Tag - social-media

 
 

SOCIAL MEDIA

More than 200 children’s specialists, advocacy groups and schools sent a letter raising concerns about what they view as a lack of substance in AI-generated YouTube videos.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 2, 2026
Google faces calls to prohibit AI videos for kids on YouTube
More than 200 children’s specialists, advocacy groups and schools sent a letter raising concerns about what they view as a lack of substance in AI-generated YouTube videos.
The information distribution platform law, enforced in April last year, requires social media platform operators to take measures to deal with defamation and problems linked to generative artificial intelligence.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2026
Social media platforms differ in transparency on defamation and AI issues
A survey made the findings a year after the enforcement of the information distribution platform law, aimed at tackling the spread of illegal and harmful online content.
AI translation and algorithm changes on X unexpectedly connected American and Japanese users through shared content, highlighting the social media platform’s promise of cross-cultural exchange.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 1, 2026
Japanese X is now America’s favorite corner of the internet
Japanese Twitter has been insulated from the culture wars and manipulation by foreign bots, one reason political discourse remains reasonably sane.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a cable that American diplomats should "counter foreign anti-American propaganda" by using the social media platform X and by partnering with military psychological operations units.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 1, 2026
Marco Rubio urges U.S. diplomats to use X to fight ‘anti-American propaganda’
The cable, which was first reported on by The Guardian, was devoted to ways to expose ​foreign influence operations and falsehoods that harm U.S. security and interests.
Mark Zuckerberg exits the Los Angeles Superior Court on Feb. 18.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2026
Meta’s $280 billion tailspin sparks ‘tobacco moment’ questions
Wall Street is grappling with the possibility that social media companies could face a similar risk to the shrinking of the tobacco industry following stronger regulations.
People take photographs with Mount Fuji at Lake Yamanaka in Yamanakako, Yamanashi Prefecture, in December.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 26, 2026
‘Perfect Japan’ posts spark Gen Z social media backlash
Residents of tourist hotspots have expressed exasperation with selfie-taking crowds, and now an online backlash against Japan fever is growing.
Lori Schott is embraced by lawyer Laura Marquez-Garrett outside the court after the jury found Meta and Google liable in a key test case accusing Meta and Google's YouTube of harming children's mental health through addictive social media platforms, in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 26, 2026
Meta and Google found liable in first social media addiction trial
The landmark decision could signal hefty risks for the companies as they fight thousands of similar claims.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the keynote address at Meta Connect in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 17, 2025.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 25, 2026
Meta ordered to pay $375 million in New Mexico trial for child exploitation
The state’s attorney general had accused Meta of misleading users about the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and of enabling child sexual exploitation.
Pete Hegseth calls on a reporter while answering questions during a news briefing at the Pentagon on March 19. A former Fox News host, he has limited access to his briefings on the Iran war.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 24, 2026
Iran is America’s first war of the social media age. It’s a black box.
Though the hostilities are occurring in an era of information overload, blanket reporting bans make it difficult to ascertain what is going on while AI further muddies reality.
Russia is pushing its Max social media platform in a heavy-handed rollout that has raised concerns that Moscow will use the app to surveil its citizens and further cut digital links to the West.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 24, 2026
Russia’s Max: The unencrypted super-app being forced on citizens
Max is being rolled out with a massive promotion campaign and the simultaneous blocking of Whatsapp and Telegram, the country’s two most popular messenger apps.
The Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association is calling for social media platforms to adopt stricter regulations toward those engaged in illegal postings.
JAPAN / Media
Mar 23, 2026
¥3.2 billion lost in advertising revenue due to illicit postings on YouTube
Given a sampling of only 300 social media accounts for its illegal streaming survey, the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association called its results “only the tip of the iceberg.”
Elon Musk-owned X's Grok AI chatbot stirred outrage earlier this year over it generating images of naked women and girls without their consent.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2026
French prosecutors suspect Musk encouraged deepfakes row to inflate X value
The social media network’s Grok AI chatbot stirred outrage earlier this year over it generating images of naked women and girls without their consent.
People outside St. Basil's Cathedral in central Moscow on Monday. Over the past week, mobile internet has been completely down every day in parts of central Moscow, St. Petersburg and other major cities.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 20, 2026
‘Great crackdown’: Russia tightens the screws on the internet
The government is restricting messaging services Telegram and WhatsApp and taking down dozens of VPNs that can be used to swerve bans on sites and apps.
A U.N. report on happiness has said that social media has a "complex" effect on well-being.
WORLD / Society
Mar 19, 2026
Social media impacts youth well-being: U.N. happiness report
This year’s World Happiness Report highlighted the impact of social media as many countries impose or mull legislative restrictions on social media use for young people.
An Iranian ma looks at his smartphone after his house was damaged by a strike in Tehran on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 15, 2026
AI fakes about Iran-U.S. war swirl on X despite policy crackdown
The Middle East war has unleashed an avalanche of AI-generated visuals, leaving many social media users unable to distinguish fabrication from reality.
Mexico's Secretary of Public Education Mario Delgado speaks during an interview in Mexico City on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 12, 2026
Mexico considering social media restriction for minors
Several nations are toughening up age restrictions on social media platforms as concerns grow over excessive screen time for children and their exposure to harmful content online.
The Los Angeles Superior Court building. A landmark trial being heard there over social media addiction is a critical test for thousands of similar cases, with potentially billions of dollars at stake, and it could ultimately force media companies to change how they interact with youths, one of their key audiences.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 10, 2026
Meta and Google pivot in addiction trial to accuser’s history
Lawyers for Meta have indicated they plan to demonstrate that her psychological trauma came from turmoil in her family and school life rather than social media.
A U.S. Marine F-35C Lightning II prepares to launch from the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location on March 2.
WORLD
Mar 9, 2026
SpongeBob, Iron Man and Call of Duty: Inside the U.S. meme war against Iran
While past administrations have used public relations to explain why the U.S. has gone to war, this time around it’s about how the U.S. has gone to war — with an air of bravado.
Social media bans in India and Indonesia, with youthful populations and rapidly expanding economies, would deal a blow to global online platforms’ long-term growth plans.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 7, 2026
Global social media bans gain steam with India and Indonesia
Bans in the two countries, with youthful populations and expanding economies, would deal a blow to global online platforms’ long-term growth plans.
Around 44.0% of survey respondents said they used newspapers and magazines as well as television and radio programs to confirm the authenticity of information.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2026
Nearly 70% of Japanese suspect disinformation is spreading online
The result suggests that concern about the manipulation of information by foreign countries is growing in the country.

Longform

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