The Chinese app RedNote is flooding the American app TikTokkers
TikTok users in the US are flooding Chinese social media platform RedNote. As per reports, more than a fifth of RedNote’s total app downloads this month have come from the US, up from 2% in the same period in the previous year. “For so long, we couldn’t connect…now we finally can, and it feels so special,” a Chinese user said.
The two major kids online safety bills will be brought to the floor by Schumer
US Senator Charles Schumer has announced that he will introduce a bill in the US Congress to protect children from the “harm” of social media and other online platforms. The bill, ‘KOSA’, seeks to limit the liability of technology companies for harmful content on their platforms. It would give the Federal Trade Commission and potentially state attorneys general the power to restrict protected online speech.
Is social media to blame for the epidemic of teenage mental illness?
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s book ‘The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness’ claims social media and smartphones are the key driver of the decline in youth mental health seen in many countries since early 2010s. Haidt argues that digital technologies are disrupting children’s brain development and causing an epidemic of mental illness.
The Supreme Court defines when it is legal to block social media critics
The US Supreme Court will hear a case in which it will decide whether state laws that limit the government’s ability to regulate social media content violate First Amendment rights. If the court rules in favour of the states, it would be the first time that a federal court has ruled on whether a state’s laws violate First Amendment rights.
The Supreme Court focused a lot on the social media aspects of the case
The US Supreme Court heard arguments in a pair of cases that revolve around social media laws passed by Texas and Florida. The laws aim to counter what the lawmakers have labelled censorship by social media platforms. However, NetChoice argued that the laws did not respect the rights of platforms to exercise editorial discretion in what they show on their sites.
The Supreme Court hears a case about social media
The US Supreme Court has heard a challenge to Texas’ and Florida’s social media laws that critics said violated First Amendment rights. One of the friends of the court briefs argued social media platforms should not be engaged in censoring because they have become the centres of people’s lives. Other allies of Texas and Florida argue that the platforms are simply host content.
X will be charging $1 per year for new users in two countries
Elon Musk-led social media platform X will start charging users in the Philippines and New Zealand $1 (around 80) annually to use the service. The company announced the program, called ‘Not a Bot’, as part of its efforts to curb the presence of “bots” on the site. “By charging…a few dollars or something…it could deter the creation of new fake accounts,” Musk had said.