A Pennsylvania mother has won the right to sue TikTok over the tragic death of her 10-year-old daughter, Nylah Anderson. Federal law has long shielded Big Tech companies from lawsuits for hosting content created and uploaded by third parties. However, this landmark ruling by the US appeals court asserts that companies can be held accountable for “knowing distribution and targeted recommendation” of harmful content. The Deadly TikTok Challenge Nylah Anderson died in December 2021 after attempting the “blackout challenge,” a viral trend that encouraged users to choke themselves until they
On Friday, Brazil’s top court ordered the immediate suspension of X—formerly Twitter—in the country following a months-long feud with owner Elon Musk. Now, rival platforms are benefiting. Bluesky Sees Surge in Sign-Ups Bluesky, which fully opened to the public in February 2023, is seeing massive surge in users, reportedly gained one million new users in just three days. The decentralized social app started off as a project by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2019 when he was Twitter’s CEO. It has since become an independent public benefit corporation, with Twitter founder
Nvidia, a global leader in AI, has announced a strategic partnership with California Black Media (CBM) aimed at supporting Black-owned newspapers across California. This collaboration will create a resource that uses AI to preserve nearly a century of journalism by Black journalists in the state. Training AI on a Century of Black Journalism The partnership will see Nvidia train a large language model (LLM) on nearly a century of journalism produced by Black journalists within the state. This effort will not only preserve the rich history of Black journalism but
Google has reintroduced its Gemini AI software following widespread criticism of the tool’s initial release, which produced problematic and historically inaccurate images. The tech giant’s image-generating feature was initially paused after it generated offensive depictions, including images of Black Nazis and diverse renditions of America’s Founding Fathers, which sparked backlash. New Features and Safeguards Implemented In response to the controversy, Google has announced significant updates to Gemini’s image generation capabilities. The company revealed that an early access version of the tool will be made available to subscribers of Gemini Advanced,
Instagram has failed to remove 93% of abusive comments flagged for targeting women politicians, a recent report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found. Disproportionate Abuse Faced by Women of Color Politicians Among the politicians studied, Vice President Kamala Harris, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jasmine Crockett were subject to abuse. Comments ranged from overtly racist slurs to sexually explicit threats, many of which Instagram left unaddressed, despite these posts being clear violations of its community guidelines. In the 2020 US Congressional race, it was found that women of
Social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter, has announced the immediate closure of its office in Brazil. This decision comes amid an intensifying legal conflict with Brazil’s Supreme Court, specifically targeting Justice Alexandre de Moraes, according to Reuters. The platform, owned by Elon Musk, is embroiled in a dispute over alleged censorship orders that threaten both freedom of expression and the safety of its employees. Legal Battle and Alleged Censorship The closure of X’s Brazilian office follows a secret order issued by Justice de Moraes, demanding the removal of
X has come under scrutiny for running advertisements alongside content from five UK accounts that allegedly spread hate and misinformation during recent racist and Islamophobic riots. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) revealed that these accounts, which were verified and promoted false claims following the Southport attack, garnered 260 million views in just one week. X—formerly Twitter—placed ads for prominent brands like GlaxoSmithKline and the International Olympic Committee near these posts, generating revenue from harmful content. Hate Speech and Misinformation Fuel UK Riots The controversy centers on five high-profile
The Hey Auntie! app is on a mission to address the growing loneliness epidemic by fostering meaningful connections between generations of Black women. Created by Nicole Kenney, the platform provides a safe and supportive space for Black women to share wisdom, receive guidance, and build community. Fostering Community Through Fictive Kinship Central to the Hey Auntie! experience is the concept of “fictive kinship,” where relationships are built not through blood ties but through emotionally significant connections. Kenney, who has long championed the power of intergenerational wisdom, describes the platform as
Advertisements for nutrition products promoted by Dragons’ Den star and entrepreneur Steven Bartlett have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after being deemed misleading, according to The BBC. The ads, which featured Bartlett endorsing products from the health brands Huel and Zoe, failed to disclose his financial interests in the companies, a violation of advertising guidelines. ASA’s Decision: Misleading Endorsements The ASA’s ruling, announced this week, centered on two ads for Huel and one for Zoe that were shared on Facebook earlier this year. In the ads, Bartlett,
Algerian Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif has filed a legal complaint, which names J K Rowling, Elon Musk and others, for aggravated cyber harassment. In a statement, Khelif’s attorney described the harassment as a “misogynist, racist and sexist campaign” against the boxer during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Rowling and Musk Accused of Cyberbullying The lawsuit filed against X was submitted to the Paris public prosecutor’s office for combatting online hate speech. The complaint focuses on derogatory comments made by the high-profile figures on social media, particularly surrounding Khelif’s gender eligibility.
