A tech-industry writer describes how growing awareness of social media's harms—cyberbullying, body dysmorphia, and related mental health issues seen firsthand through his wife's pediatric nursing work—led his family to restrict their children to flip phones and keep them off platforms like TikTok. He notes this reflects a broader trend among tech workers and public figures, coinciding with rising cultural pushback including Jonathan Haidt's book, national social media bans in countries like Australia, and a US Supreme Court ruling upholding age-verification laws.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-08-26
Adam Mosseri testified in Meta's multistate trial over child safety that he was unaware a company lawyer instructed Instagram employees to strip certain teen-safety statistics from a 2023 presentation before it reached him. The removed data showed teens viewed suicide, self-harm and eating-disorder content, as well as other 'non-recommendable' material, at significantly higher rates than adults. Mosseri said he never asked to be shielded from such information and understood lawyers' role as reviewing documents for legal accuracy.
engadget.com
· 2026-08-25
Testifying in Oakland in the multistate lawsuit against Meta, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said he does not instruct employees to conceal information from him that could create legal exposure. He was questioned about whether Meta lawyers restricted internal sharing of research on child safety and teen mental health, and acknowledged the company had narrowed access to some internal studies.
cnbc.com
· 2026-08-25
New Zealand's government has proposed legislation that would prohibit children under 16 from using social media platforms and AI companion apps. The move mirrors similar restrictions enacted or debated elsewhere, aiming to shield minors from harms tied to online engagement and AI-driven interactions.
tech.slashdot.org
· 2026-08-25
Gohar Khan, a 2021 MIT graduate who is a first-generation, Pakistani-American student, turned his own difficult college application experience into a media and consulting business. His YouTube channel, Gohar's Guide, now reaches more than 10 million followers with advice on applications, essays and study habits, and he co-founded Next Admit, a paid consulting service for prospective college students.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-08-25
A company is promoting ArtQrCode, a stylized version of the traditional QR code that can be branded with colors, images, and designs while retaining scannability. The codes can be applied to fabric, paper, packaging, digital displays, or even rendered in 3D formats.
art-qrcode.com
· 2026-08-25
Prebiotic soda brand Poppi is running a recruiting push built around social media creators rather than traditional job postings, led by a team it calls 'culture' instead of HR. VP of Culture Sophia Sesto is fronting the effort, treating the hiring campaign like a marketing rollout aimed at online audiences.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-25
Target pulled a children's Halloween costume from its website after social media users noted it resembled imagery associated with Jim Crow-era blackface minstrel performances. The retailer apologized following the backlash, which comes about a year after Target scaled back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-24
Christopher Luxon announced draft legislation that would prohibit children under 16 from using social media platforms in New Zealand. He said the move responds to harm affecting young people, following Australia's similar restriction that took effect in December 2025.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-24
A daily tech digest covers a wave of regulatory and political pushback: both US parties are souring on AI data centers ahead of midterms, Dutch regulators fined Uber nearly $1 billion for automatically deactivating drivers without human review, and TikTok agreed to pay $400 million to settle a US case over collecting children's data. Separately, New Zealand is moving to ban under-16s from social media and Chinese humanoid robots reportedly broke Usain Bolt's 100-meter record at a robotics competition.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-08-24
A UK minister said officials have already instructed social media companies to remove videos glorifying dangerous driving, arguing platforms understand their algorithms and the financial incentives that reward outrageous content. Downing Street backed Ofcom to enforce action against non-compliant platforms, while TikTok said it proactively removes videos breaching its rules, including an account allegedly belonging to a driver named Saddington.
bbc.co.uk
· 2026-08-24
Luis DeSantiago, a substitute teacher in Los Banos, California, discovered a sexualized AI-manipulated image of himself circulating on TikTok after friends alerted him in March. He traced the account to a middle school student he knew, and reported the incident to school administrators. He is one of at least four educators who told WIRED they have been targeted with similarly fabricated explicit content by students.
wired.com
· 2026-08-24
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