All articles tagged with #online safety
New Zealand intends to introduce an Online Safety Bill that would require platforms to verify users are over 16, potentially banning under-16s from popular apps from early 2027 and imposing large fines on non-compliant companies; the proposal aims to protect children but faces opposition from coalition partners and uncertain passage.
Following a nearly $1 billion court victory against Meta, New Mexico's attorney general is drafting bills to expand consumer protections and child-safety online, potentially including age-verification and time-use limits for minors, and to apply broader rules to AI and chatbots. The move aims to build a regulatory blueprint for other states and possibly spur federal action, leveraging the jurisprudence from Meta's alleged harms and the court-ordered reforms.
Prince Harry praised a federal judge's order fining Meta $567 million for failing to warn about the dangers its platforms pose to children, calling it a milestone in holding big tech accountable and urging platforms to prioritize safety over engagement. Meta plans to appeal. The Sussexes have long advocated safer online spaces and recently launched the Parents Network; Meghan's absence from the statement was noted.
A live Politico digest shows lawmakers juggling multiple fronts: child-safety advocates press the Senate Commerce Committee to attach a ‘duty of care’ standard to online-safety legislation, a bipartisan tax-administration package moves forward amid debates over Trump-era audit protections, Kentucky Gov. Beshear urges Senator McConnell to resign or prove capacity as he recovers, tributes outline Lindsey Graham’s legacy, and Democrats unveil a $40 million ground-game push to win the Senate this fall.
Britain plans a default overnight curfew for 16–17-year-olds and automatic disabling of addictive features like infinite scrolling and autoplay, with an opt-out, slated to take effect by Spring 2027. The move follows a trial of 300+ teens and parents that found improvements in sleep, mood, and daytime energy, though some social trade-offs were noted as limited online interaction with peers was affected.
Australia’s eSafety regulator reports more than 2,000 complaints of sexual extortion (July–Dec 2025) and finds major platforms struggle to detect and prevent online exploitation, with 18–24-year-old men reporting most cases and teens increasingly targeted. Instagram and WhatsApp are most cited, while iMessage and Snapchat link to under-18 threats; gaps in live-streaming safeguards and proactive detection persist, prompting calls for stronger, design-integrated protections.
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced she is quitting X and that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will also stop using the platform, accusing X of fostering abuse and misinformation that undermine democracy; the move makes DCMS the second UK department to exit X after the Attorney General’s Office, and Nandy will continue to use Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn as regulators scrutinize online safety and AI-generated content.
Australia will double the maximum penalty for violating its social media minimum-age law from AUD 49.5 million to AUD 99 million and expand the eSafety Commissioner’s powers to compel platforms and third parties (including age-verification and app-store providers) to show how they keep users under 16 off their services, six months after the Online Safety Amendment Act took effect. More than five million accounts have been removed or restricted, and the eSafety Commissioner is investigating five platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube—to close enforcement gaps.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged expanding the under-16 social-media ban to curb exposure to pornography and the so‑called 'nudify' apps, saying algorithms push viewers toward extreme content and Nazi‑level propaganda; he described graphic harms seen in hospitals and sparked online shock and debate over online safety and media attention.
House Republicans and Democrats announced a bipartisan deal on the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), establishing a federal safety floor that would preempt weaker state laws. The framework includes age verification for sexually explicit sites, social-media design changes to curb harm to minors, default safety settings, limits on disappearing messages, and a data-brokers registry. The House text omits a Senate-proposed duty to exercise reasonable care for user safety. Leaders aim to move the bill soon, with the Senate seeking to attach KOSA to a broader AI framework and target a deal by early July.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will brief House Republicans in a classified session on White House goals for military funding and a party-line reconciliation package as Republicans push Recon 3.0; the report also notes the House Appropriations Committee moving on the 2027 defense bill, bipartisan progress on a kids-online-safety package (KOSA), and other Capitol agenda items including a Dershowitz appearance and a pivotal Iowa Senate poll tied to national political dynamics.
House Energy and Commerce leaders reached a bipartisan deal on the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) as part of the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, moving it via an expedited process but requiring Senate reconciliation; the House version would preempt some state laws and AI rules and omits the Democrats' 'duty of care' standard, while a White House-backed package aims to combine the Senate’s KOSA with additional AI and app-store measures, setting the stage for further negotiations and potential alignment with Meta.
Britain is weighing a ban on under-16s’ access to major social platforms, potentially requiring age verification across services and signaling the biggest change yet in how people go online; while supporters say it could shield children from harms, critics warn it could hinder learning, push teens to smaller or unregulated sites, raise privacy concerns over data checks, and alter online life for both youths and adults as education and information increasingly move through digital platforms like YouTube.
Britain’s government announced a plan to ban under-16s from accessing major social media platforms (TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X) with the ban coming into force in spring 2027. The proposal includes age-verification for some users over 16 and feature restrictions for younger users; WhatsApp, Signal and Roblox would not be banned, and YouTube Kids remains exempt. The plan follows a public consultation and has drawn mixed reactions from platforms, safety advocates and lawmakers, with a full platform list and specifics to be released later.
Labour leader Keir Starmer backs a UK plan to bar under-16s from a range of social-media apps as part of a broader online-safety push, citing polling that reportedly shows broad public support. He says the measure could be discussed at international forums like the G7. Supporters argue it would protect children and spur funding for after‑school programs, while critics warn about enforcement challenges and the risk of driving teens to less-regulated sites.