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UK weighs forcing social media platforms to surface trusted news

Chính phủ Anh đang xem xét quy định bắt buộc các nền tảng mạng xã hội như Facebook, YouTube và TikTok phải ưu tiên hiển thị nội dung từ đài truyền hình công cộng (BBC, ITV, Channel 4) nhằm chống tin giả. Đề xuất này nằm trong kế hoạch tái cấu trúc ngành phát sóng công cộng, bao gồm cả việc mở rộng quyền phát sóng miễn phí cho sự kiện thể thao trên nền tảng trực tuyến.

Lập trình viên nên đọc bài này để hiểu cách hệ sinh thái công nghệ số đang thay đổi cách truyền thông và nội dung được phân phối, từ đó giúp họ dự đoán xu hướng phát triển công nghệ mới trong tương lai.

Threads adds new features to Live Chats as it expands access

Meta's Threads is expanding its Live Chats feature with several updates: translation support for global accessibility, co-host invitations (up to three per chat), host message deletion, and visual prominence testing for host messages. Access is being broadened to all 'Community Champions.' The platform also teased upcoming desktop support and pinned messages. Since launch, Live Chats has seen hundreds of daily chats with thousands of participants. Threads recently hit 500 million monthly active users and continues adding features to differentiate itself from X.

TikTok settles second addiction case, leaving Meta and Snap to face a jury alone

TikTok has confidentially settled a social media addiction lawsuit with a Florida teenager ahead of a July 27 trial in Los Angeles, following YouTube's settlement the previous week. Meta and Snap remain as the only defendants facing the jury. The 15-year-old plaintiff, who has been using social media since age eight, was diagnosed with anxiety and depression linked to platform use. This is TikTok's second pre-trial settlement in bellwether addiction cases. The broader litigation involves over 10,000 individual cases and nearly 800 school-district claims. Meta, which has consistently refused to settle, heads into its second consecutive trial, with the outcome potentially setting the tone for thousands of pending cases.

Australia’s teen social media ban works on paper, less so in practice

Six months after Australia enacted the world's first ban on social media for under-16s, a British Medical Journal study found 85% of 12–15-year-olds are still using the platforms. Two-thirds bypassed restrictions simply by entering a false age or submitting a selfie that age-detection algorithms accepted. Prime Minister Albanese has signaled intent to strengthen enforcement rather than revise the law, while the eSafety Commission is preparing legal action against Meta, TikTok, and YouTube for non-compliance. Platforms face fines up to A$49.5m. The experiment is being closely watched by governments in Europe and elsewhere, with Norway and the UK considering similar bans, though Italy's PM has cautioned such measures are easily circumvented. The core challenge exposed is that age limits relying on self-declaration or algorithmic guessing are inherently weak enforcement mechanisms.

Judge clears states to try claim that Meta hooked children on Facebook and Instagram

A US federal judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 29 state attorneys general alleging Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to addict children. The judge found genuine factual disputes warranting a jury trial on claims of deception, unfair practices, and violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Notably, she granted partial summary judgment on the COPPA claim, finding Meta failed to meet notice and parental-consent requirements — a pre-trial liability finding. A trial involving California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey is scheduled for August 18. The case is part of broader multidistrict litigation involving 2,600+ plaintiffs and also names YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok, making it a landmark test of whether social platforms can be held liable for addictive product design targeting minors.

YouTube settles ahead of California’s second social-media addiction trial

Google's YouTube has settled with a teenage plaintiff weeks before the second California bellwether trial over social-media addiction, leaving Meta's Instagram, Snap's Snapchat, and ByteDance's TikTok to face the jury on July 27. The plaintiff, R.K.C., alleges compulsive social media use caused anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. The settlement follows a March verdict in the first bellwether where a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google liable and awarded $6 million. YouTube's exit mirrors the pattern set by Snap and TikTok in the first trial — companies that settled avoided public verdicts, while those that went to trial faced binding judgments. Over 3,300 individual addiction lawsuits and 2,400 additional cases are pending, making the bellwether outcomes critical reference points for valuing the broader litigation.

Facebook rolls out an AI companion app for creators

Facebook is reimagining its Creator Studio as a standalone AI companion app for creators. The app includes a built-in AI creator assistant that provides personalized recommendations based on content style, performance, and audience engagement. New features include an AI-powered comment tool that surfaces important comments and drafts replies in the creator's tone. The move is part of Meta's broader strategy to retain creators on Facebook against competition from TikTok and YouTube, and fits into a wider wave of new standalone app launches from Meta.