Senate Democrats including Ed Markey and Ron Wyden say newly released documents show Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gave false statements to the Senate during his 2025 confirmation hearings about his 2019 trip to Samoa, where he was a leading anti-vaccine activist before a measles outbreak killed 83 people, mostly young children. Wyden called the discrepancy a crime and urged the Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation, while Markey called it part of a broader pattern of dishonesty.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-08-28
A developer launched Isitdoneyet.gg, a website that tracks games after their official release to note whether they remain buggy, unfinished, or still receiving critical patches. The site catalogs titles like This Bed We Made and The Children of Clay, giving players a quick reference on post-launch game health.
isitdoneyet.gg
· 2026-08-28
Meta's settlement with attorneys general from 29 states, which includes up to $18 billion in payments and new child safety measures, contains a clause shielding Meta from COPPA-related lawsuits over its use of children's data. The exemption applies specifically to data used to build and test an age-verification model meant to detect users under 13, and Meta must build this system within a year of the agreement taking effect. The deal explicitly bars use of under-13 data for ad targeting or algorithmic optimization, though critics note enforcement could be tricky.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-08-27
A new film called 'Buddy' reimagines a wholesome children's character as a menacing figure, continuing a recurring trend in entertainment where beloved kid-friendly icons are twisted into horror antagonists. The concept taps into nostalgia while subverting it for shock value.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-08-27
Meta has reached a proposed settlement with dozens of states over allegations that it built Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to minors and improperly collected children's data. The deal, still pending court approval and involving no admission of wrongdoing, requires Meta to impose default two-hour daily time limits for under-18 users, overnight app blackouts, and periodic screen-time reminders, while paying up to $18 billion over a decade to fund youth online safety programs.
engadget.com
· 2026-08-26