social media

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Supreme Court Punts on Social Media Speech Rights

SCOTUS returns cases in Texas and Florida claiming that users were being censored

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Monday kept a hold on efforts in Texas and Florida to limit how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube, and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users. The justices returned the cases to lower courts in challenges from trade associations for the companies, reports the...

Biden Administration Scores a Supreme Court Win

White House may continue to urge social media companies to take down posts

(Newser) - The remainder of the week will be big in terms of Supreme Court decisions, and Wednesday brought what CNN calls "a technical if important election-year victory" for the Biden administration. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court said the White House may continue to push social media companies to...

Teen Boys Are Fixating on Their Jawlines

Facial-fitness gum and mewing are trends boys are chewing on

(Newser) - How social media affects girls' self-image has long been a topic of concern, but now teenage boys seem to be squarely targeted by a trend that focuses above the neckline—specifically at their jaws. And per the Cut , many are turning to an expensive chewing gum that claims to exercise...

Surgeon General Wants Warnings on Social Media

Vivek Murthy says online platforms pose risks for kids, teens; he wants Congress to act

(Newser) - The US surgeon general has called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms, similar to those now mandatory on packs of cigarettes. In a Monday opinion piece in the New York Times , Dr. Vivek Murthy said that social media is a contributing factor in the mental health...

Alex Jones: 'Infowars Is a Sinking Ship'

Sandy Hook families are also now going after the conspiracy theorist's social media accounts

(Newser) - Alex Jones has ceased fighting the liquidation of his assets to pay Sandy Hook families after he spread conspiracy theories about the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 26. Included in that liquidation is Jones' stake in his Infowars web program, but the families are now going after...

NSFW Content Is Now Officially Allowed on X
NSFW Content Is Now
Officially Allowed on X
the rundown
Jun 4, 2024 1:10 AM CDT

NSFW Content Is Now Officially Allowed on X

Under certain circumstances, at least

(Newser) - Adult content is now formally allowed on X, as long as it's been consensually produced and is clearly labeled. Since being taken over by Elon Musk, the social network formerly known as Twitter has experimented with allowing NSFW ("not safe for work") communities to post adult content,...

Governor Wants Smartphones Out of Schools

New York's Hochul wants to allow only basic phones without internet access

(Newser) - Gov. Kathy Hochul said she wants a law prohibiting smartphones in New York's schools to keep children from obsessively using social media. "I have seen these addictive algorithms pull in young people, literally capture them and make them prisoners in a space where they are cut off from...

Ad Featuring Young Girl Shown to Sex Offenders on Instagram

Meta disputes 'New York Times' test as a 'manufactured experience'

(Newser) - Instagram's algorithms are putting innocent photos of children in front of men with pedophilic tendencies, the New York Times reports, offering data from its own tests as evidence. The outlet began investigating after a maker of children's jewelry who paid to advertise her products to a mostly female...

Riot Charge Against Influencer Dropped

Kai Cenat apologizes for 'huge giveaway' that caused thousands to descend on park

(Newser) - Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's office has agreed to drop charges against a social media influencer who may have underestimated his influence. Kai Cenat was arrested last year after he announced a "huge giveaway" of computers, PlayStations, and other items at New York City's Union Square. A crowd...

Biden Makes It Official: TikTok Must Be Sold or Banned

He signs $95B war aid measure that includes provision regarding China-owned site

(Newser) - President Biden signed into law on Wednesday a $95 billion war aid measure that includes assistance for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and that also has a provision that would force social media site TikTok to be sold or be banned in the US . The announcement marks an end to a...

Truth Social Roller Coaster Sees Another Stock Plunge

Company's shares are at lowest since trading debut, though the volatility is hard to read

(Newser) - Last month, Donald Trump's net worth got a brief boost , thanks to the merger of Truth Social parent company Trump Media and Technology Group with Digital World Acquisition Corp. This month, it's a different story, with NPR reporting that Truth Social shares are "slumping." Most recently,...

Who's Worse for Democracy, Biden or Trump? RFK Jr. Picks

Independent POTUS candidate claims Biden is first president to use feds 'to censor political speech'

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. obviously thinks he's a better man for the Oval Office than either of his two main competitors, President Biden and former President Trump, but he made it clear during an appearance this week on CNN that he thinks one of his political foes looms more...

Canadian Schools Sue Social Media Giants

Lawsuits say apps are wreaking havoc with students' education

(Newser) - Four of the largest school boards in the Canadian province of Ontario launched lawsuits Thursday against TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat, alleging the social media platforms are disrupting student learning. The lawsuits claim platforms like Facebook and Instagram are "designed for compulsive use, have rewired the way children think, behave,...

DeSantis Signs Strict Social Media Law

It bans social media accounts for under-14s, requires parental consent for under-16s

(Newser) - Florida will have one of the country's most restrictive social media bans for minors—if it withstands expected legal challenges—under a bill signed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday. The bill, HB3, will ban social media accounts for children under 14. Those who are 14 or...

Trump's Possible 11th-Hour Cash Cow: Truth Social

Social media company is set to go public, but there are restrictions on what the former president can do

(Newser) - Donald Trump has been struggling to come up with the cash to take care of his massive legal bills as he faces down four criminal indictments, a $454 million civil fraud judgment (bond on that is due by Monday ), and escalating costs owed to E. Jean Carroll , and he'...

Supreme Court Seems to Back Government Lobbying on Posts

Louisiana, Missouri call administration's efforts a First Amendment issue

(Newser) - While looking for when the lobbying would become coercion, the Supreme Court sounded unreceptive to arguments Monday that the government should not be able to try to persuade news or social media companies to not publish certain information. The case began with the Biden administration's efforts last year to...

Justices Bring Orwell Into Social Media Case

Florida, Texas cases could have major effect on online debates

(Newser) - Supreme Court justices sounded hesitant Monday to dismiss First Amendment concerns about state laws that would restrict social media companies' ability to moderate users' posts. The court spent four hours hearing oral arguments about laws passed in Florida and Texas that are blocked for now, the New York Times reports....

Social Sportsbooks Open Virtual Gambling to Minors

And experts are growing concerned

(Newser) - After the Supreme Court lifted a federal ban on sports gambling in 2018, a flurry of new players in the online gambling space emerged. Among them were "social sportsbooks" that take bets using "virtual currency," reports the Washington Post . With loose age restrictions (most are rated for...

Nextdoor Isn't the Neighborly App We Thought
Opinion: Nextdoor Isn't the
Neighborly App We Thought
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 10, 2024 12:45 PM CST

Opinion: Nextdoor Isn't the Neighborly App We Thought

Rick Reilly takes on the 'aspiring vigilantes' and petty complainers he says lurk on the platform

(Newser) - Imagine a friendly app where neighbors could check in on each other, offer sugar and eggs, and talk about pertinent area issues. Perhaps that was the original intent of Nextdoor, the hyperlocal social networking platform, but Rick Reilly, writing for the Washington Post , says it's turned into something else...

Elmo Poses a Question, 'Collective Breakdown' Ensues
An Innocent Question From
Elmo Breaks the Internet
in case you missed it
Feb 4, 2024 7:00 AM CST

An Innocent Question From Elmo Breaks the Internet

It turns out a lot of us are hurting and eager for a listening ear

(Newser) - On a Monday morning toward the end of the seemingly endless month of January, Elmo posed a question : "How is everybody doing?" "The answer, it seems, is not great," the BBC reports, noting there was "a collective breakdown" Monday as X users dumped their woes on...

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