposts, optional location sharing via a new map, and a friends tab in Reels to make content discovery and social sharing more personal and real-time

Instagram restricts live broadcast to accounts with 1000 followers: Details

Instagram has updated its Live broadcast rules, now requiring users to have a public account and at least 1,000 followers, limiting access for smaller creators and private users

YouTube relaxes profanity policy to support creator monetisation: Details

YouTube updates its monetisation policies to ease profanity restrictions for creators while introducing AI-powered tools to help identify and protect teen viewers across the platform

Australia adds YouTube to under-16 social media ban ahead of Dec rollout

The new rules, set to take effect on December 10, will now apply to YouTube alongside Meta Platforms' Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X

Pakistan urges social media platforms to block banned militant accounts

Pakistan on Friday urged global social media companies to take action to block hundreds of accounts allegedly run by outlawed militant groups that Islamabad claims spread propaganda and glorify insurgents in the South Asian country. According to Pakistan's Deputy Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry, groups such as the Pakistani Taliban and the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army banned by the Pakistani authorities and also designated as terrorist groups by the United States have been using X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram to promote violence in Pakistan. Chaudhry, who spoke to reporters at a news conference, urged the tech companies to remove or disable these accounts, as well as those run by supporters of the militant groups. Deputy Law Minister Aqeel Malik, who also spoke at the news conference, said Pakistani investigators have identified 481 accounts associated with the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, and the Balochistan Liberation .

Snapchat's 'Home Safe' feature notifies close friends you are home: Details

Snapchat's new Home Safe feature sends automatic alerts to trusted friends when you arrive home, only if you have opted in to location sharing via Snap Map

Meta adds new protections for teens, children across platforms: What's new

Meta is introducing expanded protections for teen and child accounts across its platforms, including new direct message safeguards and limits on interactions with suspicious adults

X slashes subscription prices in India, Basic plan now at Rs 170 per month

X (formerly Twitter) slashes prices for Basic, Premium, and Premium Plus subscriptions in India, with revised rates live across web and mobile platforms for both new and existing users

Centre tells Karnataka HC 'chilling effect' not an all-in-all solution

The Centre tells Karnataka HC that the 'chilling effect' on free speech cannot justify bypassing reasonable restrictions, as it defends its stance against X Corp's plea over content regulation and cen

EU delays investigation into Musk's X amid trade negotiations with US

The European Commission will miss its probe deadline before the summer recess, with a decision now expected after more clarity emerges from ongoing EU-US trade negotiations

US will start talks with China on possible TikTok deal this week: Trump

Last month, Trump extended the deadline to September 17 for China-based ByteDance to divest the US assets of TikTok

In the app world, the seven deadly sins have found new digital avatars

The moot question is whether a digital business can be built from The Seven Gifts of Grace: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Knowledge, Piety, Fortitude, and Fear of the Lord

Elon Musk's X recovers partially after major outage hits users in US

Reports of disruptions had dropped to around 1,041 by 7:42 p.m. ET, down from a peak of more than 10,000, according to Downdetector

Reddit update lets users share comments as posts, get insights: Details

Reddit is rolling out features to share comments as posts, track comment insights, and auto-save drafts-enhancing engagement and giving users more control and visibility

Sebi warns investors about stock market scams via social media platforms

The market regulator issued the advisory statement in response to the growing number of frauds and scams that lure investors with false promises of outsize returns

Asia tightens curbs on TikTok, Meta even as US continues to struggle

Governments across the Asia-Pacific region are leading the global charge to protect children from online harms, presenting an unprecedented challenge to the social media apps with most of their users