Page 16 - Social Media

Australia to ban social media for kids under 16 to protect mental health

Australia introduces new age limits on social media to protect youth mental health, holding platforms accountable for underage access, as part of broader tech regulations

TikTok's Canadian biz to be dissolved after govt order but app not blocked

Canada announced Wednesday it is ordering the dissolution of TikTok's Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media app but said it won't block access. Industry Minister Franois-Philippe Champagne said it is meant to address risks related to ByteDance Ltd.'s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc. The government is not blocking Canadians' access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content. The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice," Champagne said. Champagne said it is important for Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices, including protecting their personal information. He said the dissolution order was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that may harm Canada's national security. TikTok Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TikTok is wildly popular with young people, but

Australia set to impose ban on social media for children under 16, says PM

The long-anticipated age limits for social media are part of a suite of measures from Albanese's center-left Labor government to crack down on technology giants

ICC successfully trials AI-powered tool to curb abuse in women's cricket

The ICC has successfully completed a ground-breaking AI-powered social media moderation trial to eliminate abuse in the women's game as it revealed that nearly one-fifth of the comments on player or team accounts are harmful or auto-generated, according to a report. The trial was conducted during the T20 Women's World Cup in the UAE in October to "protect the cricket community from toxic content and create a safer and inclusive online environment for players and fans. The International Cricket Council (ICC) in partnership with tech company GoBubble employed an artificial intelligence tool to address online abuse targeting female players. Out of 1,495,149 social media comments monitored across 60 player and eight team accounts, approximately 271,100 included racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of abuse, according to a report in 'ESPNCricinfo'. The ICC's Head of Digital, Finn Bradshaw, noted that this trial was driven by the need to foster a safer online space for female ...

66% parents believe children addicted to social media, gaming, finds survey

Majority of parents surveyed believe their children are addicted to social media, over-the-top apps and gaming platforms and more than half have observed behavioural changes in them which include aggression, impatience and lethargy, says a report. According to a survey of parents of children aged between 9 and 17 years in urban areas, 47 per cent have shared that their wards spend an average of three hours or more every day on social media, videos, over-the-top apps, and online games. Around 10 per cent of the parents shared their children spend more than six hours on social media, online games and videos, online survey firm LocalCircles said. "66 per cent of parents of urban Indian children surveyed believe that their children are addicted to social media, OTT or online gaming platforms and 58 per cent of these parents believe that this is leading to increased aggression, impatience and lethargy in children," LocalCircles founder Sachin Taparia said. The survey was conducted onlin

Pak Influencer celebrates Diwali for the first time in Karachi in video

A Pakistani influencer, Bilal Hassan is showcasing the Diwali celebrations in Karachi in her viral video. The video has got millions of views on Instagram

Miss Universe finalist Kanika Batra says she is a sociopath, shares advice

In her recent TikTok video, model and former Miss Universe finalist Kanika Batra-Matheson talked about her sociopathic nature and shared advice on how to expose such individuals

French families sue TikTok over alleged failure to remove harmful content

TikTok could not immediately be reached for comment on the allegations

US tech firms warn Vietnam's law to hamper data centres, social media

The draft law, being discussed in parliament, is also designed to ease authorities' access to information

Elon Musk's X falls behind on updating political advertising disclosures

X isn't legally required to update the database, but it's become an expected practice for the company and its tech peers

Facebook India Online Services profit 43% to Rs 505 cr, turnover up 9.3%

Social media major Meta's advertisement unit, Facebook India Online Services, has posted a 43 per cent growth in profit to Rs 504.9 crore in the financial year ended on March 31, 2024, according to documents shared by Tofler. The company had posted a profit of Rs 352.91 crore in FY2023. Facebook India Online Services Private Limited is engaged in the business of selling advertising inventory to customers in India and providing IT-enabled support services and design support services to Meta Platforms Inc. The company reported a 9.33 per cent increase in turnover to Rs 3,034.82 crore in FY24 against Rs 2,775.78 crore in FY23. "The company's total expenses for the fiscal were reported as Rs 2,350 crore," Tofler said in a report.

Musk's social media posts have a sudden boost since July, new study reveals

Tech billionaire Elon Musk's social media posts have had a sudden boost' since July, new research reveals

Centre issues new guidelines to handle bomb threats on flights; details

The revised guidelines from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security outline several new indicators for assessing bomb threats

Trump's Truth Social beats Musk's X in value; what's behind the surge?

Trump Media & Technology Group now holds a valuation exceeding $10 billion, with its stock more than quadrupling since late September

Musk wins court victory in dispute over 2018 post during labour dispute

A federal agency was wrong to order that Tesla CEO Elon Musk delete a 2018 social media post that union leaders saw as a threat to employee stock options; a sharply divided federal appeals court has ruled. The case involved a post made on what was then known as Twitter during United Auto Workers organising efforts at a Tesla facility in Fremont, California. The post was made years before Musk bought the platform, now known as X, in 2022. On May 20, 2018, Musk tweeted: Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues and give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare. The National Labor Relations Board said it was an illegal threat. After Tesla appealed, three judges on the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld that decision, as well as a related NLRB order that Tesla rehire a fired employee, with back pay. But Tesla ..

Govt issues advisory to social media apps amid rising hoax bomb calls

Amid a spate of hoax bomb threats to multiple airlines, the IT Ministry has asked social media platforms to observe due diligence obligations and promptly remove or disable access to misinformation within the strict timelines prescribed under IT rules. The Centre also asserted that apart from removing or disabling access to such misinformation, social media intermediaries have additional liability under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) to mandatorily report certain offences perceived to be committed by any user of their platform including those with intent to threaten unity, integrity, sovereignty or security of India. The Government, in an advisory, reminded social media intermediaries that they are obligated under IT rules to provide information under their control or possession and assist investigative agencies within stipulated timeline of up to 72 hours. The move assumes significance as more than 275 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received hoax

Bouncers at Ola service centres? Users tag Kunal Kamra in viral posts on X

Another rift between Bhavish Aggarwal and Kunal Kamra has surfaced after users claimed that Ola had hired bouncers for its service centres

10 social media handles suspended for issuing hoax bomb threat to airliners

About 10 social media handles that issued hoax bomb threats to multiple Indian airliners this week have been suspended or blocked by cyber security agencies till now, official sources said Thursday. The sources told PTI that the handles were "analysed" by a joint team of cyber, aviation security and intelligence agencies following which orders were issued to suspend these accounts as they continued to issue "mindless" threats. Around 10 social media handles, majority of them on X, have been suspended or blocked since Monday, when these hoax bomb and terrorist attack threats started being sent to virtually all the Indian airliners for both their domestic and international route operations, the sources said. The agencies have also found some common lines and words used in these fake threats like "bombs", "blood will spread everywhere", "explosive devices", "this is not a joke" and "you will all die" and "bomb rakhwa dia hai" (Hindi for bomb has been placed) among others. The sources

Media post links Bishnoi gang to Siddique's murder; cops verifying claim

Police on Sunday said they were verifying a social media post in which an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has taken responsibility for the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique. The 66-year-old NCP leader was waylaid by three persons at Kher Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office and shot at on Saturday night. He was taken to the Lilavati Hospital where he was declared dead. According to a police official, they have come across a viral post on social media in the name of an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claiming responsibility for Baba Siddique's murder. "We have seen the viral social media post, we are verifying its authenticity," the official said. Notably, some Bishnoi gang members had been held in connection with the firing outside Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's residence in Mumbai in April this year. Baba Siddique, a prominent Muslim leader from Mumbai, was also known be close to several ...

WhatsApp starts rolling out chat-specific themes to select users: Report

Users can choose from 20 different colour and 22 textured themes, personalising conversations by applying different themes to specific chats