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Snap confidentially settled a case alleging its platform caused severe psychological distress to two teenage users, following similar settlements by Meta, TikTok and YouTube in the same litigation. Separately, Google was sued this week by parents who say their child suffered a psychological crisis after interacting with the Gemini chatbot through Google Classroom.
The European Commission has issued preliminary findings that TikTok's For You algorithm creates a 'rabbit hole effect,' repeatedly pushing users toward content tied to sadness, isolation and body image, in violation of the Digital Services Act. Officials say TikTok's existing safeguards against this effect are not working. The company must redesign the feed or face fines of up to 6% of its global annual turnover.
Meta took down multiple accounts that were sharing AI-generated videos depicting coaches inappropriately touching and kissing young athletes. The company had initially determined the content did not violate its community standards before reversing course and removing it.
Facebook accounts are posting AI-generated, near-photorealistic videos depicting male coaches inappropriately touching young female gymnasts, dancers and yoga practitioners, some appearing to be teenagers. Users who reported the content say Meta has declined to remove it, even though the clips depict groping, kissing and touching framed as normal interactions between coaches and athletes. A safe-sport advocate quoted in the report calls the material abuse content that sexualizes and normalizes real power imbalances in youth sports.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation mandating AI companies offer age verification methods, at least one not solely reliant on government ID, and delete collected age data after use. For users under 18 or unverified as adults, chatbots are barred from pretending to be human, claiming personal relationships, discussing self-harm or suicide, or sharing sexually explicit content. Violations can bring civil penalties up to $25,000 each plus damages, with the law taking effect in six months.
Meta disclosed in its third-quarter earnings that income from operations would have been $22.89 billion if not for a $9.89 billion charge tied to its child safety settlement with US attorneys general. The company agreed in August to pay $17.1 billion to resolve claims that its platforms were designed to be addictive to children, though $5.3 billion of that is contingent on YouTube and TikTok adopting similar safety safeguards. Despite the charge, Meta still reported $64.60 billion in quarterly revenue, up 26 percent year-over-year.
NPR's investigation, drawing on depositions from a multistate lawsuit against TikTok, Meta, Google and Snap, reports that TikTok staff warned executives that minors were bypassing age restrictions and that some underage users were exploited via features like TikTok Live. A former safety employee, Reagan Maher, said she told senior leaders that 13-to-15-year-olds were accessing adult-oriented monetized tools. TikTok disputes the report, calling the material cherry-picked and pointing to over 50 youth-safety protections it has introduced.
Court documents obtained by NPR show TikTok employees repeatedly warned executives about risks to minors, including sexual exploitation, exposure to suicide-related content, and minors bypassing age restrictions. The filings also indicate TikTok avoided surveying users' ages to prevent having to report results to the Federal Trade Commission. These depositions, filed in March 2026, are part of broader litigation against TikTok, Meta, Google and Snap over alleged harms to young users.
Court records obtained by NPR show TikTok employees repeatedly raised internal alarms about risks to minors, including bypassing age restrictions and appearing in 'transactional sexual content' on TikTok Live that generated revenue for the platform. The depositions, filed in March as part of a 2022 multi-district lawsuit against TikTok, Meta, Snap and Google, include testimony from former safety officials Reagen Maher and Eric Han describing executives' slow response to their warnings.
At least eight states have filed lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging its chatbot violated state consumer protection laws by harming children and deceiving adult users. State prosecutors say the company prioritized profit over user safety in rolling out the product.
Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana have filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging the company violated consumer protection laws by misrepresenting ChatGPT as safe for young users. The suits cite cases where families say the chatbot contributed to deaths, and accuse OpenAI of collecting data from minors without adequate safeguards. OpenAI says it has built age-specific protections into the product.
Meta confirmed it has banned advertising from TikTok's parent ByteDance in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, extending to third-party advertisers promoting TikTok campaigns there. A Meta spokesperson said the company has no obligation to run ads for a competitor seeking to draw users away from its apps. The move follows TikTok's earlier removal of Instagram and Facebook profile links.