How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat
Starting in 2017, when the Chinese social video app merged with its competitor Musical.ly, TikTok has grown from a niche teen app into a global trendsetter.
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Everything TikTok users need to know about possible ban
The U.S. government is as close as it has ever been to kicking out an app used by an estimated 170 million Americans. Here’s what’s expected next.
Shares in Trump’s social media company soar nearly 50% in first day on Nasdaq
Before trading began, Trump Media had a market value of about $6.8 billion, a figure that will rise significantly if the early gains in the shares hold.
Supreme Court seems favorable to Biden administration over efforts to combat social media posts
Several justices said they were concerned that common interactions between government officials and the platforms could be affected by a ruling for the states.
After TikTok bill sails through House, Senators pump brakes
If the measure were to pass this month, TikTok’s Chinese parent company would be forced to sell the app by September, two months before voters head to the ballot box—and Democrats are reliant upon young voters to goose turnout in key swing districts.
U.S. House passes bill that would lead to TikTok ban if Chinese owner doesn’t sell
By targeting TikTok, lawmakers are singling out a platform popular with millions of people, many of whom skew younger, just months before an election.
Most teens report feeling happy or peaceful without phones, survey finds
The survey comes as policymakers and children’s advocates are growing increasingly concerned about teens’ relationships with their phones and social media.
Bill that could make TikTok unavailable in U.S. advances quickly in House
TikTok said “the legislation would trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs.”
Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Threads logins restored after widespread outage
A technical issue caused widespread login issues for a few hours across Meta’s platforms on Tuesday.
Moms’ group launches grassroots fight against social media ‘addiction’
Tech companies have taken steps to limit how much time children spend on their sites—including by sending notifications nudging them to take time away from their products—but they have strongly pushed back on claims by regulators that their products are addictive.
Supreme Court casts doubt on GOP-led states’ efforts to regulate social media platforms
In nearly four hours of arguments, several justices questioned aspects of laws adopted by Republican-dominated legislatures and signed by Republican governors in Florida and Texas in 2021. But they seemed wary of a broad ruling.
Colts owner says he’s ‘on the mend’ in brief message
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay issued his first public message in nearly a month while recovering from a severe respiratory illness.
Meta says it will label AI-generated images on Facebook, Instagram
Facebook and Instagram users will start seeing made-by-AI labels on deepfake images that appear on their social media feeds, part of a broader tech industry initiative to sort between what’s real and not.
Meta, TikTok and other social media CEOs testify in heated Senate hearing on child exploitation
On Wednesday, the CEOs went before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify as lawmakers and parents grow increasingly concerned about the effects of social media on young people’s lives.
A year of social media soul-searching
In 2023, we lost Twitter and got X. We tried out Bluesky and Mastodon (well, some of us did). And we fretted about AI bots and teen mental health
Pew survey: YouTube tops teens’ social-media diet
Seventy-one percent of teens said they visit YouTube at least daily, and 16% described their usage as “almost constant” according to the survey.
Indiana judge dismisses state’s lawsuit against TikTok that alleged child safety, privacy concerns
In her ruling, the judge said the court lacked personal jurisdiction over the case and reaffirmed a previous court ruling that found downloading a free app does not count as consumer transaction under the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.
Nextdoor lays off 25% of its full-time staff as neighborhood social network works to cut costs
A spokesperson for the company confirmed that almost 200 employees will be affected by the job cuts announced Tuesday.
States sue Meta, claiming its social platforms are addictive, harm children’s mental health
Dozens of states, including Indiana, are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to the platforms.
Utah latest state to sue TikTok, alleging it baits children into addictive habits
Indiana and Arkansas have filed similar lawsuits, while the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to decide whether state attempts to regulate social media platforms such as Facebook, X and TikTok violate the Constitution.