Tag: Social media
85% of UK think creating fake news should be illegal
New research from digital identity security specialists, ID Crypt Global, reveals that an overwhelming majority of the UK public believes those who create and spread fake news should have their social media accounts banned, with 85% also believing it should be made illegal. The survey of 1,121 members of the UK public, commissioned by ID Crypt…
Social media sites face tougher age checks under new Ofcom rules
Ofcom has warned social media sites they could be banned for under-18s completely if they fail to comply with new online safety rules. The media regulator has published a children's safety draft code of practice, which requires social media firms to have more robust age-checking measures in place. Ofcom boss Dame Melanie Dawes warned any…
Over 70% of 16-24 year olds use social media to keep up with news
Online intermediaries, such as social media, search engines and other online aggregators exert a significant influence on the news stories people consume, according to new Ofcom research. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of UK adults use online intermediaries to access news, with Meta – the company which owns Facebook and Instagram – being the third largest source…
Seeing violent online content starts in primary school, claims Ofcom study
Children describe violent content as ‘unavoidable’ online Teenage boys more likely to share violent material to ‘fit in’ with peers Recommender algorithms and group messaging fuel exposure Children’s willingness to report harmful content undermined by lack of trust in process Children first see violent online content while still at primary school and describe it as…
Mark Zuckerberg accused of ‘blood on his hands’, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 to get ‘glow up’
Mark Zuckerberg was one of several social media bosses accused of having "blood on [their] hands" at a hearing where companies were criticised for not doing enough to protect children from being exploited on their platforms. Mr Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, faced a sea of people who held pictures…
Half of Brit teens addicted to social media, BYD to overtake Tesla?
Almost half of British teenagers say they feel addicted to social media, according to findings that come amid mounting pressure for big tech companies to be held accountable for the impact of their platforms on users. The finding, from the Millennium Cohort study, adds to evidence that many people feel they have lost control over…
Groups could be allowed to make ‘super-complaint’ under Online Safety Act
Children’s charities, free speech advocates and consumer groups such as Which? could, for the first time, raise online safety and freedom of expression concerns directly to Ofcom through a “super-complaint”. Under the Online Safety Act, social media companies have been given new duties to protect children, enforce the promises they make to users and remove…
1 in 3 social media GDPR fines linked to children
Over the last five years of GDPR, the most popular social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Whatsapp, and X, formerly Twitter) were fined over €2.9B for GDPR breaches, of which €765M was for inadequate protection of children’s data, a study by Surfshark shows. Says Agneska Sablovskaja, Lead Researcher at Surfshark:  “Half of the most popular social…
Scammers profited over $658 million from social media users in H1 2023
According to data presented by the Atlas VPN team, social media scams earned fraudsters an astounding $658M just in H1 2023, exponentially higher than any other contact method. Compared to 2022, total reported fraud losses increased by $50M (from $608M). In all, 83,302 fraud instances originating from social media were recorded in the first half of 2023. The total number of social media fraud…
Three quarters of mobile apps harvesting personal data unnecessarily, claims study
Nearly 87% of Android apps and 60% of Apple’s iOS versions seek access to personal mobile data unrelated to their performance Bumble is the UK’s most intrusive popular app, collecting 44% more data than it needs to work and requesting the most permissions to access device features Fellow dating app Tinder and social media favourite…
