Page 2 - Social Media

Watching a lot of reels, short videos? It hurts your brain, says study

Heavy use of Reels, Shorts and TikTok may impair attention, increase stress and anxiety, and disrupt sleep, according to a new review of 98,299 people examining the cognitive toll of short-form videos

Meta buried 'causal' evidence of social media harm, allege US court filings

In a 2020 research project code-named Project Mercury, Meta scientists worked with survey firm Nielsen to gauge the effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram, according to Meta documents

Meta alerts young Australians to download data before social media ban

Technology giant Meta on Thursday began sending thousands of young Australians a two-week warning to download their digital histories and delete their accounts from Facebook, Instagram and Threads before a world-first social media ban on accounts of children younger than 16 takes effect. The Australian government announced two weeks ago that the three Meta platforms plus Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube must take reasonable steps to exclude Australian account holders younger than 16, beginning Dec. 10. California-based Meta on Thursday became the first of the targeted tech companies to outline how it will comply with the law. Meta contacted thousands of young account holders via SMS and email to warn that suspected children will start to be denied access to the platforms from Dec. 4. We will start notifying impacted teens today to give them the opportunity to save their contacts and memories, Meta said in a statement. Meta said young users could also use the notice period to update

India's DPDP rules: Compliance cost likely to rise for companies

The information technology (IT) cost of the commercial banks, which is around 10-15 per cent of their total expenditure, is also set to increase as they align their systems along the lines of the Act

X Corp challenges legality of 'Sahyog' portal takedown in Karnataka HC

Social media giant 'X' Corp has informed the Karnataka High Court that it received 29,118 government requests to remove content between January and June 2025, complying with 26,641 of them, a 91.49 per cent compliance rate. The company argued that these figures contradict a single judge's September 24 finding that the platform intends to defy Indian law. The data was furnished as part of X's writ appeal against the order upholding the Union government's 'Sahyog' portal, the online system used to issue takedown directions to intermediaries. In its recent appeal, X Corp contended that government agencies are unlawfully using Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, along with Rule 3(1)(d) of the 2021 IT Rules, to issue content removal orders. This, the company said, creates a parallel and unconstitutional mechanism that bypasses Section 69A of the IT Act, the only statutory process for blocking online content in India. The Supreme Court, in Shreya Singhal versus Unio

DPDP rules mandate deleting user data after three years of inactivity

Ecommerce, gaming, and social media intermediaries must erase dormant user data with prior notice

AI content norms unimplementable: Social media intermediaries to Meity

Internet intermediaries have told Meity that proposed rules to label synthetically generated information are vague, duplicative, and technologically unviable

The missing mass in media: How reels and niches replaced shared moments

The collective sighing over an actor, a film, an ad, or a song is gone - today's media has fractured into endless reels, niches, and influencers

Denmark govt mulls ban on social media access for children under 15

Denmark's government on Friday announced a political agreement to ban access to social media for anyone aged under 15. The move, led by the Ministry of Digitalisation, would set the age limit for access to social media but give some parents after a specific assessment the right to give consent to let their children access social media from age 13. Such a measure would be among the most sweeping steps yet by a European government to address concerns about the use of social media among teens and younger children. It would follow upon a move in December in Australia, where parliament enacted the world's first ban on social media for children setting the minimum age at 16. That made platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram subject to fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (USD33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts. As one of the first countries in the EU, Denmark is now taking a groundbreaking

Meta, ByteDance, Google, Snap to face trial over youth addiction claims

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl late Wednesday ruled against the companies on their last chance to avoid trial

Sebi reaches out to social media to check fraudulent investment activities

Market regulator Sebi on Thursday said it has reached out to leading social media and internet search platforms, urging them to implement stronger measures to curb the misuse of their networks for fraudulent investment-related activities. In a statement, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said it has intensified its efforts to combat online investment scams and "formally communicated" with major social media platforms and internet search engines regarding it. This initiative aligns with the global call to action by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). In its statement on May 21, 2025, IOSCO highlighted the critical role of platform providers in combating online harm and urged them to enhance efforts to reduce the risk of financial harm to investors. Sebi has expressed its support for the recommendations made by IOSCO and has urged major online platforms to act swiftly to address the growing challenges of investor fraud. The regulator has

Australia expands under-16 social media ban to include Reddit: Key details

The government had earlier said Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube would fall under the law, noting that other unspecified platforms could also be covered

Instagram adds YouTube-like watch history option for Reels: How to access

Instagram has launched a new watch history feature that lets users revisit Reels they've watched in the past 30 days, with sorting and filtering options by date, account, or recency

Mandatory labelling for AI-generated social media content coming soon

The IT ministry has proposed amendments to the IT Rules 2021 to make labelling and disclosure of AI-generated content mandatory for users and online intermediaries

Instagram rolls out app icon customisation for teen users: What's new

Instagram now lets teen users customise their app icon with six new designs, including fire, floral, and cosmic themes, to reflect their personal style

Safeguarding teens by limiting them to PG-13 content, says Instagram

Teenagers on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and will not be able to change their settings without a parent's permission, Meta announced on Tuesday. This means kids using teen-specific accounts will see photos and videos on Instagram that are similar to what they would see in a PG-13 movie -- no sex, drugs or dangerous stunts, among others. "This includes hiding or not recommending posts with strong language, certain risky stunts, and additional content that could encourage potentially harmful behaviours, such as posts showing marijuana paraphernalia," Meta said in a blog post on Tuesday, calling the update the most significant since it introduced teen accounts last year. Anyone under 18 who signs up for Instagram is automatically placed into restrictive teen accounts unless a parent or guardian gives them permission to opt out. The teen accounts are private by default, have usage restrictions on them and already filter out more "sensitive" content --

ECI makes pre-certification mandatory for political ads on social media

The Election Commission has directed all national and state parties, as well as contesting candidates, to obtain MCMC approval before publishing or airing any political advertisements

Suniel Shetty moves Bombay HC seeking protection of his personality rights

The petition highlights that gambling websites are using Shetty's images despite him having no connection with them

Leh admin bans fake news on social media; mobile internet services restored

The Leh district administration has invoked legal provisions to prohibit the spread of misinformation on social media platforms in the district, which had witnessed violence last month. Mobile internet services were restored in Leh district on Thursday night after remaining suspended for over a fortnight following widespread violence on September 24 which left four persons dead and scores of others injured. Leh District Magistrate (DM) Romil Singh Donk said the order to prohibit fake news, issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), would remain in force for two months. He said there is sufficient ground for proceeding under the section to maintain peace and tranquillity in the region. It has been observed that certain individuals/groups are spreading rumours and misinformation through social media platforms, which is likely to disturb law and order, Donk said in the order. Any person found indulging in the creation, sharing, or forwarding of fake ne

SC rejects plea on rules for suspension, blocking of social media accounts

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea seeking pan-India guidelines for governing social media intermediaries with respect to suspension and blocking of accounts. The apex court allowed the two petitioners to withdraw the plea and told them that they were free to seek any other remedy available in law before an appropriate forum. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was told by the counsel appearing for the petitioners that their WhatsApp, which they used to communicate with the customers, was blocked. "There are other communication applications, you can use that," the bench observed and asked why WhatsApp of the petitioners was blocked. The petitioners' counsel said no reason was given to them. "What is your fundamental right to have access to WhatsApp?" the bench. It asked the petitioners why they approached the apex court directly with a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. The counsel said the petitioners, who have a clinic and a ...