Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives outside court to take the stand at trial in a key test case accusing Meta and Google’s YouTube of harming kids’ mental health through addictive platforms, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., Feb. 18, 2026. Mike Blake | Reuters For the last three decades, internet giants have been able to…
Photo: Jaromir Chalabala / Getty U.K. regulators are calling on social media giants to enforce stricter protection for children on their platforms after a blanket ban for under-16s was rejected by lawmakers. Online safety organizations Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office said they had written to YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat on Thursday, urging…
Thomas Trutschel | Photothek | Getty Images New U.S laws designed to protect minors are pulling millions of adult Americans into mandatory age-verification gates to access online content, leading to backlash from users and criticism from privacy advocates that a free and open internet is at stake. Roughly half of U.S. states have enacted or are advancing…