Page 15 - Social Media

YouTube top platform for podcasts with over 1 bn viewers a month, says exec

YouTube first identified podcasts as a popular content format during the pandemic. Before then the medium wasn't something YouTube had specifically supported

88% parents favour forcing apps to shut child accounts with falsified age

A majority of parents surveyed favour a mandate for apps to shut down accounts of children opened by age misrepresentation or seek parental guidance for the continuation of the same, online survey firm LocalCircles said on Wednesday. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 mandates online platforms to verify the age of children and seek explicit parental consent before processing their data. The survey report said that some parents believe that many children have falsely represented their age when signing up on the platforms, and with no checks and balances existing on most platforms, they were able to sign up and use such platforms. "88 per cent of parents surveyed in favour of DPDP rules mandating that platforms (social media, OTT, online gaming, etc.) identify any minor accounts with age misrepresented and proactively either seek parental consent or shut such accounts," the survey said. Out of 21,760 parent respondents, only 4 per cent favoured continued usage of the ...

Women achievers to take over PM Modi's social media accounts on Women's Day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that he will hand over his various social media accounts to women achievers in different fields to mark the International Women's Day on March 8. In his monthly Mann Ki Baat address, he said these successful women in different fields will speak about their work and experience on his social media accounts. "Let's us celebrate and respect the indomitable spirit of women," he said, lauding the increasing participation of women in different sectors. Modi had handed over his social media accounts to seven leading women in different fields on March 8 in 2020 in a similar gesture. With followers in tens of millions on X, YouTube and Instagram among other handles, Modi is one of the most followed global leaders on social media. The prime minister also renewed his appeal to people to take measures to deal with the growing problem of obesity, saying it is necessary for India to become a fit and healthy country. Citing research, he said one out of

Scientists call for open access to X's data for academic analyses, research

Researchers are calling for free access to social media platform X's data for academic analyses, insights from which can help understand trends in political engagement. Efforts of a research group from Saarland University, Germany, were halted abruptly when X's owner Elon Musk blocked free access to X's data for academic research purposes in June 2023. The US-based entrepreneur acquired the platform, then known as Twitter, in October 2022. The team wanted to know whether Twitter prioritised tweets from politicians from the right of the political spectrum between 2021 and 2023. "It is simply not acceptable that access to these vast amounts of data is either unaffordable or provided so selectively that no meaningful analyses can be conducted," lead researcher Ingmar Weber, a professor of artificial intelligence (AI) and chair for societal computing at Saarland University, said. The researchers called for implementation of legislation to ensure that academic researchers can regain acc

Railways asks X to remove stampede videos in 36 hrs, cites ethical concerns

The notice said that sharing such videos could lead to public unrest and disrupt railway operations, particularly during the current period of heavy train traffic

Explained: What is analogue paneer? Why is the internet buzzing about it?

The use of analogue paneer by food joints has sparked concern, especially in urban areas where many rely on food deliveries and restaurant meals

Brazil's top court justice orders X to pay $1.4 mn fine for non-compliance

Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X to pay 8.1 million Brazilian reais (USD 1.4 million) in fines for failing to comply with judicial orders, according to a judicial ruling. The ruling, signed on Wednesday and made public by the court on Thursday, said the social media platform refused to provide registration data for a profile attributed to Allan dos Santos, an ally of former president Jair Bolsonaro accused of spreading falsehoods. In July 2024, De Moraes ordered both X and Meta to block and ban the account and provide the data. X said it had blocked the account but could not deliver the requested information, arguing that its operators didn't collect it and that the user had "no technical connection point with Brazil". De Moraes rejected the argument and, in early August, imposed a daily fine of 100,000 Brazilian reais (USD 17,500) if the social media platform failed to provide the data. By October, the total fine for noncompliance had reached 8.1 million

India's Got Latent row: Centre asks OTT, social media to follow regulations

In its latest notice, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has acknowledged the alleged dissemination of obscene, pornographic, and vulgar content on OTT platforms and social media

Musk's X in talks to raise money at $44 billion valuation: Report

Musk bought X for the same price in 2022, but some investors including Fidelity Investments have sharply written down the value of their stake as the platform struggled to retain advertisements

101 social media accounts face action for misinformation on Maha Kumbh

Legal action has been initiated against 101 social media accounts in 10 cases for allegedly spreading misleading information related to the Maha Kumbh and Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh Police said on Wednesday. The action followed directives from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to curb fake news and misinformation regarding the mega event. According to Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Prashant Kumar, a comprehensive cyber patrolling strategy was implemented to monitor and counter the spread of misleading content. Under this initiative, Uttar Pradesh Police and expert agencies have been continuously tracking social media platforms for fake posts, rumours, and cyber offences related to the Maha Kumbh. On Wednesday, it was found that certain accounts falsely linked a video from Pakistan's Karak district to the Maha Kumbh stampede in Prayagraj. The video was accompanied by a song titled "Ye Prayagraj Hai", with a claim that "even serving one's parents won't cleanse sins, but h

Swiss politician Meret Schneider threatened for urging social media ban

Green Party politician has spoken about the need to regulate social media and argued that Switzerland is lagging behind in doing so

DoT directs social media firms to act against content violating Telecom Act

DoT directs social media platforms to remove content enabling CLI spoofing, citing violations of the Telecommunications Act, 2023; compliance deadline set for February 28

Caveat influencers: An ethics council is a step in the right direction

Last year, the Advertising Standards Council of India (Asci) had come up with a set of self-regulatory guidelines for influencers built around disclaimers and disclosures

Ranveer Allahbadia row: Influencer ethics council moves to restore trust

According to the council, the influencer marketing industry is expected to surpass Rs 3,375 crore by 2026

Meta to build 50,000 km subsea cable to connect US, India, Brazil, S Africa

Dubbed Project Waterworth, the undersea cable will be a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year investment to strengthen the scale and reliability of the world's digital highways

India's Got Latent row and the challenge of having comedians endorse brands

After the India's Got Latent controversy, agencies say brands are likely to take proactive measures like rigorous vetting of contracts and crisis-management strategies

Sebi seeks broader powers to curb unauthorised financial advice online

The request comes as the regulator has intensified investigations into market violations and clamped down on unregulated financial advice circulating on social media

Ranveer Allahbadia moves Supreme Court over FIRs on controversial remarks

A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justice Sanjay Kumar, has acknowledged the request made by Ranveer Allahbadia's lawyer

Maha Kumbh 2025: Action taken against 53 social media accounts, says police

Uttar Pradesh Police have initiated legal action against 53 social media accounts over the past month for allegedly spreading misinformation about the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. The crackdown follows Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's directive to curb fake news, with authorities identifying multiple misleading posts, ?including old videos, falsely linked to the event, senior officials said. Director General of Police (DGP) Prashant Kumar on Thursday evening said the department formulated a comprehensive strategy, involving continuous cyber patrolling by the Uttar Pradesh Police and expert agencies to monitor and counter misleading posts on social media. On February 13, cyber monitoring revealed two misleading videos falsely linked to the Maha Kumbh. The first video, originating from a fire incident in Egypt, was falsely shared as a blaze at the Maha Kumbh bus stand, with claims that 40-50 vehicles were destroyed. Investigations confirmed that the footage was actually from a pipeline fi

Allahbadia's comments: House panel asks govt to suggest amendments in laws

A parliamentary panel Thursday asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to submit a note by February 17 on the amendments needed in existing laws to clamp down on controversial content like the one involving Ranveer Allahbadia amid bipartisan concern from MPs over the issue. At the meeting of the Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, members from different parties voiced concern over Allahbadia's crass comments at a YouTube programme and called for stringent measures to punish him and to ensure that such an incident does not recur. Sources said the committee's chairperson and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey shared their concerns at the meeting attended by Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju and other senior ministry officials. The committee later dispatched a communication to Jaju under the subject "review of implementation of laws related to all forms of media", sources said. The letter said, "With the examination of the subject "Review of .