social media

The state of Florida filed a petition to the Supreme Court on Wednesday to hear a case against its embattled law regulating how social media platforms moderate content. Florida asked the high court to weigh in after a court of appeals in May blocked major provisions of the law, ruling in favor of tech industry groups that filed a case against it. The groups argued that the law infringes on First Amendment rights and could lead to more dangerous content and hate speech online.

The report, by New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, argues that the companies fuel false conspiracies about election fraud despite promises to combat them.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a controversial Texas law that restricts companies’ ability to remove users or violative content on Friday. The court’s decision lifts a previous injunction put in place by the Supreme Court, allowing the embattled law to go into effect.

YouTube, Twitch, Microsoft and Meta launched updates aimed at combating violent extremism online, the White House announced Thursday as part of a summit to counter hate-fueled violence. The updates come after pressure from the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress and state offices on tech platforms to revamp their policies to address online hate, especially after mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas.

Twitter investors backed Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover that the billionaire is trying to abandon on the day a whistleblower who leveled charges of widespread security failures at the social-media company testified at a Senate hearing Tuesday. Former Twitter security executive Peiter Zatko, who was fired by the company in January, told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday that Twitter executives’ “incentives led them to prioritize profits over security,” echoing his whistleblower complaint.

Some advocates for children and teens are urging Senate leaders to hold a floor vote on two bills that could affect the content that young users can access online, as well as how their data is collected and harnessed. Both measures — the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (S. 1628) and the Kids Online Safety Act (S. 3663) — advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee in July.

TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp talks with Entertainment Tonight Executive Producer Erin Johnson on the eve of the show’s 42^nd season about its longevity and how a rethink of its social and digital presence transformed ET into something much more than just a TV show. A full transcript of the conversation is included.

The twice-impeached former president Donald Trump may be banned from using most mainstream social media, but some kindred spirits have found a home on his own “Truth Social” platform: QAnon conspiracy promoters who have also been banned by mainstream social media.

The whistle-blower also said Twitter had lied to Elon Musk, who is trying to back out of a $44 billion deal to buy the social media service.

Facebook will pay $37.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company collected users’ IP addresses, which offer general information about location, in violation of a prior privacy policy. The company, now named Meta Platforms, disclosed in June that it had agreed to settle the litigation, but the terms weren’t made public until Monday. The settlement agreement specifies that Facebook does not admit to doing anything wrong.

Even if the former president declares he’s a candidate again, the platform says it won’t speed up a decision on whether to reinstate his account.

Musk disclosed in series of regulatory filings that he unloaded about 8 million shares of his company Tesla Inc. in recent days. “In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don’t come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock,” Musk tweeted late Tuesday.

Meta is getting backlash for changes that make some of its platforms act more like TikTok.

The latest quarterly earnings figures offered a glimpse into how the social media platform has performed during a months-long negotiation with billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk after he said that he would buy the company, and then changed his mind. It was worse than industry analysts had anticipated.

More teenagers are turning away from traditional media outlets and getting their news from social media, new research from U.K. communications regulatory body Ofcom has shown. The number of people consuming news content on TikTok has increased from 800,000 in 2020 to 3.9 million in 2022. For the first time, Instagram is the most popular news source among younger people — used by 29% of teens in 2022 — with TikTok and YouTube close behind.

The measurement firm says media buyers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile and CTV to linear TV, a “foundational step” toward achieving Nielsen ONE.

Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook is reallocating resources from its Facebook News tab and newsletter platform Bulletin, as the company focuses more on the creator economy, senior executive Campbell Brown told employees in a memo.

Twitter had asked for an expedited trial in September, while Musk’s team called for waiting until early next year because of the complexity of the case. Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, the head judge of Delaware’s Court of Chancery, which handles many high-profile business disputes. said Musk’s team underestimated the Delaware court’s ability to “quickly process complex litigation.”

Twitter’s lawsuit opens with a sharply-worded accusation: “Musk refuses to honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests.” As part of the April deal, Musk and Twitter had agreed to pay each other a $1 billion breakup fee if either was responsible for the deal falling through. The company could have pushed Musk to pay the hefty fee but is going farther than that, trying to force him to complete the full $44 billion purchase approved by the company’s board.

Shares of the social media company have lost a third of their value since April 25, when Musk’s offer to buy the company was accepted by the company’s board.

The likely unraveling of the acquisition was just the latest twist in a saga between the world’s richest man and one of the most influential social media platforms, and it may portend a titanic legal battle ahead.

Former President Trump and his son were among six board members removed from the board of Trump’s social media company weeks before it was hit with federal subpoenas, according to state records. Florida state business records showed Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and the four others were removed as board members of the Trump Media and Technology Group on June 8, based on a filing with the state’s Division of Corporations. Roughly three weeks later, the Securities and Exchange Commission and a grand jury in Manhattan subpoenaed the company.

Shares of Twitter dipped in late trading Thursday, reversing earlier gains, on fresh speculation that its acquisition by Elon Musk is at risk. Musk inked a deal to buy the social media platform in late April for $54.20 a share, or $44 billion, and has indicated a number times he wants to back out, citing lack of clarity around the number of spam accounts.

The official series’ YouTube page, Instagram account and website have seemingly been deleted following the syndicated show’s cancellation. Eagle-eyed fans noticed the pages being down over the weekend. On Instagram, the handle’s feed showed a “Sorry, this page isn’t available” message. The show’s website and the video channel are also both nowhere to be found.

The subscription plan, called Snapchat+, comes after the social media company reported a disappointing sales outlook for the current quarter when it reported first-quarter results in April.
Launched in nine countries including the U.S., the paid subscription service could help Snapchat diversify its revenue sources if it turns out to be popular. The Plus plan includes pre-release, experimental and exclusive features such as pinning your close friend as BFF and customizing the app’s icon.

Over the last day, several Instagram accounts run by abortion rights advocacy groups have found their posts or stories hidden with a warning that described the posts as “sensitive content.” Instagram said it was working to fix the problem Tuesday, describing it as a “bug.”

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr says Apple and Google need to remove TikTok from their respective app stores, citing in a tweet “its pattern of surreptitious data practices.” Specifically, Carr was referencing a BuzzFeed News report that officials of TikTok’s Bytedance parent in China had repeatedly been able to access sensitive data of Americans after they downloaded the app from their stores.

Twitter’s board of directors on Tuesday unanimously recommended shareholders approve Elon Musk’s bid to buy the social media company. The board recommended stockholders approve Musk’s $44 billion offer, stating they determined it to be fair and in the best interests of Twitter and its stockholders, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

HUD had accused Meta of engaging in housing discrimination by letting advertisers restrict who could see housing ads on Facebook based on characteristics like race, religion and national origin.

Meta Platforms Inc. was sued Friday over claims that private medical data is being shared secretly with Facebook when patients access web portals for some health-care providers. Facebook’s Pixel tracking tool redirects patient communications and other supposedly “secure” information without authorization and in violation of federal and state laws, according to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court as a proposed class action on behalf of millions of patients.

The veteran digital and news exec will be responsible for the overall digital and social media strategies for the E.W. Scripps news group.